''Byzantium!'' is a

BBC Books BBC Books (also formerly known as BBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasti ...

original novel written by

Keith Topping Keith Andrew Topping (born 26 October 1963 in Walker, Tyneside) is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He is most well known for his work relating to the BBC Television series ''Doctor Who'' and for writing numerous official and unofficial g ...

and based on the long-running British

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. It features the

First Doctor The First Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor William Hartnell. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time L ...

Ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

, Barbara, and

Vicki Vicky, Vicko, Vick, Vickie or Vicki is a feminine given name, often a hypocorism of Victoria. The feminine name Vicky in Greece comes from the name Vasiliki. Women * Family nickname of Victoria, Princess Royal (1840–1901), wife of German ...

Synopsis

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...

is an ancient Greek city near the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

. Romans, Greeks, Zealots and Pharisee are all part of its mix. The Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Vicki arrive for general sight-seeing. However, each soon has to face the possibility of being stranded in this place and time, alone and surrounded by political upheaval.

References

2001 British novels 2001 science fiction novels Past Doctor Adventures First Doctor novels Novels by Keith Topping BBC Books books Novels set in ancient Greece {{2000s-DoctorWho-novel-stub