''The Cabinet of Light'' was the ninth novella published by

Telos Publishing Ltd. Telos Publishing Ltd. is a publishing company, originally established by David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker, with their first publication being a horror anthology based on the television series ''Urban Gothic'' in 2001. The name comes from ...

as part of its

Doctor Who novellas Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

series. It was written by

Daniel O'Mahony Daniel O'Mahony (born 24 July 1973) is a half-British half-Irish author, born in Croydon. He is the oldest of five children, his siblings including Eoin O'Mahony of the band Hamfatter, and Madeleine O'Mahony, who has designed and made hats for C ...

and was published as a standard edition hardback and a deluxe edition with a frontispiece by

John Higgins John Higgins (born 18 May 1975) is a Scottish professional snooker player from Wishaw in North Lanarkshire. Since turning professional in 1992, he has won 33 ranking titles, placing him in third position on the List of snooker players by num ...

(). Both editions had a foreword by Chaz Brenchley. The novella featured an unspecified future incarnation of the

Doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

who appears to be travelling without a companion, although it is hinted that Emily Blandish may have been travelling with him. The story focuses mostly on Honoré Lechasseur, an ex-GI turned

spiv A spiv is a petty criminal in the United Kingdom who deals in illicit, typically black market, goods. Spivs were particularly active during the Second World War and in the post-war period when many goods were rationed due to shortages. According ...

who is searching for the Doctor. Although the novella is now out of print, the characters of Emily and Honoré continued their adventures in the Telos

Time Hunter The ''Time Hunter'' series of books is published by Telos Publishing Ltd. and features the characters Honoré Lechasseur and Emily Blandish from Daniel O'Mahony's ''Doctor Who'' novella '' The Cabinet of Light''. Each novella is issued in a st ...

series of novellas. The book was not written with a spin-off series in mind, but was created by Telos after its licence to publish ''Doctor Who'' came to an end.

Synopsis

Honoré Lechasseur, a "fixer" with time-sensitive abilities, is hired by Emily Blandish to find someone known only as the Doctor. He soon discovers that the Doctor is a legendary figure who has drifted in and out of Earth's history. As he follows the trail of the Doctor, questions arise: what is the Doctor's connection with 1949

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and with the mysterious "cabinet of light" that another group is seeking?

Plot

Set in 1949, the novella tells the story of Honoré Lechasseur, an ex-GI who is living and working in London as a spiv. He is hired by a woman claiming to be Emily Blandish to track down her husband, the Doctor, and soon becomes embroiled in the machinations of a Nazi named Walken and a mysterious woman named Mestizer. Both are looking for the Doctor and something called "The Cabinet of Light", which is somehow connected to him. Honoré is mistaken for the Doctor on more than one occasion because, as a time sensitive, his aura bears a passing similarity to the Time Lord's. This leads to him being kidnapped by Mestizer's servant, a hulking

cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space") is a fictional hybrid of a time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. While a TARDI ...

, and it is used to vanquish the enemy and allow the Doctor to escape. Mestizer disappears, leaving Abraxas to complete his mission: killing the real Emily Blandish. Honoré manages to defeat the cyborg and he and Emily go to London.

Audiobook

In September 2008, Telos announced that a fan production company, Fantom Films, had been licensed to produce audiobook readings of the ''Time Hunter'' novellas for release on CD and as online downloads. The series begins with ''The Cabinet of Light'', read by the former ''Doctor Who'' actor

Terry Molloy Terry Molloy (born 4 January 1947) is an English actor. He is best known for his work on radio and television, especially his portrayal of Mike Tucker (The Archers), Mike Tucker in ''The Archers'' and Davros in three ''Doctor Who'' serials in ...

and released in November 2008. Changes have been made to the text of this version of ''The Cabinet of Light'' to allow it to stand as a ''Time Hunter'' novella independent of its ''Doctor Who'' connections.

Reception

''The Cabinet of Light'' won Best Book in the 2003 Jade Pagoda Awards.

Reviews

''The Cabinet of Light''
reviews at Infinity Plus

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabinet of Light, The Fiction set in 1949 2003 British novels 2003 science fiction novels Time Hunter Doctor Who novellas Novels by Daniel O'Mahony British novellas Novels set in London Telos Publishing books