Lethbridge-Stewart: The Playing Dead
Thursday, 21 July 2016 - Reported by Chuck Foster
This month sees the release of the Lethbridge-Stewart novel The Grandfather Infestation by John Peel, and Candy Jar Books have announced that this will be accompanied by the latest in their range of free digital-only stories, The Playing Dead, written by newcomer to the range, Adrian Sherlock:Lieutenant Bishop has survived a dangerous mission in Australia and is looking forward to going home. But he wakes up to find the streets of Darwin are empty; he seems to be the last man on Earth. Until from the shadows come strange creatures. The dead are walking, and they want Bishop. But Bishop has more to worry about than just himself – where is Anne Travers?
Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen said:
Adrian came to my attention via John - he’s one of the many new voices were encouraging through a short story initiative, although we kind of did it backwards with Adrian. A novel pitch (set in his native Australia) led to this short story.
Keeping with the experimental nature of the free short stories, The Playing Dead is the first story to focus on Bill Bishop, ever-popular adjutant to Lethbridge-Stewart. Adrian Sherlock said:It's been a long held dream of mine to write a story about the classic era of Doctor Who, and the Lethbridge-Stewart series is a hugely exciting way to do that. It was also personally very exciting to write a story which harkens back to classics like The Twilight Zone and The Omega Man, but with a very Who-ish twist. I'm eternally grateful to Andy for the chance to push the brave but unsuspecting Bishop into a world of shadows and dangers.
I had a lot of fun getting into the mind of Bishop, a character created especially for this series. It’s telling that he is just as rounded and as interesting as Lethbridge-Stewart and Anne Travers. He is a worthy addition to the role-call of heroes we know and love from the classic era of Doctor Who. A joy to write for.
Although set within the current narrative of the book series, The Playing Dead moves the story forward a year. Shaun Russell, Head of Publishing, said:I had a lot of fun getting into the mind of Bishop, a character created especially for this series. It’s telling that he is just as rounded and as interesting as Lethbridge-Stewart and Anne Travers. He is a worthy addition to the role-call of heroes we know and love from the classic era of Doctor Who. A joy to write for.
It’s nice to dip in and out of Lethbridge-Stewart’s life with the short stories, and as we know where the characters will be in a year, namely Australia, we thought it would be fun to give a few hints to our readers.
Cover art is by Richard Young:How could I say no to creating something a little different from my usual style? It’s always nice to show people your range. Different strokes for different folks. And, of course, a chance to turn the Brig into a zombie... What’s not to love?
The Grandfather Infestation is due out at the end of July, and all subscribers will receive the short story automatically, as will those who purchase any of the bundles for the 2016 series. More details can be found at the Candy Jar website, where readers can also receive a free download of the short story The Band of Evil.
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