Doctor Who: Fallen Gods

Telos Doctor Who Novellas #10

by Jonathan Blum, Kate Orman, Storm Constantine (Foreword)

In ancient Akrotiri, a young girl is learning mysteries from a tutor, who, quite literally, fell from the skies. With his encouragement she can fly and surf the time streams and see something of the future. But then the demons come. Death and disaster are meted out by the gods of her land. Perhaps retribution for some heinous crime... or something far more sinister?

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction

120 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2003

About the author

Jonathan Blum is the author of several Doctor Who novels and Big Finish audios. He currently lives in Australia with his wife Kate Orman.

Reviews

[Anne-Laure Tuduri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I wanted a quick read, and this was indeed one, but what a good one!

Set in the Minoan empire, this story sees the Eight Doctor meet a disgraced priestess and teaching her
how to fly basically. It has great pacing, wonderfully well written characters, and such a good general atmosphere! I'm personally interested in Minoan culture so for me, this was a book uniting two og my passions.

I really love the voice Kate Orman and Jonathan Blum have for the eight doctor and those marvelous otherworldly descriptions of him throughout the book.
And the story, mixing both fantasy and sci-fi elements like Doctor Who does so well!

Again a short review because i'm bad at writing reviews, but from the pacing to the characterization, to the general story, to the setting, I loved everything there.

A very good way to spend a few hours during a busy or stressful day!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really well realised, dovetailing nicely with the lore of the BBC novels while striking an interesting and unique tone that sets it apart from the more run-of-the-mill tie-in books. Blum and Orman prove once again that they are the de facto Eighth Doctor writing team; the characterisation in Fallen Gods is excellent all round.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this is much more what I was hoping for from the Telos novella range -- one of the best Doctor Who books I've read in a long time, with lovely prose, interesting outsider-POV writing of the Eighth Doctor, and lots of weird not-quite-magic. Good use of the setting in ancient Minoan civilization, and a solid sci-fi twist with an ethical dilemma. I don't normally enjoy DW stories where it's the Doctor without any regular companions and just a one-off companion character, but this was great.

[Leela42 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Telos novella with the eighth Doctor. I can see why this wasn't one of the ones reprinted as a paperback. It's vile. Worse, it's monotonous.

[Remi S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely breathtaking.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1518346.html

Here the Doctor links up with Alcestis, a lapsed priestess from a temple on Thera, and together they try to deal with the demons shapes like bulls threatening the population; this inevitably brings the Doctor to the court of the local king where he ends up discovering the awful secret behind the kingdom's success. Alcestis turns out to have a lot more behind her than first appears, and the ending is pretty gruesome if also loyal to the themes of Greek legend. I see that one reviewer perceived the book as a prequel to The Time Monster but really, Fallen Gods makes a lot more sense.

[Numa Parrott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is one of my absolute favorite Eighth Doctor stories. Despite a bit too much sensuality in the narrating (it IS narrated by a very emotional female character for the most part), the story is thrilling. The moral debates and the look into the Doctor's motives are probably the best in any Doctor Who story. REALLY wish they would bring some of that depth into the TV show.

A beautifully written story with a wonderful almost mythological weight to it.

If you love the Doctor, this one is a MUST READ.