What do you think?
Rate this book
Bernice Summerfield Novels #1
Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Doomsday Manuscript
The Doomsday Manuscript is the he key to finding the Lost Tomb of Rablev. Legend says that if the tomb is ever opened, the world will end. With the party to celebrate the opening of the Braxiatel Collection and the new year still underway, Benny finds herself drawn into a web of mystery and intrigue that starts with death and gets more serious at every stage. Can she find the second half of the Doomsday Manuscript before it falls into the wrong hands? Can she trust her partner in the quest? What will she find on the planet Kasagrad, the location of the Lost Tomb of Rablev? And can she squeeze in another drink at Joseppi's—the favorite haunt of black marketeers, spies, counterfeiters, Fifth Axis officers, and desperate archaeologists—before the end of the world?
Audiobook
First published January 1, 2005
2 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Justin Richards
330 books241 followersJustin Richards is a British writer. He has written many spin off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and he is Creative Director for the BBC Books range. He has also written for television, contributing to Five's soap opera Family Affairs. He is also the author of a series of crime novels for children about the Invisible Detective, and novels for older children. His Doctor Who novel The Burning was placed sixth in the Top 10 of SFX magazine's "Best SF/Fantasy novelisation or TV tie-in novel" category of 2000.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 20, 2018
I have been aware of Bernice Summerfield as a character for decades now. Originally introduced as the Doctor Who companion to replace Ace in the Virgin books that continued the series after broadcast stopped in 1989, Benny became a character in her own right. When Virgin lost the rights to do the books they tried for a while to continue with Benny as the main character, which kind of worked, but it was audio production company Big Finish that really bought Benny to life when they started doing audio adaptations of some of those Virgin books (all of which I had read). The character has gone from strength to strength, they are still recording new material with her now. This book was the first in a tie in range when Big Finish decided to stop adapting Virgin novels and started to produce original plays about the character.
The book absolutely captures the spirit of these dramas. The characters are absolutely spot on, when reading lines by the two key characters, Benny herself and Braxiatel, you can hear the actors who we have become used to over the last twenty years saying those lines. It sets up her new home base in the original plays, The Braxiatel Collection, in a way that the audios cannot, so I now feel like I know far more about her home than I did by just listening to the plays. There are ancillary characters from the plays who pop up here (the huge Killoran Adrian Wall who becomes an important figure in the radio plays pops up, as does a hilarious explanation for his name, which I never knew until now).
As for the story, it’s not bad. The twist at the end is very satisfying and something I did not see coming, and as I said the characters just leap off the page, especially Benny and Brax. There are some obvious moments (there is a character that dies, and you are pretty certain, quite rightly, that he’s not actually dead and will resurface) but this is a very good start to the range. I think the story itself would have only got three stars, but the characters elevate it to a four
The book absolutely captures the spirit of these dramas. The characters are absolutely spot on, when reading lines by the two key characters, Benny herself and Braxiatel, you can hear the actors who we have become used to over the last twenty years saying those lines. It sets up her new home base in the original plays, The Braxiatel Collection, in a way that the audios cannot, so I now feel like I know far more about her home than I did by just listening to the plays. There are ancillary characters from the plays who pop up here (the huge Killoran Adrian Wall who becomes an important figure in the radio plays pops up, as does a hilarious explanation for his name, which I never knew until now).
As for the story, it’s not bad. The twist at the end is very satisfying and something I did not see coming, and as I said the characters just leap off the page, especially Benny and Brax. There are some obvious moments (there is a character that dies, and you are pretty certain, quite rightly, that he’s not actually dead and will resurface) but this is a very good start to the range. I think the story itself would have only got three stars, but the characters elevate it to a four
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2025
3.5⭐
Good characters, good plot, interesting lore, weaker writing. I did enjoy it quite a bit!
Good characters, good plot, interesting lore, weaker writing. I did enjoy it quite a bit!
June 17, 2021
I was slightly surprised by how much I enjoyed this, my first Benny audiobook rather than the usual Big Finish audio adventure. I wondered if the style would be different, the writing weaker somehow, but it wasn't. I've certainly heard worse audio adventures centering around Benny. I'm sure the narration from Lisa Bowerman helps, since at this point, I bet she knows this character inside and out. I'm looking forward to listening to the other audiobooks with her that I got recently.
