The Coming of the Terraphiles
Encyclopedia
The Coming of the Terraphiles is a Doctor Who
novel written by Michael Moorcock
, featuring the Eleventh Doctor
and Amy Pond
. It was the first special release of a Doctor Who novel by BBC Books
in a lengthier hardback format to that of the previous New Series Adventures.
. Influences from Wodehouse Sexton Blake
and Douglas Adams
are noted. Although the characterisation of the Eleventh Doctor
was praised as "pretty convincing," it was criticised by others as being generic and "Tom Baker in tone". Amy Pond is described as being "well-realised and distinctive" as well as "pretty unrecognisable" and "inauthentic".
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
novel written by Michael Moorcock
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
, featuring the Eleventh Doctor
Eleventh Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor is the eleventh incarnation of the protagonist of the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. Matt Smith plays this incarnation, replacing David Tennant's Tenth Doctor in the 2010 episode "The End of Time, Part Two"...
and Amy Pond
Amy Pond
Amelia Jessica 'Amy' Pond is a fictional character portrayed by Karen Gillan in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
. It was the first special release of a Doctor Who novel by BBC Books
BBC Books
BBC Books is an imprint majority owned and managed by Random House. The minority shareholder is BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation...
in a lengthier hardback format to that of the previous New Series Adventures.
Plot
In order to avert the impending collapse of the Multiverse from the mysterious "dark tides" that have begun to appear, the Doctor and Amy join the Terraphiles, a group of humans in the far future obsessed with recreating Earth's distant past and reenacting medieval Earth sports (or rather, unknowingly comic misinterpretations of the same). The Doctor and his new friends compete in a Grand Tournament in the Miggea star system, which lies on the border of parallel realities. The prize of the contest is an ancient artefact called the Arrow of Law, sought also by the Doctor's old foe Captain Cornelius and his crew of space pirates.Writing
Moorcock stated that he wrote the book because he felt we would enjoy writing an original adventure; he likes the main character because he is unrationalised and ambiguous. However he was concerned what the hardcore fans would make of his work.Reviews
Reviews were mixed, ranging between "An easy-going narrative voice and light prose style decorate a very witty, clever, original, joyous and damn fun piece of postmodernist SF" and "Demented P.G. Wodehouse pastiche". Several reviews comment that it is both a Moorcock and Doctor Who book, capturing the Englishness of Doctor Who and the Moorcock theme of Order and Chaos and the appearance of Moorcock recurring character Jerry CorneliusJerry Cornelius
Jerry Cornelius is a fictional secret agent and adventurer created by science fiction / fantasy author Michael Moorcock. Cornelius is a hipster of ambiguous and occasionally polymorphous sexuality. Many of the same characters feature in each of several Cornelius books, though the individual books...
. Influences from Wodehouse Sexton Blake
Sexton Blake
Sexton Blake is a fictional detective who appeared in many British comic strips and novels throughout the 20th century. He was described by Professor Jeffrey Richards on the BBC in The Radio Detectives in 2003 as "the poor man's Sherlock Holmes"...
and Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
are noted. Although the characterisation of the Eleventh Doctor
Eleventh Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor is the eleventh incarnation of the protagonist of the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. Matt Smith plays this incarnation, replacing David Tennant's Tenth Doctor in the 2010 episode "The End of Time, Part Two"...
was praised as "pretty convincing," it was criticised by others as being generic and "Tom Baker in tone". Amy Pond is described as being "well-realised and distinctive" as well as "pretty unrecognisable" and "inauthentic".