Divided Loyalties (novel)
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| Author | Gary Russell |
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| Series |
Doctor Who book: Past Doctor Adventures |
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Release number
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26 |
| Subject | Featuring: Fifth Doctor Tegan, Adric, Nyssa and the Celestial Toymaker |
| Set in | Period between The Visitation and Black Orchid |
| Publisher | BBC Books |
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Publication date
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October 1999 |
| Pages | 252 |
| ISBN | |
| Preceded by | City at World's End |
| Followed by | Corpse Marker |
Divided Loyalties is a BBC Books original novel written by Gary Russell and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Fifth Doctor, Tegan Jovanka, Nyssa, Adric and the Celestial Toymaker.
The book is divided into four rounds, each named after the title of an Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark song, as well as all the chapters within each round.
The Doctor dreams about a familiar voice calling to him for help, and awakens to find that the TARDIS has materialized aboard an Earth space station orbiting the planet Dymok. The Dymova have cut themselves off from the rest of the galaxy, and refuse to communicate with anyone beyond their planet apart from a repeated signal warning others away; however, an Observer on Dymok's surface detects the arrival of the TARDIS, and knows that salvation is at hand. At the very same moment that the TARDIS materializes, all communication from Dymok ceases and the crew of the Little Boy 2 find themselves unable to detect any life signs from the planet. Commander Oakwood leads a team into the cargo bays to investigate the energy spike caused by the TARDIS materialization, and the Doctor and his companions are captured as they explore their surroundings. The Doctor reluctantly leads Oakwood's security team to the TARDIS to explain his and his friends' presence—only to find that someone or something has placed a force field around the TARDIS, blocking him out.
Tegan touches the force field and is transported to what appears to be her home city of Brisbane; however, the city is deserted and the buildings have been rearranged to form a giant maze. Although vicious replicas of Adric and Nyssa appear in the maze to spur her on, she refuses to play the game which has been set for her, thus proving herself ideal for the Observer's purposes. As she demands to know what is happening, she experiences a vision of a strange man begging for help, and then of another man in the clothing of a Chinese Mandarin, who dismisses her as unsuitable and sends her back to the space station at the moment of her departure, with no memory of what has happened to her. The Doctor convinces Oakwood to tell him what has happened to Dymok, and Tegan realizes to her disgust that once again he is involving himself in a potentially dangerous situation which is no concern of his; or so she believes. In fact, events on Dymok are all part of the trap the Celestial Toymaker has set for the Doctor. Already, he has collected a new set of players from across time and space. A World War Two aviatrix is plucked from her crashing aeroplane and forced to play backgammon for her life; and a single hand of cards costs Sir Henry Rugglesthorpe not only his freedom, but the lives of his wife, children and household servants...
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