Empire of Death (Doctor Who) [Paperback]

David Bishop (Author)

Book Description

Series: Doctor Who | Publication Date: March 2004

In 1855, a boy discovers he can speak with the voices of the dead. He grows up to become one of England's most celebrated spiritualists. In 1863 the British Empire is effectively without a leader. Queen Victoria is inconsolable with grief following the death of her beloved husband, Prince Albert. The monarch's last hope is a secret seance. The Doctor and Nyssa are also coming to terms with loss following the death of Adric and Tegan's sudden departure. Trying to visit the Great Exhibition of 1851, the time travelers are shocked when Adric's ghost appears in the TARDIS, beckoning them to the Other Side. What is hidden in a drowned village guarded by the British Army? Is there life after death and can it be reached by those still alive? And why is the Doctor so terrified of facing his own ghosts?

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: BBC Books (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0563486120
• ISBN-13: 978-0563486121
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,545,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not great adventure for the 5th Doctor., June 12, 2004

By 

Bryan Schingle (Thornton, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Empire of Death (Doctor Who) (Paperback)

When a young man, claiming to be a medium to the spirits, steps up to the Queen's throne and gives her a message from her husband, all of England's nobility is thrown into a race to find an ancient entrance into the afterlife itself.

Meanwhile, the recently deceased Adric appears in the TARDIS as a ghost. When the Doctor and Nyssa follow the ghost's trail, they are led into the race. As the Doctor finally understands what's really going on, it's a race of time to save the future. Or is it the past? That's the problem with time travel, I never can remember... :-)

This is one of the finest 5th Doctor adventures I have read, only being beaten by "Divided Loyalties". It features a great characterization of the Doctor and Nyssa both, and remains accurate to the show's history and feeling. All characters are well written, keeping the pages flowing with emotion and fear.

The only reason that this book gets 4 stars and not 5, is because it has a thundering cliche that I couldn't get past. One of the Queen's Generals goes mad, and uses his power to force all underneath him to help him find the entrance to the afterlife. The Ma Military-Man/Mad Scientist or what-have-you, is simply used far too often in Science Fiction in general, but even in the recent Doctor Who books (That half-human and half-cyborg dude from "Hope" and the crazed Russian General from "Emotional Chemistry" come to mind).

If this cliche doesn't bother you, perhaps your review will give this book the extra star. Even if you don't like the cliche, I still recommend this book.

2.0 out of 5 stars What a disappointment, January 18, 2006

By 

kallan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doctor Who: Empire Of Death (Doctor Who (BBC Paperback)) (Paperback)

Hope springs eternal with spin-off novels, but this one unfortunately continues the low standards I've come to expect. The premise is good - ghosts seeking to draw the living over to the Other Side in Victorian Britain - but the execution was very flat. Would it be too harsh of me to blame this on an accurate characterisation of Nyssa? Her blandness and lack of engagement permeates the whole book. What should be frightening, or gripping, or emotional, just isn't, and it's a real puzzle why the author drags in material such as Nyssa's emotional isolation from the Doctor and the reasons for it when so little is done with what could have been so interesting (and certainly justifiable). The characterisation of the Doctor doesn't work for me, the other characters don't hold the attention, and I could have done without the gratuitous nastiness. And I just found it rather hard to make sense in the end of what had really happened.
It's a pity this book didn't live up to its initial promise, because there were some interesting ideas and insights there.