Puffin Books: The Roots of Evil by Philip Reeve

Tuesday, 9 April 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The Roots of Evil, by Philip Reeve (Credit: Puffin Books)

The writer of the fourth in the Puffin Books series of e-books has been revealed to be Philip Reeve, the award-winning author of Mortal Engines, Here Lies Arthur, and GOBLINS.

The Roots of Evil
Written by Philip Reeve
Published 23rd April 2013

When the Fourth Doctor takes Leela to visit an immense tree space station known as the Heligan Structure, little do they know that the tree has been asleep for centuries, dreaming of vengeance against a man in a blue box… As the tree awakes, the Time Lord and his companion soon discover why they are such unwelcome guests.

Philip Reeve was born in Brighton and worked in a book shop for many years before becoming a full-time illustrator and then turning to writing. His first novel, Mortal Engines, won the Nestlé Smarties Gold Award (2002), the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award, and was shortlisted for both the Branford Boase Award and the Whitbread Children's Book Award. He has since won many more awards and accolades for his works including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize in 2006 and the Los Angeles Times Book Award for A Darkling Plain and the 2008 CILIP Carnegie Medal for Here Lies Arthur. His most recent titles are GOBLINS (2012) which was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and its sequel GOBLINS VS DWARVES (2013). He lives in Dartmoor, England with his wife and son, Sam. For further information and to explore the author’s own curious world visit his website.

Reeve commented:

I started watching Doctor Who during the Tom Baker era and so to me he is the ‘real’ Doctor, and it was a huge honour to be asked to write about him. I tried to imagine myself to a Saturday teatime, circa 1979: a new Doctor Who story was about to begin – where would the TARDIS materialise and what would be waiting for it?

A video of the author will be released on YouTube by BBC Worldwide later in the month, with the book itself coming out on the 23rd April. An extract from the book can be read via the Guardian.