From Candy Jar Books comes this latest release in the long-running The Lucy Wilson Mysteries series of books aimed at younger readers. Written by DWC editor Philip Bates, The Three Lucys is the thirtieth in the range and marks the publisher’s fifteenth anniversary.
I should probably begin by saying that, as a man of fifty-something whose idea of fun is a true crime documentary and bed at ten o’clock, I’m not the intended audience for this book. I hadn’t read any others in the series, which, other than a vague awareness, hadn’t really been on my cultural radar before. But publicity for the book made it clear that it was designed to welcome readers new and old alike, so in that spirit, I settled in for an adventure with Lucy and her friend, Hobo.
Lucy’s connection to the world of Doctor Who is her grandfather, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, who is respectfully referenced here and present in spirit via references to ‘Lethbridge-Stewart stuff’, Lucy and Hobo’s shorthand for weird goings-on.
And weird-goings on there most definitely are, as space-time collapses across the universe, leaving huge purple tears in the sky and great gaping voids of nothingness that are seriously bad news. Lucy finds herself directly affected, forgetting everyday words and eventually losing her grasp of ‘I’, suggesting she’s gradually being erased from existence.
As she struggles to make sense of these events, Lucy encounters two other versions of herself: one an older, world-weary professor; and later a younger child, the latter held captive at a secret military installation known as Project O.M.E.G.A.
You will perhaps have figured out by now that the book takes inspiration from The Three Doctors, Doctor Who’s tenth anniversary special. The references to that story, and indeed to the parent show’s history, are subtle rather than on-the-nose, and will be fun to spot for those who know (‘Cromer in 1973’) rather than bewildering for those who don’t. I identified a few, though I’m sure there were plenty that passed me by.
Bates handles the plot with a light touch and a good deal of heart, whilst also placing the psychological weight of the threat at the centre of the book’s focus. The destruction wrought on the timeline has a direct, terrifying effect on Lucy as she loses words and her sense of identity. It’s a nicely subtle piece of storytelling that brings a universal threat down to the level of the lead character’s deeply personal fight for survival.
As a fan of the Steven Moffat era of Doctor Who, the writer has clearly thought through the tricky time paradox issues of his story, and is careful to include an explanation dealing with the problem highlighted by Moffat himself when preparing a multi-Doctor adventure – that of why the older character has no memory of events.
One of the strongest elements of the book is the main antagonists, the “Negative-Men” or “Radioactive Men”; striking, unsettling beings generated by the nothingness eating away at reality. Bates evokes their menace beautifully. Dressed in hazmat suits with impassive red-glass masks, their presence repulses anyone unfortunate enough to lay eyes on them. They’d make a great addition to a televised adventure (and they wouldn’t blow the effects budget).
The Three Lucys is everything a milestone celebratory story should be. Extremely well-paced with a strong grasp of his characters (there’s a nice guest turn by a new French pupil named Lyrica Lee), Bates has produced a gripping sci-fi story that also serves as a mature meditation on identity and growing up.
I may not be the kind of reader Candy Jar has in mind for the Lucy Wilson Mysteries range, but I certainly found plenty to enjoy in this slice of sci-fi adventure. Younger readers (and quite a few older ones) who enjoyed The Sarah Jane Adventures are likely to find this right up their street. Highly recommended.
The Lucy Wilson Mysteries: The Three Lucys is available now from Candy Jar Books.
