Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Gods of the Underworld (novel)

, or simply The Gods of the Underworld, was the second full length novel published by Big Finish Productions as part of their Big Finish Bernice Summerfield series. It was written by Stephen Cole.

Publisher's summary
There's a whisper going round that the long-lost temple of the Argian Gods of the Underworld has finally been discovered on the planet Venedel. There's a still quieter whisper that deep inside it lies the Argian Oracle, an ancient artefact that can pinpoint the whereabouts of any soul in the universe. Benny Summerfield sets out to see if the whispers are true ­and if it can tell her the whereabouts of her missing lover. She's got nothing to lose.

Reaching Venedel, Benny finds it under siege from an over-zealous Federation, alleging human rights atrocities and starving the planet out until its people capitulate to its terms. Despite this, a team of Nishtubi mercenaries are running the blockade to supply aid for the Venedelans. But why? They have nothing to gain.

Caught between jingoistic natives, Nishtubi heavies, a plague of ancient killers and the cold, undying secrets of the Gods of the Underworld, Benny and her allies have nowhere to run ­and are left facing nothing but trouble.

Plot
Braxiatel offers to send an expedition to Venedel where the Argians' loot is now believed to have been stored, hidden in a War Temple. However, he is denied by the Earthlink Federation, who are blockading Venedel due to alleged rights violations by the Thane of Mahel and yet have allowed Nishtubi mercenaries to begin excavations there. Braxiatel convinces Benny to go to investigate by telling her of the Argian Oracle, an artefact capable of locating anybody in the universe and which could potentially tell her where Jason is. She agrees.

Benny meets with archaeologists Shell, Arko and Forno at the Pan Leica Spaceport and hires Starl Stanmore to fly them through the blockade. She learns moments afterwards that Starl had ensured that he was the only applicant for the job and he is pursued by the other pilots' angry friends, prompting them all to flee to his ship. As they approach Venedel, the ship hits a cloaked Nishtubi ship and, in the ensuing fire, Shell, Arko and Forno climb into the one remaining escape pod whilst Benny and Starl attempt to safely land the ship. Benny and Starl land in a swamp and narrowly escape before the ship sinks and find a pit containing the charred remains of natives apparently killed by the Thane.

Arko, Forno and the unconscious Shell are captured by the Nishtubi and taken to General Maddaska, who hands them over to Renad and claims that they were trying to steal the food that the Nishtubi had smuggled past the blockade. The Venedelans, who consider all non-humanoids to be animals, intend to eat Arko and Forno, but they manage to escape when Shell awakens and takes a Nishtubi gun; Shell herself is too unwell to escape and Arko and Forno are forced to leave her behind. According to Renad, Shell is dead already and should be burnt.

Benny and Starl find the temple, which the Nishtubi have found their way into using explosives, causing damage. Benny reads the hieroglyphs which tell of a demon god which will rise up and impose its will upon the other gods; she then realises that it has been doctored with synthetic materials which the Argians would not have used. She and Starl continue into the temple and see a demon from whom they flee back outside, deeming it to be the most sensible course of action even if the demon is a hologram. Outside of the temple, they are captured by the Nishtubi.

Arko stuns the guards left outside of the temple and leaves to follow the others whilst Forno remains. Forno surveys the temple, noticing the altered hieroglyphics, and quickly hides when a creature walks past, telling General Maddaska over a communicator about the damage to the temple and that the Earthlink Federation will soon by making its move. Once the creature has gone, Forno watches a woman dressed in gauze float out of the temple and flees when he hears a horrible sound from within.

Benny and Starl are taken away by the Nishtubi to meet the Thane and realise that the Venedelans are being kept in the dark about the value of the artefacts in the temple. The Thane refuses to believe them and has them imprisoned. They later manage to escape by tricking the guard and find a room of Federation equipment which includes a telex printing threats to attack Mahel with nuclear weapons if the Thane does not accede to their demands. They rescue prisoners Dex Tinhar and Han Krista and learn from them that there is a plague on Venedel which the Thane is responding to by burning the infected alive. They are then recaptured by the Venedelans and thrown into a pit full of plague victims, including Shell, to be burnt alive.

The Venedelans find that the Nishtubi flamethrowers do not work. Lizard creatures then burst out of the bodies of the infected, having been incubating inside of them, and the Nishtubi hurry away into the forest with three infected Venedelans. Benny, Shell and Tinhar fall into a tunnel when Arko tries to burrow them out and Arko, Starl and Han flee to the swamp where they see the Nishtubi kill the infected and take the lizards, which are called Ilijah.

to be completed

Characters

 * Bernice Summerfield
 * Irving Braxiatel
 * Joseph
 * Arko
 * Forno
 * Shell
 * Starl Stanmore
 * Hoodath
 * Thane of Mahel
 * Renad
 * Nazan
 * Maddaska
 * Dex Tinhar
 * Han Krista
 * Ukka
 * Antrin
 * Putin
 * Bantagel
 * Janrees

Individuals

 * Benny tries to ask the Argian Oracle about Jason Kane.

Organisations

 * The Earthlink Federation has ties to Earth. It tolerates the Fifth Axis.
 * The Shadow Federation is the name for the corrupt elements of the Earthlink Federation.
 * The Shik syndicate has kept the outer worlds oppressed for over a century.

Planets

 * The Argians built a War Temple on the planet Venedel.
 * Grombi and Obvion are planets.

Species

 * Waskas are rat-like creatures.

Continuity
to be added