| SOMETIME NEVER... by Justin Richards |
| Story 67 Synopsis: The Council of Eight demand an ordered and predictable universe. The Doctor is a Rogue Element they wish to remove. He arrives near their base in the Vortex, and is made curious about an 8th type of crystal. He drops Fitz off in 2004, and Trix in 1485, whilst he looks for more anomalies. He begins to make progress, seeing apemen appearing briefly, changing history, then disappearing. Together with Professor Fleetward, he assembles the pieces into a crystal skeleton, and plans a ceremony to show off the discovery on January 31st, where Fitz is already on the guestlist. The Council of Eight realise the skeleton belongs to a member of their species, and Octan sets off to investigate, whilst the other Councillors wonder what his game is. When the TARDIS arrives at the Institute, the Doctor finds time has slowed almost to a stop. Sabbath arrives in the Jonah, and buys time for the Doctor. Miranda arrives with her daughter, Zezanne. The Doctor sends Trix and Fleetward through a time corridor to the end of the Universe. Octan reveals himself, and co-opts the Jonah to get everyone to the Vortex Palace. The Council of Eight begin to realise what Octan is up to, manipulating probability. He kills Miranda. Octan plans to destroy History to create enough potential to save his race, but needs Sabbath to kill him. The Doctor tries to thwart Octan by getting Sabbath to kill him. In the end, Sabbath kills himself, and Octan's plans unravel. One of the Council, Soul, opens Schrodinger Cell #8, inside which all the mulitple universes are kept, restoring uncertainty. Octan and the rest of the Council die. The Doctor drops Fleetward back in 2004, and then leaves with Fitz and Trix. Soul escapes with Zezanne in the Jonah, now disguised as a London Police Box... |
| Review:- Well, it's certainly an audacious conclusion to a plot running for several years. Sabbath's masters are revealed, and they're not the Daleks after all. The Council of Eight are a pretty mean lot, but Octan is the real villain of the piece. His threats are all powerful, and he convinces throughout the book. The Doctor manages to get the bulk of the action, and proves himself quite the adept traveller, and skilled solver of problems. Fitz and Trix get a lot to do, the latter in particular proving a key member of the crew. Ernest Fleetward is the main "guest" character, seemingly at the centre of the problems, but mostly manipulated by the Doctor. The return of Miranda and the arrival of Zezanne prove to be crucial to the denouement, although with all the Doctor's companions imperilled, they provide a substantive example to follow. The thread running through recent books involving the Doctor's companions dying off is actually explained for a change. Sabbath doesn't turn up until 2/3 of the way through, and ultimately chooses whose side he should be on. In a good example of Octan's problem, the Doctor has influenced Sabbath to realise he's being played for a fool. When the climactic confrontation between the three of them comes along, I just knew what Sabbath would do. The surprising plot resolution for Soul and Zezanne was not something I predicted, but I can safely say "Justin Richards, you're an audacious bugger..." :-) Damn, I might even have to re-read some books to spot the clues of the Sabbath story. An excellent book, and an excellent conclusion to the saga. Well done to all concerned. Roll on next time... |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy. |