Who Reviews The Story of Martha by DJ Forrest

 

"I told a story, that’s all. No weapons, just words. I did just what The Doctor said. I went across the continents, all on my own. And everywhere I went I found the people and I told them my story. I told them about The Doctor. And I told them to pass it, to spread the word so that everyone would know about The Doctor. ‘Cause I gave them an instruction. Just as The Doctor said. I told them that if everyone thinks of one word, at one specific time, right across the world. One word, just one thought, at one moment, but with fifteen satellites.

The telepathic field, binding the whole human race together. With all of them, every single person on Earth, thinking the same thing at the same time. And that word is “Doctor.” 

The Story of Martha runs from the moment she used Jack's VM and her perception filter key and teleported out of the Valiant. It told her story in a way I didn't think would work and at first, I wasn't entirely sure it did. Back in the early days of Doctor Who (the Classic era) a series of Target novels told of the episodes of Who, and in much the same way as that, this book began. It didn't feel as if it was narrating the story but giving a blow-by-blow account of the episode thus far. But as I worked my way through the pages, it settled. The book became interesting. The stories engrossing, and I finally engaged with the book, and realised just what Martha was doing. 

I did wonder where Martha had travelled to and what she had imparted to the people of the world, for all of them, at the exact moment, to say the Doctor's name, and for the whole perception filter to expose Harold Saxon for who he was - The MASTER! 

To defeat someone like the Master, you need more than physical weapons, like guns and lasers. Although, to be fair, when the mask slipped... but to initially bring down the might of the Master, you needed to enforce the might of the Doctor. 

There were some interesting stories in amongst those that Martha told, and I liked the Pierre Bruyere story along with the one at the end which reminded me of the film Passengers starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. 

Martha told stories wherever she was, and no matter how tired she became during her shifts working in one of the Labour camps she found herself in, after being captured when the perception filter failed to protect her. There are stories within stories and when I discovered this was the real weapon against the Master. The Power of the Word. Much stronger than any weapon could ever inflict, I too began to remember the Doctor, and wish he were here, saving the Day. 

The book is written by Dan Abnett, with David Roden, Steve Lockley & Paul Lewis, Robert Shearman and Simon Jowett. In other words, huge fans of the Doctor Who series. Often during each chapter, you had a feel of different writing techniques, whereby some were easier to read than others. Some you could really engage with, others were pages you wanted to speed through. But diligently, I worked my way through each page, soaking up the words as I went. 

It’s a great book and it was the final 10^th Doctor story in my collection. So, should I start to collect the 10^th Doctor episode novels? 

Hmmm, what would the Doctor do?  

 

Beyond The TARDIS The Worzel Book by Matt Rabjohns

Written by Stuart Manning

There are not many factual books based on TV series nowadays that explore, absolutely, everything you could think of to do with the series they are written for! Even with a series such as Doctor Who there are countless avenues to explore because of the boundless format of the show. Then there are other series, that may not have had as long a series run as shows like Doctor Who, but are still just as splendid and marvellous today as they were back when they were first made. They are fondly and avidly remembered by thousands across the globe. Some factual books tend to focus on one area of a programme, and miss a huge deal from all the other avenues left untouched. But that is most certainly not the case with Stuart Manning's absolutely sublime loveletter to that wonderful children's show, Worzel Gummidge.

The Worzel Book may just be the most thorough and beautiful factual book that has ever been written about ANY TV show. There is nothing that is not dwelt upon in this TARDIS interior of a book. From Barbara Euphan Todd's original books, to the other stage and radio plays that have been performed since the infancy of radio. From the development of Jon Pertwee's masterstroke of a character into the incredibly successful series it was to the New Zealand "Down Under" series that followed after the first four series in the UK.

