DOCTOR WHO
‘The Stealers of Dreams’ (2005, BBC
Books)
Novel by Steve Lyons
Gripping
novel featuring the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston), his accomplice Rose
Tyler (Billie Piper) AND Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman).
An intriguing
storyline set in a totalitarian future, where dreams and anything other than
facts have been outlawed. Initially The
Doctor and his accomplices want to help a pirate media outlet which is
enlightening the public. However when
dreams start to turn into real life nightmares, it would seem this decision was
unwise. Will the Doctor, Rose and
Captain Jack be able to uncover the deadly truth and return society to a more
equitable status quo?!
Unread and
therefore in outstanding near mint/like new condition throughout. Rare to find in such good condition these
days.
Details
Publisher
: BBC Book Publishing; Reprint paperback / softback edition (4 Sept. 2005)
Language :
English
Paperback
: 256 pages
ISBN-10 :
1849908958
ISBN-13 :
978-1849908955
Dimensions
: 11 x 1.6 x 17.8 cm
Best Sellers
Rank: 934,574 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
988 in
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Customer
reviews: 4.4 out of 5 stars (135 ratings)
Description
In this
Doctor Who novel, experience an adventure in a dystopian future where groupthink
has become a reality where even dreaming has been outlawed. "The Stealers of Dreams" by Steve
Lyons, has more sinister undertones than is first apparent...
Join The
Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack as they discover that travelling through time and
the thrill of the unknown can land them in hot water. A sterile future masks a society in the grip
of a 1984-esque totalitarian regime and hidden threats.
Immerse
yourself in the gripping narrative of this action-packed sci-fi adventure. Add this Doctor Who novel to your collection and
get ready to embark on an exciting journey through space and time! A must-have for fans of the hit TV series.
About the
Author
Steve Lyons
has written nearly twenty novels, several audio dramas and many short stories,
starring characters from Doctor Who, the X-Men and Spider-Man to the
Tomorrow People and Sapphire & Steel. He has also co-written a number of companion
books for TV shows, including Cunning: The Blackadder Programme Guide and the
bestselling Red Dwarf Programme Guide.
His previous
Doctor Who work includes the novels Conundrum, The Witch Hunters and The
Crooked World, audio dramas The Fires of Vulcan and Colditz, and work for the official
Doctor Who Magazine. He currently lives
in Salford, near Manchester.
Additional
Info (copied from blurb on rear cover)
In the far
future, the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack find a world on which fiction has
been outlawed. A world where it's a crime to tell stories, a crime to lie, a
crime to hope, and a crime to dream.
But now
somebody is challenging the status quo. A pirate TV station urges people to
fight back. And the Doctor wants to help until he sees how easily dreams can
turn into nightmares.
With one of
his companions stalked by shadows and the other committed to an asylum, the
Doctor is forced to admit that fiction can be dangerous after all. Though
perhaps it is not as deadly as the truth…
Featuring
the Ninth Doctor as played by Christopher Eccleston, together with Rose and
Captain Jack as played by Billie Piper and John Barrowman in the hit Doctor Who
series from BBC Television.
Review(s)
4.0 out of 5 stars “Featuring
the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston)”
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 August 2023
'In the far future, the Doctor, Rose & Captain Jack find
a world on which fiction has been outlawed. A world where it's a crime to tell
stories, a crime to lie, a crime to hope, and a crime to dream. But now
somebody is challenging the status quo. A pirate TV station urges people to
fight back. And the Doctor wants to help until he sees how easily dreams can
turn into nightmares. With one of his companions stalked by shadows and the
other committed to an asylum, the Doctor is forced to admit that fiction can be
dangerous after all.
Though perhaps it is not as deadly as the truth.'
One person found this helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars “My
second Ninth Doctor book”
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 March 2011
Having been so thrilled by The Clockwise Man I got straight
into reading this book. Initially I was feeling that this book was a bit
hum-drum in comparison, then about halfway through it became really exciting. A bit too much setting the scene for my
liking, but hang in there and you will be rewarded!
4.0 out of 5 stars “Great
doctor who story”
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 April 2023
This is a 18 year old book, and you can certainly feel its
age, which can't be helped. However the story more than makes up for it with
twists and cliffhangers you'll never see coming. I highly recommend Stealer of Dreams
by Steve lyons.
5.0 out of 5 stars “Excellent
story (and that is the truth)!”
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 June 2008
I have been a little disappointed with the earlier 9th
Doctor novels, however this is the first to be of a quality and complexity to
rival the previously released (and on average vastly superior) Virgin New
Adventure and BBC 8th Doctor series.
The story deals with some very complex issues around truth
and fiction while capturing the disparate personalities of the Doctor and his
companions, especially Captain Jack - who didn't have any where near enough
screen time with the Doctor.
The ending is particularly satisfying, veering away from the
overused cliché of baddie blows themselves up. The identity of Hal caught me
off guard (but I won't spoil it).
