August 17th, 2016 2 comments

We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.

Lethbridge-Stewart The HAVOC Files 2

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce the release of the second volume of The HAVOC Files, collecting the short stories released during the first half in 2016, in print for the first time!

Early this year Candy Jar Books released the first volume of The HAVOC Files, an instant hit among fans. And now with The HAVOC Files 2 another batch of short stories (which were previously only available in digital format) are brought together. These are:

In His Kiss by Sue Hampton, The Lock-In by Sarah Groenewegen BEM, The Black Eggs of Khufu by Tom Dexter, The Band of Evil by Roger J Simmonds & Shaun Russell and The Playing Dead by Adrian Sherlock.

As with the previous volume, The HAVOC Files 2 also includes new stories exclusive to the book. Once again range editor Andy Frankham-Allen returns, this time with the short story Ashes of the Inferno.

Writer, Andy Frankham-Allen, says: “As the title suggests this story is connected to the 1970 serial Inferno; indeed it begins the same day the Doctor returns from the alternative Earth. A lot of readers have asked how the expanding mythology of the Lethbridge-Stewart series fits into the UNIT era of Doctor Who, and this story goes a little way to explaining that.

But it’s much more than just a response to readers’ questions, it’s a story about loss and coming to terms with losing everything that matters to you. A theme that I often come back to, and one that is even more poignant right now as only recently I lost a friend in very tragic accident. This story serves as something of a tribute to that young man, who was not only a friend but a huge Doctor Who fan, and the family he left behind, who are trying to cope with such a monumental loss.”

The second brand new story is House of Giants by newcomer Rick Cross. It picks up on a thread referenced in the most recent Lethbridge-Stewart novel, The Grandfather Infestation by John Peel, and deals with aftermath of the Doctor Who serial, Planet of Giants.

Rick Cross says: “Planet of Giants is a personal favourite of mine, an inventive and unexpected First Doctor experiment that has resonated in my mind since I first saw it, so it’s been fun writing a sort of coda to it. I’m thrilled and honoured to bring the Brigadier and Anne Travers onto the scene of this classic Doctor Who story, and can’t wait for fellow fans to see what awaits them there.”

Rick may be a familiar name to some, as he had a small piece published in the first volume of The HAVOC Files. That vignette was the prologue to his forthcoming Lethbridge-Stewart novel, Times Squared, which was written before House of Giants.

Candy Jar’s Head of Publishing, Shaun Russell says: ‘Rick was brought in by Andy, a result of successful networking on Facebook. We’ve been so impressed with Rick’s abilities as a writer that we thought it’d be nice to have him write us a short story while Andy works on his forthcoming novel.”

On the subject of having his second piece of Lethbridge-Stewart fiction published first, Rick says: “’I’m actually quite pleased that House of Giants will arrive ahead of Times Squared. I hope it will serve as an appetizer of sorts to the entree to come, one that will introduce Lethbridge-Stewart readers to my particular Yankee style, borne of a lifelong obsession with Doctor Who, sci-fi films and Stephen King novels. Hopefully, they’ll come away eager to explore the labyrinthine streets of late-‘60s New York City… and what lies beneath.”

Not content to simply provide new stories for their readers, Shaun and Andy have also added two special extras to the book. The first is the unpublished interludes from The Showstoppers by Jonathan Cooper. Andy says: “I decided to remove the interludes from the novel because, in my opinion, they slowed the pace of the story down too much. However, the background on Schädengeist and Commander Shepstone was too good to simply consign to the rubbish bin, so it’s a great pleasure to make the interludes available as one short story.”

The second extra is the original prologue from John Peel’s The Grandfather Infestation, which reveals why the Ymir brought their Grandfather’s to Earth in the first place.

The whole collection is dedicated to the memory of Rhys Rubery, friend of the range editor and Doctor Who fan, a sixteen-year-old who lost his life in a tragic accident in July 2016. You can find out more about Rhys, and how to support the RR81 Legacy by going to www.jonrubery.wixsite.com

As with the first volume, The HAVOC Files 2 will only be available as a strictly limited edition print run, available directly from the Candy Jar Bookstore. It will not be available for sale in any shop, on the high streets or the Internet, and is due to become a collector’s item. PRE-ORDER now!

The HAVOC Files 2 is now available for pre-order, for £8.99, directly from www.candyjarbooks.co.uk

Categorised under: Books, Story books