This book is a magical maze of the amazing. The photography is something one would have thought could only be dreamed of. The black and white photos or the rich colour plates are lovingly displayed. The depth of production information is boundless. Even each individual episode's goofs are written up and described, as are the dates and transmission times of every single episode. There are some wonderful interviews with the surviving members of the cast. Honestly cannot fault the breadth of sheer knowledge encased within these pages.

Stuart Manning must have taken such a massive amount of time whilst compiling this book. It is most certainly not a churn them out in a few months’ effort. This book has had time taken over it, to make sure it is the best it could possibly be. It most certainly surpasses all other factual books on programmes that I have ever read. It's a veritable monster among books.

Perhaps, maybe, this book is definitely aimed at the mature fan though. Children would easily get lost within the huge amount of information found in here. But if, as I, you are a keen and avid fan of Worzel Gummidge, then the old cliché that this is a "Must have" could not be truer if it tried.

It's time to revisit the good old days of Children's TV at its best. To see the late great Jon Pertwee don his carrot nose and moth-eaten scarecrow jacket and run amok in either Scatterbrook or Zoo Neeland! If you are a Worzel fan, and you don’t have this book, then you are missing the cream of your collection. A Worzel Gummidge collection without The Worzel Book is like a salad without watercress....

The Worzel Book is more than just a mere book. It is the ultimate compendium of all things Worzel Gummidge. It's a testament to Barbara Euphan Todd, who created the character. It's a testament to Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, who adapted the show for TV. It's a testament to James Hill, who directed almost every episode of the cherished show. It's also a fine memorial to Jon Pertwee and Una Stubbs, forever immortalized as Worzel and the mean old Aunt Sally. This is the Bible of Worzel Gummidge, yes that is the nearest decently descriptive word I can give to fully explain how good this book truly is....

Who Reviews The Forgotten Army by DJ Forrest

Written by Brian Minchin

For BBC Books

Published in 2010

It’s not unusual for the Doctor to come upon strange creatures set in their wrong time zones, I mean, these days, given the episodes of Who we’ve seen, having a large T Rex isn’t out of the norm for the Doctor to see rampaging through the Victorian streets of London. However, the white woolly mammoth he and Pond ride through the corridors of the Natural History Museum in New York is anything but what it should be.

It’s a brilliant Who story and one I found I couldn’t put down for long. The miniature Vykoid army reminded me of mini animated gnomes, which I’m sure they didn’t really resemble. The Police were typical of the uniformed officers you see on pretty much every cop show going including the Academy series, and the head honcho lived up to her title too. Oscar however, was someone who Amy really had a soft spot for, but his heart lay with his station command, and not with a WPC who wasn’t a WPC.

Despite their size, the Vykoids have taken New York by storm and hold much of the New Yorkers hostage beneath the city streets, ready to send back to their own planet – victorious – only, they hadn’t banked on a Time Lord and his trusted companion.

Although, it’s not all plain sailing, especially when the Doctor is kidnapped by the 7cm high army!

It’s an easy read novel and before you know it, you’re on the last few pages – but it’s an exciting read and one I’m sure you’ll all enjoy reading.

Who Reviews The Slitheen Excursion by DJ Forrest

Written by Simon Guerrier

For BBC Books

Published 2009

Starring 10^th Doctor

‘1500BC – King Actaeus and his subjects live in mortal fear of the awesome gods who have come to visit their kingdom in ancient Greece. Except the Doctor, visiting with university student June, knows they’re not gods at all. They’re aliens.’

The Slitheen Excursion has been one of the better Simon Guerrier novels starring the 10^th Doctor – mostly because The Pirate Loop, in my opinion, was catered towards a much younger audience. It was sweet and enjoyable, but it lent towards a far younger age group than the Slitheen novel.

It took me a while to get my head around the ancient Greek background, given that during school history lessons, we covered barely, nothing of that era, and I had to pull in what I’d seen of slaves versus masters in films, from Ben Hur, Spartacus and Gladiator to get a feel of the actual era and the arena with which the Doctor and June found themselves in, in the novel. Once this was visualised, the story played really well, and I only wish, June had been a regular character travelling with the Doctor. She had none of the clingy love interest, but she did depend upon the Doctor during the novel, if only for the sake of him helping her get back to her own time.

