Quantum Archangel (Doctor Who) [Paperback]

Craig Hinton (Author)

Book Description

Series: Doctor Who | Publication Date: February 2001

In a university on planet Sweeney Earth, Paul and Arlene Cole have designed TITAN -- designed to penetrate the vortex and access the very foundations of reality. The Master, who is being pursued by the Chronivores, thinks that TITAN could be the perfect means of revenge...

Mel's old friend Anjeliqua also works at the university and the Master charms her into giving him access to TITAN. He recalibrates its settings and locates the Quantum Archimage, the power source of the Chronivores. When this energy is channeled into Anjeliqua herself, she is transformed into the Quantum Archangel, the living embodiment of the Chronivores' power source. With her new-found power, her plan is to "make things better. For everyone".

If she goes ahead, reality will begin to fracture, as conflicting realities struggle to coexist. Otherwise, when the Chronivores detect the alternate timelines, they will consume every last bit of it. Can the Doctor intervene before the universe disintegrates?

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: BBC Pubns; paperback / softback edition (February 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0563538244
• ISBN-13: 978-0563538240
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,384,817 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Quantum Freaky, November 3, 2001

By 

Jason A. Miller (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Quantum Archangel (Doctor Who) (Paperback)

If you like your "Doctor Who" novel to be heavy on style points, "Quantum Archangel" may be just the book for you. It's a sequel to a 30 year-old TV serial ("The Time Monster"), and a followup to author Craig Hinton's previous book "Millennial Rites". It builds on some of the themes of the worst-regarded DW book in recent years, "Divided Loyalties". There's a boatload of returning friends and enemies and more references to past DW stories (real and apocryphal) then you could find in a series episode guide.

Predictably, some parts of "Archangel" are more fun to read than others. When Hinton sticks to his "Time Monster" sequel -- reusing not only characters from the 1972 story, but also entire scenes -- I found myself smiling along. The Master's appearance is well thought-out and at times really fun to read.

However, as one wag put it, "Craig has a degree in physics, and isn't afraid to use it!". So here we get the most expansive treatise ever on how the DW "universe" is organized. We learn about eleven dimensions and the Six-fold realm and the Lux Aeterna. There are Eternals and Chronovores (two characters switch from one to the other almost at random) and Six Guardians. There's a "Mad Mind of Bophemeral" (I've always wanted one of those). We see just how the Key to Time was created (remember the Key to Time?). For good measure a "Millennium War" is recreated -- in just a few pages! Keep the caffeine away from the typewriter, Craig!

Of course, cartoon astrophysics may even appeal to you. In "Quantum Archangel" there's literally something for everyone, if you know which page to read.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit too cosmic for me, February 16, 2001

By 

"grrreg" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quantum Archangel (Doctor Who) (Paperback)

Craig Hinton returns to the Doctor Who range with this book which, while I liked generally, got a bit overly cosmic for me. Essentially, following a particularly unpleasant finish to an adventure (never written, just referred to in this book), Mel decides to leave the Doctor and asks to be dropped off on Earth. The Doctor complies, but both are drawn into events arising from the TV serial 'The Time Monster' (which was not very good!).

The book is weighed down with Doctor Who continuity and a seemingly desperate desire to straighten out the cosmology of the series. It also features several references to non-Who (Star Trek, comics, etc.) matters. I'm sure I missed several of the references.

However, Mr. Hinton wears one influence very plainly on his sleeve - Garth Ennis' great comic series 'Preacher'. It is plain from the beginning how much Mr. Hinton enjoys this comic (which I'd recommend to most, although some with strong Christian beliefs may find some of it difficult). Unfortunately, Mr. Ennis did it a whole lot better (twice!), and I don't it works for me in this book.

That said, my main problem is that (in my opinion) Doctor Who works much better on a smaller scale than this. I enjoyed Mr. Hinton's last novel ('Millennial Rites') much more than this, even though it was more cosmic than the usual Doctor Who fare, probably because it didn't go as far as this one. Do write again, Mr. Hinton, but on a smaller scale!

I suspect this one is really for the die-hard Doctor Who reader, with the very high number of continuity references making it either semi-intelligible or possibly boring to casual readers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A highly Excellent Romp, July 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Quantum Archangel (Doctor Who) (Paperback)

This was the first BBC Dr. Who novel that I read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The sixth doctor has always been my favorite and I felt that Mr. Hinton captured the characters of the Doctor and Mel. The character of the Master was complete and believable and it was enjoyable seeing his actual thought processes. It was a "real page turner," I could not put it down at night and had to pick it up in the morning. On the down side, I did have hard time wading through all the techno-babble. All in all an excellent read.