| THE NOWHERE PLACE by Nicholas Briggs |
| Story 84 Synopsis: In the TARDIS, the Doctor is haunted by the toll of a bell. Tracing it to 2 points in time, he and Evelyn visit the later, a spaceship in the 23rd century. There, they find a mysterious door which the TARDIS dates as over 50 million years old. Some of the crew of the ship are also hearing the bell, and when they do, they head for the door, and through it - into nowhere. Having struggled to persuade the captain what they're innocent, the Doctor and Evelyn take the TARDIS back to the other reference point, a train in 1952, with just 2 passengers, one of whom has created the doodle which will inspire mankind's journey into space. Evelyn hears the bell, and comes under the influence of the creature beyond the door, who lives at Time's End. The Doctor takes her back to the spaceship, leaving her there whilst he materialises the TARDIS to block the door. He communes with the creature, which lived long ago, and predated humanity on Earth. Due to a mishap in flight, it has been stranded there for all time, and seeks to prevent any of its successor races on Earth from leaving the Solar System. The spaceship fires a nuclear missile at the door - which becomes the event that stranded the creature in the first place, and ends its kidnappings. The Doctor collects Evelyn, wearier and wiser. |
| Review: The prolific and persistent Nicholas Briggs serves up another time-twister and one with a very spooky overtone - ask not for whom the bells tolls etc... This time the mystery begins with a bell heard in the TARDIS... a sound which soon portends doom to anyone who hears it. Whilst the backdrop of a spaceship of a few centuries hence is perhaps a bit too cod-bland for anyone to care, especially with Martha Cope going OTT in command, the spookiness of the bell is soon matched by the spookiness of the door... and when the Doctor dates the door as ridiculously old, then the puzzle only grows stranger... It's some relief when the story shifts to a quiet train in the English past, especially since Briggs himself gets to act at this point. Though whilst this bit does provide the clue from an inocuous source, it does lead to the conclusion, which is sadly disappointing. As a spooky effort, the bell sound effect, and the strange door, all add up to great success. Unfortunately, there comes a point when it has to lead somewhere, and unfortunately the explanations of "Time's End" are not nearly as good as what went before. I did find myself reminded that the same author also wrote the similarly mind-bending Creatures Of Beauty, against which this does not compare well. The concept of a race powerful enough to kybosh endless Earth races, but unlucky enough to get caught by a nuclear attack which renders their time experiments null and void is sadly neither engrossing nor enervating. Evelyn manages quite well, for once, and most of the extras are quite good, Cope notwithstanding. So, up to a point, this is a really enjoyable experience. It just can't keep it up. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy. |