SPOILERS ALERT!!!

Hello everyone! 🙂

Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!

As I’ve finished sharing all three episodes of ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’ on my blog, the Divergent Wordsmiths have finished sharing their three-volume anthology called ‘A Sparkle of Doctors’ to celebrate 60 years of ‘Doctor Who’. This is all before the three 60th anniversary TV specials arrive. 🙂

I’m pleased ‘A Sparkle of Doctors’ by the Divergent Wordsmiths is complete on their website (and that also includes the short novel adventure ‘The Ghosts of Peladon’ by Alan Camlann/Wolfie and AFJ Kernow, featuring the Sixth Doctor, Peri and Frobisher). My two-part story for the three-volume anthology called ‘Interdimensional Rescue’, featuring the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Billy is in the first two volumes, but the ‘A Sparkle of Doctors’ story continues and is resolved in the third and final volume.

I’ve read all the stories in ‘A Sparkle of Doctors’, including mine, in the first two volumes of the anthology. I’ve enjoyed reading the Sixth Doctor, Mel and the Valeyard’s story ‘The Time Lord All Tattered and Torn’ as well as the four-part story ‘Armageddon’s Touch’, featuring the Thirteenth Doctor. 🙂

Before checking out Volume 3 of ‘A Sparkle of Doctors’, I’m hoping to revisit ‘Armageddon’s Touch’ or revisit the first two volumes in their entirety to remind myself what occurred in the build-up to the anthology’s final volume. Though from glimpsing at the third volume for a bit, it appears to be exciting with plenty of Doctors featured in it.

In Volume 3, edited by Alan Camlann, AFJ Kernow and Sherlock; there are two sections. There’s ‘The Face of the Mutation’, divided into eight parts and forming the final third of short stories in the anthology. The eight parts of ‘The Face of the Mutation’ are written by various authors.

‘Part 1’ is called ‘Bump – Bump – Bump’ by Alan Camlann, ‘Part 2’ is called ‘The Trials of Apollo’ by Matt Tennant, ‘Part 3’ is called ‘The Sherriff and the Mountie’ by Matt Tennant and AFJ Kernow, ‘Part 4’ is called ‘The Culmination of a People’ by Sherlock, ‘Part 5’ is called ‘Tomorrow, When It All Ended’ by Alan Camlann, ‘Part 6’ is called ‘DiamantVision’ by AFJ Kernow, ‘Part 7’ is called ‘Scorn and Suspicion’ by AFJ Kernow, and ‘Part 8’ is called ‘Nothing – Nothing – Nothing’ by Alan Camlann, AFJ Kernow and Sherlock. These seem to be exciting titles for the eight episodes of ‘The Face of the Mutation’.

The second section of Volume 3 happens to be a bonus novel called ‘Thus Spake Bob’. The novel is divided into six parts, and all are by Alan Camlann, AFJ Kernow and Sherlock. ‘Part 1’ is titled ‘The Sparkling Doctors’, ‘Part 2’ is titled ‘There’s Hope on Time’s Lifeboat’, ‘Part 3’ is titled ‘The Premium of Loyalty’, ‘Part 4’ is titled ‘All Ruin Leads to Vulpia’, ‘Part 5’ is titled ‘The Edge of Life’, and ‘Part 6’ is titled ‘The Great Spirit of Adventure’. I’m curious as to what this bonus novel in the anthology is about.

Volume 3 of ‘A Sparkle of Doctors’ resolves storylines that began in Volumes 1 and 2. From looking at the front cover of Volume 3 (well-produced by Matthew Purchase), this includes resolving the Sixth Doctor, Mel and the Valeyard’s story in ‘The Time Lord All Tattered and Torn’ from Volume 1, and the three Ninth Doctors story in ‘The Station of Possibilities’ from Volume 1.

Yes, there is a story with three Ninth Doctors in it, including Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor from the new TV series, Rowan Atkinson’s Unbound Ninth Doctor from ‘The Curse of Fatal Death’ and Richard E. Grant’s Unbound Ninth Doctor from ‘Scream of the Shalka’. Their story is concluded in ‘Part 4’ of ‘The Face of the Mutation’ called ‘The Culmination of a People’. I’m looking forward to reading it.

There’s also the resolution of the Thirteenth Doctor’s story in ‘Armageddon’s Touch’ from Volume 2. I believe Traskey (as played by Linda Hunt in ‘A Sparkle of Doctors’) appears in Volume 3 too. There’s also the appearance of Missy, who previously appeared in the Volume 2 story called ‘Luv That Doctor’.

I’m pleased my name is mentioned in the ‘A Special Thank You to…’ in Volume 3 of ‘A Sparkle of Doctors’. I’m also pleased to be in the ‘Acknowledgements to…’ page, where I co-created the Adamant Locus with Alan Camlann, and that Billy Walker is created by me. It was so nice to see that. Thanks, Divergent Wordsmiths! 🙂

Looking from the ‘Acknowledgements to…’ page, there are character names I’ve not come across in ‘A Sparkle of Doctors’ yet. As well as Diamant and Bassilus Creel, there are characters like Asanda Ntombizodwa kaJamasha-Ariff, Bob and the Sherriff. I wonder who these characters are in Volume 3.

It’s nice to see Iain McLaughlin mentioned for creating Erimem as well as Paul Cornell for creating Bernice Summerfield. I wonder if Tecteun makes a prominent appearance in Volume 3 and it’s interesting how Steven Moffat gets credited for creating Missy. After reading ‘Interdimensional Rescue’ many times as well as the first two ‘Sparkle’ volumes, I’ve become more aware of the Vortex Turtles. 😀

Apparently, the Fifth Doctors’ titular ‘interdimensional rescue’ does get mentioned in ‘Part 4’ of ‘Thus Spake Bob’. I wonder what else is mentioned and referred to from my ‘Interdimensional Rescue’ story. I’m very happy to find my two-part Fifth Doctor-era story is essential in ‘A Sparkle of Doctors’. 🙂

I’m looking forward to checking out Volume 3 of ‘A Sparkle of Doctors’ properly – hopefully over the Christmas period. If you haven’t checked out ‘A Sparkle of Doctors’ yet, then please check out the first two volumes, including my ‘Interdimensional Rescue’ two-part story, before checking out Volume 3.

According to the ‘Afterwood’, it seems that ‘A Sparkle of Doctors’ is the final Divergent Wordsmiths anthology for a while. Hopefully, it won’t be the end of the Divergent Wordsmiths, especially as I’m looking forward to working with Alan Camlann on a ‘Doctor Who’ story that we’ve put together. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy checking out the three-volume ‘Doctor Who’ anthology by the Divergent Wordsmiths to celebrate the TV show’s 60th anniversary ‘A Sparkle of Doctors’. I’m glad I have done a 60th anniversary story for the Divergent Wordsmiths as well as ‘The Thirteen+ Doctors’.

Thanks for reading!

For more Divergent Wordsmiths short stories by me, check out ‘Psychic Image’ from ‘Genesis of Terror’, ‘The Crimson Lion’ and ‘The Popiz’ from ‘The Paul Spragg ReCollections’, ‘The City of the Bad Wolf’ and ‘Into the Death-Space’ from ‘Unbound Imaginings, Volume 2’, and ‘The Regeneration Dilemma’ and ‘Girl Out of Nowhere’ from ‘The Paul Spragg ReCollections, Volume 2’.

Bye for now!

Tim 🙂