The novel “Avatars of the Intelligence” by Sue Hampton was published for the first time in 2017.
Lucy Wilson was only twelve years old when her family moved from London to a Welsh village called Ogmore-by-Sea. For Lucy, it’s a huge change, also because she goes to live far away from all her friends. For her, that’s a new loss following the death of her grandfather, Sir Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart.
In Ogmore-by-Sea, Lucy quickly befriends a 14-year-old local nicknamed Hobo. Soon, the situation in the village becomes far from boring, as the students from her new school start disappearing. Lucy feels inspired by the stories her grandfather told her and starts investigating.
The series “The Lucy Wilson Mysteries” tells the adventures of the granddaughter of Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, a character who became famous in the TV show “Doctor Who”. It’s a series aimed at young readers with novels that are much shorter than the normal series connected to this saga. The stories almost exclusively include fictional characters created for other short stories and novels, and only occasionally characters that appeared in the TV show.
The complexity of Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart’s family has been developed in the stories published in the series created for this character. In one story, he discovered that he had a child from a relationship he had many years earlier. The relationship with that son remains difficult until his death while a strong relationship is formed with his grandchildren.
In addition to the protagonist’s age, the opening part of “Avatars of the Intelligence” shows how much the novel is written for young readers for its themes. Lucy is forced to totally change her life by her parents’ decision to move from London to a Welsh village, where she has also to adapt to the new school. Sue Hampton offers a good tale of Lucy’s point of view and her difficulties.
This introductory novel to Lucy Wilson’s adventures also features her new friend, nicknamed Hobo. He’s a couple of years older than Lucy and attends the same school as her. He suffers from alopecia, a trait that Sue Hampton can describe from first-hand experience, as she also suffers from that condition. For this reason, Hobo is seen by some students as different.
There’s a clear message in the novel connected to diversity and acceptance that is also developed in other ways linked to Lucy’s family. In this sense, it follows the trend seen in the new “Doctor Who” series. This may upset some potential readers but this series is targeted at young readers who are supposed to have an open mind.
The Great Intelligence has been known in “Doctor Who” since the Second Doctor serial “The Web of Fear“. Lucy Wilson knows about it because her grandfather told her stories of his fights with it and with other alien forces instead of the classic fairy tales. Despite this, it’s difficult for her to recognize that enemy and above all to fight it.
“Avatars of the Intelligence” contains enough references to Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart’s story to be enjoyable by readers who haven’t read the various stories dedicated to this character that tell his family’s story. For adult readers, these novels may be a little too simple but overall they’re nice. For young readers to whom “The Lucy Wilson Mysteries” series is aimed, rather short novels with rather simple plots can also be a good introduction to “Doctor Who”.
