Stories Book Past Doctor Adventures Tomb of Valdemar 1 image Overview Characters How to Read Reviews 1 Statistics Quotes Overview Released Monday, February 7, 2000 Written by Simon Messingham Pages 288 Time Travel Unclear Tropes (Potential Spoilers!) Tomb Synopsis Millennia ago, the great god Valdemar held sway over the universe. Somehow the Old Ones defeated this dark presence and entombed him beneath the acid skies of Ashkellia, before disappearing themselves forever. Over the centuries, the myths of Valdemar grow, crossing solar systems and races. A novelist, Miranda Pelham, pieces together the Dark God's story. Unfortunately for her, revolution and the rise of a New Protectorate force her to strike an agreement with the decadent necromancer Paul Neville to find the lost Ashkellia. The Doctor and Romana, despite their best efforts, become embroiled in the complex conspiracies and attempts to re-discover Valdemar. High in the boiling sulphuric acid clouds, in the Palace of the Old Ones, a place where reality and dreams collide, the way is being prepared for the resurrection of the Dark One. The Doctor faces an agonising choice: should he continue with his quest to gather the segments of the Key to Time, or prevent the rebirth of a being so powerful that its release will alter the entire fabric of the universe? Read Read Favourite Favourited Add Review Edit Review Log a repeat Skip Skipped Unowned Owned Owned Save to my list Saved Edit date completed Custom Date Release Date Archive (no date) Save Characters Fourth Doctor Paul Neville Romana I Show All Characters (3) How to read Tomb of Valdemar: Books Tomb of Valdemar Reviews Add Review Edit Review Sort: Date (Newest First) Date (Oldest First) Likes (High-Low) Likes (Low-High) Rating (High-Low) Rating (Low-High) Word count (High-Low) Word count (Low-High) Username (A-Z) Username (Z-A) Spoilers First Spoilers Last 1 review 5 June 2025 · 242 words Review by Five_Hundredth_Drax I went in completely blind, and oh boy, I'm glad I did! It's such a fun book! Really captures the feel of the Fourth Doctor era, but manages to mix it perfectly with Lovecraftian mythos of the Great Old Ones. This is my first exposure to "Doctor Who meets Cosmis Horror", and here it is done PERFECTLY! First it's introduced as something to be sceptical about, then you begin to doubt that it's real, but in the end you are more than sure that it's real, but some very interesting questions still remain unanswered, yet it doesn't feel unfair. It keeps the mystery and makes it way more intriguing. There are two antagonists here, and I love how both of them are imposing yet imperfect. One of them - a self-proclaimed sorcerer Paul Neville, who is very easily irritated, or a "magic hunter" Robert Hopkins, who is tuff, but clumsy, and thus often ends up being laughed at by his own crew. This book also discusses the topics of the passage of time, which stories are true, or what is the point of life. "Tomb of Valdemar" was a very unexpected surprise for me, and I even dare to say it's a hidden gem. Thought-provoking and intriguing book that does kinda drag a little bit in the middle, but after that it grabs you by the throat and never lets you go. Perfect for diving into the cosmis horror of Doctor Who. Five_Hundredth_Drax View profile Like Liked 0 Open in new window Statistics AVG. Rating145 members 3.43 / 5 Member Statistics Read 27 Favourited 3 Reviewed 1 Saved 1 Skipped 2 Quotes Add Quote Submit a Quote