Cold Fusion(novel)
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| Author | Lance Parkin |
|---|---|
| Series | Doctor Whobook: Virgin Missing Adventures |
Release number | 29 |
| Subject | Featuring: Fifth Doctor;Seventh Doctor Adric,Nyssa,Tegan;Chris,Roz |
| Set in | Period between Castrovalvaand Four to Doomsday |
| Publisher | Virgin Books |
Publication date | December 1996 |
| ISBN | 0-426-20489-1 |
| Preceded by | The Plotters |
| Followed by | Burning Heart |
Cold Fusionis an original novel written byLance Parkinand based on the long-running Britishscience fiction televisionseriesDoctor Who.[1]It features theFifth Doctor,withAdric,Nyssa,andTegan,immediately afterCastrovalva.Also appearing is theSeventh Doctor,withChrisand Roz, from between theVirgin New AdventuresnovelsReturn of the Living DadandThe Death of Art.[2]It was the only one of the VirginDoctor Whonovels to feature more than one Doctor.[3]
Notes
[edit]The story deliberately contrasts the characterisation of the Fifth Doctor and of the Seventh Doctor in theVirgin New Adventures.[4]In an interview for the BBC, in discussingCold Fusion,Parkin described the character of Adric as "hopeless with Davison".[5]Parkin has said he was writing a book about theYugoslav Wars,that is a conflict "where horrible things are happening, and clearly there's a case for international intervention, but… well, there's no clear good guys and bad guys. And that was the idea of the book: two Doctors show up and they look at a situation like Yugoslavia/Syria and they, completely independently, perfectly sensibly, pick a side to support. And they pick different sides, so spend the book fighting each other." He also said he "was never happy with Cold Fusion. It was the second novel I wrote, and I always had the sense it had got away from me, but I'd never been able to explain why. My first, Just War, was very taut, serious, fine-tuned. Cold Fusion was always a lot more ramshackle."[6]
Cold Fusionincludes many references to theCartmel Masterplanwhich would be more fully explored inLungbarrow.More is learned about the character of Patience in theBBC Past Doctor AdventuresnovelThe Infinity Doctors,also by Lance Parkin. It is suggested that she is the Doctor's (or possiblyThe Other's) wife,[7]but how she fits into normal continuity is deliberately not revealed.[1]
Notably, this novel features a sequence in which the Doctor recalls his life onGallifreyand in which this earlier Doctor has recently regenerated in a form heavily inferred to be one of the "Morbius Doctors"seen in the mind bending sequence of the serialThe Brain of Morbius,specifically the incarnation which was represented by an image ofDouglas Camfield.[8]While it is inferred in this book to be an incarnation ofthe Doctor,the novelLungbarrowsuggests it may in fact be an incarnation ofthe Other.[9]
Names in the book are very similar to those of the main characters (and the actors) in the BBC comedyTerry and June,so the book includes a Medford, a Whitfield, a Scott, and a Terry and June.[4]
Reception
[edit]Readers ofDoctor Who Magazinegave the novel a rating of 76.69% (from 845 votes).[10]
Empiremagazine recommended the book if someone were to only read one Missing Adventure, describing it as "mind-bending sci-fi with the Fifth Doctor (and a cameo for the Seventh) and an inside-out TARDIS."[11]
Audio adaptation
[edit]Big Finish Productionsreleased an audio drama adaptation of the novel in December 2016.[12][13]The release was announced in July 2016. It starredPeter Davison,Sylvester McCoy,Janet Fielding,Sarah SuttonandMatthew Waterhousereprising their television roles as theFifthandSeventh Doctors,Tegan Jovanka,NyssaandAdricrespectively. In addition,Yasmin BannermanandTravis Oliverreprised their roles as the Seventh Doctor's companions Roz Forrester andChris Cwejfrom Big Finish's adaptations of the New Adventures novelsDamaged GoodsandOriginal Sin.[13]Christine Kavanaghplays the role of Patience.[14]
Starburstgave the audio a mixed review, describing it as "an odd fish".[15]
References
[edit]- ^abParkin, Lance;Lars Pearson (2007).AHistory: An Unauthorized History of theDoctor Whouniverse(2nd ed.). Des Moines, Iowa:Mad Norwegian Press.ISBN978-0-9759446-6-0.
- ^"Shelf Life" (review) by Dave Owen,Doctor Who Magazine,#246
- ^Pearson, Lars(1999).I, Who: The Unauthorized Guide to Doctor Who Novels(1st ed.). Des Moines, Iowa:Mad Norwegian Press.ISBN0-9673746-0-X.
- ^abFTN interviews Doctor Who writer Lance Parkin,13 January 2013
- ^Interview (Lance Parkin),BBC, January 2004 (Wayback Machine archive)
- ^"Cold Fusion (Audio Version)".2 November 2017.
- ^"Doctor Who: Who is the Infinity Doctor?".8 August 2022.
- ^"Crítica | Doctor Who: Fusão a Frio, de Lance Parkin".5 December 2016.
- ^Parkin, Lance & Pearson, Lars (2012).A History: An Unauthorised History of the Doctor Who Universe (3rd Edition),p. 715. Mad Norwegian Press, Des Moines.ISBN978-193523411-1.
- ^"The best (and worst) of Virgin", by Dave Owen,Doctor Who Magazine,No. 265 (May 1998)
- ^"Doctor Who novels: The expanded universe".2013.
- ^"Doctor Who: Every Time Multiple Doctors Teamed up".Screen Rant.28 June 2020.
- ^ab"Big Finish releases -" Cold Fusion "".Retrieved14 October2016.
- ^"Doctor Who: Cold Fusion adaptation review | Unreality SF".
- ^"Doctor Who: Cold Fusion".24 December 2016.
External links
[edit]- Author's webpageabout the book
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