BASIC PLOT
In an idyllic village, the population appear to be entirely robots. The Doctor would sort it out, only he's living backwards through time.

DOCTOR
Eleventh.

COMPANIONS
Amy and Rory.

MATERIALISATION CIRCUIT
Pgs 19/21 At one end of the village of Appletown, Colorado, August 1981.

Pg 82 In the exact centre of Appletown.

Pg 229-230 In the Appletown village square.

PREPARATORY READING
None.

CONTINUITY REFERENCES
Pg 66 The psychic paper makes an appearance.

Pg 163 "He turned his head slowly to see the strange man with the strange clothes holding a strange device - a hefty, bronzed tool with an emerald light at one end - which he was pointing at the generator." The sonic screwdriver.

Pg 185 "Twenty minutes, good." Possible reference to The Eleventh Hour ("Twenty minutes to save the world").

Pg 184 "OK, now I know you're insane. I just wanted to be certain." The Tomb of the Cybermen.

Pg 235 "Always moving on." Boom Town.

OLD FRIENDS AND OLD ENEMIES

NEW FRIENDS AND NEW ENEMIES
Albert Gilroy, Geoff Redvers, Isley.

CONTINUITY COCK-UPS

• Back cover: "The Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in Appletown [...] But when two more strangers arrive, things begin to change." Except that one of those strangers is Albert, who is already there when the TARDIS lands. And, technically, the other is neither a stranger, nor does he arrive, given that it's the Doctor from the future.

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

• The time energies from the TARDIS are affecting the back cover, so it's giving a perspective in reverse.

FEATURED ALIEN RACES
Pg 16 Robots.

FEATURED LOCATIONS
Pg 7 Michigan, 1975.

Pg 10 Chicago, 1973.

Pgs 19/21 Appletown, Colorado, August 1981.

Pg 55 California, 1975.

Pg 75 Utah, 1977.

Pg 89 Florida, 1980.

Pg 111 Washington DC, February 1981.

Pg 241 The outskirts of Appletown.

IN SUMMARY - Robert Smith?
This isn't the world's best novel; the curse of the italics is back, the Doctor is characterised very oddly, and Amy and Rory are almost completely sidelined. However, at least it's doing something different! The time shenanigans are a worthy attempt to produce something that isn't the usual guff, so full marks for that. It could have used a bit of an edit: the Doctor's backward speech is both unintelligible and stupid, when it needs to be clear, and the different timelines need more clarity than they're given. However, the original characters are pretty decent (helped by there only being three of them) and it does at least have something to say.