December 3rd, 2016 no comments

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

Lethbridge-Stewart Mind of Stone

‘Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, you have offered no plea to the court. Due to the severity of the charges brought against you, and your undeniable abilities as an officer in Her Majesty’s Forces, as well as the threat of flight posed by your training, this court feels that there is no option other than to deny you bail. You will be taken from this court and remanded in custody until your trial.’

The judge rapped his gavel sharply. ‘Take him away.’

Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart has been remanded to Wormwood Scrubs Prison, and his team have no idea why. Secrecy surrounds his case, but

his team barely have a chance to process anything before they are sent on a mission to Egypt.

Why does it seem like Lethbridge-Stewart is going out ofhis way to court trouble from the prison’s most notorious inmates?And what does it have to do with well-known gangster Hugh Godfrey?

In the Ptolemaic Museum of Cairo, Anne Travers and her team aretrying to uncover the mystery surrounding some very unusual stone statues.Statues that resemble those held in a secure military facility in Berkshire.

One thing connects these events; the mysterious cargo transportedby Colonel Pemberton and Captain Knight in August 1968.

The cover of Mind of Stone is by regular cover artist, Colin Howard, who recently produced the cover for the animated Doctor Who DVD, The Power of the Daleks. Colin says: “I really enjoyed bringing Captain Knight to the fore, as I particularly like the performances that actor Ralph Watson brought to both The Web of Fear and Horror of Fang Rock, and he deserves such a homage. Andy knows my strength, and gave me a brief that really brings out the best in me.”

Mind of Stone also features a forward by former Doctor Who script editor, and author of the classic Fury from the Deep, Victor Pemberton, close friend of Mervyn Haisman and the man after whom Colonel Pemberton was named. The book is due to be shipped out mid-December 2016.

To download a free PDF of the prelude visit candy-jar.co.uk/books/files/Mind-of-Stone-Preview-Sample

Mind of Stone can be pre-ordered individually, or as part of the Series 3 Bundle (both UK and overseas), which includes the previous novels, Times Squared by Rick Cross, and Blood of Atlantis by Simon A Forward, or the subscription deal for those wishing to get six books for the price of five.

Candy Jar is pleased to announce that the subscription offer is now being extended to international customers. Please see candy-jar.co.uk/books/subscriptions for more details.

Candy Jar is also offering a special promotion for its online customers. Buy Mind of Stone for £8.99 and get Blood of Atlantis for £5. This promotion also applies to six other Candy Jar titles. Please see candy-jar.co.uk/books/offers for more details.

Candy Jar Books is pleased to announce the final Lethbridge-Stewart novel of 2016!

Mind of Stone is by Iain McLaughlin, and sees Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart sent to prison for destroying a rural Enlish village! It also brings back fan favourite, Captain Knight, from the 1968 Doctor Who serial The Web of Fear.

Range Editor Andy Frankham-Allen says: “This was a fun story to break. The idea of Lethbridge-Stewart serving time in prison came from Shaun; it was of the earlier ideas we discussed. I personally wanted to bring back both Captain Knight and Colonel Pemberton, who have both been mentioned several times in the series. Indeed both have appeared in some of our short stories, so it was nice to bring them into the novels properly. I approached Iain after he was recommended by a friend, although I was aware of his work I had forgotten he’d written for the Brigadier back in 2004. Iain was up for it, and took on board the small ‘shopping list’, building a very solid story from the initial ideas.”

Iain says: “Iain says: “Back in 2004 I was lucky enough to write for the older Brigadier in Big Finish’s UNIT series. That was an absolute joy. It was an older, wiser but always resolute Brig. Passing years hadn’t diminished his sense of duty or his willingness to risk everything to do what needed doing and do what was right. Writing those scripts was as big a buzz for me as writing for the Doctor. Hearing Nick be complimentary about how we had handled the Brig was one of the happiest moments of my career. Writing a younger version of the Brigadier was something I had pondered, but I didn’t see how I could do

it… until news of the Lethbridge-Stewart books came along. When I had the chance to pitch I jumped at it, just for the chance to spend some time with a character who feels like an old friend.

“I wanted the book to start with a bang – and so we go straight into the Brig being sent to jail. From there… well, life inside Britain’s prison system wasn’t easy. I’d read about Wormwood Scrubs having been used as a military installation during WW2 and that helped me shape the story and plan how it would unfold. Using the Scrubs made me think of TV and films from the ‘60s and ‘70s that had a real edge. McVicar, Get Carter, Target, The Long Good Friday… suddenly the Brig in jail had some edge, and it was the kind of situation we’d never seen him in before. But he’s clever and he’s resourceful… the Brigadier isn’t Colonel Blimp. He’s a damned good soldier, and he’s a dangerous man in the right situation. I hope that’s the Brig you see in this book. As an outline it went through a few revisions, as most books do. But through the writing and the rewriting, the joy at the heart of it is the Brigadier having new adventures. Taking this wonderful character, putting him in situations he needs to resolve and writing dialogue people will read in Nick’s wonderful, rich voice… that’s an honour and a pleasure. Nick and the Brigadier? Splendid fellows, both of them.”

Iain McLaughlin is a scottish author well-known for his Doctor Who audios scripts and creating Erimem, the Egyptian pharoah companion for Peter Davision’s Fifth Doctor. His Doctor Who debut came in 2001 with the Big Finish audio drama, The Eye of the Scorpion, which introduced Erimem. He went on to write several audio plays and short stories for Big Finish, as well a novel called The Coming of the Queen, the origin story of Erimem. In 2015 he launched his own Doctor Who spin-off series of fiction, based on the now amnesiace time travelling Erimem. In 2004 he also co-wrote two scripts in Big Finish’s UNIT series, both of which featured Nicholas Courtney as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

Shaun Russell, head of publishing at Candy Jar, says: “I thought it would be great idea putting Lethbridge-Stewart in prison, so it was a lot of fun to finally read the book (by the time I read them, at the formatting stage, these books are fully written). It was just as I hoped it would be. It combines the tough storytelling of The Sweeney, with comedy elements of Porridge. Iain has really done a fantastic job on this book, bringing some much-needed comedy touches to the Brigadier’s time inside.”

Categorised under: Books, Story books