The Sands of Time

by Justin Richards

Book Overview

The Doctor is in Victorian London with Nyssa and Tegan - a city shrouded in mystery. When Nyssa is kidnapped in the British Museum, the Doctor and Tegan have to unlock the answers to a series of ancient questions.

Their quest leads them across continents and time as an ancient Egyptian prophecy threatens future England. To save Nyssa, the Doctor must foil the plans of the mysterious Sadan Rassul. But as mummies stalk the night, an ancient...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1849907676
• ISBN13: 9781849907675
• Release Date: March 2014
• Publisher: BBC Books
• Length: 325 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 13 to 16 years
• Grade Range: Grades 8 to 11

Customer Reviews

A sequel that barely needs the original

The best Doctor Who novels are the ones that actually stand on their own as novels, as opposed to existing as merely excuses to clear up some minor continuity issue or some starstruck fan trying to write the Best Who Story Ever. Sequels to television episodes tend to raise red flags with me, because generally they try to "fix" things that weren't really wrong in the first place, or otherwise serve to cheapen the original story that nobody was really looking to see. Just because you have good intentions doesn't mean you should actually do it. Doing a sequel to "Pyramids of Mars" is dicey because it's one of the best loved Tom Baker episodes, so you're bound to get a more visceral reaction if you screw up, as opposed to doing a sequel to one of the crappy episodes (like say, "Paradise Towers"). What I'm leading up to in all of this is that Richards does not mess it up. He manages to write a story that stands alone from the television episode while staying informed by it, and not indulging in slavish devotion. Featuring the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan, it kicks off in the British Museum where a simple off-course visit goes wrong as Nyssa gets captured and the Doctor starts to meet strangers who appear to have met him already. Richards keep the narrative interesting by making it as nonlinear as possible, in a linear fashion, if that makes any sense, jumping back and forth and back and forth. Things straighten out toward the end but in the beginning it's fun to see all the reeling back and forth. The plot brings back those wacky Osirians, a typically deluded villain and a body count that keeps rising alarmingly (Richards seems to be a fan of smashing peoples' heads into rocks). Wrapped around the plot, it moves quicker than you might expect, not staying long enough in one place to allow you to get bored. Richards also gets Peter Davidson's mannerisms down cold, I have the most familiarity with his Doctor, since he was the one I grew up with, and reading his interpretation of the character was like watching the television show all over again. But all the re-creations in the world don't make a difference if the story is no good and in this case the story is quite good indeed. Even the solution is inspired and the slight of hand is so subtle you probably won't see it coming, so cleverly is it set up. As I said, it's the difference between a good Who novel and a good novel period.

Not a great sequel, but still a good book

For me, there's an almost certain way to write a Doctor Who novel that disappoints: take a well-loved TV serial and write a sequel. Authors doing this seem to get caught up with adding new and "interesting" facts, which somehow manage to detract from the original. They aren't original enough where they should be, and do not play to their original's strengths to the extent they should. Having said that, 'The Sands of Time' isn't as bad in that respect as, say, 'Twilight of the Gods'.A sequel to the classic 'Pyramids of Mars', this book starts when the TARDIS materialises in the British Museum's Egyptian wing. The TARDIS crew are obviously comfortable with travelling, as they take their collective eye off the game for a moment and Nyssa is kidnapped. The Doctor and Tegan then meet a man who has met them, but whom they have never met, and end up at the unwrapping of a mummy. It is Nyssa, and she has been entombed for 4000 years...While I'm not terribly impressed with its tie-ins with 'Pyramids of Mars', this book does have quite a number of redeeming features. The plot itself has very carefully thought through time travel aspects, relates closely to the milieu of the Fifth Doctor, and doesn't pull rabbits out of hats - the reader is handed several important pieces to the resolution of the story at the beginning, and their actual role becomes plain late in the book.More importantly, the characters and their relationships are central. There are some occasions when you may wonder why some the people who have travelled in the TARDIS continue to do so. In this book, the importance of the characters to each other shows through very strongly.Not a great sequel, but still a good book.