Una McCormack – Grab This Book

Blake’s 7: Origins – Big Finish Anthology

Big Finish Productions, the audio production company and publisher best known for its range of Doctor Who audio releases, have published a stunning limited set of Blake’s 7 hardback novelisations. Blake’s 7: Origins released on 27 March, 2023, marking 45 years since the original broadcast of the first season’s final episode.

Blake’s 7 debuted on BBC television in 1978 and quickly developed a cult following of fans eager to enjoy the exploits of Roj Blake and his gang of rebels in their battle against the sinister Federation. Considered far ahead of its time, it ran for four series, and helped influence much of the science fiction we see on our screens today.

Now, for the first time, the complete first season of Terry Nation’s classic sci-fi adventure series will be published as a collection of brand-new hardback novelisations, featuring lavish photos and artwork, and released as a single hardback box set limited to just 1,500 copies. These books will not be available to buy separately.

Each adaptation comprises two stories from the TV series and has been written by a well-known sci-fi author, including Una McCormack and Paul Cornell.

There are seven books in the collection, each book features two stories from the opening series.

The Way Back/Space Fall by Paul Cornell
Cygnus Alpha/Time Squad by Marc Platt
The Web/Seek-Locate-Destroy by Gary Russell
Mission to Destiny/Duel by Jaqueline Rayner
Project Avalon/Breakdown by Steve Cole
Bounty/Deliverance by Una McCormack
Orac/Redemption by James Goss

I recieved digital review copies of the Blake’s 7: Origins collection from Jamie-Lee at Black Crow PR.

I grew up watching Doctor Who and Blake’s 7. They were an integral part of my childhood. The sheer volume of Doctor Who books, toys, magazines etc meant the Doctor’s adventures would always be the most accesible stories and my love of Doctor Who has endured for over 40 years. But all these decades later I still remember the excitement of sitting down to watch a new episode of Blake’s 7.

My strongest memory of watching the show was that it was darker than Doctor Who, much more edgy, and bleak – it felt bleak – and it felt more grown up. Perhaps I was too young to apprecaite many of the finer elements of the scripts but having revisited some of the stories from the first season, courtesy of the books contained in the Origins collection, I do feel it likely I missed many nuances due to my relative youth at the time.

Thanks to the geniuses at Big Finish, the “great ideas factory” I can now revisit Blake’s 7 and enjoy the full first season and experience those early adventures in full. And I can do it in written format (my favourite medium). As much of my initial Doctor Who exposure can through reading the Target paperbacks of the old episodes this is a similar experience (though the beautiful books in this collection are much more classy than my tatty target paperbacks).

I haven’t had time to read all fourteen stories yet so I had to pick and choose which authors and stories I read. All seven of the authors contributing to the Origins collection are well known to me and I have many of their other work on my bookshelves. Big Finish have picked some of the very best writers to work on these books and I loved the stories I selected to read. The original source material was well represented and the tone felt spot on each time.

My first selection was Mission to Destiny and Duel which were written by Jaqueline Rayner. Jaqueline wrote some of my favourite Doctor Who novels and I always enjoy her writing style so a perfect place to start. And for this crime book reader it turned out to be an excellent decision as Mission to Destiny has shades of Christie’s And Then There We’re None.

The crew find a ship circling alone in space. When they teleport over to the seemingly abandoned ship it they find the crew asleep – or more accurately, drugged. As they revive the unconscious crew members they discover they were on a mercy mission to bring a valuable piece of technology back to their home planet as it will help save their crops and keep their civilisation alive. But dark forces are at work and one of the crew doesn’t want the mission to succeed – he’s killing off the crew members one by one, nobody is safe.

The story is slickly told, the claustrophobic tension from this deep space thriller is well conveyed and the author has made the small cast feel important to me in very short space of time. An excellent start.

