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* [[TheSeventies The '70s]]: Co-author Martin Day said the book sprang from the idea to [[https://web.archive.org/web/20050406224906/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/news/drwho/2004/09/23/14437.shtml "do something utterly rooted in the 70s"]] -- hence blending the Pertwee era of Series/DoctorWho with spy movies, ColdWar tensions and [[NewAgeRetroHippie hippies]].
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* [[TheSeventies The '70s]]: Co-author Martin Day said the book sprang from the idea to [[https://web.archive.org/web/20050406224906/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/news/drwho/2004/09/23/14437.shtml "do something utterly rooted in the 70s"]] -- hence blending the Pertwee era of Series/DoctorWho with spy movies, ColdWar UsefulNotes/ColdWar tensions and [[NewAgeRetroHippie hippies]].
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Published 1997; written by Keith Topping and Martin Day, featuring the Third Doctor, Liz and UNIT.
The human race stands at a worrying political crossroads. UNIT is up to its ears in alien sightings, reporting of [=UFOs=] and threats from other worlds - and for good reason - the devil goblins from Neptune have landed.
!!Tropes
* [[TheSeventies The ’70s]]: Co-author Martin Day said the book sprang from the idea to [[https://web.archive.org/web/20050406224906/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/news/drwho/2004/09/23/14437.shtml “do something utterly rooted in the 70s”]] — hence blending the Pertwee era of Series/DoctorWho with spy movies, ColdWar tensions and [[NewAgeRetroHippie hippies]].
* AlienInvasion: And unlike most Doctor Who of the era, as the cover blurb notes, “London doesn’t have a monopoly” on them.
* ConspiracyThriller: While the Doctor deals with the above, the Brigadier investigates treachery in UNIT.
* ContinuityNod: Loads of references to the Doctor’s adventures with UNIT are made, and at a party one character has heard of the Doctor from former companion Ian Chesterton.
->'''The Doctor:''' Is he still working for NASA?
->'''Professor Trainor:''' Yes, I met him and Barbara in London last month. I told him I hoped to meet you soon, and he said I should ask you about [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E5TheWebPlanet Vortis]].
* ContinuitySnarl: Played with. The Soviets are confused by how many buildings UNIT seems to have used as headquarters, while the Brigadier notes that moving so frequently [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall “made continuity a big problem”]] for the organisation.
* CreditsGag: At the end of the dedications at the start of the book, there’s an “Action by Havoc” credit, referencing the stunt team employed by this era of the show.
* DirtyCommunists: The Soviet branch of UNIT is treated with this sort of suspicion, not least when they try to kidnap the Doctor. Their leader, Valentina Shuskin, is at one point nicknamed [[TheBaroness “The Bitch Queen of Leningrad”]].
* TheGreys: The Nedenah.
* HistoryWithCelebrity: The Doctor mentions meeting Wernher von Braun (a “sordid little man”) and teaching Jacques Cousteau everything he knows… although the narration reveals the latter is [[CelebrityLie not true]], as he chuckles at human gullibility.
* HippieVan: The Doctor gets a lift in one “covered with poorly painted flowers against a purple starscape”. In case there’s any doubt as to who might own such a vehicle, the “hippie at the wheel” compliments the Doctor on his [[BadassCape “groovy gear”]].
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Venusian Aikido]]: The Doctor tries to avert his kidnapping by Spetsnaz soldiers like this.
->'''The Doctor:''' I should warn you that I am a tenth dan master in all of the major disciplines: Venusian aikido, Saturnian kung-fu. I trained as a Ninja on Quinnis in Galaxy Four. I’m not boasting, you understand. But I don’t believe a physical confrontation is in either of our interests.
* ImportedAlienPhlebotinum: [[spoiler:The CIA have been using Nedenah tech from the Roswell crash and are “bolting these weapons to experimental aircraft”.]]
* ItWillNeverCatchOn: A pair of American UNIT officers discuss the unlikelihood of “Mad Ronnie” Reagan becoming president.
* LeaveBehindAPistol: Subverted. A spy who's been acting to undermine UNIT has discovered that his superiors have betrayed him, and has been captured and tortured by them as a result when he tried to defect. Later, one of his minders appears to leave a gun behind to end the spy's misery; he tries to, only to learn it's not loaded. His former boss then enters the room and bluntly tells him that he'll be the one to decide when it ends for him.
