The Dying Days (novel)

The Dying Days was the final release of the Virgin New Adventures line of Doctor Who novels (however, see "Notes", below), and the only one featuring the Eighth Doctor.

Publisher's summary
6 May 1997

The Dying Days of the Twentieth Century

On the Mare Sirenum, British astronauts are walking on the surface of Mars for the first time in over twenty years. The National Space Museum in London is the venue for a spectacular event where the great and the good celebrate a unique British achievement.

In Adisham, Kent, the most dangerous man in Britain has escaped from custody while being transported by helicopter. In Whitehall, the new Home Secretary is convinced that there is a plot brewing to overthrow the government. In west London, MI5 agents shut down a publishing company that got too close to the top secret organisation known as UNIT. And, on a state visit to Washington, the Prime Minister prepares to make a crucial speech, totally unaware that dark forces are working against him.

As the Eighth Doctor and Professor Bernice Summerfield discover, all these events are connected. However, soon all will be overshadowed.

This time, the Doctor is already too late.

Characters

 * The Doctor
 * Refers to himself as the Eighth Man Bound, the champion of Life and Time, The Bringer of Darkness to the Daleks and the Oncoming Storm to the Draconians. And the guy with two hearts.
 * Is calm about dying after blowing up the Martian War Rocket.
 * Is Capable of creating a balloon to cut the speed of his descent out of bin bag and a helium canister from the War Rocket.
 * Bernice Summerfield
 * Benny excavated Mare Sirenum, Mars when she was 24, this established her reputation as an archaeologist.
 * Benny's 20th century knowledge speciality actually ranges from 1963 to 1989
 * Can speak Martian.
 * Knows how to isolate electrics from the fuel supply of a 20th century helicopter.
 * Nicked parts of her diary describing events around the UNIT/Rebel assault on Martian held London from a "tattered old paperback with a creepy eye on the cover" (ie Lance Parkin's original A History of the Universe. Which ironically doesn't cover this period).
 * Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart
 * Is made General by the end of this story.
 * Keeps Bessie in mothballs for the Doctor (see also Battlefield) and waits for the Doctor in the UNIT parking bays for him with the car.
 * reminds Bambera that he is still, technically, retired despite being the figurehead of the anti-Martian/Greyhaven rebellion.
 * Alexander Christian
 * Winifred Bambera
 * Is married to Ancelyn, who has gone with the crown into exile, as befitting a Knight of the Realm.
 * Edward Greyhaven
 * David Staines
 * Xznaal
 * Despite being an Ice Lord, doesn't wear the traditional armour, rather wearing the shell of a Warrior. This makes him rather eccentric and is an insight into his mindset according to Benny (he's militaristic and close-minded).
 * Eve Waugh

Cultural references

 * The whole Martian invasion is viewed as a hoax by the public as a distraction to enable the Provisional Government to keep control of the country.
 * Benny looks at a John Smith and the Common Men album when she and the Doctor are searching Todd's flat.
 * Bruce Springsteen is the American President.

Gallifrey

 * Benny notices the Seal of Rassilon inside the TARDIS.
 * The Doctor left Chris Cwej on Gallifrey.

Individuals

 * Lord Greyhaven makes a deal with the Ice Warriors which leads them to invade the United Kingdom.
 * Bernice is staying at The Doctor's House in Kent after getting a lift there with Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart and aM!xitsa.
 * The Brigadier mentions debriefing Jo Grant after her 'adventures' with the Doctor, one involving the Ice Warriors and Peladon.
 * At the Queen's re-coronation the Brigadier points out the Fourth Doctor, Romana and K9 to Doris.

Organisations

 * UNIT is much better funded than it had been in the 1970s.
 * UNIT has a branch in Paris (called NUIT).
 * UNIT in the past has dealt with the Bandril and Drahvin attempted invasions (without the Doctor's help).
 * Veronica Halliwell is Director General of MI5.

Planets

 * Mars has a perfectly breathable (though a bit chilly) atmosphere, but the soil is almost completely infertile.
 * Water is a source of great wealth on Mars.
 * The Arturan Treaty of 2085 is the 'official' date of peaceful first contact with aliens.
 * The Sword of Tuburr is mentioned.

Technology

 * The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to reflect a Ice Warrior sonic blast.

Timeline

 * Benny receives a letter (from 2593) offering her the Edward Watkins chair of archaeology at St. Oscar's University, Dellah.
 * The Brigadier met the Eighth Doctor in Hong Kong in 1988 when they discovered the secret of the Embodiment of Gris.

Continuity

 * The Doctor regenerated in DW: Doctor Who.
 * The Doctor delivers Benny to Dellah for the start of the Virgin Bernice Summerfield New Adventures Oh No It Isn't!.
 * The Brigadier refers to debriefing Jo Grant after the events of DW: The Curse of Peladon.
 * Kadiatu and aM!xitsa last appeared in NA: Happy Endings.
 * Benny asks how Martians can invade Britian now, but she also has Martians at her wedding. (NA: Happy Endings).
 * In DW: The Christmas Invasion there is question of whether or not aliens are Martians and confirmed not to be the case.
 * Benny previously met the Brigadier in NA: No Future and he attended her wedding in Happy Endings (which is subjectively in the future for the Brigadier).
 * The previous Mars missions are mentioned including the meeting of the Ambassadors (DW: The Ambassadors of Death).
 * The Doctor left Chris on Gallifrey in NA: Lungbarrow.
 * Chris Cwej returns in BNA: Deadfall.
 * Bambera first met the Doctor in DW: Battlefield.
 * MA: Who Killed Kennedy is mentioned, as is co-author James Stevens (supposedly UNIT altered the dates within the book to change them from the actual dates).
 * In DW: Aliens of London / World War Three the public are again given practically unquestionable knowledge of aliens existing and (again) it is seen as a hoax.
 * The Doctor's House first appeared in NA: Cat's Cradle: Warhead.
 * Veronica Halliwell originally appeared (and died) in MA: System Shock.
 * Susan was listening to John Smith and the Common Men in DW: An Unearthly Child.
 * NA: Christmas on a Rational Planet is the first novel to mention a re-coronation of the Queen. But this was actually Lawrence Miles explaining a continuity problem in DW: Battlefield (a throwaway line of there being a King).
 * The Doctor tells Benny that she is his longest-serving companion as of that time.
 * The final chapter strongly implies that a sexual encounter takes place between Benny and the Doctor. For years this was a matter of debate and speculation, until it was confirmed in BFA: Benny's Story.

Timeline

 * This story takes place after ST: Transmission Ends
 * This story takes place before BFA: The Company of Friends