The Last Rose of Summer
by Steve Gallagher (Corgi, 1978)
Gallagher’s first novel—an adaptation of his own radio series—is a ropey SF piece that displays none of the writerly craft or voice so evident in later works. The grim societal pessimism is there but even this element lacks for subtlety.
Comparative Anatomy: The Best of Stephen Gallagher
(Subterranean, 2022)
550+ pages. Gallagher’s style is simple and stark, leaning towards the disquieting side of horror. His short stories tend to be more effective in the journey than the destination. Cumulatively they convey a hopeless, helpless feeling befitting of England in the 1980s/1990s.
Doctor Who: The Kairos Ring
by Stephen Gallagher; read by Steven Pacey (BBC Audio, 2021)
A novelette that would have benefited from a longer treatment. Gallagher is an accomplished writer peddling a nifty idea, but Romana has too little involvement (especially for a Doctor-less story) and the threat, having been built up, is vanquished rather too easily.
Doctor Who: Nightmare Country
by Stephen Gallagher (Big Finish, 2019)
An unproduced story from Season 21. Nightmare Country was the third of Gallagher’s Doctor Who scripts (after Warriors’ Gate and Terminus) and had the potential to be the best. Backed by strong performances, this audio version is suggestive of a lost classic.
Doctor Who: Terminus
by Stephen Gallagher, writing as John Lydecker (Target, 1983); audiobook read by Steven Pacey (BBC, 2019)
Gallagher’s second Doctor Who script gave rise to a gloomy, layered production rich in scenario and comparatively nuanced in its characterisations. The subsequent novelisation, far from the undemanding walk-through that young readers had come to expect from Target Books, proves equally accomplished.
Doctor Who: Warriors’ Gate
by Stephen Gallagher, writing as John Lydecker
restored from the original extended manuscript (1981); audiobook read by Jon Culshaw (with John Leeson as K9) (BBC Audio, 2019)
Even in heavily expurgated form, the version of Warriors’ Gate published in 1982 outshone all but a few of the original Target novelisations. The 2019 audiobook restores Gallagher’s original manuscript, revealing a dreamlike SF classic with exceptional depth of story and characterisation.
The Kingdom of Bones
by Stephen Gallagher (Shaye Areheart, 2007); audiobook read by Jonathan Keeble (Oakhill, 2013)
A slow-moving but enthralling story of murder and redemption in three acts. Stephen Gallagher does full justice to England in the late 19th and America in the early 20th century. Jonathan Keeble definitively captures the characters of Sebastian Becker and Tom Sayers.
The Authentic William James
by Stephen Gallagher (Subterranean, 2016)
As with his previous Sebastian Becker novels, Gallagher presents a consummate, apparently effortless, authenticity of both character and setting. Although Becker in this instance seems less intensely involved (hence some chronology hopping to bolster the narrative), his measured investigative style still seduces.
The Bedlam Detective
by Stephen Gallagher (Crown, 2012); audiobook read by Jonathan Keeble (Oakhill, 2014)
If it weren’t so effortlessly engaging, Gallagher’s historical murder mystery novel might be deemed a slow burner. Moving with a grace and eloquence befitting of the setting (England, 1912), The Bedlam Detective brings about a spiralling investigation of gentrified privilege and madness.
Valley of Lights
by Stephen Gallagher (New English Library, 1987)
Valley of Lights is a compellingly dark supernatural crime novel (often marketed as horror). Gallagher’s first person narrative draws us into a lone sergeant’s pursuit of the archetypical serial killer: a creature who can jump between human bodies, wearing them like suits.