This guide page was last updated in 2008. There have been thirteen further novels since, which may be catalogued here in a future update.
The first three novels were published Jan 4th 2007, with abridged audiobooks following 2nd April 2007.
“Border Princess” by Dan Abnett
Something is here that shouldn’t be here. Something is watching. In Cardiff’s secret heart, the members of the Torchwood team struggle to define and locate the intruder, and contain it before anyone gets hurt. But this time, they are out of their depth. How do you unlock a secret that can’t be broken? How do you assess the facts when the facts change to cover all traces? How do you cope if people are already hurt and no one realises it? What do you do if you’re one of them? The Border Princes are watching, and they play for keeps …This work features characters from BBC’s “Torchwood”, as played by John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Naoko Mori, Burn Gorman and Gareth David-Lloyd.
“Another Life” by Peter Anghelides
A storm is brewing – the water levels of the Bristol Channel are inexplicably rising, and Cardiff Bay is under threat from the worst flooding in years. In the midst of the climate chaos, Torchwood is called to investigate a series of gruesome murders – vagrants found dead around Cardiff with their heads partially eaten. When Owen goes missing following a session on a virtual reality game, Jack, Gwen and the team must discover what’s really going on before the water claims them all. And they must face the terror that lies at the bottom of the bay – waiting, feeding, controlling …This work features characters from BBC’s “Torchwood”, as played by John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Naoko Mori, Burn Gorman and Gareth David-Lloyd.
“Slow Decay” by Andrew Lane
A friend of Gwen’s has recently done an impressive bit of slimming, thanks to a new Cardiff weight-loss clinic with a incredibly simple system, and now Rhys wants to give it a try. Elsewhere in the city, an ordinary woman with superhuman strength and a rapacious appetite attacks a group of teenagers. Eight women have disappeared over the past few days, and the police fear they may have a serial killer on their hands, but as the body count rises and the hungers grow, the Torchwood team realise there may be something much more dangerous than a serial killer at work. This work features characters from BBC’s “Torchwood”, as played by John Barrowman, Eve Myles, Naoko Mori, Burn Gorman and Gareth David-Lloyd.A second collection of three books was published 6th March 2008 – this time there were no tie-in CDs, although BBC Audio had recently released two direct-to-audio adventures, chronicled here. These stories are all set at some point after Jack’s adventures with the Doctor and Martha, but before the events of Reset.
“Something in the Water” by Trevor Baxendale
Dr Bob Strong’s GP surgery has been treating a lot of coughs and colds recently, far more than is normal for the time of year. Bob thinks there’s something up but he can’t think what. He seems to have caught it himself, whatever it is – he’s starting to cough badly and there are flecks of blood in his hanky. Saskia Harden has been found on a number of occasions submerged in ponds or canals but alive and seemingly none the worse for wear. Saskia is not on any files, except in the medical records at Dr Strong’s GP practice. But Torchwood’s priorities lie elsewhere: investigating ghostly apparitions in South Wales, they have found a dead body. It’s old and in an advanced state of decay. And it is still able to talk. And what it is saying is ‘Water hag’…
Review by Arthur Penn
When Trevor Baxendale was asked to write a Torchwood story with aliens in it, it seems he misheard and believed he was asked to write an Aliens spinoff with Torchwood in it. Whilst its true the monsters incubating in human hosts and bursting out at inopportune moments have been commonplace in science fiction since 1979, some of specifics of our antagonists begin pushing the boundaries of coincidence and homage to move towards an out-and-out copy, to the extent where it became easy to predict (at least for anyone that’s sat through Alien3 at least) the explanation of the fully grown alien’s form towards the end.
Of course, the best science fiction is never about the monster, but about the characters and the storyline, and it’s here Baxendale wins back crucial points. He manages to create a fairly likeable and interesting group of characters, particular in the case of the main guest role Dr Strong – a man easy to sympathise with and at times feel almost familiar around. His portrayal of the Torchwood team is solid (and much better than those in the novels pubished in 2007, which admittedly must have had little reference material to work from), with the exception of a small number of lines from Gwen which seem to be lacking that indefinable Welshness about them. Baxendale’s Owen is especially natural as the man we love to hate and the only way in which this aspect is let down is the clear indications that this was written using the first series for reference (Ianto’s comic one-liners are missing, Owen is more cruel to the non-Torchwood characters than to Tosh, and Gwen takes more of a central role than she has in this season) – it’s easy to rationlise this away by imagining this set during that timeframe, although some occasional references slip through confirming that this story is indeed set during the second year, prior to Reset (and probably prior to Meat).
As with the other novels in the range, this is a light and easy read punctuated with the occasional scene of horrific violence, much like the show itself in some ways. Certainly enjoyable, but not an instant classic.
