Doctor Who: Peacemaker

Doctor Who: New Series Adventures #21

by James Swallow

The peace and quiet of a remote homestead in the 1880s American West is shattered by the arrival of two shadowy outriders searching for 'the healer'. When the farmer refuses to help them, they raze the house to the ground using guns that shoot bolts of energy instead of bullets...

In the town of Redwater, the Doctor and Martha learn of a snake-oil salesman whose patent medicines actually cure his patients. But when the Doctor and Martha investigate they discover the truth is stranger, and far more dangerous.

Caught between the law of the gun and the deadly plans of intergalactic mercenaries, the Doctor and Martha are about to discover just how wild the West can become...

The Doctor and Martha are about to find out if a sonic screwdriver is more powerful than a six-shooter - the latest in the bestselling series of Doctor Who novels.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Audiobook, Time Travel, Adventure

238 pages, Hardcover

First published December 27, 2007

About the author

James Swallow is a New York Times, Sunday Times and Amazon #1 bestselling author and scriptwriter, a BAFTA nominee, a former journalist and the award-winning writer of over sixty-five books, along with scripts for video games, comics, radio and television.

DARK HORIZON, his latest stand-alone thriller, is out now from Mountain Leopard Press, and OUTLAW, the 6th action-packed Marc Dane novel, is published by Bonnier.

Along with the Marc Dane thrillers, his writing includes, the Sundowners steampunk Westerns and fiction from the worlds of Star Trek, Tom Clancy, 24, Warhammer 40000, Doctor Who, Deus Ex, Stargate, 2000AD and many more.

For information on new releases & more, sign up to the Readers’ Club here: www.bit.ly/JamesSwallow

Visit James's website at http://www.jswallow.com/ for more, including ROUGH AIR, a free eBook novella in the Marc Dane series.

You can also follow James on Bluesky at @jmswallow.bsky.social, Twitter at @jmswallow, Mastodon at @jmswallow@mstdn.social and jmswallow.tumblr.com at Tumblr.

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arriving in the 1880s American West, The Doctor and Martha learn of a snake-oil salesman who's patent medicines holds a strange secret.

It’s a fun Tenth Doctor adventure that really captures the playfulness cliques of a Wild West story.
Even the First Doctor’s visit to The O.K. Coral gets referenced!

There’s a nice blend of history as the newspaper editor dismisses Martha’s ability to read, whilst the Sci-Fi elements add an extra layer.
I really enjoy theses types of pseudo historical adventures.

[Brooklyn Tayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I typically am not a crazy fan of the Wild West, I did enjoy this novel featuring the Tenth Doctor and Martha. It was written well; I could hear the characters voices as I read the words. Pretty fast paced.

[Goodreeds User · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hot dangit!! They dun shot tha got damn TARDIS !!

[D.L. Morrese · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would have made a very good episode of the “new” Doctor Who series. It is almost of parody of gunslinger type Westerns (of which I am not a fan) but with a Who twist. The characters of both the Doctor and Martha Jones are written true to the TV show. The Doctor with all his whimsical charm and Martha with her determined confidence face the Clad, an alien warrior race whose members embody themselves in weapons through which they inhabit their hosts.
Is this great literature? No. Does it have some stereotypical Western secondary characters? Yes. Are the Wild West accents annoying? At times. I think that’s the point, though. This book pokes fun at that type of thing by incorporating the clichés of the genre, and it does it well. The story is a fun, light read with a good plot but driven by the very well portrayed characters of the Doctor and his companion, Martha. Fans of the Doctor should enjoy this.

[Kimberley doruyter · Rating 3 out of 5]

i don't like the wild west much but i did enjoy this book.

[Emilija · Rating 3 out of 5]

2019 52 Book Challenge - 32) A Western

I'm not normally a fan of the Wild West in novels, but this was a pretty decent Doctor Who novel. I thought that the Doctor and Martha were both characterized well, and I found the Clade really interesting. They made me think of the aliens in series 2 of Stargate Universe with the destruction of the creators and winning every war they wage.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite my best intentions, I've not read many Doctor Who books. I've wanted to read a lot of the 9th and 10th Doctor ones -and indeed, have collected them - but lots haven't held or even caught my attention. Peacemaker is one that I've wanted to read for ages, and I'm so pleased to say it didn't disappoint.

I love Westerns anyway, and this book manages to include all of the tropes in a story that feels fresh. It occasionally gets a little sci-fi-y (which in Doctor Who perhaps sounds like a contradiction), and as it progresses the Doctor spouts more alien-science-technobabble than he usually does. But the characterisation of both 10 and Martha is great, and it's a really enjoyable story for the both of them, as well as a good depiction and extension of their relationship.

