Just as enticing are the delightful allusions to many of River’s TV adventures, notably The Time of Angels, The Impossible Astronaut, and The Wedding of River Song. River is a divisive character too, so anyone picking The Ruby’s Curse up is likely to be a fan of Professor Song anyway… and in that case, it’ll deliver exactly what those readers will be looking for. River Song, author of the Melody Malone Mysteries, is forced to find a reality-altering weapon, the Eye of Horus - but everyone who comes into contact with it dies. The Ruby’s Curse hits the shelves on the 20th May 2021 and I’ll be posting my thoughts about it on release.

The Ruby’s Curse – A River Song Novel by Alex Kingston out The Ruby’s Curse – A River Song Novel by Alex Kingston out

Disney+ Releases New Doctor Who Trailer for 60th Anniver– WAIT, IS THAT BONNIE LANGFORD AS MEL BUSH? Part of that might be the way the novel emulates Doctor Who so excellently, successfully jumping between genres, ideas, and styles. We at Penguin Random House Australia acknowledge that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the Traditional Custodians and the first storytellers of the lands on which we live and work. And together they must solve another mystery: Is fiction changing into fact - or is fact changing into fiction?And together they must solve another mystery: Is fiction changing into fact – or is fact changing into fiction? It’s also not the first time River and Melody have appeared in books, with River headlining her own anthology book – The Legends of River Song– in 2016.

Reviewed: Doctor Who – The Ruby’s Curse by Alex Kingston

Having absolutely no idea of the journey I would be taking with River Song when I first uttered those words, ‘Hello Sweetie’, I cannot begin to express how excited I am to be able to continue not only River, but Melody’s adventures on the written page. The ruby might hold the secret to the location of Cleopatra’s tomb – but everyone who comes into contact with it dies. River Song is such an iconic character, and I think Alex’s many fans will be thrilled and amazed with what she’s come up with.

Immediately obvious are the sci-fi and detective genres, but then there’s a splash of satire, a large helping of historical fiction (which nonetheless puts you in mind of Death on the Nile), and a wonderful dose of wit. Elizabeth Corday in ER, made her first appearance in Doctor Who for 2008’s Silence in the Library and has continued to play River Song on TV and audio to this day. To tie into the Doctor Who episode The Angels Take Manhattan, BBC Books released an ebook of The Angel’s Kiss– the book featured in the episode where the titular Melody Malone (actually River in disguise) helps the Doctor, Amy and Rory defeat the Weeping Angels.

The Ruby’s Curse - Penguin Books Australia Doctor Who: The Ruby’s Curse - Penguin Books Australia

The ruby might hold the secret to the location of Cleopatra's tomb - but everyone who comes into contact with it dies.

River’s worlds are built on beautifully: we get references to what happened to Amy and Rory after The Angels Take Manhattan; we get immersed in historical events; we learn more about her not-quite-fictional alter ego, Melody Malone, private eye in 1930s New York; and we find out substantially more about Stormcage, the jail she spends her days in after possibly killing the Doctor. We honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' continuous connection to Country, waters, skies and communities. Working with Alex on this highly original new story has been such a delight, and we couldn’t be happier to be publishing her first Doctor Who novel. From the top-security confines of Stormcage to the barbarism of first-century Egypt, River battles to find the Eye of Horus before its powers are used to transform the universe.