The beautiful village of Culverton is dominated by the presence of the local Aerodrome, closed by recent defence cuts. When several locals disappear, and Spitfire veteran Captain Alec Bainbridge witnesses black-uniformed troops unloading ominous, coffin-like containers from the hangars, he contacts his old friend the Brigadier who promises to investigate.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
For many years before Mark Gatiss gained some notoriety as a member of BBC2's cult comedy, The League of Gentlemen, he was a Doctor Who novelist of some note (and he's also the last actor to have played the Doctor on TV). Gaderene sees him returning to form. This novel is also quite timely, arriving with the Pertwee repeats on BBC2. Anyone wanting to migrate from the repeats to the novels would do well to start off with this adventure. It is literally imbued with the spirit of Pertwee's era.
An old friend of the Brigadier, Alec Whistler, is concerned about the goings on at the aerodrome in Culverton. A former spitfire fighter, he has a high regard for the place. A bored Doctor, whose feet are itching due to the end of his exile, agrees to investigate. Why has the fascistic organisation Legion International taken over the aerodrome? What's in their coffin-like cargo? Just who is the mysterious inspector from Scotland Yard? With the help of the local people, who are rather more friendly than the inhabitants of Royston Vasey, the Doctor breaks into the aerodrome. There's also something rather nasty in the marshes, and the squabbling of school friends leads to something more vicious...
With its shower of meteors and body snatching methods, the Gaderene aren't all that removed from the Nestene in Frontier from Space, but this hardly matters, since the novel is an enjoyable romp. Gaderene could easily have been a TV adventure, so true are the portrayals of the Doctor, the Brig, and Jo. Gatiss even manages to slip in the word 'chitinous' every now and then, revealing the impact that Doctor Who had on the vocabulary of a whole generation (although he wisely avoids forcing Pertwee to say it). If I have one criticism of the novel, it's that Gatiss tries too much to avoid using clichés. His similes try to be as beautiful as a rose, but turn out to be just as thorny: "An eerie phosphorescence hovered over the now-quiet marshes like the skirts of a ghostly woman" is one such example. But in all other parts of the novel, Gatiss achieves near-perfection.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mark Gatiss has become my favourite Doctor Who author. After the way the Third Doctor was mistreated in the hands of Lawrence Miles, "Last of the Gaderene" is a breath of fresh air. A mysterious military group that have set up base in a small village have caught the Doctor and Units attention. Although, the leader of this organization has said she has the villages best intention in mind, the Doctor feels there is more to this group than meets the eye. I haven't read a Doctor Who novel that feels like it could be a television episode since "The Hollow Men". Not only are the main character well written, but the supporting character have dimension and are a lot more than just cardboard cutouts standing in the background. This is a very hard thing to do in writing. But I highly recommend this book to all Doctor Who fans out there. It's full of so many surprises that the only time you'll be disappointed is when you've finally finished reading the book. I really hope Mark Gatiss writes more really soon.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By finna
Format:Paperback
A very traditional and typical third Doctor adventure, combining familiar elements such as alien invasion and an isolated earth-bound setting. Not without its' problems however-the interesting Gaderene race not having nearly enough attention and detail paid to them, also there was frequently far too much running around and pages where nothing seemed to happen for ages. Also, the involvement of a certain enemy of the Doctor came across as largely superfluous and irrelevant to the story. Despite this, the story is a strong one due to its' delightfully nostalgic feel and spot-on characterisations of the Doctor, Jo and UNIT, hence it is worthy of 4 stars. Not quite up to Mark's former standards, but certainly very welcome and readable
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Last of the Gaderene
This is the 50th anniversary story representing the Third Doctor, as played by Jon Pertwee - the dashing, debonair man of action with all his gadgets, Scientific Advisor to UNIT,... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Keen Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars
Old fashioned enjoyment
This had all the ingredients of Jon Pertwees doctor who period and it was like being taken back to 1973 again. Read more
Published 1 month ago by howard
5.0 out of 5 stars
Doctor Who Last of the Garderene
The aerodrome in Culverton has new owners, and they promise an era of prosperity for the idyllic village. Read more
Published 1 month ago by kk
3.0 out of 5 stars
Silly, Slavish Fun
A perfectly acceptable piece of Third Doctor froth, that (budget aside) could have slotted very easily into Pertwee's final seasons as the the Doctor. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Richard Wright
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable excursion into the Doctor's past
The Last of the Gaderene by Mark Gatiss is a novel about the third Doctor and is set in a seemingly sleepy east Anglian village in the 1970s. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Anthony Harrison
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Disturbance In The Village
After Virgin Books' license expired in 1997, BBC Books continued the theme of 'Missing Adventures' - original Doctor Who novels to slot in between the adventures that had appeared... Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2007 by Ray Ellis
3.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable, brainless nostalgia
Last of the Gaderene is an enjoyable pastiche of the Pertwee-era of Doctor Who, but it's main problem is that it doesn't contain one single original idea. Read more
Published on 22 Aug 2005 by Jane Aland
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Gatiss Classic
If you only pick up one past Doctors book, make sure it's this one. From an unconventional start, as we join the end of a 3rd Doctor adventure, we are soon plunged into a classic... Read more
Published on 13 Mar 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE BEST BBC WHO NOVEL IN YONKS
I've enjoyed Mark's previous novels, but this is his best. Very authentic Pertwee feel, and thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end. Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2000
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