One person found this helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars “A
suspenseful story that challenges the reader to separate fact from fiction”
Reviewed in the United States on 7 March 2017
Ever since the relaunch in 2005, I've been a fan of Doctor
Who (and have later gone back to watch the classic series as well). And when I
discovered there were a ton of novels based on the show as well, I knew I had
to check them out. All of them have different writers, and all of them vary in
degrees of quality. But all of them still capture the spirit of the show;
playing out like actual episodes, while being able to utilize things that would
be extremely difficult to create on the show (in terms of special effects).
Taking place during the time of the Ninth Doctor, he and his
companions, Rose and Captain Jack Harkness, arrive on a world in which all
manner of fiction has been outlawed. From books, to television dramas, to
telling tall tales, even having a simple daydream is a crime. The trio's
investigation into why this world would hold itself back in such a way soon has
them on the run from the police, committed to an asylum, and stalked by
monsters that may or may not be real. Can our heroes find a way to tell the difference
between fact and fiction? And just who or what is behind all this insanity?
These books are pretty much just for fans of Doctor Who, as
there's plenty of references to various episodes of the show, so the writing
pretty much expects you to already know who the Doctor and Rose are, what the
TARDIS is, and so on. These books pretty much play out like a professionally
published fan fiction, and all the main characters behave and sound like they
would on the show proper. About the only negative thing I can say about the
book is that our trio of heroes quickly get separated from each other and are
pretty much off and alone on their own separate (but interconnected) adventures
for a large chunk of the story up until the ending. Not that that angle isn't a
bad thing, but the characters are clearly at their best when they're all
together and bouncing witty dialogue off one another.
Other than that, by far, this book's greatest strength is
its plot. Seemingly taking cues and themes from "Fahrenheit 451" and
"The Matrix", the book constructs a world in which the reader is
constantly questioning what's real and what isn't. Are the stalwart
"truthful" citizens actually covering up and denying a huge lie?
And/or are the "fantasy crazy fiction geeks" have more truth to their
words than anyone is willing to listen to? Both sides have reasonable arguments
for why they want to either ban or liberate the act of fiction, but it soon
comes to pass that neither side is totally in the right. Mankind can't properly
progress without thinkers and dreamers, but at the same time, can succumb to
madness if they become too wrapped up in their imagination. It's a fine
balancing act that all leads up to an action packed finale that contains a
clever explanation for what's going on, and one of the best twist endings I've
read in a Doctor Who book. And upon re-reading it, you'll soon discover that
the twist was actually cleverly foreshadowed very early on....
While the main characters are a tiny bit bland this time
around (due to minimal interaction with each other), the plot itself is enough
to make this a must read for the Doctor Who fan. With plenty of twists and
turns, this is a story that teaches the reader how to responsibly unleash their
imagination.
5.0 out of 5 stars "I say that even the bad dreams are
good for us."
Reviewed in the United States on 22 July 2008
There is just something bemusing and yet clever about a work
of escapist fiction whose underlying theme is, well, escapist fiction--its role
and purpose, how drab and matter-of-fact our lives would be without it. As
fictional universes go, that of "Doctor Who" may well be one of the
best potential arenas in which to explore this theme, and Steve Lyons manages
to milk that potential for all it's worth in this highly entertaining, nicely
crafted, and slyly thoughtful science fiction adventure.
"The Stealers of Dreams" as a story takes place at
some indeterminate point near the end of the revived program's first series,
apparently somewhere between "The Doctor Dances" and "Bad
Wolf" ( Doctor Who - The Complete First Series ) and so features the
relatively short-lived Ninth Doctor and his ever-popular companions Rose and
Captain Jack. Lyons' portrayal of these characters is incredibly accurate and
true-to-form while still being dynamic and creative (rather than, say, trying
vainly to establish their personalities by merely mimicking catchphrases from
the show). Their relationships as they were then are depicted convincingly, and
Lyons has a surefire sensitive grasp of their interactions. Thrilling adventure
and quirky humor blend properly. The style, atmosphere, and pacing of his
storytelling feels right at home with the 2005 series while doing something a
little different and tackling ideas better handled in prose than on screen.
These are all pluses not to be taken for granted.
The story at first seems like an edifying but predictable
dystopian vision of a future where fiction, fantasy, and little white lies are
outlawed by the powers that be so as to squelch creativity and any sort of
thinking outside the box, keeping the populace passively content in their
place. That alone would've been okay enough in and of itself. But Lyons takes
this dependably good premise and, while exploring its consequences in
compellingly creative and sometimes funny ways, gives it some deliciously unconventional
twists and tweaks leading up to several skillfully foreshadowed yet
intriguingly unexpected revelations. And that's when the Doctor saves the day,
of course, but not in the way you were probably thinking at the start. I was
thrown for a good loop a few times anyway, and loved every minute of it.
I've read and enjoyed a few of the other recent Doctor Who
novels, but this is by far the best-written and strongest overall, at least in
my opinion. And it's the only one so far that failed to induce a slightly
self-embarrassed feeling of being a thirty-something indulging in a book
pitched primarily at bright teens. Though in the final analysis that's indeed
what it is, but it's fantastic for anyone of any age who's looking for a little
escapist fiction with an intelligent touch.