When Mission to Destiny ended the book ran straight into Duel. This was a story more focused on Blake and the regular cast. The Federation are determined to capture the crew of fugitives and send an old enemy of Blake to hunt them down. Once again the energy and tension from the original story is captured well and it was another great read.

I have no doubt the other books in the Origins collection will also delight fans as these stories delighted me. I will be savouring each and I think I will stop dipping into the stories randomly and read them in order.

The collection is presented in a gorgeous slipcase, each of the seven volumes are hardback books and you’ll struggle to find a better ensemble of authors contributing to a single collection than this one. There are plenty of Blake’s 7 fans out there, this would be a stunning addition to any fan’s collection. Big Finish knock it out the park once again.

Blake’s 7: Origins is available now and limited to just 1,500 copies. Secure yours now: https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/blake-s-7-origins-2814

Publisher: Twitter @Bigfinish / Instagram: bigfinishprod
Black Crow: Twitter & Instagram: BlackCrow_PR

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September 17

Una McCormack Q&A – Doctor Who: Royal Blood

Today I am delighted to welcome Una McCormack. Una’s latest novel , Royal Blood, is one the three new Doctor Who titles from BBC Books. Featuring the 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald, Royal Blood forms part of the Glamour Chronicles trilogy.

Shall we start with an easy one? What can we expect The Doctor and Clara to encounter in Royal Blood?

The Doctor and Clara arrive in the mediaeval city of Varuz to discover that the technology is far more advanced than they would expect, and that the city is facing the threat of an invasion. They both try to prevent war breaking out – but things are complicated when a figure from Earth legend, Lancelot, arrives, in search of the Holy Grail.

The three new Doctor Who titles just released, your book and those by Trevor and Gary are all part of a story arc which brings The Doctor into contact with The Glamour. What is the Glamour and does it pose a threat to the TARDIS crew?

The Glamour is very mysterious. It can take many forms, and look very different to different people, but its chief property is that people want to possess it. This makes it very dangerous, and very hard to fight.

How much co-ordination has to take place between three authors before you all begin writing to ensure that The Glamour is defined correctly and the plotlines all tie in?

Although they’re connected by the Glamour, and are best read in a particular order, the three books do stand alone quite well. The series consultant, Justin Richards, and the project editor, Steve Tribe, did the co-ordination of the projects. I’ve worked on other projects, such as the Star Trek series The Fall, where the five authors collaborated through a kind of email ‘writers’ room’. We had a lot of ideas and information flying to and fro!

How do you get to be one of the Doctor Who authors? Do you approach the team and pitch an idea or are you invited to contribute?

For the first book, I approached the editorial team and asked to write. I had a long background in writing TV tie-in novels from the work I’d done on the Star Trek books, and this stood me in good stead. The turnaround can very tight on these kind of books, so they want to know that you can write them quickly while maintaining quality. I’ve been invited back for subsequent books.

You have previously written two 11^th Doctor Novels. Did it feel different writing for Peter Capaldi’s Doctor rather than Matt Smith? The two actors clearly have different approaches to the character but ultimately it is still The Doctor who is the hero.

There were definitely differences. Matt Smith’s is a very physical performance, with lots of hand-flapping and jumping around – you have to find a way to convey that through the prose. Peter Capaldi’s Doctor is very focused, quite grumpy – but often missing things around him that seem obvious. At the same time you have to convey something essentially ‘Doctorish’ about the character – never cowardly or cruel, always kind.

Are there any classic monsters that you would like to write into a future story?

The Kandyman.

Does the history of the show add an extra element of pressure when you write or do you find the backstory makes it much easier to position a situation and drop in the characters we know so well?

I try not to let the history of the show interfere with the story I’m telling. I don’t go out of my way to ignore it or contradict it, but I want the stories in books to have their own momentum rather than rely on knowledge of the series. The readership of these books can be quite young, 8-14, so you want to make sure that these readers are enjoying the books. They might not have seen Doctor Who before!