“Trace Memory” by David Llewellyn
Tiger Bay, Cardiff, 1953. A mysterious crate is brought into the docks on a Scandinavian cargo ship. Its destination: the Torchwood Institute. As the crate is offloaded by a group of local dockers, it explodes, killing all but one of them, a young Butetown lad called Michael Bellini. Fifty-eight years later, a radioactive source somewhere inside the Hub leads Torchwood to discover the same Michael Bellini, still young and dressed in his 1950s clothes, cowering in the vaults. They soon realise that each has encountered Michael before – as a child in Osaka, as a junior doctor, as a young police constable, as a new recruit to Torchwood One. But it’s Jack who remembers him best of all. Michael’s involuntary time-travelling has something to do with a radiation-charged relic held inside the crate. And the Men in Bowler Hats are coming to get it back.
Review by Arthur Penn
Daring and brilliant, this is the standout novel in this second trinity. Llewellyn manages to do what few of the Torchwood authors (in any medium) have managed and write a true ensemble piece, with none of the characters truly owning the storyline except possibly Michael Belini, the unwitting hero.
For years we Doctor Who fans have had something Star Wars and Star Trek fans could only dream of – a canon run by a small group of fans who (for the most part) did their damndest to keep everything straight. Try enjoying your average Star Trek novel in the 90s and you’d find within months the TV show had overwritten the canon with some hitherto unknown (including to your poor novellist) secret about one of the central characters. From 1990 to 2004 Star Trek fans watched us with envy as, with no TV show to bind it, the story could continue in audio and book form without fear of contradiction, and take whatever liberties it could. Since 2005, however, a more reserved approach has been taken, which (while sensible) has resulted in something of a backlash from fandom, presumably desiring the Doctor to lose his memory for a hundred years, or Martha to be killed off, or some other stunt.
Llewellyn, fantastically, seems not to have realised that Torchwood is on the air.
There is no reservation here – we are flung into the histories of every one of the central characters (although for the most part ages and dates are carefully hidden – canon-cops can breathe again) with little regard for what the future of the show might bring. We only need Jack to mention that he spent most of the 60s outside England and the whole plot here goes out the window. And thank God. Torchwood hinges on the wonderful main characters, and rather than gingerly tiptoeing around them, Llewellyn reveals much, making this whole novel somewhat hard to put down. The narrative glides from the present day, to the 50s, 60s, 80s and early 00s with a glorious melody that seems to follow a route of its own. That we do not follow Jack’s timeline or Michael’s exclusively just makes this even more gripping – using the time-travel aspect to create a puzzle box that only reveals itself in the final chapters – something only the best sci-fi novels acheive.Just wonderful – more from David Llewellyn please!
“The Twilight Streets” by Gary Russell
There’s a part of the city that no one much goes to, a collection of rundown old houses and gloomy streets. No one stays there long, and no one can explain why – something’s not quite right there. Now the Council is renovating the district, and a new company is overseeing the work. There will be street parties and events to show off the newly gentrified neighbourhood: clowns and face-painters for the kids, magicians for the adults – the street entertainers of Cardiff, out in force. None of this is Torchwood’s problem. Until Toshiko recognises the sponsor of the street parties: Bilis Manger. Now there is something for Torchwood to investigate. But Captain Jack Harkness has never been able to get into the area; it makes him physically ill to go near it. Without Jack’s help, Torchwood must face the darker side of urban Cardiff alone…
Review by Charlie Swift
When I started reading this book I must admit I was dubious, with the first three chapters entirely dedicated to scene setting, in three different areas; you are not immediately gripped by the narrative of the story line, and not really faced with the dilemma of having to put the book down. The flow of the book is something that never quite settles throughout the story, perhaps a testament to, as Russell puts it, “ohgodihavetowriteabookinaludicrouslyshorttime”. The ability to put the book down, I am pleased to say, gets harder as you go on, with a story line that fits into the general Torchwood style well, along with an unexpected twist for good measure means that you are compelled to keep reading.
The use of exerts from various letters etc is a useful tool for this story and I can understand why the author used them, it makes the various times referred to easier to differentiate. Though I did find myself wondering if the use of at least five different fonts was entirely necessary, it made me feel like it was expected I wouldn’t be able to follow the various shifts in scene or time.
However once Russell gets to show some of the team interplay, his strengths become really evident; his portrayal of the characters is meticulous, particularly in filling in some of the elusive Captain Jack history. The use of original characters is done well, Idris Hopper is written with enough detail to keep him interesting yet not detracting from the central characters. Russell has made Ianto both stronger and lighter at the same time, more so than in the events of series two of the show, whether this is due to a slightly vague brief on character developments for the season or a general love of the character I don’t know, but I’m sure Ianto fans will be pleased.
There is one area of character interaction that seems to have been completely ignored in the book; the Jack / Gwen tension that is very evident in series two is no where to be seen. Whilst I am personally a ‘Janto’ fan, the relationship between the Captain and his second in command is a topic of much online discussion and integral to the series. Whilst ignoring it will not diminish the online speculation of fans, it is an obvious hole in the storyline which makes the inevitable gap between the television series and the book seem wider.
Overall this was a good read, and aside from the above mentioned issue regarding character development I didn’t find myself internally screaming at absence of canon in the characters. Whilst the book was a slow starter, it improved infinitely with the strength of the story line and the care given to respecting the television series. An interesting read that shows what Gary Russell can do, and makes you wonder how much more he could do with more time….
