Trevor Baxendale: Doctor Who-Eater of Wasps

OK, before I even begin I have to admit something. I used to know Trevor Baxendale- not to speak to, you understand, but back in the mists of time some 15 years ago we were in the same DWAS local group in Liverpool and I knew who he was- he even used to do quite a good comic strip for the group fanzine. I like to think he knew who I was, but as my sum contribution to said fanzine was a parody of Robot in the style of a local newspaper, I doubt it. So it’s with interest that I approach his Who offerings, and nobody is more pleased than I to see him writing involving and engaging fiction in a mature style.

Baxendale’s choice of title belies both the setting and the action of his tale, as nobody as far as I can recall actually eats any wasps. Sure, people have them crawling in and out, but as eventually becomes apparent, this is something more complex than mere consumption for their protein value. Eater of Wasps is another in the long and distinguished line of Who stories to derive a great deal of their atmosphere from the parody of a particular literary style- in this case, the style and author are given away by the fact that the action takes place in the English village of Marpling. It’s Agatha Christie World- an England of cycling spinsters, ineffectual vicars and dark secrets up at the Big House. Into this, Baxendale brings not only the Doctor, Fitz and Anji, but a Day of the Daleks- style commando team from the future, sent back to find a secret weapon. The combination works very well and the elements don’t grate against each other at all. Baxendale’s Doctor is characterised by his plausibility and the ease with which he wins the confidence of the characters he encounters, particularly noticeable when he and his companions are viewed as at best disreputable by the respectable villagers.

One of the best things about reading Eater of Wasps was that as soon as Baxendale started to introduce some of the supporting characters, I started to cast them in my mind’s eye. Josephine Tewson as Miss Havers, I thought, Nigel Davenport as Squire Pink and Patricia Tallman as Kara. It’s a wonderful sign when a writer achieves this, as it shows that the novel has been conceived in visual terms as a Who story, and the end result is more engaging and accessible than, say, Vanishing Point. I did, however, suspect that Baxendale is starting to have his little joke when, in spite of having characters named Hilary Pink and the Reverend Fordyke, any gay characters were conspicuous by their absence and Pink turns out to be probably the most heterosexual character of the lot. By and large, the characters are the stock characters of a body-in-the-library murder mystery, however events give them a little more depth as they respond to a situation outside their experience. One of the main themes of the novel is secrets- the last third of the novel is driven by the commando Fatboy’s secret, and at the emotional heart of the novel is the secret which links Hilary Pink and the young Liam Jarrow. Baxendale’s resolution of this last secret is unusual for Who- we’re used to our hero resolving wrongs and standing up for truth, so to see him accept a lie as the preferable result feels strange but also adds an element of emotional realism.

Eater of Wasps is, then, a very straightforward and enjoyable tale and adds to a strong tradition of Who. In fact, it fits so neatly into the style of written and televised stories that it’s one of the most easily visualised Who novels I’ve ever read. The sense of menace is strong when needed and characters are, in general, well motivated. The style is very accessible and all in all, it made for several entertaining bus journeys and one entertaining train journey back from Cardiff.

7th February 2004