The Price of Paradise (novel)

Publisher's Summary
Laylora — the Paradise Planet. A world of breath-taking beauty, where the peace-loving inhabitants live in harmony with their environment. Or do they? The Doctor and Rose arrive to find that the once perfect eco-system is showing signs of failing. The Paradise Planet has become a death trap as terrifying creatures from ancient legends appear and stalk the land.

Is there a connection between the human explorers who have crash-landed and the savage monsters? What secret lies at the heart of the natives' ancient ceremonies? And what price might one human have to pay to save the only home he has ever known?

The Doctor and Rose are in a race against time to find a cure for a sick planet.

Characters

 * The Doctor
 * Rose Tyler
 * Rez
 * Professor Shulough
 * Brother Hugan
 * Kendle
 * Ania Baker
 * Hespell

Plot
Rose and the Doctor receive a distress signal from the Humphrey Bogart, after it had been hit by an electromagnetic pulse and crash-landed on Laylora. They land the Tardis on the planet, and are instantly awed by it's raw beauty, but see no immediate signs of the spacecraft in trouble.

As they explore, they stumble across ruins of a temple, and the Doctor tells Rose to stay put while he climbs up to take a look. This leads to their separation when the Doctor is taken hostage by the Humans from the crashed ship, and Rose follows Rez, a Human who has been living amongst the Laylorans since crash landing in an escape pod when he was a baby.

It doesn't take long for the Doctor to win over the crew of the Humphrey Bogart with his charm and helpfulness, but he is appalled by the damage that their ship is doing to the planet with the amount of pollution it is causing. He begins make repairs to the ship so they are able to leave. The captain, Professor Shulough, is a woman who wants things done a certain way, and grates a bit on the Doctor's nerves.

Meanwhile, Rose learns from the villagers that the Witiku, a legendary creature with huge claws and fur, has been rumored to be active, and that two children have gone missing. While Rose and Rez are chatting and drinking Jinnera (a steaming hot brewed beverage), they are attacked by the very creatures they had been discussing. Rose throws her hot cup towards the Witiku, having no other weapon, and is amazed at the reaction. The Witiku cries out and begins trying to wipe the liquid off. Rose and Rez use the distraction as a chance to run. They meet up with the villagers in an old temple, and stay the night there. Rose tries to explain that the crashed spaceship is not the origin of the Witiku, and volunteers to go there herself to talk with the crew. She has an affectionate reunion with the doctor, and they proceed to catch each other up on the things that have happened since they were separated.

The Doctor creates a potion out of Jinnera to help hold off the Witiku. When one of the Witiku turns back into a Layloran priest, named Brother Hugan, after being doused with the potion, the Doctor and Rose realize that the planet is creating the monsters out of her own population, in order to protect her delicate balance. The potion is unreliable, however, and eventually Rose and the Doctor are separated again when the Witiku surround them, and Rose is taken hostage by Brother Hugan. When the priest knocks her unconscious, straps her to an alter, and prepares to sacrifice her to his goddess, the Doctor rushes in and attempts to save her by offering himself instead, being a more worthy offering since he is the last of his race and has two hearts. Then all the other crewmates offer themselves as well, and the Layloran villagers join in. This gives Rose enough time to awaken and she rolls out of the way of the knife.

An earthquake shakes the temple and it begins to crumble. Rose, Rez, and one of the Humphrey Bogart crew, Kendle, race up the tower ahead of Hugan, who turns back into a Witiku along the way. From the ground, the doctor gets the ship running and flies it up to the top of the tower, where Rose and Rez jump from the tower to the ship. Kendle leaps at the Witiku and they both fall to their deaths.

Rez decides to leave with the ship, being human after all, to protect the Layloran people from the Witiku returning. He finds a mentor in Professor Shulough, and bravely says goodbye to his Layloren foster family and journeys into a whole new life.

When Rose comments that it's sad that a planet so beautiful must remain unseen, the Doctor compares it to coming downstairs on a winter day and seeing a blanket of snow, clean and untouched, and though it can't remain so forever, they ought to let it be so for a while longer.

Continuity

 * Rose asks if the SOS signal is a mauve alert, said by the Ninth Doctor to be an Intergalactic Distress Signal (DW: The Empty Child)
 * Rose rummages through the Doctor's pockets and notices that they are bigger on the inside, like the TARDIS. Later mentioned by Donna Noble. (DW: The Runaway Bride)
 * Trisilicate Crystals are used to power the Humphrey Bogart, and are found in abundance on Laylora. First mentioned in (DW: The Curse of Peladon)

Timeline

 * This story occurs after NSA: The Art of Destruction
 * This story occurs before DWAM: A Delicate Operation

Audiobook Release

 * Read by Shaun Dingwall