Chatterbox: Blab About Books

I love love looove the novelisation of Douglas Adams' lost story: Shada! This story was written for television in 1979 but a strike prevented it from being produced.

There are several versions of the story. The little bit that was completed is available on video with linking storybook narration but I've not watched it. The book is well-written, brilliant, and heartwarming, and is a great adventure that zips from a college to the other end of the universe. It is truly awesome sauce, a great tale worthy of being called a classic.

There may be no better way to experience the tale than reading the novel. I can't judge for sure. Sometime soon I intend to watch the webcast, but I've not done it yet. Here's the story:

Professor Chronotis has retired away to Cambridge University. But he has taken a dangerous book with him, which he's pretty much shelved away and forgotten about. But there is someone hunting for it. His name is Skagra. He's got a spaceship and a flying sphere that sucks out people's minds. He wants this powerful book and will stop at nothing to get it. And then, once he has it, universal control over all.

Chronotis, completely unaware, inadvertantly lends the book to graduate student Chris Parsons.

Meanwhile, the Doctor, Romana, and K-9 have come responding to a summons the Professor previously sent some time ago and then forgot about. He remembers: oh yeah, I wanted to get that book back to Gallifrey! But it is too late: Chris has accidentally got the book, and Skagra is already hot on its trail.

This leads to our great adventure, which takes the Doctor and his companions across the universe in a quest to stop Skagra and return the book, The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey, back where it belongs.

By now you've probably figured out this is a Doctor Who story. Yup! I tried to delay that bomb for as long as possible in order to attract the most people. Douglas Adams worked as a script editor on Doctor Who during 1978-79, and also wrote a few scripts, including Shada. This was going to be the final serial of the 17th season of the old series. But as previously mentioned there was industrial action that jeopardized it and it was never finished.

Except in this astounding, amazing, wonderful, wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey... book

I've hooked you, right? Go read the book! And if you're not a Whovian, go watch the show after you read the book.