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 The fifth release in the Telos Doctor Who Novella range is Foreign Devils by none other than a former script editor of the television series, Andrew Cartmel.
Cartmel’s chosen an era of the show he is less associated with, that of the Second Doctor’s while being accompanied on his travels by Zoe and Jamie. And in my eyes, as I also said in the Ghost Ship novella review,
the writing is a gem and Cartmel really makes a good job with it.
As has been the case with many of the previous novella releases, the book has some very dark horror and fantasy moments within it – some of which really did make me read in sheer awe of the brilliant description of Cartmel’s writing.
The book starts with a very strong setting at the British concession with Roderick Upcott visiting a rather dubious Chinaman at his rather dubious home which has the rather dubious smell of freshly roasted pork about the place with it’s source emulating later on in the prologue which honestly made me gulp with a mixture of excitement, shock and horror
and disbelief.
As the story progresses and the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe meet up with Roderick at his home Jamie does what every good companion should do – wander off and leave it up to the Doctor to come and find them whilst a little sub-plot is taking place. Jamie is taken off to lord knows where when he passes through the mysterious gate at the bottom of Upcott’s
garden and the Doctor makes a trip in the TARDIS forward another century to the same place to find Zoe in service at the Upcott mansion.
If you are a lover of the whole JB Priestly ‘Inspector Calls’ and Hodgson’s ‘Carnacki’ kind of literature then you will find this novella an extra treat. In the very atmospheric setting of the Upcott’s mansion where Zoe and the Doctor have managed to swindle their way in as a maid and party guest respectively there is the old ‘whodunnit’ series of
deaths with Carnacki and the Doctor teaming up to try and find the culprit leaving behind the very mysterious ‘tattoo’ dragons on his/her victims.
The Second Doctor’s character as seen in the television series is definitely the one here in Foreign Devils without any doubts, here we see the quick and witty remarks and the general language of Troughton’s Doctor which we have become accustomed to.
As with Ghost Ship I would highly recommend this to anyone loving a good read, either strangers to the WHO fold or even the guy wearing the very long scarf with the complete set of Target novels and World Distributor
annuals – Cartmel here totally recaptures the world of Hodgeson’s Carnacki character with force and powerful writing from the outset. Here’s to more WHO from Andrew Cartmel!
» Review by Andy Kitching, Copyright 2002.
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