Beautiful Chaos (novel)

Beautiful Chaos was the twenty-ninth novel in the BBC New Series Adventures series. It was written by Gary Russell and featured the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble.

Beautiful Chaos

2006 edition
2013 edition

Doctor:

Tenth Doctor

Companion(s):

Donna

Featuring:

Wilf, Sylvia

Main enemy:

Mandragora Helix, Dara Morgan

Main setting:

London and Essex, Friday 15 May 2009

Key crew

Publisher:

Writer:

Read by:

Cover by:

Release details

Release number:

29

Release date:

26 December 2008 (hardcover)

Format:

Hardcover, 236 pages
Paperback, 256 pages

ISBN:

ISBN 978-1-84607-563-6

BBC New Series Adventures
← Previous	Next →
The Story of Martha	The Eyeless

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

2008 BBC Books edition[[edit] | [edit source]]

Donna Noble is back home in London, catching up with her family and generally giving them all the gossip about her journeys. Her grandfather is especially overjoyed — he's discovered a new star and had it named after him. He takes the Tenth Doctor, as his special guest, to the naming ceremony.

But the Doctor is suspicious about some of the other changes he can see in Earth's heavens. Particularly that bright star, right there. No, not that one, that one, there, on the left...

The world's population is slowly being converted to a new path, a new way of thinking. Something is coming to Earth, an ancient force from the Dark Times. Something powerful, angry, and all-consuming...

2013 BBC Books edition[[edit] | [edit source]]

Wilfred Mott is very happy: his granddaughter, Donna, is back home, catching up with family and gossiping about her journeys, and he has just discovered a new star and had it named after him. He takes the Tenth Doctor with him to the naming ceremony. But the Doctor soon discovers something else new, and worryingly bright, in the heavens – something that is heading for Earth. It's an ancient force from the Dark Times. And it is very, very angry...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

Geoff Noble, Martha Jones and UNIT are mentioned.
The Doctor says that Aubrey Fairchild "clearly makes no impression on history".
The Doctor mentions having once been invited to the Royal Planetary Society by "Bernard and Paula".

Locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

Lukas Samuel Carnes goes to Park Vale Comprehensive School, the same school as Luke Smith and his friends do.
Places mentioned include: Tilbury, Brentwood, South Woodham Ferrers, Bounds Green, Earl's Court, Ruislip Woods, and RAF Hillingdon.
Roads mentioned include: Chiswick High Road, M4, A13, A127, M25, Meadow Lane, Gorsten Road, Tributary Road, B8932, and Allcombe Lane.

Clothing[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor mentions that he hates bow ties.

Film and television[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor used to like Countdown.
Children of the Damned is mentioned.

Food and beverages[[edit] | [edit source]]

Wilf used to put a nip of Jack Daniel's in his flask until Sylvia found out.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

This is the last novel to feature Donna Noble. Indeed, the preface and epilogue are set post-Journey's End, suggesting a "goodbye" to Donna.
Discounting the special case of the anthology The Story of Martha, this was the last announced Tenth Doctor Adventures release to feature the Doctor with a regular companion. All novel releases for 2009 featured the Tenth Doctor travelling alone.
This story was also released as an ebook available from the Amazon Kindle store.
The novel was reprinted with a new cover in 2013 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, as well as a new introduction by Gary Russell.
The introduction notes that Russell T Davies enjoyed the novel and included a mention to Netty in The End of Time as a nod to it. When reading the audio version, Bernard Cribbins also apparently thought the story was written by Davies using his first name as a pseudonym.
This story is a sequel to the Fourth Doctor story TV: The Masque of Mandragora.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Tycho satellite from TV: The Last Sontaran is mentioned.
The Prime Minister is called Aubrey Fairchild. This is also the name of the deceased reverend in TV: The Next Doctor. This is most likely because an early draft of TV: The Stolen Earth included a Prime Minister of the same name before his scenes were removed.
There are also references to splinters at the Sacred Mountain of Xi'an and the Mandrake nightclub, referring to the First Doctor novel PROSE: The Eleventh Tiger and the Seventh Doctor comic strip COMIC: The Mark of Mandragora.
Netty is referenced in TV: The End of Time as a part of the Silver Cloak.
While pondering about Sylvia not liking him, the Doctor remembers Jackie Tyler and Francine Jones - particularly the occasions when they slapped him. (TV: Aliens of London, The Lazarus Experiment)
The Doctor, trying to explain why London is deserted, suggests that it's Sunday. The Third Doctor had once remarked that London seemed to close on Sunday. (TV: Invasion of the Dinosaurs) The Tenth Doctor and his immediate successor had both stated that they did not like Sundays, finding them boring. (TV: Silence in the Library, The Impossible Astronaut)
Donna mentions that the Doctor has faced Pyroviles, (TV: The Fires of Pompeii) Sontarans, (TV: The Sontaran Stratagem) and the Fishmen of Kandalinga. (PROSE: The Fishmen of Kandalinga)
Donna mentions that she recently visited the Garazone Bazaar with the Doctor. (AUDIO: Sword of Orion)