Sanctuary by David A. McIntee was the thirty seventh Virgin New Adventures novel and featured the Seventh Doctor and Bernice Summerfield. It was the first purely historical novel in the range and takes place between the audio story Bernice Summerfield and the Criminal Code and the novel Human Nature in the Seventh Doctor’s timeline. This is the period prior to Aces’s departure from the TARDIS and prior to Chris and Roz joining.
This was a great novel well written and an interesting period of history. This being a historical novel when the Doctor and Bernice were split up I was picturing the First Doctor in my mind when the narrative went back to him. By the time they rejoined I was able to visualize the Seventh Doctor. The dynamic of mutual attraction between Bernice and Guy de Carnac was well played out and I very much believed the budding romance between the two of them. You can catch up with some of Guy’s back story in the audio The Quality of Mercy. In the novel Bernice Summerfield and the Glass Prison (see review here) Benny choses Guy as her child’s middle name during his naming ceremony. Guy’s demise at the end of the novel is not seen and it is possible that he survived, I would love to see his return at some point. The writing, characterization and plot lead towards a solid 9 out of 10.
