COUNTER MEASURES RETURN

---

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce details of the second of its Counter Measures!

Birds of Prey is the second book in a two-novel event, following up book one Birds of Passage.

Counter Measures, featuring characters Group Captain Gilmore, Professor Rachel Jensen and Dr Allison Williams, was created by Ben Aaronovitch for Doctor Who back in 1988. The characters were expanded on in Aaronovitch’s later novelisation of their debut story, Remembrance of the Daleks, and made the odd appearance in Doctor Who prose fiction throughout the 1990s. The team has enjoyed a long life in audio dramas from Big Finish Productions since 2012, and Gilmore made a cameo in one of Candy Jar’s Lethbridge-Stewart short stories. They even appeared in a comic written by Andrew Cartmel.

Birds of Passage was written by Robert Mammone, who had hoped to write the follow up too. Alas, life intervened…

Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen explains:

“Due to a change in circumstances, Robert felt he would be unable to commit the time needed. However, we agreed to look at it again a few months later, and sadly little had changed by time it came to move forward. Robert allowed me to use his outline and ideas for book two as a jumping on point for his replacement, but in the event I decided it was better to let whoever that was to just read the first book and take it in their own direction.”

The chosen author was James Middleditch, who has written a couple of Lethbridge-Stewart novels, plus short stories for the UNIT series.

James says:

“The prospect of writing for the Counter Measures series felt quite different to my prior work on the Lethbridge-Stewart range. I would say the tone is a bit darker and more morally complex, with the threats emerging from the behaviour of humans as much as anything from elsewhere, although influences of past invasions continue to play a big role in awakening our own worst instincts. Like Robert before me, the thought of following the narrative threads and themes of Remembrance of the Daleks was a jaw-dropping one. Robert produced such a thrilling follow-up in Birds of Passage, which itself left some intriguing strands dangling, that I had not one but two great stories to do justice to. The Remembrance novelisation, rightly heralded as a late highpoint for the Target range, contains such depth in its depiction of ’60s Britain and its racial landscape. I also revisited Andrew Cartmel’s Cat’s Cradle: Warhead and found a shockingly prescient and familiar dystopia in what had been his speculation about the early twenty-first century. Without wanting to be too negative, it’s worth remembering how close we all are to such breakdowns in order and certainty, so I tried to channel both of their concerns and the reflective moods of their novels in writing Birds of Prey.”

Andy continues:

“James jumped at the chance before any sense of trepidation could set in, and once he’d finished his reading and research, he soon had an outline to me. There were only a few changes I wanted, in keeping with the goals Andrew Cartmel and I had set out for the series.”

James concludes:

“Storyline guidance from Andy was invaluable as always, in particular in providing the geographical focus of London and a core group of characters there. Real history and locations have been interwoven into this dark parallel past, and may change the way you see the parts of the capital on your next visit; a Birds of Prey Walking Tour is certainly possible! To move further into the London-based thriller genre, I also took inspiration from the original television version of Edge of Darkness with its rain-soaked pavements and its uncanny way of suggesting an impending apocalypse in otherwise very small scale events and moments. I hope all these ingredients have come together to be a testament to some of the best writers, their characters and themes. None of us really write in isolation, and to have been in their literary company for a while has been a privilege.”

BLURB FOR COUNTER MEASURES RETURN:

 If the people of Britain thought the energy crisis was over, they were very wrong. Power cuts are returning, spreading from London and focusing on particularly vulnerable targets, almost as if by intention.

 The Association has risen again and is stepping up its campaign to take power and enact its supremist ideology. Ian Gilmore, Rachel Jensen and even their son Dillon become embroiled in a plan to survive a plot for revenge. They must stand against old enemies as the spectres of past conflicts are raised and a new battle starts to spread through the streets of the capital.

 For there are others who stand ready to face the Association too. But how far will they go and what weapons will they deploy? Gilmore, Jensen and their allies find that the monsters of the human race may be far more terrifying than anything from beyond it, and that this time, humanity will need saving from its own worst instincts.

