At Childhood's End (novel)
At Childhood's End was a novel written by Sophie Aldred, detailing a meeting between Ace McShane and the Thirteenth Doctor.
Publisher's summary
Once, a girl called Ace travelled the universe with the Doctor – until, in the wake of a terrible tragedy they parted company. Decades later, she is known as Dorothy McShane, the reclusive millionaire philanthropist who heads global organisation A Charitable Earth.
And Dorothy is haunted by terrible nightmares, vivid dreams that begin just as scores of young runaways are vanishing from the dark alleyways of London. Could the disappearances be linked to sightings of sinister creatures lurking in the city shadows? Why has an alien satellite entered a secret orbit around the Moon?
Investigating the satellite with Ryan, Graham and Yaz, the Doctor is thrown together with Ace once more. Together they must unravel a malevolent plot that will cost thousands of lives. But can the Doctor atone for her past incarnation’s behaviour – and how much must Ace sacrifice to win victory not only for herself, but for the Earth?
Plot
Justine, a homeless teenager in London, runs back to a building site where she sleeps in a a pile of ducting, feeling worthless. Suddenly, two hooded figures approach her, and she slips and falls. She tells them that she hasn't got any money, but they tell her that they don't want money, they want a donation. They spit a foul slime onto her face and she passes out, hearing nothing but the chittering of rats.
Dorothy McShane, CEO of A Charitable Earth, wakes in a cold sweat from a recurring nightmare that she's had every day of the week so far. She tries to remember it, hoping that it might give a clue to why she's having it. It starts with her floating out of her body, above earth before she lands on a planet with rocks that slice through her feet, and air that hurts her lungs. There are many people around her, crying out in pain as they make their way to a large factory on the horizon. The clouds start to darken, and the face of a creature begins to solidify in the sky as the people and her start to run. Something bears down on her and she turns around to see a long talon - before she wakes up.
Fustrated with the fact that she is unable to remember what happened next, she gets out of bed and flicks through channels on her television. She stops when she sees Kim Fortune, a podcaster and conspiracy theorist, hosting his own show. He's interviewing a girl and her parents, describing how their daughter was almost kidnapped by aliens. The girl describes experiencing a nightmare eerily similar to her own, but what shakes Dorothoy is that she lives in Perivale, near where she lived when she was taken in a time storm to Iceworld.
Dorothy drives to Chantelle's flat in her Hypergreen, and tells her about what she discovered. Chantelle told her that she wasn't the first to ask around, and that she has heard some strange noises at night, not to mention the large amount of rats that there suddenly is.
Characters
- Dorothy McShane
- Thirteenth Doctor
- Graham O'Brien
- Yasmin Khan
- Ryan Sinclair
- Chantelle
- Will Buckland
- Halogi-Kari
- Justine
- Kim Fortune
- Sanaul
- Sam O'Connor
- Kerry Eldon
- Andrew Eldon
- Tracey Eldon
- Sorin
- Seventh Doctor
References
Television
- Justine feels like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.
- Ryan recognises Chantelle from Checkout Girls vs Sea Monsters and Alien Bike Riders.
- Graham recognises Chantelle from EastEnders.
- Graham compares Yaz to Gene Hunt.
Technology
- Chantelle calls the Doctor's sonic screwdriver 'a magic wand'.
- Ace owns two Honda Fireblade motorcycles.
The TARDIS
- Ace reminiscences on the TARDIS' old control room
Places
Organisations
- Ace built the headquarters for A Charitable Earth next to the Tower of London so that she could keep an eye on UNIT.
- Ace was supposed to go to a meeting with the World Ecology Bureau.
- Various people recognise Ace from her charity, A Charitable Earth.
- Ace tells the Doctor she'd taken the money that would later be used to start her charity from her after an incident involving the Cybermen.
Notes
- An audiobook was released by BBC Physical Audio on 6 February 2020, read by Sophie Aldred.
- The story indicates that Chantelle had appeared on the show EastEnders at some point. Incidentally, Chantelle's original actress in Survival, Adele Silva, acted in the show herself in 1991.
Continuity
- Team TARDIS know that the Doctor used to be a man. (TV: Spyfall)
- Ace is concerned that the Torchwood Institute (TV: Army of Ghosts, Everything Changes), UNIT (TV: The Web of Fear) or the Intrusion Counter-Measures Group (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks) would be after her technology.
- The Tower of London used to be UNIT's UK headquarters (TV: The Christmas Invasion, The Power of Three, The Day of the Doctor, The Zygon Invasion / The Zygon Inversion) but has now been axed by the government. (TV: Resolution) A Charitable Earth's headquarters are established opposite the Tower.
- Ace refers to meeting the Cybermen during the Blitz. (PROSE: Illegal Alien)
- Devesham is home to the Space Defence Station. (TV: The Android Invasion)
- Ace recalls liberating Terra Alpha (TV: The Happiness Patrol) and Segonax. (TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy)
- Ace remembers being taken by a time-storm by Fenric. (TV: Dragonfire, The Curse of Fenric)
- To convince Ace that she is the Doctor, the Thirteenth Doctor mentions Daleks (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks) and how Ace hates clowns. (TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy)
- The Seventh Doctor had some everlasting matches (PROSE: Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks)
- Sarah Jane Smith had previously shown awareness of Ace's charity work. (TV: Death of the Doctor)
- Yaz recalls Ryan's father defeating a Dalek with a microwave. (TV: Resolution)
- Ace previously met someone called Justine. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Warhead, Warlock)
- Chantelle eventually died in the early 21st century due to her weakened immune system being caused by severe pollution. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Warhead)
- Ace arrives on a planet/spaceship that happens to be made of flesh. (PROSE: Love and War)
- During her travels, Ace found one timeline where it showed her living on Gallifrey (AUDIO: Intervention Earth), a life where she and the Doctor travelled with a dark-haired woman (PROSE: Love and War, Deceit-Set Piece) and flirted with a young man (PROSE: Nightshade, Love and War, AUDIO: The Harvest), killing a Dalek while the explosion reflected in her black sunglasses (PROSE: Deceit, et. al), a life where she lived with a descendant of Sorin (TV: The Curse of Fenric, PROSE: Set Piece) and got killed in a Nitro-Nine Explosion (COMIC: Ground Zero), and a life where she grew old travelling with the Doctor. (AUDIO: Signs and Wonders)
- The Doctor remembers battling Morbius. (TV: The Brain of Morbius)
External links
- Official At Childhood's End page at Penguin Books
- Official At Childhood's End audiobook page at Penguin Books
- Penguin Books's official podcast Sophie Aldred with Katy Brand interview about the book
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