May 19, 2021
Alcune parti della Collezione di Braxiatel sono ancora in costruzione, ma già vengono invitati i primi ospiti, accuratamente scelti, per festeggiare il Capodanno del 2600. Ma tra questi c'è un impostore, e alla festa un tentativo di furto finisce con un morto.
L'oggetto in questione è una metà del Manoscritto del Giorno del Giudizio, che si dice essere la chiave per la Tomba Perduta di Rablev la quale, una volta aperta, porterebbe alla fine del mondo (o meglio, del pianeta Kasagrad).
Kasagrad è, guarda caso, l'ultimo avamposto neutrale tra i Territori Assimilati dalla potenza del Quinto Asse, famigerata per la sua sete di conquista, i genocidi, i campi di concentramento e il suo accaparramento indiscriminato di oggetti d'arte.
È chiaro che l'Asse sia interessato al Manoscritto per i propri scopi ed è essenziale che Bernice trovi l'altra metà prima di loro. Ma lei ha anche un motivo più personale per partecipare alla ricerca: una foto, risalente a quattrocento anni prima, che include un volto a lei molto familiare e che non vede ormai da diversi anni...
Archeologia e nazisti, ormai è ufficiale: Bernice Summerfield è l'Indiana Jones del 27° secolo.
La narrazione parte alcuni anni dopo la fine di Twilight of The Gods (ultimo libro delle VNA): gran parte della Collezione è già stata costruita, ma non è ancora terminata, e Benny ormai vive lì in pianta stabile.
Vengono introdotti nuovi personaggi ricorrenti: Adrian Wall, il capo costruttore di razza Killoran (una via di mezzo tra un primate e un lupo alto 2,40 m), Ms Jones, a capo dell'amministrazione (talmente autoritaria da incutere timore perfino a Brax), Mr Crofton, il burbero giardiniere e Joseph, il drone tuttofare di Benny (che Brax ha copiato da quello che aveva su Dellah).
La trama è avvincente, dapprima incentrata sulla ricerca del manoscritto vera e propria, passando da un collezionista ad un altro (compito ben più difficile di quello che sembra data la quantità di pericoli mortali e di doppiogiochisti all'inseguimento di Bernice), per poi passare su Kasagrad all'avvento di un'invasione, in cui il clima rassegnato e la presenza dei militari dell'Asse, contrapposto alla presenza di tasche di resistenza e un governo che ormai non può più nulla per contrastare la potenza nemica, farebbe quasi pensare di leggere un libro ambientato durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale. Alcune rivelazioni le ho trovate prevedibili, altre invece mi hanno stupita, in particolare il finale geniale.
Un ottimo punto di partenza per la nuova serie.
L'oggetto in questione è una metà del Manoscritto del Giorno del Giudizio, che si dice essere la chiave per la Tomba Perduta di Rablev la quale, una volta aperta, porterebbe alla fine del mondo (o meglio, del pianeta Kasagrad).
Kasagrad è, guarda caso, l'ultimo avamposto neutrale tra i Territori Assimilati dalla potenza del Quinto Asse, famigerata per la sua sete di conquista, i genocidi, i campi di concentramento e il suo accaparramento indiscriminato di oggetti d'arte.
È chiaro che l'Asse sia interessato al Manoscritto per i propri scopi ed è essenziale che Bernice trovi l'altra metà prima di loro. Ma lei ha anche un motivo più personale per partecipare alla ricerca: una foto, risalente a quattrocento anni prima, che include un volto a lei molto familiare e che non vede ormai da diversi anni...
Archeologia e nazisti, ormai è ufficiale: Bernice Summerfield è l'Indiana Jones del 27° secolo.
La narrazione parte alcuni anni dopo la fine di Twilight of The Gods (ultimo libro delle VNA): gran parte della Collezione è già stata costruita, ma non è ancora terminata, e Benny ormai vive lì in pianta stabile.
Vengono introdotti nuovi personaggi ricorrenti: Adrian Wall, il capo costruttore di razza Killoran (una via di mezzo tra un primate e un lupo alto 2,40 m), Ms Jones, a capo dell'amministrazione (talmente autoritaria da incutere timore perfino a Brax), Mr Crofton, il burbero giardiniere e Joseph, il drone tuttofare di Benny (che Brax ha copiato da quello che aveva su Dellah).
