The novel “The New Unusual” by Adrian Sherlock and Andy Frankham-Allen was published for the first time in 2018.
A normal car journey risks turning into tragedy for Anne Travers when her driver suddenly seems prey to hallucinations in which he’s convinced he’s flying. A strange egg the man is holding seems to be the cause of his strange behavior and Anne manages to snatch it from him, bringing him back to reality.
Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart isn’t convinced that the problem is within his competence because new drugs are spreading but Anne Travers shows him that the egg is more than just a package and its effects are even more negative than the immediate ones. The investigation leads to an Australian lead and from there comes the call from Owain, who is traveling across Australia with Dylan, after the two young men met people who use the strange eggs.
The Lethbridge-Stewart series tells the adventures of the character who became famous in the “Doctor Who” TV show when he works without the Doctor. The stories start from the period immediately following the debut of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart in the TV show and then extend the period covered. These stories include some characters that appeared in the TV show, some invented for other productions connected to it, and others that were created specifically for these novels.
As with various stories in this series, “The New Unusual” is the kind of adventure where problems seem to seek Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, his co-workers, and anyone close to him. The spread of drugs seems to be a matter for law enforcement, at least until Anne Travers examines an egg whose contact causes hallucinations and decidedly negative long-term effects.
Often, the stories of this series have elements that are well connected with the era in which they are set, in this case, the beginning of the 1970s. In particular, the search for new experiences, including mental ones, by the new generations, who for this reason also try various drugs. An egg may seem like a strange object for achieving a mind “trip” but the effects of the really out-of-the-ordinary egg are making them popular.
A lead points to Australia and there the story connects to the culture of the Aborigines, in particular, to their oldest traditions linked to a mythical era known as Dreamtime. In the novel, these traditions include the recollection of events dating back many millennia with links to the mysterious eggs. This seemed to me the most interesting part of the novel.
Owain and Dylan also come across the eggs while they’re traveling through Australia. Their involvement shortly after Anne Travers began the investigation seems an all too convenient coincidence. Actually, the personal stories of Owain and Dylan have already proved to be very intertwined with Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart’s, to the point that in the course of the novel, only the most significant elements can be mentioned. In this case, the coincidence of the events is more science fiction than the eggs.
There’s also a kind of coda in a version of the short story “The Playing Dead”, previously published by Candy Jar Books, modified to include references to the main story. Despite Owain and Dylan’s role, which seems forced, the novel seemed to me all in all enjoyable thanks to some interesting ideas. The protagonists’ personal stories follow some developments seen in previous novels of this series, so I recommend “The New Unusual” in particular to fans who have already read them.
