BASIC PLOT
A supposedly harmless relic known as the Spirit Gate becomes active and whisks Jamie and Zoe into the future. The Doctor follows in the TARDIS and arrives in England, 1900, where the descendents of an English merchant from 1800 are gathering.

DOCTOR
Second.

COMPANIONS
Jamie and Zoe.

MATERIALISATION CIRCUIT
The British Trade Concession in Canton, China, 1800 (page 22).

A maze in the garden of the Fair Destine mansion, Kent, England, 1900 (page 35)

PREPARATORY READING
None.

CONTINUITY REFERENCES
Pg 21 "I can tell you, we had better equipment than this on the Wheel." The Wheel in Space.

Pg 84 "The air outside was clean and cold and almost intoxicating in its sweetness, at least to Zoe, who was accustomed to breathing the canned atmosphere of the Space Wheel." The Wheel in Space.

OLD FRIENDS AND OLD ENEMIES
None.

NEW FRIENDS AND NEW ENEMIES
Thomas Carnacki, Celandine Gilbert (or Gibson; see Continuity Cock Ups), Elder-Main.

CONTINUITY COCK-UPS

• On pages 41 and 48 Celandine's surname is Gilbert. On page 114, her surname is Gibson.

PLUGGING THE HOLES [Fan-wank theorizing of how to fix continuity cock-ups]

• Celandine's mother's maiden name was Gibson, which she sometimes uses.

FEATURED ALIEN RACES
A poppy creature (pages 113-114).

A dragon (page 123).

FEATURED LOCATIONS
Canton, China, 1800.

The Fair Destine mansion, both in Kent, England and floating on its own in space, December 1900.

IN SUMMARY - Robert Smith?
Foreign Devils' set pieces are much stronger than the plot which tries to tie them together; the novella has to work overtime to justify the mansion being ripped out and floating in space and doesn't succeed in the slightest. This set piece, while incredibly strong, was even stronger the first time Cartmel used it, in the DWM comic The Good Soldier. The ending is also quite rushed. However, this is a highly readable and engrossing book that establishes a fabulous atmosphere, decent roles for the Doctor and Zoe (although Jamie is shamelessly written out of the action) and a rollicking supernatural mystery that draws you in deliciously.