The Left-Handed Hummingbird
Encyclopedia
The Left-Handed Hummingbird is an original novel written by Kate Orman
and based on the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
. It features the Seventh Doctor
, Ace
and Bernice
. A prelude to the novel, also written by Orman, appeared in Doctor Who Magazine
#207. This novel is the third novel in the "Alternate Universe cycle" which continues until No Future
.
This book was Kate Orman's first sale. It was also the first New Adventure written by a woman, and the first written by an Antipodean.
1968: Cristian Alvarez meets the Doctor in London.
1978: The great temple of the Aztecs is discovered in Mexico.
1980: John Lennon
is murdered in New York.
1994: A gunman runs amok in Mexico City.
Each time, Christian is there. Each time, he experiences the Blue, a traumatic psychic shock. Only the Doctor can help him - but the Doctor has problems of his own. Following the events of Blood Heat
and The Dimension Riders
, the Doctor knows that someone or something has been tinkering with time. Now he finds that events in his own past have been altered - and a lethal force from South America's prehistory has been released.
The Doctor, Ace and Bernice travel to the Aztec Empire in 1487, to London in the Swinging Sixties, and to the sinking of the RMS Titanic as they attempt to rectify the temporal faults - and survive the attacks of the living god Huitzilin.
The scene in which an apparently dead Doctor is wheeled into a hospital in a bodybag, labelled John Doe
, prefigures the Seventh Doctor
's death in the 1996 telemovie, which was three years away when the book was written. Bernice also worries at one point that twentieth century medicine could kill him; which is ultimately proved to be correct, when the Doctor is killed by Grace Holloway
operating on him without realising he has two hearts.
Kate Orman
Kate Orman is an Australian author, best known for her books connected to the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who.-Biography:...
and based on the long-running British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. It features the Seventh Doctor
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
, Ace
Ace (Doctor Who)
Dorothy Gale McShane, better known by her nickname Ace, is a fictional character played by Sophie Aldred in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
and Bernice
Bernice Summerfield
Bernice Surprise Summerfield is a fictional character created by author Paul Cornell as a new companion of the Seventh Doctor in Virgin Publishing's range of original full-length Doctor Who novels, the New Adventures...
. A prelude to the novel, also written by Orman, appeared in Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
#207. This novel is the third novel in the "Alternate Universe cycle" which continues until No Future
No Future
No Future is an original novel written by Paul Cornell and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Bernice. A prelude to the novel, also penned by Cornell, appeared in Doctor Who Magazine #209...
.
This book was Kate Orman's first sale. It was also the first New Adventure written by a woman, and the first written by an Antipodean.
Publisher's Summary
He took up a firing stance, holding the thirty-eight out in front of him. 'Mr Lennon?' he said.1968: Cristian Alvarez meets the Doctor in London.
1978: The great temple of the Aztecs is discovered in Mexico.
1980: John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
is murdered in New York.
1994: A gunman runs amok in Mexico City.
Each time, Christian is there. Each time, he experiences the Blue, a traumatic psychic shock. Only the Doctor can help him - but the Doctor has problems of his own. Following the events of Blood Heat
Blood Heat
Blood Heat is an original novel written by Jim Mortimore and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Bernice. A prelude to the novel, also penned by Mortimore, appeared in Doctor Who Magazine #205...
and The Dimension Riders
The Dimension Riders
The Dimension Riders is an original novel written by Daniel Blythe and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor, Ace and Bernice. A prelude to the novel, also penned by Blythe, appeared in Doctor Who Magazine #206...
, the Doctor knows that someone or something has been tinkering with time. Now he finds that events in his own past have been altered - and a lethal force from South America's prehistory has been released.
The Doctor, Ace and Bernice travel to the Aztec Empire in 1487, to London in the Swinging Sixties, and to the sinking of the RMS Titanic as they attempt to rectify the temporal faults - and survive the attacks of the living god Huitzilin.
Continuity
There are several references to the serial The Aztecs.The scene in which an apparently dead Doctor is wheeled into a hospital in a bodybag, labelled John Doe
John Doe
The name "John Doe" is used as a placeholder name in a legal action, case or discussion for a male party, whose true identity is unknown or must be withheld for legal reasons. The name is also used to refer to a male corpse or hospital patient whose identity is unknown...
, prefigures the Seventh Doctor
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
's death in the 1996 telemovie, which was three years away when the book was written. Bernice also worries at one point that twentieth century medicine could kill him; which is ultimately proved to be correct, when the Doctor is killed by Grace Holloway
Grace Holloway
Dr. Grace Holloway is a fictional character played by Daphne Ashbrook in the 1996 television movie Doctor Who, a continuation of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
operating on him without realising he has two hearts.