- The Dying Days
Doctorwhobook
title=The Dying Days
series=Virgin New Adventures
number=61
featuring=Eighth Doctor Bernice,Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
writer=Lance Parkin
publisher=Virgin Books
isbn=ISBN 0-426-20504-9
set_between=The television movie and Rose
pages=
date=April 1997
preceding=Doctor Who (broadcast)Lungbarrow (novel)
following=So Vile a Sin (publication)Oh No It Isn't! (Bernice only NAs)|"The Dying Days" is an original novel written by
Lance Parkin and based on the long-running British science fiction television series "Doctor Who ". It was last of that range to feature the Doctor — and the only one to featurePaul McGann 'sEighth Doctor . Thereafter the series centred around the character ofBernice Summerfield . "The Dying Days" features the classic series monsters, theIce Warrior s and is strongly influenced by "The War of the Worlds".The Conservative MP for
Westmorland and Lonsdale , Tim Collins, was reported to have read the book in one sitting on the night of the 1997 General Election so that he could claim to have read the whole New Adventures series whilst the Conservatives were in government."The Dying Days" is one of a number of the New Adventures which is hard to obtain and is often seen on auction websites such as
eBay at prices many times the original cover price. This is because when the book was originally published in April 1997, it sold out before its official release date and a reprint was not practical with Virgin losing the "Doctor Who" license. A new version of "The Dying Days" with additional material, author's notes and an artwork gallery was presented as ane-book on the BBC website in 2002.Plot
In the year 1997, British astronauts land on Mars where they intrude on the tomb of an Ice Lord. The Ice Warrior Xznaal arrives on Earth on the pretence of vengeance, but is secretly in league with the British Science Minister, Lord Greyhaven. When the Eighth Doctor interferes with their plans, Xznaal releases a deadly weapon known as the Red Death. This apparently kills the Doctor, leaving Bernice and the Brigadier to deal with the invading Ice Warriors…
Notes
*The ending of the book implies that Bernice has sex with the Eighth Doctor, marking the first time in licensed "Doctor Who" fiction that such relations occur between the Doctor and one of his companions. The scene also includes a statement by the Doctor that Bernice is his longest-serving companion.
*Chapter two features a cameo appearance from an elderly character introduced halfway through a sentence as "-ermass", and subsequently referred to as "Professor" and "Bernard" during his brief appearance. [cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/ebooks/dyingdays/two/page16.shtml|title=The Dying Days - Chapter Two - Page 16|first=Lance|last=Parkin|authorlink=Lance Parkin|publisher=bbc.co.uk |accessdate=2007-05-08] Parkin confirmed in his notes accompanying the latere-book release that this was a deliberate cameo from television science-fiction character Professor Bernard Quatermass, specifically theJohn Mills version from the 1979 serial "Quatermass". [cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/ebooks/dyingdays/notes/page3.shtml|title=The Dying Days - Author Notes - Chapter Two|first=Lance|last=Parkin|authorlink=Lance Parkin|publisher=bbc.co.uk |accessdate=2007-05-08]References
External links
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/ebooks/dyingdays/index.shtml "The Dying Days" e-book] on the BBC "Doctor Who" website
*Doctor Who RG | id=who_na61 | title=The Dying DaysReviews
*OG review | id=na-61 | title=The Dying Days
*DWRG | id=dyin | title=The Dying Days
* [http://www.whoniverse.org/reviews/NA61.php The Whoniverse's review on "The Dying Days"]
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