I am in my early 40’s and can just about remember watching K-9, scenes from the Leisure Hive, City of Death and State of Decay. But everything from Logopolis onward! Can you pin down your earliest memories of Doctor Who?

I am also in my early 40s, but my earliest memory is of Jon Pertwee’s final story, ‘Planet of the Spiders’. I was very frightened by the Buddhist chanting. I’m still slightly frightened by Buddhists.

Finally, if you could pair any of the Doctor’s incarnations with any of his companions who would you like to write an adventure for?

What an interesting question! I’d like to write Tegan. I could imagine her being grumpy at most of the Doctor’s incarnations, but it might be fun to see if she could out-cross the Twelfth Doctor!

My profound thanks to Una for taking time to answer my questions. If there is any way that 12th Doctor/Tegan meeting could happen I suspect it would make a lot of people very happy!

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September 14

Doctor Who: Royal Blood – Una McCormack

“The Grail is a story, a myth! It didn’t exist on your world! It can’t exist here!”

The city-state of Varuz is failing. Duke Aurelian is the last of his line, his capital is crumbling, and the armies of his enemy, Duke Conrad, are poised beyond the mountains to invade. Aurelian is preparing to gamble everything on one last battle. So when a holy man, the Doctor, comes to Varuz from beyond the mountains, Aurelian asks for his blessing in the war.

But all is not what it seems in Varuz. The city-guard have lasers for swords, and the halls are lit by electric candlelight. Aurelian’s beloved wife, Guena, and his most trusted knight, Bernhardt, seem to be plotting to overthrow their Duke, and Clara finds herself drawn into their intrigue…

Will the Doctor stop Aurelian from going to war? Will Clara’s involvement in the plot against the Duke be discovered? Why is Conrad’s ambassador so nervous? And who are the ancient and weary knights who arrive in Varuz claiming to be on a quest for the Holy Grail…?

My thanks to BBC Books for a review copy of Royal Blood

The Doctor and Clara are back and, as we would expect, the TARDIS has landed them in uncomfortable surroundings once again. Varuz is a small city on the brink of ruin, a once-proud place it is falling into disrepair and the enemy forces are threatening, it seems one final conflict is coming and there is no escaping the fact that Varuz will fall.

The Duke (Aurelian) is trying to rally support for one last valiant push in a bid to save all that they hold dear, however, his wife and his closest allies are opposed to the idea. Into this fraught situation lands the Doctor and Clara. They are initially mistaken for the ambassadors from the opposing forces, however, the Duke appears convinced that the Doctor is actually a holy man who will bless his forthcoming attack – obviously the Doctor will provide no such blessing.

With the political wrangling in full swing a new element is thrown into the mix – the appearance of a number of ancient knights. They are on a long quest to find the Holy Grail and they believe their search will end in Varuz. The Doctor is far from convinced but how can he explain the appearance of the knights? These men are on a seemingly never-ending journey to find an item that the Doctor does not believe exists – why would they appear in Varuz at such a pivotal time in its history?

Royal Blood is a delight to read. There are many scenes ‘at court’ where Clara and the Doctor are caught up in the politics of Varuz. There are factions opposed to Auerlian’s planned war and Clara is asked to spy for one of the key players that oppose the Duke, something of a dilemma for Clara and Una McCormack brilliantly depicts Clara’s turmoil and her frustration at the Doctor’s apparent lack of concern about her predicament.

Royal Blood is one of three titles published by BBC Books this autumn. The stories are all linked and are described as a trilogy of adventures across time and space which follow the Doctor’s search for The Glamour. Although I struggled to find a definitive reading order for the books I found Royal Blood the best place to start and the concept of The Glamour was well defined (and intriguing).

This was the first of the three Doctor Who releases I read and it started the trilogy brilliantly. Varuz is an enigma, the political manoeuvring kept me hooked and the Grail quest was unexpected yet a great addition. Another great addition to the Doctor Who range.

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