La trama è avvincente, dapprima incentrata sulla ricerca del manoscritto vera e propria, passando da un collezionista ad un altro (compito ben più difficile di quello che sembra data la quantità di pericoli mortali e di doppiogiochisti all'inseguimento di Bernice), per poi passare su Kasagrad all'avvento di un'invasione, in cui il clima rassegnato e la presenza dei militari dell'Asse, contrapposto alla presenza di tasche di resistenza e un governo che ormai non può più nulla per contrastare la potenza nemica, farebbe quasi pensare di leggere un libro ambientato durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale. Alcune rivelazioni le ho trovate prevedibili, altre invece mi hanno stupita, in particolare il finale geniale.
Un ottimo punto di partenza per la nuova serie.
January 16, 2018
This was the first Bernice Summerfield book I read. I love Benny on audio but this was definitely lacking something, probably Lisa Bowerman. I think because it was early Benny it just didn't seem as much like her, yes she was quite witty from time to time, but she was also mopey over Jason. And there just wasn't the sarcastic seen it all before kinda attitude going on, she just seemed a bit naive, especially when her companion was going around killing people behind her back. The plot was set while she was working at the Braxietel Collection, Brax came across as some vaguely nice rich collector, not the manipulative Time Lord I've come to know and love. I got a few more Benny books in the sale. But this doesn't fill me with a great deal of confidence. I'll try a few more then mostly stick to audio.
January 12, 2022
An enjoyable read for sure! I'm a recent fan of the BS Big Finish series and this was the first actual Benny Novel I got to read.
The problems I had with this book are similar to most other problems I have with most BS stories. Some of the scenes with the side cast can get dull, and the resolution of the main conflict was wrapped a bit too fast.
Similarly, the strong points of this book are what I find to be the strong points of the BS series as a whole. Benny is such an effortlessly cool and magnetic protagonist, and I love seeing how she interacts with other characters and her surroundings. Her friendship with Braxiatel is so fun too!
The problems I had with this book are similar to most other problems I have with most BS stories. Some of the scenes with the side cast can get dull, and the resolution of the main conflict was wrapped a bit too fast.
Similarly, the strong points of this book are what I find to be the strong points of the BS series as a whole. Benny is such an effortlessly cool and magnetic protagonist, and I love seeing how she interacts with other characters and her surroundings. Her friendship with Braxiatel is so fun too!
September 27, 2021
Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Doomsday Manuscript
was the first original Benny novel from Big Finish and, when intigrating novels and audios, the first story of Series 2 of the Big Finish Bernice Summerfield line. Let's start at the beginning. Bernice Summerfield was created by Paul Cornell for the Virgin New Adventures novel Doctor Who: Love and War as a new companion for the Seventh Doctor. Benny then traveled with the Doctor for quite a while before leaving to get married to Jason Kane. After Virgin Books lost the license for Doctor Who, they continued on with a Bernice Summerfield novel series (which I have not read).
Then, in 1998 (give or take), a little company called Big Finish Productions was started and began adapting old Virgin novels (both Doctor Who and Benny) into audio dramas featuring Benny (and with all Doctor Who elements excised). In 1999, Big Finish got the license for Doctor who and things have never been the same (but that's another long story). Anyway, after the first series of Bernice Summerfield adaptations, Big Finish began publish original audios, novels and short story anthologies that were all interconnected. The novels (or at least the early novels) have recently been released as eAudiobooks from Big Finish (as the original paper versions are long out of print) and so this is how I consumed this novel.
So, the story I'm actually reviewing. At this time, Benny's working the Braxiatel Collection when half of the titular Doomsday Codex is almost stolen from the collection. Except, it shouldn't even be there in the first place. That, and a clearly immposible photo of Jason (Benny's ex), send Benny on a quest to find the manuscript, decipher it's secrets and save the world. This was a fun story with action, adventure, archeology, humor, excitement, and intrigue. This story introduces the Fifth Axis (essentially space Nazis) and is seemingly a decent introduction to Benny. In a way, it feels like Raiders of the Lost Ark... in space. And, that's not a bad thing. Benny is as sarcastic as always and is just a lot of fun. It doesn't hurt that the audiobook is read by Lisa Bowerman (Benny herself). As such, this was just a really fun adventure that was a joy to listen to.
