The Cabinet of Light

The range of novella published by Telos are not part of the expanded universe I have any experience of. The novellas had a relatively high price point and something about them just never really appealed at the time of publication meaning I never bought any of them.

Two of the novellas were distinct in that they featured unspecified incarnations of the Doctor – The Dalek Factor and The Cabinet of Light. The Dalek Factor, obviously, had the draw of Daleks to compensate for this, but The Cabinet of Light is more of a curio. It is less a Doctor Who novella and more an original piece of fantasy fiction with a cameo appearance from the Doctor. True, the Doctor is central to the mystery but he only appears in person for a short section of the story, with the rest of the novella focussing on the main character of Honore Lechasseur – a time sensitive detective from New Orleans – who has been tasked with tracking him down.

Honore, and a young woman he meets in the course of his investigation, Emily Blandish, ended up spinning off into their own range of novels entitled Time Hunter and this is where we actually find ourselves experiencing The Cabinet of Light. The version I am reviewing here is the audiobook of the Time Hunter iteration of the novel which replaces the Doctor with the ‘completely different’ character of Doctor Smith… and is read by Terry Molloy.

The 1940s are drawing to a close but the aftermath of the Second World War still hangs over London. Buildings reduced to rubble, men dealing with the traumatic events of being involved in the fighting, Londoners happy to manipulate, cheat and squeeze every last financial opportunity from any situation they find themselves in. And within this, strange people, not of this time and place, operate in the shadows with their own unknowable agendas.

The atmosphere of this novella is dark and oppressive. Squalid boarding houses, dark streets and unsavoury people fill the story and it is equally engaging and unsettling. This tone is matched by the unknowable qualities of Lechasseur and the amnesiac Emily Blandish. Both characters are enigmatic and yet people you want to spend time with. Lechasseur’s eventual meeting with ‘Doctor Smith’ is a brilliant sequence and well worth the wait.

As a ‘pilot’ for the Time Hunter novels, this is actually a pretty successful book. It piqued my interest enough to want to find out more about Lechasseur and Emily – especially the mystery around how the Cabinet of Light (yes, that’s actually the TARDIS) caused Emily’s amnesia. I am also intrigued by the hints of Lechasseur’s abilities around time. It is a range of books it may take me a long time to get around to but they have gone on the list (helped by the entire range, as audiobooks, being available for free on Spotify Premium).

I was trepidatious going into The Cabinet of Light but it was an enjoyable, atmospheric experience even if, I have to admit, there were a couple of times I was a little lost as to what was actually going on.

Time Hunter

-The Cabinet of Light

-written by Daniel O'Mahony

-reviewed by Five_Hundredth_Drax

Originally conceived as a Telos Novella, but eventually evolved into an obscure spin-off, The Cabinet of Light is a hidden gem. How so? Let's find out.

Quick summary of the plot:
1949.
Honore Lechasseur (who, despite the name, is from New Orleans) moved to London after the war ended, and now works as, what he likes to call, a "fixer" - he tries to help people for money. And one day he receives a very interesting request - a woman called Emily Blandish is looking for her husband, who she can't properly describe. The only tip she gives is that his name is the Doctor (or Dr Smith, if you're reading the Time Hunter tie-in reprint).
And as Honore digs into the case, he finds out even more sercets.
How is "the girl in pink pijamas", who was found amnesiac on the streets of London many years ago, connected to this disappearance?
Who is the mysterious pale woman and her almost 3 meter tall henchman covered in armor?
And what on Earth is the Cabinet of Light?

Review:
I listened to the audiobook, so I wanted to briefly comment on that first.
This audiobook has no soundtrack and soundeffects whatsoever (except for the title sequence, which is pretty fitting for this series), yet it works perfectly well. How? Thanks to the wonderful narration done by Terry Molloy.
I've never heard any of his narrations before, but now I can safely say that Terry is one HELL of a narrator. He plays with his voice a lot to show different characters, even almost cries at one point. And most importantly - in the intence action sequences he starts talking really really fast, creating the tension for the listener out of thin air!

As for the story - it is also great.
We are introduced to Honore, who will lead this spin-off, and he is a great character. It is very interesting to watch as he looks for clues or uncovers information about the Doctor.
An interesting part about Honore - he is time sensitive. He can see and feel people's past and future. He first felt it after a shellshock and since then thought he was crazy, but the Doctor explained it to him (also it's not a spoiler, Honore's time sensitivity is mentioned in the annotation of the novella).
As for the Doctor himself - the incarnation is unidentifiable. It's a new Doctor. And I love his characterisation.
You kind of get a feeling of Rose or Scream of the Shalka because this Doctor is written in way as if we are introduced for the first time not to this particular Doctor, but to the Doctor in general.
And it works - it actually feels like a series' reboot and it is a great start for this spin-off.
Honore is interesting to follow after because of his time sensitivity and overall chemistry with other characters in the story.
The antagonist - the pale woman, is also mysterious and sort of charming, despite appearing only twice. She is more of a looming threat, but enough to feel dangerous. Yet her henchman Abraxas is a clear and present danger. Thanks to Terry's narration he became very imposing because of how Terry imitates his voice and how he reads out action scenes.

I speak about Honore so much and not about the Doctor because it is a Doctor-lite story. The Doctor appears only twice, but the mystery surrounding him in this book makes up for it more than enough.

Also, fun fact - some might find the characterisation of this Doctor similar to that of the Doctor from Scream of the Shalka. Believe it or not, this is a total coincidence - Daniel O'Mahony wasn't aware of the webcast being in the works when he was writing this.

Overall, a great start for the series, great introduction of key characters and the atmosphere of looming mysteries all around.
I can't wait to get more stories with Honore.
I actually can't think of anything bad about this book. It is phenomenal. One of my absolute favourite Doctor-lite stories.
A solid 10/10. I can't recommend this book enough.
The audiobook is on Apple Music or Spotify if you're interested.