The Sleep of Reason
Encyclopedia
The Sleep of Reason is a BBC Books
original novel written by Martin Day
and based on the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
. It features the Eighth Doctor
, Fitz
and Trix
.
to investigate strange goings on at a mental health hosptial.
BBC Books
BBC Books is an imprint majority owned and managed by Random House. The minority shareholder is BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation...
original novel written by Martin Day
Martin Day
Martin Day is a screenwriter and novelist best known for his work on various spin-offs related to the BBC Television series Doctor Who, and many episodes of the daytime soaps Doctors and Family Affairs.-Work:...
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 Eighth Doctor
Eighth Doctor
The Eighth Doctor is the eighth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Paul McGann...
, Fitz
Fitz Kreiner
Fitzgerald Michael Kreiner, or simply Fitz, is a fictional character in the Eighth Doctor Adventures novels based upon the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. The Eighth Doctor first met him in the novel The Taint by Michael Collier — the character was co-created by Stephen Cole...
and Trix
Trix MacMillan
Beatrix MacMillan, or simply Trix, is a fictional character in the Eighth Doctor Adventures novels based upon the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. The Eighth Doctor first met her in the novel Time Zero by Justin Richards, but it was not until the novel Timeless by Stephen Cole...
.
Plot
The Doctor poses as a psychiatristPsychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
to investigate strange goings on at a mental health hosptial.
Continuity
- The Eighth Doctor ages about 100 years during this novel, because he travels back in time using a Sholem-Luz portal to shape events at the turn of the century, and then has to sleep in a casket in the cathedral to return to the present.
- The Doctor is always referred to as 'Smith' in this story, except by Fitz and Trix. This is a reference to the classic series, when The Doctor would sometimes call himself John Smith (a very common British name).
Outside References
- The title is a take from the 1799 Francisco GoyaFrancisco GoyaFrancisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker regarded both as the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown, and through his works was both a commentator on and chronicler of his era...
aquatintAquatintAquatint is an intaglio printmaking technique, a variant of etching.Intaglio printmaking makes marks on the matrix that are capable of holding ink. The inked plate is passed through a printing press together with a sheet of paper, resulting in a transfer of the ink to the paper...
etchingEtchingEtching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
"El sueno de la razon produce monstruos" ("The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters"), part of the artist's Los CaprichosLos CaprichosLos Caprichos are a set of 80 aquatint prints created by the Spanish artist Francisco Jose de Goya in 1797 and 1798, and published as an album in 1799. The prints were an artistic experiment: a medium for Goya's condemnation of the universal follies and foolishness in the Spanish society in which...
set.