* OriginalFlavor: The book is divided into seven “parts” of a few chapters each, mirroring season seven’s trend for seven-part stories. (Interludes between parts, however, show off the broader scope a novel can use, as well as the globetrotting plot.)
* RoswellThatEndsWell: The Brigadier has heard of Area 51, and gets to visit [[spoiler:but is horrified by how the CIA keeps aliens in captivity, being reminded of a concentration camp]].
The human race stands at a worrying political crossroads. UNIT is up to its ears in alien sightings, reporting of [=UFOs=] and threats from other worlds - and for good reason - the devil goblins from Neptune have landed.
!!Tropes
* [[TheSeventies The ’70s]]: Co-author Martin Day said the book sprang from the idea to [[https://web.archive.org/web/20050406224906/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/news/drwho/2004/09/23/14437.shtml “do something utterly rooted in the 70s”]] — hence blending the Pertwee era of Series/DoctorWho with spy movies, ColdWar tensions and [[NewAgeRetroHippie hippies]].
* AlienInvasion: And unlike most Doctor Who of the era, as the cover blurb notes, “London doesn’t have a monopoly” on them.
* ConspiracyThriller: While the Doctor deals with the above, the Brigadier investigates treachery in UNIT.
* ContinuityNod: Loads of references to the Doctor’s adventures with UNIT are made, and at a party one character has heard of the Doctor from former companion Ian Chesterton.
->'''The Doctor:''' Is he still working for NASA?
->'''Professor Trainor:''' Yes, I met him and Barbara in London last month. I told him I hoped to meet you soon, and he said I should ask you about [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E5TheWebPlanet Vortis]].
* ContinuitySnarl: Played with. The Soviets are confused by how many buildings UNIT seems to have used as headquarters, while the Brigadier notes that moving so frequently [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall “made continuity a big problem”]] for the organisation.
* CreditsGag: At the end of the dedications at the start of the book, there’s an “Action by Havoc” credit, referencing the stunt team employed by this era of the show.
* DirtyCommunists: The Soviet branch of UNIT is treated with this sort of suspicion, not least when they try to kidnap the Doctor. Their leader, Valentina Shuskin, is at one point nicknamed [[TheBaroness “The Bitch Queen of Leningrad”]].
* TheGreys: The Nedenah.
* HistoryWithCelebrity: The Doctor mentions meeting Wernher von Braun (a “sordid little man”) and teaching Jacques Cousteau everything he knows… although the narration reveals the latter is [[CelebrityLie not true]], as he chuckles at human gullibility.
* HippieVan: The Doctor gets a lift in one “covered with poorly painted flowers against a purple starscape”. In case there’s any doubt as to who might own such a vehicle, the “hippie at the wheel” compliments the Doctor on his [[BadassCape “groovy gear”]].
* [[IKnowKarate I Know Venusian Aikido]]: The Doctor tries to avert his kidnapping by Spetsnaz soldiers like this.
->'''The Doctor:''' I should warn you that I am a tenth dan master in all of the major disciplines: Venusian aikido, Saturnian kung-fu. I trained as a Ninja on Quinnis in Galaxy Four. I’m not boasting, you understand. But I don’t believe a physical confrontation is in either of our interests.
* ImportedAlienPhlebotinum: [[spoiler:The CIA have been using Nedenah tech from the Roswell crash and are “bolting these weapons to experimental aircraft”.]]
* ItWillNeverCatchOn: A pair of American UNIT officers discuss the unlikelihood of “Mad Ronnie” Reagan becoming president.
* LeaveBehindAPistol: Subverted. A spy who's been acting to undermine UNIT has discovered that his superiors have betrayed him, and has been captured and tortured by them as a result when he tried to defect. Later, one of his minders appears to leave a gun behind to end the spy's misery; he tries to, only to learn it's not loaded. His former boss then enters the room and bluntly tells him that he'll be the one to decide when it ends for him.
* OriginalFlavor: The book is divided into seven “parts” of a few chapters each, mirroring season seven’s trend for seven-part stories. (Interludes between parts, however, show off the broader scope a novel can use, as well as the globetrotting plot.)
* RoswellThatEndsWell: The Brigadier has heard of Area 51, and gets to visit [[spoiler:but is horrified by how the CIA keeps aliens in captivity, being reminded of a concentration camp]].
