by Una McCormack

BBC Books, out now

The Tenth Doctor has sworn to stop the Kotturuh, ending Death and bringing life to the universe. But his plan is unravelling – instead of bringing life, nothing has changed and all around him people are dying.

After the spectacular cliffhanger of Steve Cole’s The Knight, The Fool and the Dead, Una McCormack picks up the baton and runs… and runs. This is a breathless 200 pages, and while Cole’s first half afforded a certain amount of breathing space, there’s no such luxury here – the assumption is made that you’re up to speed with the drama and ready to jump in to the action.

Playing like the concluding part of a season finale, McCormack’s tale has many elements to it, and it’s to her great credit that at all times we are very clear about who is where, what the next pressing dilemma is, or what task needs to be completed next. Not only do we have the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Doctors all leading their respective fleets of Daleks, Vampires and Victis, but the Kottoruh are en route to provide judgement, and there’s that significant matter of the Daleks wanting to destroy Gallifrey.

Those who have the followed the Time Lord Victorious chronology in other media will have their loyalty rewarded as the various strands come together for an action-packed finale that’s far beyond the budget of any TV show, and would stretch the resources of a blockbuster movie. There’s a lovely camaraderie and banter between the Doctors, and Brian the Odd (and Mr Ball) lights up the pages like a glowing orb whenever taking centre stage.

Verdict: While this isn’t the end of the Time Lord Victorious timeline, this feels like the crowning moment where all roads converge. It’s a relentless, breathless blast of monsters and heroics – pretty much what we all deserved at the of a rather unique year. 9/10

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