The novel “Plague City” by Jonathan Morris was published for the first time in 2017.
The Tardis materializes in Edinburgh, in 1645. When the Twelfth Doctor, Bill Potts, and Nardole go out to explore the surroundings, they get stopped by the guards who ensure compliance with the curfew established to contain the plague that has struck the city. The travelers split up when they run and see various aspects of the dire situation.
The Doctor and Nardole meet Thomas and Isobel, who recently lost their daughter Catherine to the plague. They discover that the Night Doctor visits homes when one of the inhabitants is about to die and is dressed as a plague doctor. The spirits of the dead return to visit their relatives and the travelers see them too.
“Plague City” is part of a series of novels connected to the new “Doctor Who” series. They’re targeted to a wide audience by being linear enough to be appreciated even by very young readers but sophisticated enough to interest more mature readers. With the adventures of the Eleventh Doctor, there was a small change in the size of the novels about “Doctor Who” new series’ adventures, which have become slightly larger.
Historical adventures are a classic in the “Doctor Who” saga, although over time there was almost always the addition of an alien element. In “Plague City” the historical element is the worst plague epidemic that struck the city of Edinburgh. Inevitably, this determines dark tones for this novel.
Jonathan Morris incorporated various historical details into the plot, starting with George Rae, a real plague doctor. An important element is the plague doctor’s costume, the clothing actually worn at the time to try to protect themselves from contagion. In “Plague City” that costume is also worn by the Night Doctor, so called because he only walks around the city at night visiting the houses where someone is about to die.
The family of Thomas and Isobel, who lost their daughter Catherine, represents an unfortunately normal situation in Edinburgh during the 1645 epidemic. Catherine’s return as a ghost represents the anomalous element the Doctor and his companions have to investigate. The situation doesn’t leave much room for witty dialogues of the kind seen in some of the television episodes with this trio, so the humor is limited.
A central theme is how the Doctor deals with situations where he could save everyone but that would radically change history. The Twelfth Doctor took his face recalling a situation of that kind experienced in Pompeii at the time of the Vesuvius eruption that covered the city. When he anticipates Bill’s questions, he does so by remembering Donna’s questions to the Tenth Doctor.
In the novels of this series, the ethical and moral elements are not developed particularly in-depth and in the end, the Doctor justifies his decisions by stating that he’s a Time Lord, so he knows how to handle certain situations. On the other hand, the Doctor’s behaviors regarding the interference in the events he finds himself in have never really been consistent going from the intimation not to change a bit to the total change attempted by the Tenth Doctor in his Time Lord Victorious version. In this case, his intervention seemed to me all in all balanced.
Overall, “Plague City” seemed to me a good novel in which Jonathan Morris reports some real events related to Edinburgh’s 1645 plague epidemic mixing them with science fiction elements. The representation of the protagonists seemed good to me as well and the characters made up for the novel were useful to be engaged in the story, so I recommend reading it.
