| SANCTUARY by David A. McIntee |
| Story 37 Synopsis: The TARDIS experiences difficulties in space, forcing the Doctor and Bernice to flee temporarily. They pitch up in France, 1242AD. Whilst she meets up with villagers seeking sanctuary in the Roc, the Doctor pretends to side with the gentry, especially Guzman, a member of the Inquisition. A temporary truce is arranged between the locals and those running the Roc. Bernice decides it would be useful to spring the Doctor from danger and bring him to the Roc. Before they do, he learns there is a religious artefact in the Roc which Guzman will use as proof of their heresy. Soon, there is a murder in the Roc, and the Doctor has to deduce who is responsible, and also who is the spy leaking secrets to the likes of Guzman. As the nobles close in on the Roc, the Doctor rumbles the spy, and catches out the killer, but not before she can injure Guy De Carnac, a disgraced ex-Templar who has been helping out, and whom Bernice has fallen in love with. Leaving him to recover, and for history to take its course, the Doctor and Bernice head off to the restored TARDIS. They bump into three Templars, who edited the spy's messages for their own ends, and who have the evidence to bring Guzman down. But a last desperate raid forces the Doctor and Bernice to rush for the TARDIS. Off his sickbed, Guy rides to their aid, but the odds appear against him. Inside the TARDIS, Bernice insists on returning for him, but they can find no sign. |
| Review:- A deadly date with history, and no way out... After Haiti during World War 1 (White Darkness), and America in 1957 (First Frontier), Dave McIntee had built a minor reputation for his historical settings, a reputation that reaches its apex with this book, set in 13th century France. It's a harsh, barbaric land torn apart by religious dogma, notably the notorious Inquisition. The idea that moral guardians could smear and destroy people for daring to have different beliefs would seem just as horrific were it not for their modern-day equivalents in the media. Whilst it would be too trite to suggest that Guzman would these days be the editor of a tabloid newspaper, the parallels are all too appreciable. McIntee picks a key historical event, and sets his story in the week leading up to it. The passage of time adds depth to the story, and even if this should seem a lesser piece of history than some, it's given maximum importance, and the struggles and characters involved are all the more impressive for that. Two characters stand out in particular. Guzman, representing the Inquisition, is as single-minded as he is wrong-headed, and all too willing to see dangers where there really are none. His plotting and scheming is at one remove from that of Louis and Philippe, but whilst their use of arms makes their deaths all the more likely, he seems distant and the reader has to contemplate that he may come out unpunished. It is to the book's credit that the Templars, who remain on the fringes and only occasionally come closer to get involved, act as peacekeepers, ensuring that Guzman will indeed not receive the rewards he unjustly seeks to claim. By splitting the Doctor and Bernice up, the story unfolds quickly and enjoyably, with the establishment intrigues a fitting place for the Doctor, and the fateful sanctuary of the Roc proving more apt for Bernice. Especially as it allows her time with the other key character of the book - Guy de Carnac, disgraced Templar turned noble knight and do-gooder. His destiny becomes sealed when he helps Bernice and other stragglers make their way to the safety of the Roc. Over the course of what follows, he and Bernice slowly fall into a more credible romance than is usually the case in the New Adventures, although one supposes she calls him Conan as an intended symbol of affection, and not as a thoughtless insult unbecoming of a so-called Professor of Archaeology. From his eerie sword to his disciplined attempts to reorder the guards at the Roc, Guy is a rounded and interesting character, and the book is often almost a showcase for him. Unfortunately, as the book rolls on, and the Doctor is brought to the Roc, the ticking clock of the inevitable slaughter is counterpointed with a murder inquiry, and the hunt for a sacred skull. The murders seem to be just a diversion from the main action, which is a poor way to treat such a subject, and the investigation allows the Doctor to stomp around the Roc looking for the skull. This proves such an easy task that the reader is diverted to the relationship with Guy and Bernice, as they make a hunt for food. That merely delays their return, and allows for the beginnings of the tragedy. Whilst Guy picks up a shoulder injury, the Doctor and Bernice shove off, pausing only to pass the all-important skull onto the Templars. And then they get attacked, in a long sequence that suggests the TARDIS is a lot further away than it seems. Luckily, Guy leaps off his sickbed and charges to the rescue, despite the overwhelming odds. The Doctor seems willing to take him with them, but instead they have to leave him to his fate, lest they join him in it. His curious fate is left unwritten, with Bernice presuming him dead, and taking it badly. All-historical books are a rarity, but McIntee makes it seem almost a doddle. Arguably he overeggs things in the latter half of the book, but it still proves grippingly readable, and well worth the effort. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy of this book. |