 LINK:

---

THE GRANDFATHER INFESTATION: THE ILLUSTRATED EDITION

---

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce a very special book for 2023, the hardback illustrated edition of The Grandfather Infestation by John Peel.

Like the illustrated edition of Beast of Fang Rock, this book has been inspired by the illustrated Doctor Who Target books from the early 1970s, combined with the popularity of the Lethbridge-Stewart Colouring Book, which was made available via Amazon and good retailers last month with four brand new images.

In 2016 Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen compared The Grandfather Infestation with the work of John Wyndham in 2016. He said:

“I’ve always been a huge fan of his work, and I knew I wanted something in a similar vein. I asked John to give us something Triffid-esque and he did exactly that. He’s created a nice blend of genres, mixing the best elements of storytelling that you’d find in the works of Robert Banks Stewart and Wyndham, giving it Peel’s own distinctive twist. And John is no stranger to twisting tales, make no mistake. He’s been writing prose fiction beyond Doctor Who continuously for over twenty-five years, and you don’t do that without being good.”

The book has a brand new cover, but the actual look of the Grandfathers has not been changed. Martin Baines opted to keep Colin Howard’s original design. Martin said: “Colin is a Doctor Who demi-god and I wouldn’t have felt comfortable changing his work. His realisation of the Grandfathers was perfect. Like all his Doctor Who artwork, Colin really understand what makes a good monster.”

For anyone who wants to revisit Colin’s work Timeslides, the Doctor Who Artwork of Colin Howard, also still available from Candy Jar.

Martin has also provided internal illustrations for the book. He continued:

“Like the Beast of Fang Rock, I read the book and choose my favourite scenes. I was excited to discover that The Grandfather Infestation is a jam-packed full of action, so it made illustrating it very fun indeed.”

The Grandfather Infestation: The Illustrated Edition comes with a free postcard, as well as a brand new Lucy Wilson Mysteries book The Grandfather Club written by John Peel. Shaun Russell, head of publishing at Candy Jar, felt that the time was right return to the Grandfathers. He said:

“John’s first ever Lethbridge-Stewart book was The Grandfather Infestation. And what a book it is! And, over the years we’ve always tremendous feedback about it, receiving so many requests to release a new edition. But instead of doing a paperback with a new cover, we decided to do something a little more special. Like Beast of Fang Rock, Martin’s artwork really helps to bring this exciting book alive. And the Lucy story is the cherry on the cake, allowing us to introduce the alien Grandfathers to a new audience.”

BLURB FOR THE GRANDFATHER INFESTATION:

 The late 1960s and pirate radio is at its height. DJ Mary Wilde is second-guessing herself, and her career choice – is she a fool to think she can succeed in a man’s world? But such problems are soon put into sharp relief when something emerges from the depths of the North Sea, and drags Radio Crossbones down.

 Meanwhile, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart has to contend with the politics of running the Fifth Operational Corps, but he’s soon pulled away from such tedious back-patting when a nuclear submarine is lost with all hands while investigating the strange occurrences in the North Sea.

 What are the Ymir, and why is it important for them to collect so many humans for their Grandfathers? And why does their success spell certain doom for Edinburgh? Lethbridge-Stewart, Anne Travers and Mary Wilde are about to learn the shocking truth first hand.

LINK

---

THE GRANDFATHER CLUB

---

BLURB FOR THE GRANDFATHER CLUB:

All of the school clubs have been cancelled, effective immediately. All except one…

Lucy and Hobo can’t understand why everyone at school has joined the gardening club. They also can’t understand why no one is doing any gardening!

Why are the students constructing a gigantic greenhouse? And why does it need such a powerful heating system? But, more to the point, what sort of plants will this greenhouse be the home to?

Will Lucy and Hobo be able to solve this mystery or have the seeds of destruction already been sown?

The Grandfather Infestation is now available for pre-order, for £25.00, directly from www.candyjarbooks.co.uk.