The supporting characters are great, and the most important thing for me is that this book easily feels like it could translate onto TV. It also has just the right amount of plot for a novel of this size, and it doesn't feel like it's been padded to fit the length.

A really enjoyable, and well-written, novel.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another point in favor of the hypothesis that the Doctor Who new series adventures are getting stronger as the series progresses. In fact, I might have been tempted to give it four stars were it not for a slightly hokey bit at the climax, and the presence of a fairly stock "noble savage" Pawnee Indian character who dies nobly to save our heroes.

On the plus side, Swallow's got a gift for weaving in tiny little continuity references for the fans to catch (without bogging down the story), and he's got a nice grasp on Martha's voice as a character. (And I have to say that while, in general, I'm a bit non-plussed by the way the writers of the Doctor Who novels slightly over-exaggerate Martha's jealousy over Rose, I found the scene where Martha decides to name her horse "Rose" quite funny.)

The book also features the first really worthwhile original aliens that I've encountered so far in the new series novels: The Clade. They are genuinely creepy.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let us get to the point. It's very easy to criticize these books for their basic writing, but they get the younger generation to read. Now hopefully this will stay with them as they begin to reach the twilight years.

Good stuff and the only way to get new stories after Peter Capaldi brought the series to a close as the last Doctor.

[John Loyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tenth Doctor and Martha.

The Doctor and Martha travel back to the Wild West. They hear of a traveling medicine man who actually cured people who had smallpox. Way before a cure was found. By the time they get there Godlove is gone. Rather a couple of [alien possessed] desperadoes come into town looking for the healer and kill the sheriff. The Doctor recognizes the [type of] aliens and knows they aren’t going to just get what they came for and leave. They’re going to sterilize the surrounding area.

The Doctor is befriended by the school teacher and the sheriff’s son. The son having received the cure, but is now cursed with nightmares. They head off to the next town. Quick read, flows like a TV episode. 3.9 stars.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some Tennant-y moments, but still a rather generic in places.

[Sybill Shepard · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be fair, I’m not a fan of westerns and I think I’ve already read this but, wasn’t a fan. Not a bad book over all but just didn’t get pulled in like I can. 2 1/2 ⭐️

[Jim C · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book based on the television show Doctor Who. This novel features the 10th Doctor and his companion Martha Jones. In this novel they travel back in time to the Old West. When they arrive they come to find out a person is curing smallpox which is impossible since this cure is not around yet. Their investigation leads them to a device which aliens are attempting to recover and these aliens do not care how they recover the item.

When I read a media tie-in book I try to picture if I would enjoy this as an episode and this episode fits that qualification. The author nailed down the portrayals of the Doctor and Martha and throughout the book you can tell the author knew the show. The author put in a number of references to the television show that satisfies any fan. I am not a fan of westerns but this novel didn't overdo it and it worked with how future technology mixed with the past. I enjoyed the supporting characters but there was nothing memorable there. Let's face it. When reading a book like this we are looking for one more adventure of the characters we have come to love. This book is exactly that and I believe fans of the show will enjoy.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Source: I own this book.
Cost: Unknown

Title: Peacemaker
Series: Doctor Who: New Series Adventures #21
Author: James Swallow
Overall Rating: 3.8 stars

This was the one that I couldn't remember what happened in. As a kid I was a massive Doctor Who fan, like I knew every single thing about the series and nobody could challenge me on it, but if someone had asked me about this book I wouldn't have been able to tell you anything about it, but rereading it, I actually enjoyed it.

The Doctor and Martha go to the Wild West and meet some outlaws, but it turns out that the outlaws aren't exactly human.

The characterisation in this was actually pretty spot on, it was very easy to follow the story and it was a good solid plot. It won't go into my favourites of the Doctor Who books but it's still very very good.

[TheGeekProblem · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is it with western and Sci-fi that go so well together? I never noticed before but I think I've never just read or seen a normal western, it's always a variation of the genre. Cowboys v Aliens, Back to the Future part III, etc.

I really liked this adventure and as my first Martha read, it wasn't bad at all. It had it's ups and downs but all in all pretty good. Martha is a great companion, although in the book there's lots of scenes in which she is reduced to her crush on the Doctor and it's really sad because she's a great character and she's more than that.

The side characters are well written and with life of their own. The main villain is an actual weapon that uses a host for war purposes and the Doctor is taunted because of it. And we get beautiful winks to Bad Wolf and Rose Tyler that were a balm to my Doctor/Rose shipper heart.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the stars of the new Who books, I think. Not quite as brilliant as 'The Resurrection Casket' but darned close. It's not often we get to see the Doctor in the Wild West, where the law of the gun ruled. For you Firefly fans out there, pay close attention to the writer's dialogue! It's obvious he's a Whedon fan.