Of all the eras to find yourself in, it was perhaps not facing other Gladiators in a ring, entertaining the lords and masters high above in the balconies. Then I was reminded of The Hunger Games, when Katniss was entertaining in the arena and harpooned the apple from the pig’s mouth, so that was another visual.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I’m not totally a fan of the Slitheen but they do make such interesting enemies. They do enjoy a good hunt.

There were several elements to this story. You had the Doctor, who was doing his usual ‘not getting involved’, but getting involved anyway. There was June, who saw something unusual before she was heading back home after her holiday, and spotting the Doctor, equally another unusual sight. There are the Slitheen. There’s the multitude of alien species, like happy snappy tourists, with tales to tell and see humans displaying behaviour in the arena as if this is typical human behaviour throughout the eras.

Then you have the human element, the ancient Greeks which the Slitheen are manipulating in order to alter human history, forever.

There are different alien characters, some you’re sure you’ve heard of in other worlds and realms, and some you know you’ve read about in other novels. They’re an interesting bunch of creatures, whose feelings move back and forth like a ball in a tennis match. They’re always swayed by the bigger argument – or who shouts the loudest!

This story is an interesting read, and one that kept me hooked while I worked through several lunch times, sat in my car, for ultimate peace and quiet.

The 10^th Doctor stories, of which I only have a few more to read, have been an enjoyable journey so far, and I’m going to miss reading about his adventures.

Who Reviews The Eyeless by DJ Forrest

Written by Lance Parkin

For BBC Books

Published in 2008

I’ve just found my new favourite Doctor Who writer, Lance Parkin. Lance hasn’t just written for the 10^th Doctor, but also the 5^th, 7^th and 8^th Doctors too in Virgin New and Missing Adventures. He’s written for Doctor Who books, Big Finish and other Doctor Who related works. He is a British author who has also worked on Emmerdale TV soap opera as a production assistant, but most of his references on Wikipedia are for Doctor Who related material.

The Eyeless, published in 2008 is a 10^th Doctor story. The Doctor is travelling alone in this one, but it doesn’t mean to say that he doesn’t along the way have a few people to look out for, and others to literally look out for – especially those wielding large lumps of concrete.

The Doctor is on a mission, to destroy a weapon that, in the wrong hands, could spell the end of life in the Universe – any universe. Of course, it could just as easily be as dangerous in the Doctor’s hands, given the enemies he attracts.

On the planet Acropolis, a large black Fortress stands, parked in the centre of the city. Nothing moves or indeed lives in the city – as the Fortress had all but seen everything off that ever moved in sight of it. A large blast from the gun turret put paid to anything daring to breathe in its presence. No birds or animals lived or walked the land. No bugs or bees. Nothing. Although on an outcrop of land, huddled together in a little community, a group of adults, mothers mostly, knock out child upon child to repopulate the city, and nobody seems put out should a young boy child go missing, taken by the ghosts who linger around the city near the black building, where even those who brought the gun, have been wiped out of existence.

The story is very detailed. It’s so detailed that it takes much of a chapter to get to where it’s going, but when it does, you’ve built in your head a wonderful backdrop, of a war torn city, like anything we’ve seen reported in the news of late. You build up an image of people living in clothing that has been hand stitched, despite there being new designer clothes still hanging on coat racks in stores, untouched because of the dangers – although, a small group of children, have called the city their home, and live out in the wastes of the buildings, breaking into shops for food and clothing and toys to amuse them.

The Eyeless are an alien race looking for the Doctor, but more specifically his TARDIS. They’re a strange ensemble, and only one of them bears the eyes of a missing child, which certainly adds to the creepiness of their existence. They latch onto your feelings, read your mind. Although not a creature of violence and rage, when they read the mind of a young teenage girl, suddenly, they’re much more of a handful and their desire for the weapon, outweighs their desire for the Doctor’s space ship.

The only let down I felt was at the very end, but I daresay, should I read it back without 15-minute breaks as is all I have sometimes, that it may make a lot more sense. All in all, this is one of my favourite reads so far.

Who Reviews The Taking of Chelsea 426 by DJ Forrest

Written by David Llewellyn

For BBC Books

Published 2009

Doctor Who has always been about Dystopian futures, so terrifying that we can only imagine what it could be like. Trouble is, ten years or so on from this novel, we’re about to embark on a dystopian world grown from people’s desire for change, but then not in the way some envisaged when they popped their vote into the ballot box.

This story may not be set on Earth, but the centre plot, the characters, their attitudes towards Newcomers, and the general feel of the story, and, to be honest, many of the books I’ve read thus far, in my reviewing of Who novels, have all had a feel of life on Earth as it is since the present Prime Minister was elected. Turn every page of the novel, read every bickering comment from a settler on Chelsea 426, and you’ve the bloke across the road, the bloke on the telly reporting the news, the man in the White House, and whoever else is in power, threatening strife which will in turn threaten us all.

Chelsea 426 is having a flower show, exhibiting flowers that are not from their own planet, but were captured as spores in a cloud and grown and nurtured, and now the head honcho wants to share his plants with the ‘world’ or Newcomers, travelling from far and wide. But as you find, this plant has a few little side effects for anyone who stands too close – and sooner or later, you're singing to a different tune, exhibiting behaviour unlike your true self, and you don’t much like the new arrivals from the planet Sontar.

There’s something almost comical about the NuWho Sontarans that I like, over the frightening ones back in the ‘70s that scared the very pants off me. These seem to at least form a coherent sentence, and are often challenged by the Doctor, who for once, so far (haven’t finished the novel yet), hasn’t been fired at or threatened with certain death.

The Sontarans are on the planet to seek out the Rutans, their age-old enemies, who have made their way to Chelsea 426, only of course, the residents blame the Newcomers for the troubles that now face the planet, and insist that the Sontarans arrest and detain them – but of course, the Newcomers, have brought nothing with them other than the desire to view beautiful flowers that are extremely rare. And in true Chelsea Flower Show fashion, I imagined many other less interesting exhibits to build up the momentum of the big reveal under the glass dome, where many hundreds of people would eventually succumb to flower power!

There are some interesting characters that have hit home for me, the state of our own world, our judgemental attitudes to others. Our disregard for how we should behave – how children should be kept at chores and not enjoy growing up – and not mark every teenager as a waste of space, likely to clutter up the high streets in groups, chewing gum, dressing inappropriately, threatening and noisy.

We expect so much from the people around us, that we forget that it’s not them who need to change, but ourselves. There’s a lesson to be learnt in all the Who books from 2007 – 2010, that are beginning to ring true of our lives today.

Who Reviews Peacemaker Book Review by DJ Forrest

Written by James Swallow

Stars 10^th Doctor and Martha Jones

From the very first word of Chapter One, I read the novel, to myself, in the voice of Andrew Garfield, as he was in Daleks of Manhattan, when he played Frank. Why? Well, for the simple reason that Swallow had written the story in such a way that my own voice sounded, well, alien!

Peacemaker as the front cover would suggest is set in the ‘rootin’ tootin’ Wild West of America, with clapboard buildings, a saloon where music from a piano can be heard, and those ‘reach fer yer guns, ye varmint’ characters at every turn.

Redwater is a mining town, just getting over a smallpox epidemic, which was recently cured by Alvin Godlove, a passing pedlar of wares and potions that would cure all ails, and his travelling companion, a disgraced Pawnee by the name of Walking Crow.

