Doctor Who: Shada: The Lost Adventure by Douglas Adams [Hardcover]

Gareth Roberts (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 26, 2012 | Series: Doctor Who

From the unique mind of Douglas Adams, legendary author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, comes  Shada, a Doctor Who story scripted for the television series Doctor Who, but never produced--and now, transformed into an original novel...

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing
Imagine how dangerous a LOT of knowledge is...

The Doctor's old friend and fellow Time Lord Professor Chronotis has retired to Cambridge University, where among the other doddering old professors nobody will notice if he lives for centuries. He took with him a few little souvenirs--harmless things really. But among them, carelessly, he took The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey. Even more carelessly, he has loaned this immensely powerful book to clueless graduate student Chris Parsons, who intends to use it to impress girls. The Worshipful and Ancient Law is among the most dangerous artifacts in the universe; it cannot be allowed to fall into the wrong hands.

The hands of the sinister Time Lord Skagra are unquestionably the wrongest ones possible. Skagra is a sadist and an egomaniac, bent on universal domination. Having misguessed the state of fashion on Earth, he also wears terrible platform shoes. He is on his way to Cambridge. He wants the book. And he wants the Doctor...

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for DOCTOR WHO: SHADA

"[Roberts] does a great job of maintaining Douglas Adams' voice throughout the story, with his trademark satire and humor firmly in place . . .  fans of Doctor Who will enjoy this little trip back into that world."— Wired.com

"[A]n entertaining read . . . and anyone who enjoys both the big heart and boundless silliness of Dooctor Who will be pleased."— io9.com

"[S]pectacular. Gareth Roberts has done a remarkable job of channeling the vision of Douglas Adams . . . not only Doctor Who fans will enjoy it, but I think Sci-Fi and Hitchhiker fans will love it as well."— GeeksofDoom.com

About the Author

Douglas Adams was born in Cambridge in 1952, and was educated at Brentwood School, Essex and St. John’s College, Cambridge, where he read English. As well as writing all the different and conflicting versions of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, he has been responsible for Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, and, with John Lloyd, The Meaning of Liff and The Deeper Meaning of Liff. In 1978-79, he worked as Script Editor on Doctor Who. He wrote three scripts for the show: “The Pirate Planet,” “City of Death” [under the name David Agnew], and “Shada.” Adams died in May 2001.

 

Gareth Roberts was born in Chesham, Buckinghamshire in 1968. His scripts for Doctor Who on television include “The Shakespeare Code,” “The Unicorn and the Wasp,” “The Lodger,” and “Closing Time.” He has also written many scripts for the spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures, as well as scripts for such television shows as Emmerdale and Randall & Hopkirk [Deceased]. He has written nine previous Doctor Who novels, and lives in West London. 

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Ace Hardcover; Book Club (BCE/BOMC) edition (June 26, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425259986
• ISBN-13: 978-0425259986
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Lost Doctor Who Adventure by Douglas Adams July 12, 2012

By D. L. Morrese

Format:Hardcover

The fourth Doctor, Romana, and K-9 answer a call from Chronotis, an aging and befuddled Time Lord, who is living out his retirement as a Cambridge professor. Unfortunately, Chronotis has forgotten why he called, although it soon becomes clear that it is for the Doctor to save the universe (again).

This time, the threat comes from Skagra, an overly ambitious fellow from the vacation planet of Dronid. He wants to be God, or the closest thing possible. To achieve this goal, he needs to absorb the mind of the legendary Gallifreyan criminal Salyavin who had the ability to replace or augment the minds of others with own. Salyavin, though, was reportedly placed in stasis and imprisoned thousands of years ago on the now lost and forgotten prison planet of Shada. The key to finding Shada is the book 'The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey,' which Professor Chronotis stole from the Time Lords' archives and subsequently misplaced.

Got it? Good. Because that's about as much of the plot as I'm going to try to summarize.

The story was originally written as a TV script by Douglas Adams, the late, great author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galxay, and novelized by Gareth Roberts, a writer of other Doctor Who novels and TV scripts.

To me, the beginning sounds like Adams. See if you don't agree.

`At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways -- with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'

Now I don't know if Adams came up with this opening or if Roberts did, but it has a lot of Douglas Adams' irreverent wit and whimsy. And so does the rest of the book. Now, I won't say it reads exactly like a Douglas Adams book because it doesn't. There are bits that do, probably because Adams wrote them as part of the script, but in other parts, the imagination is noticeably more constrained. It's still quite good, enjoyable, and it hangs together very well. The melding of Roberts and Adams is virtually seamless.

The portrayal of the Doctor is exceptional, often sounding more like the later Doctors from the new series than the fourth Doctor from the 1970s/1980s. I don't consider this a bad thing. (Don't get me wrong, all of the Doctors were fun, but the new series has more polish.)

There was a certain element of nostalgia for me reading a `new' Doctor Who adventure set in the 1980s featuring the Doctor's campy, robot dog, K-9. I enjoyed it very much. I would recommend this book to all fans of Douglas Adams and Doctor Who. If you are not a fan, what's wrong with you?

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Who May 26, 2012

By Joseph Lewallen

Format:Kindle Edition

This is a novelization of a television story that was never completed due to a labor strike. Gareth Roberts, who has written for the revived Doctor Who series, takes the late Douglas Adams' notes and scripts, and produces a very good book. I could hear Tom Baker's voice when I was reading The Doctor's words. Roberts keeps the same level of humor that Adams brought to "The City of Death", one of my favorite 4th Doctor adventures. This was a tough job, trying to match Adams' style. Roberts pulls it off. We'll never know how close this novel matches up with what would have been the finished product. The book has an advantage of not having to deal with late 70's BBC Budgets. Good book, any fan of the old series should like it.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a pity Tom Baker never made this July 17, 2012

By Eric C. Erickson

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

The novelization of this lost 4th Doctor story is first class. Lalla Ward brings to life the humor and compelling tale that Douglas Adams first concocted. I purchased this audio book for a long drive, which made the hours fly by. Any Doctor Who fan should read or listen to this top drawer story from the great era of the 4th Doctor and Ward's Romana travelling with K-9.