[Avarill · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the better new Who tie-in books. Listened to it on a long (long!) drive and quite enjoyed it. As a bonus, Martha was written well and proved helpful to the plot. Sometimes these books relegate the companion to endless variations on: "Doctor, what's going on?" But not here, not Martha. Nicely done.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, who would have guessed it: a western I actually enjoyed. It's the second time "Doctor Who" has managed to make this genre palatable...although, unlike the previous occasion (1966's "The Gunfighters") this is an all-out-epic of cowboys vs aliens. There's even a visceral moment when you experience the Time War at its height. A very surprising book.

[rené lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a good enough story, even with the ending being a little convoluted. This story did remind me of how frustrating it was to deal with Martha's annoying crush on The Doctor all the time. Just like in the show, it didn't add to the story at all and irritated me. But, that aside, the story was fine.

[Melenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty enjoyable 10th Doctor story. (5 Stars - Sept 2021)

Upon second listen (Oct 2025) It's quite a mix of the 10th and the 11th Doctor, even though it is supposed to be a 10th Doctor story... still a good listen. (Four Stars)

Both reads were the audiobook read by Will Thorp.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars

This book was surprisingly good, the second best Tenth Doctor & Martha book I have read, and I read most of them already. But it's certainly not without faults.

Let's start with the good. I loved that Rose was mentioned several times in the book. I loved the Bad Wolf reference, although the Doctor's reaction to it should have been stronger. I felt like the author recognized how important Rose was for the Doctor.

The characterization was also terribly nice, Ten was very clearly spot on, so was Martha for like 85% of the story. But that's where the problems start. I feel like the authors of these novels either don't understand the Doctor & Martha dynamic, or they are terrified of actually portraying it. So in critical points, they just switch on writing the more pleasant and safe Rose. But Martha and Rose are glaringly different personalities, and their relationship with the Doctor is not even comparable. The Doctor doesn't love Martha, I even doubt he likes her. He is fond of her and trusts her without a doubt, but they are so different Ten would never seek her company if not out of desperation for company. Implying that there is more between them than friendship or companionship is just wrong.

And this is where the negative side of the story comes in. Martha becomes Rose and how the Doctor talked about her and to her was entirely Rose, from the moment she was injured onwards until the very end. And even when she was herself, she majorly dragged the story down. She was once again jealous of someone she never met, who never hurt her in any way for no reason. She was insensitive and ignorant. She couldn't understand, or connect with the people around her. She claimed that she recognize grief in others, but she looked heart-eyed at the Doctor the next minute, then in a surge of jealousy named her horse Rose....disgusting behaviour really. Thankfully the writer didn't tried to sugarcoat the act.

Another technical mistake was that horse riding wasn't looked up properly. Martha rode her horse all tense and with a bad posture during hours of galloping then she suddenly become relaxed and enjoyed the ride. Now, anyone who rode a horse before or have an equestrian background know that being tense and having a bad posture in high speed for a long time either result in a bad fall, or become terribly painful pretty quickly. Therefore Martha would never have a chance to enjoy her time on horseback.

[Harley Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first review, so apologies for if it's considereda poorly structure one. Anyways, onto the book.

This being my first Doctor Who Book, and I being a major fan of the series itself, my opinion may be skewed towards the 5/5 but I didn't. For you see, this book was overall fantastic, had the flare and likeliness that the show itself had, the Doctor & Martha acted just like themselves from the show, and the characters and Villain of the Wild West & Redwater were believable enough for the Wildwest. In other words, in my opinion, if you're a Doctor Who Fan you're going to quite enjoy this book a whole lot. However, the 4/5 is for the book being, well just a book itself.

For people who aren't a fan Doctor Who and happened to come across this book and decided to read it without knowing all too well, then I believe you may not get into it. Of course, I'm 95% sure that these books are meant for the fans and followers of the series, but if you just found it and read it, then you may not get all the references and explanations for how some of technology and creatures work entirely (Not like we fans know full well how these things works anyhow).

Overall, it's still an enjoyable read whether you're a fan or not. It has a nice tied up message at the end that may be cheesy, but still a nice reminder of morality and what constitutes noble behavior or not. In any case, if you happen to come across this book, I recommend to give some time to read it, it's not too long and can probably get it done in a week or two if you're speedy about it.

[Karen Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel was obviously written first, but Peacemaker has echoes of the 11th Doctor episode Mercy. Its setting is the 1880s wild, wild West where a pair of alien assassins are tracking a man who is using found extraterrestrial technology to heal victims of a smallpox epidemic.

