Time for a little fantasy to creep into the Doctor Who world....
Cat's Cradle : Witch Mark by Andrew Hunt
Seventh Doctor Adventures number: 7
Originally published: June 1992
Companions: Ace
"Spare no sympathy for those creatures. They were witches, they deserved to die."
A coach crashes on the M40. All the passengers are killed. The bodies carry no identification; they are wearing similar new clothes. And each has a suitcase full of banknotes.
A country vet delivers a foal. The mare has a deep wound in her forehead. In the straw, the vet finds a tapered horn.
In the darkening and doomed world known to its inhabitants as Tír na n-Óg, the besieged humans defend the walls of their citadel Dinorben against mythical beasts and demons.
The TARDIS's link with the Eye of Harmony is becoming ever more tenuous and is in urgent need of repair. But the time machine takes the Doctor and Ace to a village in rural Wales, and a gateway to another world.
So apologies for the pun, but I'm going to let the cat out of the bag straight away.
"Cats Cradle - Witch Mark" is not the rousing climax to a trilogy of interconnected adventures. To be honest, it’s probably an offence under the trades descriptions act to even call it a trilogy at all. No wonder Virgin did away with the umbrella titles after this.
While there *is* a conclusion to the flimsy "the TARDIS is seriously damaged" through-line stemming from "Time's Crucible", that feels utterly tacked on at the end in a "dictated by the editors, oh if I really must" way, so I'll not mention it... ever again.
Instead what we do get is mainly a "Doctor Who meets the fantasy quest genre" novel.
Touchstones are probably the "Narnia Chronicles" and definitely "Lord of the Rings" - with the latter providing some of the chapter titles for the book, not to mention some blindingly obvious call outs. But there are also elements of Gaelic, Welsh and other mythologies woven into the backstory
I'll get to my thoughts on the actual plot in a bit, but it's perhaps telling that it was the origin, adaptation and use of these medieval names and stories that intrigued me the most.
I've come across many of the Irish names and concepts elsewhere - primarily in the "Sláine" comic strip in 2000 AD, written by Pat Mills. And here in "Witch Mark", some are used pretty straight.
The supernatural otherworld of Tír na n-Óg is often described as being accessed via ancient sites, so a stone circle fits well. And while the Tuatha Dé Danann were not generally shown as the ruling council of the land, they *were* depicted as kings, queens and warrior heroes and had shapeshifting powers. The leader was known as Nuada though - and in the most famous tales lost his arm in battle, eventually replacing it with one made from silver. Maybe he was an early Cyberman ?
Other names have been appropriated to fill Andrew Hunt's world. The Firbolg of myth were men, not centaurs. The Fomoir were hideous sea creatures, not trolls. And the Sidhe were often the fairy folk - definitely not Hobbits with fox like characteristics. Actually, see the novel "Autumn Mist" for an alternative take on those creatures.
Meanwhile, distrusting warrior chieftain Chulainn is far removed from his Gaelic namesake - who served as the inspiration for the afore mentioned Sláine - warp-spasm and all. But Dagda and Arawn seem appropriate names for the twin suns of Tír na n-Óg - given that one is associated with fertility and the other with death.
Most interesting of all though, is the name given to the "magician" at the heart of this quest - Goibhnie.
In Irish mythology he was one of a trio of divine craftsmen, a metalsmith, provider of a sacred otherworld feast - and brewed ale that could convey immortality on those who drank it. The "Craftsman" side totally fits with the idea of the alien Troifran scientist that created the world.
Not all the creatures stem from Gaelic pre-history. The unicorns are known as Ceffyl, which as any Welsh speaker (of which I am NOT one) knows means horse. Pretty on the nose there. And the Dinorben fortress did once exist in Wales, although its long since been destroyed.
All that and an appearance from Herne (from English folklore) who lives backwards in time (like Merlin of Arthurian legend).
Anyway, enough with Andrew Hunt's melting pot framework - what about the actual novel?
Well it's absolutely the most traditional Doctor Who story in this loose trilogy. It's a a non-manipulative Seventh Doctor and an immature Ace who still uses phrases like "bog breath" - so clearly *not* the gun-toting hero from "Warhead".
Plus it all starts off in a '90s "X-Files" kind of a way - a remote Welsh village where strange things are happening, a grizzled local who seems to know more than he is letting on, locals disappearing without warning, a bus crash full people with no identification except for a strange birthmark. We even have a Mulder stand with Inspector Stevens of the Yard.
Though once the Timelord and his companion stumble into Tír na n-Óg - more quickly than I expected - the fantasy influences are worn loud and proud. And Frodo and Sam - sorry the Doctor and Ace - are sent on an impossible mission to defeat the evil dark lord and restore things to normal, although no one really thinks they will succeed.
Hunt also throws in some demonic monsters, a Welsh cult burning people at the stake, not to mention centaurs, Ace forming a telepathic bond with a unicorn - *and* a description of pregnant women having their stomach's cut open and the babies being strangled with their own umbilical cords !
It's a heady mix.
I kind of like the premise - basically "the world is ending so the fellowship of fantasy creatures and men breaks because the humans are selfish and want to become refugees in our world". And I can't remember Doctor Who doing a pure fantasy of this type before.
But here lies my problem.
I wish it had stayed as a fantasy setting. It would have been something different.
Not everything in Doctor Who has to have a scientific explanation - and to be honest, once it was revealed that the world was all the work of genetic engineering by an alien, I kind of lost interest a little. Not to mention that once that came to light, the whole thing seemed to rush headlong to a conclusion, with numerous plot threads just left hanging -
Where did all the money founds on the people in the crashed coach come from?
The same goes for the replicas of the Doctor and Ace. I assume they were "demons" but what purpose did their disguise serve? If it was just to kill Janet and Hugh - then what? The whole element seemed to peter out.
Was David really Bathsheba's missing brother ? If so, what happened to send him to Earth ?
It feels like it could have done with quite a few more pages and a different resolution - one that didn’t have to tie into that trilogy ending that shall not be named.
How much of this was down to it being Andrew Hunts' first novel is difficult to say.
But the ideas were solid, even if I personally would have preferred a different (and more fulfilling) execution.
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