BASIC PLOT
Aliens have been abducting other aliens and running experiments on them.

DOCTOR
Fifteenth.

COMPANIONS
Ruby Sunday.

MATERIALISATION CIRCUIT
The TARDIS is already on the Laboratory world before the story begins.

PREPARATORY READING
None.

CONTINUITY REFERENCES
Pgs 57-58 "'Your family sounds lovely,' said the Doctor. 'Oh, they're just like anyone else;s, I suppose,' said Chirracharr. A little sadness crossed the Doctor's face, and then it was gone." The Doctor found out she was adopted in The Timeless Children, and it's been an ongoing concern of the fifteenth Doctor since The Church on Ruby Road.

Pg 91 "Ruby was still new to this whole business of meeting aliens and getting to know them, and while even her short time with the Doctor had taught her to be open-minded (except with Goblins), it was hard to keep calm and carry on when you realised that the alien looking at you was almost faceless" The Church on Ruby Road.

Pg 77 "'Pomodoro,' he said (perplexingly) and then brought out another gadget that fitted snugly into the palm of his hand. 'Sonnick,' he said (equally perplexingly)." The sonic screwdriver was first seen in Fury From the Deep.

Pg 168 "You can't be prepared for everything. I wasnt, when I met the Doctor. Everything went weird and dangerous - and musical!" The Church on Ruby Road, The Devil's Chord.

Pg 173 "I've visited other worlds besides yours. I've sung to kings. Held space babies. Shouted at ambulances. Outrun a Shreek..." The Church on Ruby Road, Space Babies, Boom, uncertain reference.

OLD FRIENDS AND OLD ENEMIES
None.

NEW FRIENDS AND NEW ENEMIES
Guinea pigs: Chirracharr, Sheekshirrip, Thittisharr

Ixites: Tixlel, Axelal, Laxelil, Raxlil.

Fred the roller.

CONTINUITY COCK-UPS
None.

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

FEATURED ALIEN RACES
Pg 43 Chirracharr's people are basically large guinea pigs.

Pgs 22/40/107/124 The Ixites, octopods with large eyes and no noses that flash different colours with their mood.

Pgs 4/27/33/45: Rollers, android armadillos, that curl up into a ball.

FEATURED LOCATIONS
Pg 123 The planet Ix.

Pg 128 A roller ship.

Pg 133 The Laboratory world.

IN SUMMARY - Stacey Smith?
This is a sweet little story that unfolds beautifully. Aliens abducting other aliens sounds a bit odd (it must surely happen a lot), but the realisation of what's actually happening here is very well done. The Doctor and Ruby sound authentic, and each have a decent role. The guest cast are reasonably well sketched, with decent disagreements among the antagonists. The only weird part is the idea that the Experiment is under threat not just because of fear and conspiracies (fair enough), but because people want to build houses there. When they have seven entire planets to choose from?!? That's just such a strange motivation, and is accompanied by precisely no worldbuilding featuring crowded conditions or what-have-you, but it's the only weak spot in an otherwise charming novel.