''Goth Opera'' is an original ''

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 ...

'' novel, published by

Virgin Publishing Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. History Virgin established its book publishing arm ...

in their '' Missing Adventures'' range of ''Doctor Who'' novels. It was the first book in that series and a sequel to the '' New Adventure'' book '' Blood Harvest'', but it can be read separately.

Plot

As the Fifth Doctor and his companions vacation in

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

they become caught up in a scheme by the Time Lord Ruath to resurrect the

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

Yarven (from '' Blood Harvest''). Ruath sends a vampire baby to attack the Doctor and turn him into a vampire, but the child instead attacks and converts Nyssa. Unable to provide Yarven with the Doctor's Time Lord blood, Ruath gives her own blood to Yarven, causing her to die and regenerate into a vampire Time Lord. Nyssa, while trying fight her new vampire nature, is drawn to Yarven's castle, where she learns more about Ruath's plan. Ruath has created a genetically enhanced mist that can turn normal humans into vampires, and kill those who use traditional methods (garlic, crosses, etc.) to protect themselves. Ruath has also invented a Time Freeze, a small Time Loop that can hold the Earth in a perpetual night, leaving the vampires free to roam and feed.

Background and continuity

The plot for the novel was originally developed from an unproduced comic strip for '' Doctor Who Magazine'', which would have featured the

Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the ...

in a fight against

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

. Cornell revised the story to use the Fifth Doctor for this first Missing Adventure.

Placement problem

The back cover of ''Goth Opera'' says that it takes place between the television stories

Snakedance ''Snakedance'' is the second serial of the 20th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts on BBC1 from 18 to 26 January 1983. The serial is set on the planet Ma ...

and

Mawdryn Undead ''Mawdryn Undead'' is the third serial of the 20th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was originally broadcast in four twice weekly parts on BBC1 from 1 to 9 February 1983. The serial is set in an Engl ...

. However, it is difficult to avoid the fact that there is actually no gap between these shows to put an extra adventure.

Cover

The novel's cover was originally to feature a far more graphic image of Nyssa's shirt covered in blood. The artwork had to be adjusted and the blood airbrushed out when retailer

W H Smith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and m ...

insisted that they would not stock the book in that form.Jade Pagoda post
by

Craig Hinton Craig Paul Alexander Hinton (7 May 1964 – 3 December 2006) was a British writer best known for his work on various spin-offs from the BBC Television series ''Doctor Who''. He also wrote articles for various science fiction magazines, and ...

, 29 June 2004

References

{{Gallifrey stories 1994 British novels 1994 science fiction novels Fifth Doctor novels Virgin Missing Adventures Novels by Paul Cornell Vampire novels Manchester in fiction