''Sanctuary'' is an original novel written by

David A. McIntee David A. McIntee (born 31 December 1968) is a British writer. Career McIntee has written many spin-off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', as well as one each based on ''Final Destination'' and '' Space: 1 ...

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

Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and the final incarnation of the original Doctor Who series. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. W ...

and Bernice. A prelude to the novel, also penned by McIntee, appeared in ''

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the followi ...

'' #225. The novel was unusual for being a purely historical story in which no science fiction elements appeared beyond the basic premise of the series. Such stories had not appeared in Doctor Who since 1982's '' Black Orchid'', and not regularly since '' The Highlanders'' in 1967–68.

Synopsis

As the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...

draws to its bloody conclusion, men inflict savage brutalities on each other in the name of religion. Forced to temporarily abandon ship, the

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior ap ...

crew find their lives intertwined with warring

Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

s, crusaders and heretics. While the Doctor begins a

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

investigation in a besieged

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, Bernice finds herself drawn to an embittered

mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...

who has made the heretics’ fight his own. And both time travellers realize that to leave

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

unchanged they may have to sacrifice far more than their lives.

External links

''Sanctuary'' Prelude
{{Seventh Doctor stories, selected=Books 1995 British novels 1995 science fiction novels Virgin New Adventures Novels by David A. McIntee Seventh Doctor novels Fiction set in the 13th century