Doctor Who News - Lethbridge-Stewart: Beast of Fang-Rock

Friday, 16 October 2015 - Reported by Chuck Foster

Candy-Jar Books will be releasing the third story in their Lethbridge-Stewart series of novels, Beast of Fang Rock by Andy Frankham-Allen, later this month; those who pre-order the book before relaease date will also receive an additional free short e-story on PDF, The Cult of the Grinning Man.

Lethbridge-Stewart: Beast Of Fang Rock (Credit: Candy Jar Books)

Beast of Fang Rock
Written by Andy Frankham-Allen
Cover by Colin Howard
Published on 23rd October 2015

"There’s always death on the rock when the Beast’s about."

Fang Rock has always had a bad reputation. Since 1955 the lighthouse has been out of commission, shut down because of fire that gutted the entire tower. But now, finally updated and fully renovated, the island and lighthouse is once again about to be brought back into service.

Students have gathered on Fang Rock to celebrate the opening of the ‘most haunted lighthouse of the British Isles’, but they get more than they bargained for when the ghosts of long-dead men return, accompanied by a falling star.

Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart is brought in to investigate what he believes to be signs of alien involvement. But it is not only Lethbridge-Stewart who has an interest in Fang Rock. Anne Travers is called to her family solicitor’s, who have in their possession a letter from Archibald Goff, the paranormal investigator who once visited Fang Rock back in the 1820s, and along with it a piece of alien technology.

What connects a shooting star, ghosts of men killed in 1902 and the beast that roamed Fang Rock in 1823? Lethbridge-Stewart and Anne Travers are about to discover the answer first hand...

With a foreword by Louise Jameson, who played Leela, the Doctor’s companion from 1976-1978.

As might be discerned from the synopsis, Beast of Fang Rock is a sequel (and prequel) to the Season Fifteen opener, Horror of Fang Rock by Terrance Dicks. Talking about the setting, author Andy Frankham-Allen said:

The period setting of Beast is a deliberate echo of Horror. Three keepers stranded on the rock, hunted by something unknown and deadly. It was essential that I recreated that sense of claustrophobia, and so I developed a very similar dynamic, taking my cues from Terrance Dicks’ original script. Terrance is such an important part of Doctor Who’s history, indeed he’s had his hand in almost every piece of Doctor Who lore modern fans get to enjoy in the current series, that it was imperative his vision and ideals be honoured in this book.

The book also heavily features one of the principal characters from The Web of Fear, Anne Travers; head of publishing Shaun Russell explains:

One of the main goals of this book, was to establish Anne Travers as a key player in the series. She had a cameo in the first book, The Forgotten Son, and a timey-wimey role in The Schizoid Earth, but this is the first book in which her part is essential to the plot. Indeed, in every way that matters, Beast of Fang Rock is Anne’s story. Doctor Who has a large female fan base, and it has always been our plan that our series has a strong female lead to whom all those fans can relate.

The book also has a foreward by the storie's star, Louise Jameson, who played Leela in the original story, had provided a foreward for the book, during which she observed:

Horror of Fang Rock has always been a favourite with the fans. Part of the ‘recipe’ for a frightening yarn is to create something claustrophobic. And that feeling of climbing the stairs at night taps in to almost everyone’s personal childhood terror. Add the fog, the fear of being ‘jumped’ and you’re left with the stuff of nightmares. This book is hard to put down, and it’s marvellous, and very touching, that so many people are still connected to the classic series in a way I could never have predicted, even though I had the privilege of travelling through time.

Hayley Cox, senior publishing coordinator at Candy Jar Books, also explained how the setting of the lighthouse itself is important:

For centuries lighthouses have protected and saved many lives all over the world, keeping safe those who dare to battle against the ferocious elements of our world. Lighthouses feature so little in literature, and are often relegated to stories told by the older generation, but this book will hopefully remind today’s generation of the importance of the lighthouse. Not only in the past, but in today’s world. Andy has done a wonderful job of paying testament to these bastions of hope for the unwary traveller.

The book can be pre-ordered from the Candy Jar Books website.

Lethbridge-Stewart: Beast of Fang-Rock

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