‘I do hope you’re all ready to be terrified!’

The Phaeron disappeared from the universe over a million years ago. They travelled among the stars using roads made from time and space, but left only relics behind. But what actually happened to the Phaeron? Some believe they were they eradicated by a superior force… Others claim they destroyed themselves.

Or were they in fact the victims of an even more hideous fate?

In the far future, humans discover the location of the last Phaeron road – and the Doctor and Clara join the mission to see where the road leads. Each member of the research team knows exactly what they’re looking for – but only the Doctor knows exactly what they’ll find. Because only the Doctor knows the true secret of the Phaeron: a monstrous secret so terrible and powerful that it must be buried in the deepest grave imaginable…

My thanks to BBC Doctor Who books for my review copy

This was the third of the Glamour Chronicles books I read and I felt that it brought the series to a nice conclusion.  I had struggled to find a ‘correct’ reading order, however in my chat with Gary Russell he indicated that Royal Blood should come before Deep Time and that Big Bang Generation could be read anytime. Thus my reading order of Royal Blood, Big Bang Generation then Deep Time left me feeling I had stumbled onto the best way to approach the Glamour Chronicles.

The Doctor and Clara find themselves on board a deep space exploration ship. It is a state of the art craft which is embarking on an archaeological exploration to find the last of the fabled Phaeron Roads – wormholes in space which the ancient Phaeron race once used to traverse the galaxies before they mysteriously disappeared and passed into legend.

The ship they are travelling on crosses into the wormhole they had been seeking but the journey is too much for their craft and they find themselves stuck in deep space. They are unable to pilot their way to safety and their ship is rapidly losing all life support functions. For the Doctor and Clara survival becomes paramount but someone within the crew is working to their own agenda and if that means the lives of others have to be sacrificed then this will not keep them from their goal.

On reflection I would say Deep Time was (for me) the most fun read of the three books from this release cycle. The story unfolded at a fast pace, there were plenty of action sequences and the small cast of characters are frequently exposed to peril and find their numbers dwindle at an alarming rate.  This is classic Doctor Who fare – Trevor Baxendale does a great job of creating characters you actually care about and provides the villain of the piece who you want to get their comeuppance.

Fans of The Doctor and Clara will not be disappointed with Deep Time and for those following the Glamour Chronicles this is the story where the Glamour is most prominent.