The Also People
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| Doctor Who book | |
|---|---|
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| The Also People | |
| Series | Virgin New Adventures |
| Release number | 44 |
| Featuring | Seventh Doctor Bernice, Chris, Roz, Kadiatu |
| Writer | Ben Aaronovitch |
| Publisher | Virgin Books |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-426-20456-5 |
| Release date | November 1995 |
| Preceded by | Head Games |
| Followed by | Shakedown |
The Also People is an original novel written by Ben Aaronovitch and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor, Bernice, Chris, Roz and Kadiatu.
Like all Doctor Who spin-off media, the way the plot fits in to the ongoing story of television series is open to interpretation. See Whoniverse#Inclusion and canonicity It does feature cameos (in a dream sequence) by a Dalek, a Cyberman and a Sontaran. (beginning of chapter 10)
Contents |
[edit] The People
The Also People introduce a race of beings known only as "The People", and later used in the Virgin New Adventures. The People are a highly advanced society (for example, they live inside a Dyson Sphere), with abilities rivalling those of the Time Lords; as such, they have been kept in check by the Time Lords to prevent them from learning the nature of time travel. This had led to tense relations between the Time Lords and The People. The People appear to be a combination of biological and artificial beings; they can switch their forms or their minds at will or even as punishment, one day a humanoid person, the next day the intelligence of a spaceship.
[edit] Influences
The society of the People has a very close resemblance to the Culture of Iain M. Banks: the "everything is free" moneyless utopia, the built-in ability of the humanoid citizens to change sex and control their reproduction, the origin of the humanoids as a genofixed merger of several humanoid alien species, the floating intelligent machines known as drones, the intelligent ships and their classisifications, the coordination (arguably, quiet rule) of the structure by a single superintelligent computer. The influence has been openly acknowledged by Aaronovitch on the Usenet group rec.arts.sf.written [1]; the book itself contains in the Acknowledgements the line "I'd like to remind everyone that while talent borrows and genius steals, New Adventure writers get it off the back of a lorry, no questions asked."
[edit] External links
[edit] Reviews
- The Also People reviews at Outpost Gallifrey
- The Also People reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide
