Who Reviews The Doctor Trap by DJ Forrest

Written by Simon Messingham

For BBC Books

Published 2008

If you want a story that you could follow without having to think too hard about what’s going on, then this book is not for you.

Or, if you want a story where the Doctor is being chased over hill and dale by a bunch of hungry hunters wishing to claim the ultimate trophy, but again don’t wish to think too hard, then this book may not be for you.

If, however, you want a book that taxes your brain, causes you to look back to the previous page, or to several pages back, or wonder why you’ve failed to notice that you’re currently wearing your dinner down your work shirt – then this might be the very book for you.

The Doctor Trap is a confuse-the-very-pants-off-you kind of story, where the 10^th Doctor is being chased by trophy hunting hunters of various denominations from the group known as The Endangered Dangerous Species Society, headed up by Sebastiene, the sole owner of Planet 1, who is a Level 20 rogue, charmer, collector and in control of more meat pies than you’ve had, erm…hot dinners!

It starts out as the usual Doctor and Donna story with the pair landing on snowy ground, ahead of them a Snowcap base, where metres below an alien creature is encased in ice and will undoubtedly be thawed out for further inspection. And while both Donna and the Doctor get involved, the Doctor, steals the TARDIS and disappears with it.

My first startled question, just before the plum tomatoes slid from my cheese sandwich and splattered onto my lap, was ‘Huh?’

I read back. Perhaps I’d missed something. Then I realised, this is Time Travel. This bit will be explained much later. Perhaps this would be the End of the story, played at the beginning.

No.

As the Doctor involves himself in the Snowcap Base and the unthawing of the creature is revealed – and as Donna and the Doctor make for safety – he hands her a gadget to escape with, and she vanishes. Then there’s a level of confusion. Then the Doctor stares at a shiny blue light, and suddenly I have no idea what is happening, but it involves a lot of running, a different plain altogether, and no snow.

Usually, when I’m faced with confusion, I ditch the book and go for something else – but this book, despite throwing all manners of overlaid confusion my way, also intrigued me. Donna was locked away in the Exquisite Traveller hotel that looked like Bracknell but wasn’t – and all the Doctor had to do, was save his own skin and get back to Donna and escape this insanity. However, it seemed impossible to achieve this, and then I realised, if he did escape, and if he did meet Donna, would she know him to be the correct Doctor, and not an impersonator?

Yes, Simon Messingham was indeed Messing with my head. In fact, he was messing with it so much, that even I was curious as to which Doctor, Donna was speaking to, and which was running about the Chateau on Planet 1, and who was indeed running for his life, pursued by all manner of trophy hunters.

As much as it’s a frustrating novel, stick with it. It all makes sense in the end, well sort of. In a Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey sort of way.