The Art of Destruction was the eleventh novel in the BBC New Series Adventures series. It was written by Stephen Cole and featured the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler.
Publisher's summary[]
The TARDIS lands in 22nd century Africa in the shadow of a dormant volcano. Agri-teams are growing new foodstuffs in the baking soil to help feed the world's starving millions – but the Doctor and Rose have detected an alien signal somewhere close by.
When a nightmare force starts surging along the dark volcanic tunnels, the Doctor realises an ancient trap has been sprung. But who was it meant for? And what is the secret of the eerie statues that stand at the heart of the volcano?
Dragged into a centuries-old conflict, Rose and the Doctor are soon elevating survival to an art form – as ancient, alien hands practice arts of destruction all around them...
Plot[]
The TARDIS lands at Agricultural Technology Unit 12 near Mount Tarsus in Chad, Africa, on 11 April 2118. The Doctor and Rose Tyler soon encounter the unit's staff, led by Director Edet Fynn, who are attempting to combat global famine. A crisis begins when an agri-technician, Kanjuchi, is transformed into a living golden statue by a strange "magma-form" substance emerging from newly-excavated volcanic tunnels. This substance then animates local wildlife into aggressive "golems" to defend the area.
The magma-form is revealed to be a defence system for a hidden Valnaxi art warren. The Valnaxi were an ancient avian race thought to have been defeated by the Wurms 2,000 years prior. The situation escalates with the arrival of Jaxamillian Faltato, an art historian guiding his "sponsors"—the Wurms—to plunder the warren. The Wurms, giant soil-dwelling creatures, arrive in a biological ship and a massive battle erupts between them and the golem army. The Doctor discovers the Valnaxi Council still exists as sentient smoke and that their "deactivation plaque" was actually a genetic sampler, accidentally triggered by Chief Overseer Soloman Nabarr, designed to reformat the Valnaxi into new bodies.
To perfect their new human templates, the Valnaxi capture Rose and Solomon. The Doctor develops an "anti-golem serum" using his own blood and Fynn's fungus research, rendering himself immune. He confronts the newly-formed Male and Female Valnaxi and tricks them into teleporting the originals to safety just as he activates the Valnaxi ship/volcano's launch sequence. The resulting eruption destroys the Wurm ship and scatters their forces.
In the aftermath, Fynn dies a hero, and his colleague Adiel becomes Acting Director, planning to use the Wurms' nutrient-rich landing muck to revitalise African agriculture. Solomon returns to his village, and Basel stays to help Adiel. The stranded Male and Female Valnaxi decide to abandon their ancient obligations and experience life on Earth, while a defeated Faltato is left to deal with the surviving, injured Wurm, Korr.
Characters[]
- Tenth Doctor
- Rose Tyler
- Soloman Nabarr
- Adiel
- Basel
- Edet Fynn
- Kanjuchi
- Jaxamillian Faltato
- King Ottak
- Knight-Major Korr
- Male
- Female
- Nadif
- Talib
- Guwe
- Mula
- Roba Isako
Worldbuilding[]
TARDIS[]
- The TARDIS's telepathic circuits translate the Kenga dialect for Rose, inadvertently revealing her presence to Adiel and Basel.
- The ship is buried under a mountain of super-fertile "muck" from the Wurm ship's landing. It takes the returning workers two days to excavate it.
Food and Beverages[]
- A fruit shot that is "half-caffeine, half-taurine" is served in the agri-unit's common room.
- Kanjuchi is known for making "dreadful coffee."
- Fynn's ultimate goal is a universally-farmable, highly nutritious fungus, but his early experiments resulted in a poisonous version.
- The Doctor mentions wanting a cup of Horlicks.
- Faltato has the injured Korr make him tea with two sugars aboard the Wurm ship.
Notes[]
- This story was also released as an ebook available from the Amazon Kindle store.
- The concept of Balor being fragmented and needing reassembly is distinct from Scaroth's temporal fragmentation, as Balor is a single entity whose consciousness is being reformed.
- The cover, by Henry Steadman, depicts the Doctor and Rose, with a silhouette exploring a volcanic tunnel and a golden Valnaxi statue.
Continuity[]
- The concept of an alien force animating inanimate matter into "golems" is very similar to the Nestene Consciousness animating plastic to create the Autons. (TV: Spearhead from Space, Rose)
- The Valnaxi Council, existing as sentient smoke and seeking to reformat themselves using human bodies after losing their own in a war, bears a strong resemblance to the Gelth. (TV: The Unquiet Dead)
- The Doctor's blood is described as "highly adaptive" and is used as a key component in the anti-golem serum. The special properties of his blood/DNA have been a plot point in other stories. (TV: The Christmas Invasion, The Doctor's Daughter)
- The Doctor's experience with the Krillitanes and fire alarms is referenced when he uses ultra-high frequencies against the bat-golems. (TV: School Reunion)
- The Doctor explicitly mentions adapting the Kilbracken technique to create the anti-golem serum. This technique was central to the plot of The Invisible Enemy.
- The Doctor's anecdote about hiding art from the National Gallery in a Welsh mountain during the Second World War is a piece of personal continuity for his character. (99)
- Fynn used dead human bodies for his fungus experiments. Davros similarly used human remains from Tranquil Repose to create a food source. (TV: Revelation of the Daleks)
- The Valnaxi plan to rebuild themselves from human templates and are based within a volcano, similar to the Pyroviles. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii)
Audiobook[]
- This novel was released as an audiobook on 2 October 2006 by BBC Audio and read by Don Warrington.
External links[]
- The Discontinuity Guide to: The Art of Destruction at The Whoniverse
- The Cloister Library: The Art of Destruction
