| THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE by Christopher Bulis |
| Story ? Synopsis: The Ship lands in an innocent-looking forest. The Doctor, Ian, Susan and Barbara try to find some signs of civilisation, but find a crashed spaceship. When they return to the Ship, a dragon tries to kill them, and the Ship won't let them in. They are saved by Sir Bron, who kills the dragon with Ian's help, though Barbara's ankle is injured. Bron leads them to Fluxford Castle, where it seems that fairy-tales and magic are true. The Doctor remains sceptical, even matching local wizard Gramling in a small test. During a banquet, Marton Dhal makes a threatening appearance. He later kidnaps Princess Mellisa, and Susan, and gives an ultimatum. Gramling suggests that the lost Helm of Merlin is their only hope of rescue, so the Doctor and Ian join the sea quest to the Shadow Isles where it may be found. Barbara begins her researches into Elbyon history. Meanwhile, a fleet of spaceships appear in the skies, heading for landfall. One tries to land, but its occupants are lucky to survive attack, and land in the sea, near the boat heading for the Shadow Isles. There, they find Merlin's Helm, and after a short battle, they head back for Fluxford. Barbara nearly dies, but is rescued by a witch, Anni Glassfeather. Susan and Mellisa manage to use magic to escape from Dhal and head for home. As Dhal arrives for the big showdown, the Helm is brought to Gramling, so that he can use it to defeat Dhal forever. But the link between Gramling and Dhal is stronger than anyone believes. He kidnapped Mellisa and Susan as a diversion to bring about the finding of the Helm, with which he plans to take over Avalon. The Doctor appears in a red magician's cloak, and the final battle of wills with Gramling begins. During the struggle, Ian gets the Helm, and puts it on the head of a cephlie, as instructed by the Doctor. The battle ceases. The Helm was the last product of the cephlie civilisation, which they used to destroy a star. As their society declined into indolence, magic (and the nanobots also involved with the Helm) grew up in their place. Now, all the cephlies die, the Helm is gone, and magic no longer works. The Doctor is satisfied that they can all re-enter his Ship and leave. |
| Review:- One of the earlier Missing Adventures, this saw author Chris Bulis use the earliest available on-screen gap to fashion what is in some ways a traditional 1st Doctor adventure, and yet at the same time, a story far beyond the scope of what could have appeared on television. The TARDIS is swiftly locked shut, forcing the travellers to deal with the local problem before they can resume their travels. They make good friends, for once, as well as a fearsome enemy, and use all their logic and skills to find the answer to their plight. What seems merely to be a one-dimensional quest to find the solution to the nefarious Marton Dhal, is soon expanded by the rogue element from the Earth Empire, on a mission to find a possible super-weapon. This mix of the fantastical and the scientific helps keep the reader intrigued in the search for answers to the general mystery. At its core is the quest for the Helm, which turns out to be a big bluff. Surprisingly, no-one has predicted that Dhal is after the Helm, and has orchestrated a ruse to get it. Of course, the general mass of detail about the Avalon society cleverly covers up this misdirection. The locals we meet are quite bland and characteristic of their society, with Gramling and Dhal coming out the best (although that is understandable given their importance to the story) and Odoyle is the best of the rest. The Empire crew are pretty bland, although any writer who can include a character called Monadno gets my vote. Nyborg and the rest serve merely to add an added layer, and provide a motive for Komati to rebel against them. So to the regulars. Bulis deals with them pretty well, although Susan and Ian rather lose out. Barbara's investigations and hob-nobbing with the Queen bring those sections to life, as she tries to find the clues to the Avalon society. Perhaps thankfully, the best of the book goes to the Doctor. His initial scepticism about magic seems totally at odds with what seems to be the case, and yet, like The Daemons, he is convinced there is another explanation, and confounds everyone that the evidence they show him is proof for his argument, rather than against. Eventually, he plays along for the final showdown, but is proven to be correct in his assertion, and is onto the truth about the cephlies long before Barbara gets there. He is at all times convincing and kind. Overall, it's quite a gripping book, and worth a look at. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy. |