Book review
Written by Craig Hinton and Chris McKeon
Available from www.timeschampion.co.uk (released in aid of the British Heart Foundation)

With the universe on the verge of a great catastrophe, the Doctor must race against time. He also faces a chilling confrontation with his dark side...

The final novel from acclaimed Doctor Who writer Craig Hinton (completed by Chris McKeon) was always going to be a bittersweet affair. The man who coined the term ‘fanwank’ to describe Doctor Who stories that feature an excess of continuity delivers a story here that is full of references to the TV series as well as many of the novels, but it's no less enjoyable for that. It’s not a novel for newbies, and anyone whose Doctor Who knowledge doesn’t stretch any further than 2005 is likely to be very lost (but then they have their own range of novels).

Taking the notorious villain The Valeyard, a character banned from the novels as being too problematic to deal with, and including him in a confrontation with the sixth Doctor is a delicious proposition. Hinton’s decision to position this long overdue rematch against the backdrop of disaster and grandiose chaos effectively gives this Doctor his own version of Logopolis.

This is an epic novel, full of the sly and knowing wit for which Hinton was known and respected, and, as such, it provides a fitting epitaph to one of Doctor Who’s very best - and most sadly missed - writers. Jonathan Wilkins

VERDICT: 9/10
400 pages of sheer excellence. Thanks Craig.