The Dust of Ages (novel)
The Dust of Ages is the first book in The Darksmith Legacy series.
Publisher's summary
It is a few years into our future, and there are bases on the Moon. A recent survey has shown something unusual, an unknown power source. When a tall, skinny spiky-haired stranger turns up and announces he's from the Bureau of Alien Technology doing a spot check, the survey team know they've found something special. But is this special power source a blessing or a curse?
Plot
The Doctor lands on the Moon in 2010. As he steps out he remarks "Not where I expected, I wonder what drew me off-course?" indicating that he meant to land on Earth. He is guided downstairs into a research facility beneath the lunar surface. He is greeted by Professor Dollund and Roberta Goodman, using the psychic paper to pass as Inspector Smith from the Bureau of Alien Technology. Goodman explains that they are running Survey 4: a misson, started by the 'big industries', to discover natural resources on the Moon as the Earth has been "depleted". As the Doctor is lead into the mining room, Clinton Seymour announces news that their drill has found a power source deep underground.
The team of 3 begin the descent into the new tunnels to locate the power source. There is a nod to the Doctor's elevator trip in The Impossible Planet during a scene in which the team are squished into a small mine elevator. Upon entering the chasm, Professor Dollund almost falls into a chasm after miscalculating the load-bearing ability of a rock under Earth gravity. They are greeted in the new cavern by Lisa Summerton and Henderson, two archaeologists. Tracing the energy signal to the wall, the Doctor begins to scoop away at the packed dust. It's not long before he discovers a stone hand - the source of the power.
WIP 14/04/20
Characters
- Tenth Doctor
- Professor Dollund
- Clinton Seymour
- Roberta "Bobby" Goodman
- Henderson
- Lisa Summerton
- Drakon
- Hellan
- Talen
- Ardos
- Stemnos
- The Agent
References
- Snorkellians are snouted creatures that suck up dust and dirt, digest it and expel it as pellets which apparently are good for growing tomatoes
- The TARDIS Data Bank on the Moon mentions that the Moon is the only other world the humans have travelled to by the year 2010.
- The Agent's metal bodywork is augmented with plastic salvaged from the wreckage of the Nestene homeworld, Polymos.
- The Agent is programmed with innate understandings of the time Vortex that were found in a deactivated Gundan robot. This allows the Agent to travel on time winds.
Notes
- Chapter four, "The Hand of Fear", shares its name with the Doctor Who serial TV: The Hand of Fear.
- Interspersed with the main fiction is;
- TARDIS Data Bank (extra information on 'the Moon' and 'Analysis of Crystal')
- Activity pages x4 (The puzzle solutions give the reader the chance to think like the Doctor!)
- Next instalment cover preview and opening chapter.
- The Darksmith Legacy's overall story was devised by Justin Richards who contributed four of the ten titles.
- The Darksmith Legacy was certificated to 13, with under 13's needing parental approval.
- This first book in the series was released along with the second before the remaining titles saw a monthly release throughout 2009.
- Each book in the series had a foiled cover with illustration by Peter McKinstry
- By visiting the website and participating in the Quest participants can unlock additional content like computer wallpapers to download.
The Quest itself features; games - (like finding a specific target in an image, by using the sonic screwdriver as a detector, to hone in (to register 100 on the scale). Once located the 'Target' then provides additional information used in further puzzles involving both words and numbers.
Continuity
- The Doctor is travelling alone, suggesting events in the Darksmith legacy occur after TV: Journey's End as with the majority of media released in 2009. However, as yet none of the books in this arc indicate this precisely; the storyline could just as easily take place during one of the Tenth Doctor's companionless intervals, such as between TV: Voyage of the Damned and Partners in Crime or between The Runaway Bride and Smith and Jones.
- Polymos (the Nestene homeworld) was first mentioned by name in PROSE: Synthespians™.
- The TARDIS Databank states that the Moon is the only other world the humans have travelled to by the year 2010, however; TV: The Ambassadors of Death features man landing on Mars in the 1970s, though PROSE: The Dying Days later implies this was mostly a forgotten chapter in Earth's history of exploration. Also, see UNIT dating controversy.
External links
- The Dust of Ages at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- The Discontinuity Guide to: The Dust of Ages at The Whoniverse
- the darksmithlegacy.com For further additional adventures and gameplay.
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