The King of Terror was the thirty-sixth novel in the BBC Past Doctor Adventures series. It was written by Keith Topping, released 6 November 2000 and featured the Fifth Doctor, Tegan Jovanka, Vislor Turlough and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

Publisher's summary[]

All this useless beauty. All these great leaps forward. And for what? So that the first alien with an advanced degree in interplanetary warfare can take it all from you?

As the millennium draws to a close, the future of humankind hinges on the activities of one multimedia company, InterCom. Suspecting that old mistakes are being repeated, the Brigadier asks the Doctor and his companions to investigate the company's Los Angeles headquarters. But their infiltration is disrupted by the murderous games of terrorists seeking the fulfilment of age-old prophecies.

While the Doctor and UNIT encounter aliens in the boardroom, Tegan meets a pop star, Turlough finds himself a victim of his own desires and Los Angeles becomes a war zone in which humanity is merely a helpless bystander.

Plot[]

to be added

Characters[]

• Fifth Doctor
• Tegan Jovanka
• Vislor Turlough
• Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart
• Johnny Chess
• Bob Franklin
• Julia Franklin
• Dave Milligan
• Dwayne Landmott
• Eva Oblon
• Geoff Paynter
• Jon Newton
• Kyla O'Shaugnessy
• Burdon
• Mark Barrington
• Paolo Sanger
• Richard Lewis
• Serji Bulyjin
• Shaun Ryman
• Stephen Joyce

Worldbuilding[]

The Doctor[]

• The Doctor mentions that he witnessed the Charge of the Light Brigade in October 1854.

Individuals[]

• Tegan grew up in Caloundra, seventy miles from Brisbane.
• By 1999, Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart has met nine Doctors.
• Lethbridge-Stewart confronts "Control" (his American opposite number) and considers him disreputable.
• Lethbridge-Stewart trusts the Doctor implicitly but still ignores his prohibitions about guns.
• Johnny Chess is the son of Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright.
• Geoff smokes Silk Cut cigarettes.
• Denzel Washington is mentioned.
• There are statues of great astronomers Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Herschel.

Locations[]

• Griffith Park is the highest point in Los Angeles.

Technology[]

• The Brigadier still has the space-time telegraph.
• The Brigadier's email is aglstewart@UNIT.com.uk.

Food and drinks[]

• Tegan drinks vodka and orange juice.
• Turlough drinks eight beers in a bar in Los Angeles.
• When UNIT was based in its second or third London HQ in Marble Arch, the Brigadier used to buy a bacon and cheese roll with a cup of tea for ninety-nine pence from Signor Graziani's coffee shop.

Notes[]

• This book is also available as an ebook from the Amazon Kindle store.
• During a conversation, UNIT soldiers make reference to a crisis known as "the Death of Yesterday", where a captain with a notable lisp gave the order to "Westwain the Waston Wawwiow Wobot!"
• This story is set between The Awakening and Frontios.

Continuity[]

• There are references to the Cybermen invasion, (TV: The Invasion) the Autons, (TV: Spearhead from Space, TV: Terror of the Autons) the General Carrington affair, (TV: The Ambassadors of Death) the Stahlman's gas project, (TV: Inferno) the Waro, (PROSE: The Devil Goblins from Neptune) Terminus (TV: Terminus) and the Malus. (TV: The Awakening)
• In the declassified UNIT files which were released in 2050, the Doctor is referred to as "Dr Smith." There is some speculation that "the Doctor" is a code name used by a number of agents who worked for UNIT. (PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy)
• The Doctor says he was present at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815 during his second incarnation. (PROSE: World Game) Later in his personal timeline, the Sixth Doctor would also be present at the Battle of Waterloo. On that occasion, he encountered Davros and the Daleks. (AUDIO: The Curse of Davros)
• In the attempt to return Will Chandler to 1643, the TARDIS materialised on a planet of extremely intelligent, war-like walking reptilians, whose king wanted to execute the Doctor. (TV: The Awakening)
• The Doctor claims to have been present at El Alamein. (TV: The Sea Devils)
• The Brigadier claims to have met nine Doctors prior to 1999. He has been shown meeting the first nine incarnations of the Doctor, not counting the War Doctor. (TV: The Three Doctors, TV: The Web of Fear, TV: Spearhead From Space, TV: Robot, TV: Mawdryn Undead, PROSE: Business Unusual, TV: Battlefield, PROSE: The Dying Days, COMIC: Official Secrets)

External links[]

• Official The King of Terror page at Penguin Books
• The King of Terror at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• The Discontinuity Guide to: The King of Terror at The Whoniverse
• The Cloister Library: The King of Terror
• Outpost Gallifrey - Interview: Keith Topping (archived)