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“STING OF THE ZYGONS: MYSTERY, MONSTERS AND A DASH OF WHODUNIT”

Sting of the Zygons by Stephen Cole is the first New Series Adventures novel to feature Martha alongside the Tenth Doctor, and it immediately immerses us in the early 20th‑century Lake District. Cole’s vivid depiction of the period and his confident grasp of the Tenth Doctor’s mannerisms and speech lend authenticity to the narrative. The plot plays out like a classic whodunit, revealing the Zygons as the monstrous threat from the very beginning. The central mystery isn’t about if they’re here, but rather how many there are, who among the human aristocracy is being impersonated, and why these shape‑shifters are acting so out of character.

STRONG CHARACTER DYNAMICS

The novel is steeped in intrigue, set within a mansion teeming with secretive aristocrats and eccentric characters that keep the reader guessing—much like Martha, who is determined to uncover the truth. Unlike basic Earth‑invasion plots, the story takes a clever twist by involving Lord Haleston’s desperate attempt to lure out the Skarasen. The Zygons, reliant on their source of Skarasen milk, are portrayed as both relatable and calculating. Martha, utilising her medical skills, proves to be an active and resourceful companion, handling challenges such as Zygon threats, Nanny Flock’s racism, and the persuasive charms of Victor. The supporting cast—featuring the French photographer Claude Romand, the eager young Ian, and the resourceful lawyer-hunter Victor Meredith—adds a flavour reminiscent of a period drama like Downton Abbey.

AN ORIGINAL TAKE ON THE ZYGONS

This isn’t your run‑of‑the‑mill Earth invasion narrative. Instead, the Zygons have lost control of their Skarasen and are left desperately starving, compelling them to manipulate humans into hunting the creature for survival. This twist not only deepens their characterisation but also transforms them into a more relatable, if menacing, threat. The novel gradually builds tension, initially suggesting only a handful of Zygons before unleashing them en masse. The Skarasen, too, are given weight as a genuine plot device rather than a mere cameo element. In a refreshing deviation from the usual trope, it’s the Doctor—not the companion—who ends up impersonated by a Zygon, with the formidable Zygon Warlord Brelarn emerging as a particularly memorable villain, ultimately meeting a gruesome end at the hands of his own kind.

VERDICT: A FUN, FAMILIAR YET ENGAGING ADVENTURE

Sting of the Zygons is a well-crafted blend of historical intrigue and classic Doctor Who mystery. Although the opening chapters take their time to build atmosphere and introduce characters, the second half of the novel picks up dramatically with exciting twists and escalating tension. Familiar tropes are refreshed with clever narrative turns, and the Zygons are depicted in what is likely their best appearance in the 21st century. Despite relying on some familiar ideas, this novel offers an engaging and enjoyable ride for fans.

📝83/100

Sting of the Zygons is huge fun.  It’s not the most in depth, layered, complex book but for a quick fix of ‘classic monster’ fun with the 10th Doctor and Martha it hits a number of sweet spots.

Stephen Cole takes the Zygons and, long before their TV return in Day of the Doctor and The Zygon Invasion/Inversion, manages to add to their back story, pay homage to their original TV outing and seemingly predict some of the modern series own developments a few years before they actually happened!

The 10th Doctor and Martha are well-written too, and the cast of guest characters are clearly drawn and distinguishable.  I particularly liked Romand, a French journalist.  There’s even a young boy, Ian, fitting into the modern series penchant for including child characters (much to the chagrin of many fans who constantly moan that children were never part of Doctor Who stories in the ‘classic era’.  Except of course when they were…)

What I enjoyed most about this book was the work Cole does with expanding the Zygons (and managing to tie in with the modern series’ stories which hadn’t even been written when this novel was published – that’s quite an accomplishment).

To begin with the book suggests the Zygons are being hunted by another alien race but it soon transpires this is a red herring.  In fact, the Zygons are struggling to survive and have split into factions.  They have brought with them two Skarasens but these have gone rogue and the Zygons are actually manipulating the humans in the area into catching them so that they can get them back under their control.  Without the Skarasen, the Zygons are on rationed lactic fluid and in their weakened states are finding it difficult to control the Skarasen alone.

It’s a great twist on an alien invasion and one which plays out well on the page as the various pieces are revealed.  It has echoes of The Zygon Invasion/Inversion which also plays with the idea of Zygons as victims as much as aggressors.

Another expansion, which predicts something from The Day of the Doctor, is the Zygons’ ability to transform into animals as well as humans.  A scene where a herd of cows corners Martha and some of the locals, then transforming into Zygons, is both hilarious and terrifying.  The Day of the Doctor, of course, has it revealed that a Zygon has been disguised as a horse for much of a scene.

Another link to the modern series is the way Cole describes the duplicate to Zygon transformation.  It’s an effective cross between the classic and modern series versions with a bit more of the horror seen in the modern series than the slightly iffy CSO from the classic.

Towards the end of the book there is a bit too much ‘who’s a Zygon duplicate’ but there is a very effective scene with Martha and ‘the Doctor’ which has strong echoes of Sarah Jane’s encounter with the fake Harry in Terror of the Zygons.  It also ends a little abruptly although, in a way, this also reflects the modern series’ 45 minute stories where events do tend to get wrapped up a little more quickly than they did in the classic series.

Part of the reason I chose to read this book was its setting of 1909.  I’ve decided that, from time to time, I’ll link my choice of reading material in with my main Doctor Who marathon: A History of the Universe.  Although I’m currently deep in the trenches of 1916, I decided to take a trip back to 1909 (followed by a trip to 1916 Russia for the next book, The Wages of Sin) to see how the prose form fits with the TV, audio and comic strips I’ve been experiencing.  (As I’ve said before, there is simply no way I could have included books in the flow of my main marathon as I don’t tend to get through books very quickly and I’d probably still be somewhere in prehistorical times if I had!)

Historically, Sting of the Zygons has a fair bit of detail although more of a background, scene-setting type rather than any specific historical events or figures.  There are quite a few references to the current monarch, Edward VII (who, of course, the Doctor and Martha both met in Revenge of the Judoon) but he never actually appears.  He is due to visit the area, in part to see this strange creature (the Skarasen) that has been captured, but the Zygons plan to use his attendance to take over the positions of power in Great Britain.  There’s even the suggestion of an assassination attempt using a disguised camera!  This never actually comes to pass.  The other historical aspects are very much about the social etiquette of the time (playing card games and taking tea in the correct way), the penchant for the upper classes to go hunting, the idea of young children being raised by stern nannies and the recent invention of the motor car.  Quite a lot is made of the car with various characters zipping around the landscape in them and Martha’s thoughts on how uncomfortable they are.

This is a book which fuses old and new of the series effectively, with a classic monster done well and some fun scenes that only Doctor Who could do (like where the Zygons hold a bunch of humans prisoner and force them to play card games and drink tea so they can better learn the social conventions of 1909 and consequently infiltrate the upper echelons of society).  I thoroughly enjoyed it.