''The Nightmare of Black Island'' 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 Mike Tucker and based on the long-running

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''. It was published on 21 September 2006, alongside '' The Art of Destruction'' and ''

The Price of Paradise ''The Price of Paradise'' is a BBC Books original novel written by Colin Brake and based on the long running science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was published on 21 September 2006 alongside '' The Nightmare of Black Island'' a ...

''. It features the

Tenth Doctor The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the main protagonist of the BBC science fiction television franchise ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials. As with previous incarnations of ...

and

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

Synopsis

On a lonely stretch of Welsh coastline, a fisherman is killed by a hideous creature from beneath the waves. When the Doctor and Rose arrive, they discover a village where the children are plagued by nightmares, and the nights are ruled by monsters. Bronwyn Ceredig, the old woman of the village, suspects that ailing industrialist Nathaniel Morton is to blame, but the Doctor has suspicions of his own.

Plot

While in flight, 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 a ...

and

dream of a fisherman who is attacked by a creature from the sea. Also appearing in the dream is an 'observer': a young boy. Tracing the source, the Doctor takes them to Ynys Du, a small village on the Welsh coast. They discover that the villagers are terrorised by fantastical monsters which roam the streets and woods at night; the adults are anxious and the children all have nightmares. The trouble seems to have begun when an elderly Nathaniel Morton returned to the village after many years away and established a '

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...

' in the old rectory. Here, six ancient figures sleep, attached to machines and attended by masked technicians. The Doctor knows something is wrong, as the monsters do not appear to be the product of a normal evolutionary process. He traces an interference signal to the abandoned lighthouse on Black Island. Exploring the island with an eccentric local woman, Bronwyn, the Doctor finds an 'interstellar space-hopper' and, in the lamp room of the lighthouse, a psychic transmitter/receiver. Understanding that this is causing the children's nightmares, in turn realising the monsters they dream about, the Doctor is reluctant to dismantle the machine and risk damaging the children. He cannot reach the controls of the telepathic circuits as they are underneath the machine. Meanwhile, Rose has entered the rectory in search of further information. She is discovered by the 'medical technicians' who reveal themselves to be the lizard-like Cynrog who, under their chief priest Peyne, are manipulating Morton. Rose is subjected to a mind-scan. The Doctor is alerted to Rose's capture when a

Slitheen The Slitheen are a fictional family of massive, bipedal extraterrestrials from the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and are adversaries of the Ninth Doctor and later Sarah Jane Smith. The Slitheen are of the egg-laying ...

and a

Nestene Consciousness The Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and adversaries of the Doctor. They were originally created by scriptwriter Robert Holmes for Jon Pertwee's first serial as the Doctor, ' ...

are created and a

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...

is heard nearby. Having instructed the villagers to keep the children awake (to prevent the appearance of more monsters), the Doctor rushes to rescue her; however, she has already escaped with the help of one of the village girls, Ali. She tells the Doctor of a strange monster she has seen in the rectory library. The Doctor sends Rose (with the

sonic screwdriver The sonic screwdriver is a fictional multifunctional tool in the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, used by the Doctor. Like the TARDIS, it has become one of the icons of the programme, and spin-o ...

) and Ali to Bronwyn, so she might take them to the lighthouse, in the expectation that the smaller Ali can reach under the alien machinery to alter the settings so it no longer affects the children. The Doctor takes Rose's place in the rectory. Following Rose's brain-scan, Peyne and Morton know he is a

Time Lord The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', of which the series' main protagonist, the Doctor, is a member. Time Lords are so named for their command ...

, and are excited by what they might gain from him. They show him the monster in the library. The Doctor deduces that the body is empty, created from the nightmares of the children. Peyne admits that the body is to receive the soul of Balor, their warrior general who had crashed on Earth eighty years earlier. His original body dying, he transferred his soul into the child witnesses of the crash: Morton and the other 'people' attached to the machines. Moving into the final phase, Peyne orders her Cynrog technicians to attach both the Doctor and Morton to waiting machines, and alters them to induce sleep in the wakeful children so she might continue to harness their imaginations. The Doctor uses the telepathic machines (which operate at the same frequency as the TARDIS's) to take control. He investigates the memory of the other victims and, through the vision of the small boy - who has appeared at intervals throughout the story - discovers that Bronwyn also witnessed the crash, and contains some of Balor's soul. 'Hitching a ride' on the telepathic waves, the Doctor contacts Rose, instructing her how to alter the machinery to affect adults rather than children. The newly created Balor, missing a part of his soul, is mad and ungovernable, wreaking havoc throughout the house. Peyne frees the Doctor, blaming him. 'Balor' takes Morton's mind and revenges himself on Peyne. Before 'Morton-Balor' can attack the Doctor, Ali and Rose succeed in changing the settings on the alien transmitter. The village children wake and the adults dream, starving Balor of imagination and shrinking him until the neuroses of the adults become so trivial he ceases to exist. Before the alien machines in the rectory are destroyed by the resulting fire, the 'polarity is reversed' and, connecting to Bronwyn, it transfers all the life-force into her. She becomes young again. The Doctor orders the remaining Cynrog to leave in their spaceship, sending them '40 or 50 parsecs' out of their way, and hinting to Rose that their stasis will be tormented by nightmares of him.

Continuity

* When asked by Rose if he ever slept, the Doctor said he didn't (although he'd tried it once). This seems a contradiction of accepted canon, as he has been seen sleeping on occasion (an example is '' Castrovalva'', and he also mentions that his regeneration will be fine after a few hours' sleep in ''

The Twin Dilemma ''The Twin Dilemma'' is the seventh and final serial of the 21st season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 22 March to 30 March 1984. In the serial, the al ...

''). He also mentions not sleeping in '' The Last Dodo''. * At one point, the Doctor uses the computer-enhanced

opera glasses Opera glasses, also known as theater binoculars or Galilean binoculars, are compact, low-power optical magnification devices, usually used at performance events, whose name is derived from traditional use of binoculars at opera performances. Mag ...

seen in "

The Empty Child "The Empty Child" is the ninth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 21 May 2005. It was the first episode written by Steven Moffat, who later beca ...

". * The Doctor reminds Rose of New Earth when she complains that he never takes her anywhere "nice and warm". Rose then points out that she spent part of that visit being possessed by Lady Cassandra. * The Doctor uses everlasting matches in the forest, introduced in the

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the first incarnation of the Doctor in '' Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, Hartnell notably appeared in '' Bri ...

story, ''

The Daleks ''The Daleks'' (also known as ''The Mutants'' and ''The Dead Planet'') is the second Serial (radio and television), serial in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadca ...

''. * When she meets the Cynrog for the first time, Rose mentions the

. The Cynrog appear to know them, as they correctly identify them as Raxacoricofallapatorians.

Audio book

An abridged audio book version of ''The Nightmare of Black Island'' read by

Anthony Head Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954) is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, w ...

(Mr Finch from " School Reunion") was released in November 2006 () by

BBC Audiobooks #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

. Also included was a "behind-the-scenes" discussion between the author and the reader.

External links

*
The Cloister Library – ''The Nightmare of Black Island''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nightmare of Black Island, The 2006 British novels 2006 science fiction novels British science fiction novels Tenth Doctor novels Novels by Mike Tucker Novels set in Wales Novels set on islands

Synopsis

Plot

Continuity

Audio book

See also

External links