Time Hunter is a series of novellas and audiobooks, based around the adventures of two time-sensitives called Honoré Lechasseur and Emily Blandish, set primarily in 1949-1951. The concept originated in the Doctor Who Expanded Universe and would seem to take place within the world of Doctor Who.
Honoré and Emily were introduced in the Doctor Who Telos novella "The Cabinet of Light", published in 2003 in what could now be seen as a Poorly Disguised Pilot for the Time Hunter series. The series outlasted Telos' license from the BBC, meaning that all mentions of the Time Lord 'the Doctor' had to be replaced with (the more mysterious sounding) Dr. Smith. Fantom Films later released audiobooks of the "Time Hunter" series, rebranding the original pilot novella to fit.
Tropes:
- Amnesiac Hero: Emily has no recollection of who she really is.
- City Noir: Set in post-WWII London. The opening line of the novella: "It was a typical East-End fog. It wasn't white."
- Cool Key: An ordinary-looking key is given to Honoré as a way to identify Dr. Smith. However, it is the key to his 'cabinet of light' .
- Friend in the Black Market: Honoré is a Black Market skiv, but prefers to style himself as a 'fixer'.
- Ghostapo: Touched upon by Walken and his occult magic show.
- Mysterious Employer: Lampshaded by Honoré, who takes on the job because of his intrigue and curiosity surrounding this character.
- Occult Detective: Downplayed as Honoré is a "fixer" and notes at one point that he isn't a detective. The series does stay within that genre however, as he and Emily solve mysteries together using their time powers.
- Our Time Travel Is Different: Honoré and Emily are able to travel across a person's timeline by combining their respective time sensitive and time channeler abilities.
- Powers in the First Episode: We are told that Honoré has dreams about the past and the future, but he is unaware of the extent of his abilities until he meets with Dr. Smith.
- Power-Strain Blackout: Played straight as Honoré uses his powers to tap into Dr. Smith's memory and timeline but finds that it is too much for him to cope with and he collapses onto the floor.
- Private Detective: Honoré Lechasseur becomes one after being approached by Emily Blandish.
- Quest for Identity: Played straight with the 'girl in the pink pyjamas', who stumbles out of the fog in Spitalfields Market with no recollection of who she is.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Ex-soldier Honoré Lechasseur was badly injured during WWII. Implied that the psychological trauma also brought on his time-sensitive powers.
- Smoking Is Cool: Dr. Smith wears a smoking jacket and lights up using everlasting matches.
- Spooky Séance: Walken and Amber lead one within a nightclub, without success.
- Tragic Monster: "I was a soldier like you." Abraxas' past is revealed to Honoré on his death, showing a little blond boy causing much guilt.
- Writing Around Trademarks: After Telos lost the license to Doctor Who, all mentions of the Doctor had to be changed to Mr. Smith. In order to republish Cabinet of Light all mentions of the Doctor were removed with Mr. Smith again being used instead.
