Combat Rock (novel)

This was Lewis' second and, as of 2018^[update], final contribution to Doctor Who fiction. Like its 2001 predecessor, Rags, Combat Rock has strong adult themes, mainly cannibalism, and accordingly violent content. Less than a year after its publication, Telos Publishing released Wonderland by Mark Chadbourn, another Second Doctor novel aimed at adults.

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

When 400-year-old tribal mummies inexplicably return to life and begin murdering tourists on an exotic alien island, the Doctor's initial urge to investigate lands himself, Jamie and Victoria right in the middle of a jungle holocaust.

Ferocious cannibals and deadly beasts stalk the swamps, mummies lurk amongst the trees and the peaceful, civilised locals are reverting to long-forgotten head-hunting practices. Something is giving a clarion call to savagery, something that can only be found in the deepest darkness at the heart of the hostile rainforest.

It could well be the end of the river for the TARDIS companions as they find themselves involved in a horrific jungle conflict between desperate guerrilla tribesmen and merciless colonial forces. Cannibalism could be the least of their worries as evil stirs the pot and the dead reach for the living...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Groups[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Operaki Papul Gallaki, or OPG, were a Jenggel group fighting against Indoni rule on the island of Papul.
Jenggel fought a war with Earth.

Locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

Indoni settlements include Batu and Javee.
Papul settlements and regions include Agat, Kirowai, Jikora, Wameen.
Kolith and Aerny Dhu are rain-forested locations that fascinated the Doctor.
Magnow is an Earth colony satellite just outside the Jenggel System.

Life[[edit] | [edit source]]

Kassowarks are a bird-like species on Papul.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

This story is an unsubtle allegory for the Papua Conflict between the Free Papua Movement of West Papua and the Indonesian government. The place names and ethnicities in the story are clear analogues of real-life places and peoples. These include the Indoni — Indonesia / Indonesians; Javee — Java; Batu — Batu; and Papul - Papua / Papuans.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor notes that the TARDIS's arrival on a tropical beach is a refreshing change. (TV: The Ice Warriors)
Fighting alongside the OPG reminds Jamie of Culloden, where he first met the Doctor in TV: The Highlanders.
Victoria realises that she disapproves of the colonialism of the British Empire, and wonders what her father, an upperclass English gentleman, who first appeared in TV: The Evil of the Daleks, would have thought of her "unfashionable, alien views" now.
Sabit mentions the Earth Alliance, which had previously appeared in AUDIO: The Sirens of Time among other stories.

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]