Then, in 1998 (give or take), a little company called Big Finish Productions was started and began adapting old Virgin novels (both Doctor Who and Benny) into audio dramas featuring Benny (and with all Doctor Who elements excised). In 1999, Big Finish got the license for Doctor who and things have never been the same (but that's another long story). Anyway, after the first series of Bernice Summerfield adaptations, Big Finish began publish original audios, novels and short story anthologies that were all interconnected. The novels (or at least the early novels) have recently been released as eAudiobooks from Big Finish (as the original paper versions are long out of print) and so this is how I consumed this novel.
So, the story I'm actually reviewing. At this time, Benny's working the Braxiatel Collection when half of the titular Doomsday Codex is almost stolen from the collection. Except, it shouldn't even be there in the first place. That, and a clearly immposible photo of Jason (Benny's ex), send Benny on a quest to find the manuscript, decipher it's secrets and save the world. This was a fun story with action, adventure, archeology, humor, excitement, and intrigue. This story introduces the Fifth Axis (essentially space Nazis) and is seemingly a decent introduction to Benny. In a way, it feels like Raiders of the Lost Ark... in space. And, that's not a bad thing. Benny is as sarcastic as always and is just a lot of fun. It doesn't hurt that the audiobook is read by Lisa Bowerman (Benny herself). As such, this was just a really fun adventure that was a joy to listen to.
Read
May 10, 2022A hard-hitting plot of Nazi-esque villains and an oddly blind collection of heroes. There's a fun resolution making use of the newly limited Joseph's abilities, needed after the consequences of resistance are covered.
A fun read with some bizarre side-plots spoiled by the almost deliberate stupidity of Bernice and Brax.
A fun read with some bizarre side-plots spoiled by the almost deliberate stupidity of Bernice and Brax.
November 28, 2017
Great book by Justin Richards. Very different to his Dragon's wrath but I love all the Brax/Benny friendship moments and I love the political development of the Fifth Axis who are basically Nazi's.
I also loved Braxiatel's cleverly disguise as the Fifth Axis leader. Very Braxiatel!
I also loved Braxiatel's cleverly disguise as the Fifth Axis leader. Very Braxiatel!
September 15, 2023
Went back and listened to the first novel. Like most of the Bernice Summerfield novels I’ve listened to, this one felt middle of the road. It was kind of fun hearing Lisa Bowernan read negative reviews of the books at the end.
April 11, 2024
Shockingly bad. Every beat of this story relies on Bernice being either naïve, ridiculously trusting, or just stupid. Anyone with half a brain could see the “twists” coming a mile away. The only good thing I can say about it is that the Nazi villain gets a satisfying comeuppance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2019
Benny searches for a lost manuscript that should lead her to an old tomb.
April 12, 2021
Justin Richards' books always end up confusing me, and this one was no exception to the rule. Still, I love a good story with Brax and Benny.
August 15, 2021
Didn't love this one. Serviceable adventure story I guess.
August 10, 2022
Predictable, but still enjoyable. Lisa Bowerman adds, I imagine, a lot in the audio version, bringing some drier sections to life.
October 2, 2010
I can't quite decide whether I think the Fifth Axis stuff in the Benny universe is a lazy way of telling World War II stories in space, or a clever shorthand for telling stories about the battle against evil in terms that readers can relate to. It's probably a bit of both. I think I prefer stories with more alien antagonists, but that might just say something about me.
It's also a bit odd coming back to this novel after being familiar with so many of the later Benny audios. So many of the twists and turns in these characters' relationships have yet to arrive. Indeed, some very important characters have yet to arrive.
But it's a fun book. The lost tomb and the pseudo-Nazi's give it a very Indiana Jones-ish feel. There are some nice plot twists, and a spectacular set-piece action sequence in which Benny and another character are pursued through the mansion of an aging former movie star by cameras firing deadly laser beams, in order to produce action movie footage into which a computer-generated image of their host in his prime can be digitally spliced.
It's also a bit odd coming back to this novel after being familiar with so many of the later Benny audios. So many of the twists and turns in these characters' relationships have yet to arrive. Indeed, some very important characters have yet to arrive.
But it's a fun book. The lost tomb and the pseudo-Nazi's give it a very Indiana Jones-ish feel. There are some nice plot twists, and a spectacular set-piece action sequence in which Benny and another character are pursued through the mansion of an aging former movie star by cameras firing deadly laser beams, in order to produce action movie footage into which a computer-generated image of their host in his prime can be digitally spliced.
March 19, 2017
This one was quite fun too - double crossing, intrigue and a search for a cursed tomb. A perfect recipe for an adventure story.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews