The novel “The Coming of the Terraphiles” by Michael Moorcock was published for the first time in 2010.
The dark tides are undermining the stability of the multiverse and will cause it to collapse if something isn’t done. The Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond travel to the Miggea system, on the borders between various universes, for an activity that doesn’t seem related to the imminent collapse: participating in a sports competition.
The Doctor and Amy joined a group of people who are meant to reenact all things about Old Earth. This includes ancient sports or at least the interpretation they give of them. The key to the salvation of the multiverse seems to be tied to that competition but the prize also piques the interest of an old enemy of the Doctor: Captain Cornelius and his pirate crew.
Generally, the novels connected to the TV show “Doctor Who” are published in book series marked by specific graphics, size, and very similar lengths. However, in some cases, the BBC chose to publish novels written by famous science fiction authors that have different characteristics including an increased length that allows offering better-developed stories.
Over the course of his long career, Michael Moorcock created a multiverse in which different versions of some of his characters can exist. Jerry Cornelius is one of these characters and represents an incarnation of the Eternal Champion, a central figure in this author’s works who, however, is not always a spotless hero. In fact, the various versions of Jerry Cornelius are ambiguous at the very least and Captain Cornelius is a pirate.
Captain Cornelius is one of the various versions of this character and precisely because there are several of them scattered in space and time you don’t need to have read his adventures. Moorcock included some references such as the Harlequin costume and the commedia dell’arte, a direct quote from his novel “The Condition of Muzak“, but these are completely independent stories. Jerry Cornelius’s novels had a fragmented structure typical of the new wave movement while “The Coming of the Terraphiles” has a decidedly more conventional linear structure.
The subtitle “The Pirates of the Second Aether” sounds like a reference to another Michael Moorcock series called Second Ether but I haven’t read it, so I don’t know if there are direct references. The author often places little cross-references in his works and this means that his fans have an additional reason for fun in recognizing them.
A knowledge that is at least basic of Michael Moorcock’s works is useful to understand certain themes and the style of “The Coming of the Terraphiles”. In many ways, this is a typical novel of this author rather than of “Doctor Who”. The Doctor displays behaviors common to the character rather than those specific to the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond is used as a generic companion. The publication of the novel took place after the end of the first season with these two protagonists but it’s possible that Moorcock had a limited idea of their characteristics while he was writing the novel.
Various elements still fit in a novel linked to the “Doctor Who” series. Parallel universes appeared a number of times over the course of the saga. Concepts such as Order and Chaos have also been used, for example, embodied in the White Guardian and the Black Guardian of Time.
The result is a novel that mixes epic moments with humorous ones, with funny characters and events. Sometimes there are contrasts between the cosmic events taking place that could have really catastrophic consequences and the sometimes surreal if not demented moments with characters definitely over the top.
Overall, the characteristics of “The Coming of the Terraphiles” make it more enjoyable for Michael Moorcock’s fans than for “Doctor Who” fans. In my opinion, the encounter between the fictional universes of the Doctor and Jerry Cornelius was only partially successful but you can like reading it if you don’t have too many expectations.
