All-Consuming Fire (novel)

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All-Consuming Fire was a 1994 entry in the New Adventures range of Doctor Who novels. It featured the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Benny in an adventure with the real-life "Sherlock Holmes" and "Dr John Watson".

It was notable for its unusual structure.

At the beginning of the novel, the Doctor gives Benny a copy of All-Consuming Fire, by Arthur Conan Doyle, which she duly reads. This sets up a "book-within-a-book", in which the reader is meant to believe that there's an Andy Lane-written prologue and epilogue wrapped around a Conan Doyle novel — itself written from the perspective of "John Watson". In the epilogue, Benny pronounces that Conan Doyle changed "a lot of the facts", meaning that Conan Doyle (or, possibly "Watson") is an unreliable narrator. The main characters do seem to agree that Conan Doyle's version is basically true. However, Benny's revelation that she doesn't "remember half of these things happening" makes it difficult to know which details actually occurred within the Doctor Who universe, and which are embellishments by Conan Doyle.

Lane occasionally gives us other points of view, such as when he quotes from Benny's diary. These moments, too, are instances where limited perspective leads to unreliable narration. Indeed, it's not terribly clear whether these moments of taking from other diaries are meant to be Lane interjecting into the Conan Doyle book, or whether it's actually Conan Doyle himself mixing in a bit of Benny's voice into his book.

In any event, All-Consuming Fire — quite unusually for a Doctor Who novel — features a book within a book, told mostly in the first person from the perspective of secondary characters. The Banquo Legacy later did this, with personal accounts, instead of a book.

Publisher's summary

'I’ve been all over the universe with you, Doctor, and Earth in the nineteenth century is the most alien place I’ve ever seen.'

England, 1887. The secret library of St John the Beheaded has been robbed. The thief has taken forbidden books which tell of mythical beasts and gateways to other worlds. Only one team can be trusted to solve the crime: Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson.

As their investigation leads them to the dark underside of Victorian London, Holmes and Watson soon realise that someone else is following the same trail. Someone who has the power to kill with a glance. And they sense a strange, inhuman shape observing them from the shadows. Then they meet the mysterious traveller known only as the Doctor -- the last person alive to read the stolen books.

While Bernice waits in nineteenth-century India, Ace is trapped on a bizarre alien world. And the Doctor finds himself unwillingly united with England’s greatest consulting detective.

Characters

References

Books

Buildings

Cultural references

  • Ace calls the Doctor "Kolchak the bleeding Nightstalker".

The Doctor

Cults

Foods and Beverages

  • The Doctor drinks sarsaparilla, and notices the smell of strychnine used to ferment the beer Watson drinks.
  • Whilst dining on the train in India Sherlock and Bernice drink weak whiskey while Watson drinks a gin and tonic.
  • Mrs Hudson serves the Doctor tea and Madeira cake at Holmes' residence.
  • Whilst on Ry'leh Watson eats some sort of native creature, which doesn't sit well for him.

Governments

Groups

  • The Third Doctor frequents the Diogenes Club.
  • The Seventh Doctor gets his third self kicked out of the Diogenes Club by showing him the answer to the crossword he was doing, making the Third Doctor shout at him, breaking the silence rules.

History

Individuals

  • The First Doctor and Susan make a brief appearance at the beginning and end of the story. He meets Sherlock's father Siger Holmes in Jaballhabad, India.
  • Bernice dresses as a man for all of her time in 19th century Earth to avoid being treated as a "woman".
  • Bernice sees John Watson naked.
  • This is the first instance where it's suggested Ace lost her virginity to Sabalom Glitz.
  • Sherlock attempts to analyse the Doctor, only for the Doctor to take extreme pleasure in proving him wrong.
  • Sherlock bludgeons his brother Sherringford to save Watson.
  • The Doctor considers Watson more of a survivor and more flexible mentally then Holmes who is a only as intelligent as his knowledge of his surroundings.
  • Watson becomes attracted to Benny.
  • Sherringford Holmes is the eldest Holmes brother.

Libraries and archives

Locations

  • Bernice comments that 19th century India is the most alien place she's been.
  • Watson adapts to conditions on Ry'leh by comparing them to events in his career as a field surgeon.

Planets

  • The planet Tersurus has clone banks and singing stones.
  • The Doctor still has clay and dust on his pants from Menaxus.
  • Bernice loved in the slums of Avernus and a squat on Zellen VIII.
  • The Doctor dropped Ace early on Ry'leh to investigate.
  • Bernice thinks Ry'leh is stranger than Moloch (Lucifer's hollow moon).
  • Both Eusapia and Zeta Minor are half in this and another universe.
  • Malaga's crust is a shell covering a vast dreaming creature.

Species

Supposed deities

  • Azathoth is a god of anarchy and chaos and is the weakest of the Great Old Ones.
  • Sherringford Holmes is an agent of Azathoth.

Theories and concepts

  • The Doctor doesn't believe in spontaneous human combustion, but will argue in favour of it to force open Watson's mind on more esoteric matters beyond his knowledge.

Time Lords

Weapons

Writers

  • Arthur Conan Doyle edits Watson's diaries (changing a few things here and there) and publishes them as fiction.

Notes

  • This novel is written from the point of view from Watson and Benny's diaries.
  • One of the few New Adventures releases to include illustrations.
  • According to Andy Lane, Peter Darvill-Evans had told Lane that Holmes and Watson were going to be the new companions in the New Adventures book range. Said Lane, "Even when I finished the book it was still on the cards - hence the ambigious ending."(DWM 252)
  • A prologue to this novel was published in DWM 213.

Continuity

It is difficult to know how much of the book to take as a genuine account of things which actually happened to the Doctor and his companions, since Benny outright says that the book was a heavily fictionalised version of events. Nevertheless, the prologue and epilogue are certainly meant to be read as the "reality" of the DWU. And the basic outlines of the plot are confirmed as generally having happened. Detail within the bulk of the novel should, however be treated with a great deal more suspicion. That said, some things said in the novel can be found in other stories:

Holmes and Watson in the DWU

This novel portrays "Holmes" and "Watson" as the fictional names for non-fictional people. Benny is cut off several times right before she announces the actual names of "Holmes" and "Watson".

This notion that they are real people is confirmed in NA: Happy Endings, when the duo show up for Benny's wedding. Later she even meets "Mycroft Holmes" (BFBS: The Adventure of the Diogenes Damsel)

However, Evolution implies strongly that Holmes and Watson are wholly fictional characters, created by Doyle, based on the Doctor and Doyle himself.

Timeline

For the First Doctor:

For the Third Doctor:

For the Seventh Doctor:

External links

v • e
Virgin Books New Adventures
Seventh
Doctor
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Bernice
Summerfield
1997
1998
1999
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