Byzantium: A First Doctor, Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright, and Vicki Novel

by Keith Topping and TurtleMe

A First Doctor novel. The Tardis arrives in 64 AD close to the ancient capital of Byzantium. The Doctor warns of the brutality and corruption to be found here, only to see his party split up. Each... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0563538368
• ISBN13: 9780563538363
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: BBC Books
• Length: 283 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.4" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

An interesting time romp

This Doctor Who novel was very exciting to me. The time period, and its brutality made for a great story to me. I think the way the characters got seperated and then somehow get brought back together was a little far fetched, but.....I put that aside and read the story for what it was. The thirst for power by the Romans and the Jews, and their brutality towards the Christians was probably very close to the the way the people thought in that time period. The one thing I never liked about Dr Who novels, is the high amount of death that is associated with them usually. So many interesting characters tend to be murdered. But, again, I put that aside and enjoyed the novel for the time travelling fun that it was. If you are thinking about buying this book, I say go ahead, and then enjoy the read.

Preserving the spirit of the age - and the Doctor

Well, this was a very unexpected delight. I expected a book set in the Roman era to be large on heathen practises and short on anything that could be described as spiritual but the author proved me wrong in a well researched and well developed book. Nice characterization, a strong sense of history and some beautiful prose (there's a particular chapter three quarters of the way through the book that deals with a myriad of peripheral characters that's very cinematic). Keith Topping appears to be one of the great chameleons of Doctor Who fiction - writing horror (The Hollow Men, coauthored with Martin Day), spy fiction (The King of Terror) and, here, straight historical, with equal ease. Colored in broad strokes, but with subtle moments, Byzantium is a real winner.