The Doctor and Martha Jones arrive in the town of Redwater, the previous stop of the traveling salesman who is offering cures at a price. But in addition to being cured, the survivors are being haunted by nightmares of a war fought with futuristic weapons on a faraway planet. Aided by the town's schoolteacher, Jenny Forrest, the Doctor and Martha are determined to find the salesman before the assassins do to cure the townspeople of their nightmares.

The book captures the relationship between the 10th Doctor and Martha perfectly and also references several episodes of the series from that season. There is also a touching reference to Rose Tyler, always welcome to a Who fan. Good dialogue and a solid story make this book a winner for anyone who is a fan of the show. Recommended!

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely my favorite Doctor Who book I've read so far.
At first I was thinking it was really similar to the episode with the 11th Doctor where he, Amy, and Rory also go to the wild west, encounter a village that has been saved by a healer while an alien is hunting said healer. But thankfully it took a different turn which I found really unique and interesting. The way the Doctor solved the issue at the end was also spectacular. At first I also was thinking it would be another alien "beaten by the power of friendship and love" but thankfully this author explained it a bit more, elaborating on the Doctor's brilliance as a Time Lord which I find very important else it just seems too easy and lazy. So 10/10 ending. It's explained well and satisfying, the bad guys were cool, I liked all the characters, it was hands down the best so far. I couldn't find any faults.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor has to save the world again, this time with the help of Martha Jones.*

Taking place in the wild wild west, this story starts with two mysterious and creepy looking men looking for a third, one they refer to as the healer. While people are being cured, others are being killed. And the Doctor must find a way to end all of it before the whole world is in danger of a war it cannot win.

I really liked the story in this one, even with the forever awkwardness of Martha liking the Doctor while he's still hung up on Rose. Every time the Doctor went into a speech about his findings (words that 100% confused the people of the past) I read it in David Tenant's voice 😍

[Itami · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. And with okay I mean very, very, very average. Nothing new, nothing special. The story was made of already known ingredients, not especially funny/spooky/younameit. I think me being a bit bored by this book has to do with my little project where I’m reading all of the RTD era books, so I can see a lot of similarities between them. The only special thing might be the setting but that felt so lifeless and bland, more like a set made of cardboard than the real Wild West… And, yeah, the whole „Last of the Time Lords“-attitude and „I destroyed Gallifrey“-guilt hasn’t aged well since Moffat retconned the sh*t out of that. Sorry.

(just a side note: I'm not a native speaker and this one was a bit more difficult to read than other DW novels)

[Dale Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Off on another adventure, the Doctor bows to Martha's sudden mood to visit the real west. Little do they know that their visit will soon uncover a travelling snake-oil salesman who may be performing real miracles...or who may be setting the Earth up for destruction...Time and the Doctor will tell.

This was a well done, good tale of the 10th Doctor. James Swallow hits all the beats and captures Martha and the Doctors dynamic and does a good job of capturing some of the worst parts of the glamourized Wild West.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

あらすじ

　西部劇の映画を見損なった代わりに実際の開拓時代のアメリカを訪れたマーサとドクター。

　 二人が訪れた街は天然痘の流行がようやく治ったばかり。ある男が天然痘にかかった患者を治療したおかげだというが、この時代に治療薬があるはずもない。

　不審を覚えたドクターは捜査を開始。クラデスという既に失われた種族がつくりだした兵器ロボットが絡んでいることが判明。奇跡を起こしているクラデスを2体のクラデスが追ってきていた。命の音人を庇おうとする村人容赦なく殺戮。ドクターは暴挙を止めようと説得にかかるが、クラデスはマーサを撃ち、ドクターが自分たちが探しているクラデスを探さざえるをえない状況に追い込む。

感想

クラデスは寄生生物で、より強い存在になるべくドクターに寄生しようとする。自分を受け入れればダーレクもサイバーマンも簡単に滅せるとドクターを説得しようとするクラデス。そういった存在にならないようこれまで必死に抵抗してきたんだとクラデスの支配から逃れようとするドクターが切なすぎて泣ける。

[Alyx Payge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very competently written story. I feel that both the Doctor and Martha are written well and Martha is given some really good moments in here where she gets to really demonstrate her medical background.

Additionally I find that the antagonists, The Clade, are really well done and match well with this setting. I know its not going to happen now, but I kind of would like to see them return in some other piece of Doctor Who media.

[Finlay O'Riordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad at all for an NSA. The Doctor and Martha both end up in peril, creating a genuine sense of unease throughout the novel, and the villain and setting matched up perfectly; sentient alien guns in the trigger happy Wild West? Magnificent.

I only wish we had seen a little more of the Wild West itself before the Clades took over the narrative. It's also a shame that the author felt the need to make Martha and the Doctor kiss AGAIN.