To the Slaughter (novel)

The solar system is being spring-cleaned, to improve its feng shui and attract big business back to the long-abandoned seat of Earth's empire. Celebrity decoratiste Aristotle Halcyon is heading the campaign of controlled demolition. Having swept away the Asteroid Belt and the Oort Cloud, he now plans to make Jupiter more aesthetically pleasing by removing scores of "unnecessary" moons.

But the ancient satellites hold deadly secrets, as the Doctor, Fitz and Trix soon discover. With eco-terrorists planning sabotage, corrupt officials lining their own pockets and sinister forces acting on their own agendas, only the Doctor sees that millions of innocents have been set on the fast track to bloody, unbridled destruction...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Icthal are humanoid aliens with grey skin.
Chiggocks are genetically engineered food animals.
Hidehogs are engineered animals used to produce leather.
Halcyon sold rocks from the Oort cloud to Kilomons and Draconians.
Among the Ancient Twelve moons of Jupiter which were not supposed to be demolished were Ananke, Callisto, Carme, Lysithea and Sinope. Not included were Callirrhoe, Leda and Thebe.
Falsh Industries contracted with Blazar Demolition Services for the demolition of Jupiter's unnecessary moons. When Carme was destroyed to cover up the illegal weapons research being done there, Falsh Industries convinced Blazar to take the blame. The contract was then cancelled and awarded to NewSystem Deconstruction, a secret subsidiary of Falsh Industries.
They developed the FILOC-P, or Falsh Industries Luxury Orbiting Conference Podules.
Aristotle Halcyon's demonstration of the Endless Cupboard was cosponsored by Falsh Industries, Anghelic Systems and Chasric Interfaces at Callisto’s Medicean Stadium. Cinnamin Tinya had animals from the Ganymede Zoo brought there to enliven the event.
Halcytone was an offshoot of Arnauld Klimt's research creating the space slugs.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Stephen Cole admits in the Author's Notes that part of the reason he wrote this novel was to defend the Doctor's scientific reputation after the Fourth Doctor expressed surprise at Jupiter having thirteen moons, which occured in TV: Revenge of the Cybermen ^[+]Loading...["Revenge of the Cybermen (TV story)"] , which was known to be inaccurate when the storyline originally aired (scientists having discovered another moon after production finished but before it was broadcast).
This was the final novel to feature the Eighth Doctor as the incumbent Doctor, since The Gallifrey Chronicles ^[+]Loading...["The Gallifrey Chronicles (novel)"] was published after Christopher Eccleston made his debut as the Ninth Doctor (and indeed only two weeks before David Tennant appeared as the Tenth).

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

When Fitz uses the PadPad, he uses images from PROSE: The Fall of Yquatine, Sometime Never... and Parallel 59.
Fitz remembers the events of PROSE: Interference - Book One and Interference - Book Two.
Fitz mentions that he visited Farside Station. (PROSE: Fear Itself)
Trix mentions Welwyn Borr, a reference to PROSE: The Tomorrow Windows)
The Doctor tells Robart Falsh that he may have been able to resist the effects of Halcytone because he, the Doctor, could not see the colour violet. Either he was joking, or he has been unable to perceive that colour since Griffin removed that ability in Unnatural History ^[+]Loading...["Unnatural History (novel)"]

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