Although, as you read through the story, it’s not the potions that healed the folk taken with the sickness. Kept hidden in a locked metal box in his wagon, lies an alien device, which becomes more apparent the further into the novel you go, and things begin to control Alvin Godlove.

When Martha and The Doctor arrive, a young boy called Nathan has just broken into the school house, alerting Miss Forrest, the school teacher, assuming it’s bandits come to steal whatever is available to steal in the building. When she finds Nathan, scared out of his wits from the nightmares he’s been having, the Doctor is concerned – because as the boy tells them of the iron machines and the guns that fire lightning bolts, both he and Martha know that what he’s seeing are things, a boy from the 1800s shouldn’t be seeing.

The Doctor’s suspicions that something alien is afoot, is validated when two longriders called Tangleleg and Kutter come looking for Alvin Godlove, and when the townsfolk lie about his whereabouts, they raze the buildings around them to the ground, killing the local sheriff, Nathan’s father, in the process.

It’s a race against time itself when Martha is mortally wounded, and the only one who can save her is Godlove. You do wonder if the Doctor will find him in time, but knowing only too well, that the fate of Godlove is at the hands of an alien device, you do wonder if Swallow can maintain the pace that has kept you on the edge of your car seat throughout your lunch break.

Of course, knowing that rarely any companion of the NuWho Doctor (10^th) ever actually dies, it’s still pretty edge of the seat kind of story, wondering how The Doctor will achieve his goal when the odds are stacked against him.

I love this story, and it will be one I will be keeping on my shelf, and probably never parting with. It’s the first James Swallow novel I’ve read, so I’m unsure if he writes in the same style for all, or if he varies his narrative. I have to admit to liking Andrew Garfield and should this novel ever become an audio story, then who better to narrate it than good old Spiderman himself.

Who Reviews The Pirate Loop Book Review by DJ Forrest

Written by Simon Guerrier

For BBC Books

I was expecting a jolly good read of pirates and the high seas, so I guess, I shouldn’t have been too disappointed in that, but I was. Although looking back on it, a few weeks after I initially put pen to paper to write my review, seeing badgers as pirates, would have been nothing unusual, when, if you think about it, I’ve been enjoying the pursuits of a raccoon bandit in Guardians of the Galaxy.

The Doctor and Martha visit the star ship Brilliant at least a week before it vanishes without a trace, to find out what had caused that to happen. They discover a ballroom full of 8 legged creatures who enjoy the high life a little too much, and aren’t afraid, at first, to air their opinions at being controlled by a bunch of Badger faced bandits, there to steal the experimental drive in the engine room.

When Martha and the Doctor first arrive, they encounter creatures without mouths, which I could only envisage as creatures from Monsters Inc (now who’s being a child?). They at first look menacing, but then I suppose if you don’t have a mouth, it would be as frustrating, or creepy as if you wore only a mask - no facial expression.

The Badger faced pirates (not bandits) are caught up in some kind of space fugg that stops them advancing onboard the ship, unlike three who manage to land before the scrambled egg stuff blocks the rest of the fleet. They can’t attack the ship, unlike the first three, so don’t reap the rewards of finger foods, unlike Archibald, who learns that cheese and pineapple on sticks is the best thing he’s ever tasted. However, when his comrades locate him, it’s a different story, they become menacing and shoot at the prisoners they’ve now collected. And this is where the story bends – people don’t die. It’s as if the ship is protecting them, resetting the game play, restocking plates of food, sending people back to the start, but it only happens when you take your eye off the game.

Of course, when poor Martha is stabbed by Archie, and promptly dies, she doesn’t come back to the ballroom like the 8 legged creatures. In fact, she doesn’t come back at all, and Archie feels terrible.

The Doctor is hell bent on finding out what happened to her, is overjoyed when he does, and sets about trying to fathom why things happen the way they do onboard the ship, and more to the point, where the crew are, who leave the prisoners, I mean, guests, to their own devices.

Although I have reservations with the story, it is still quite entertaining. There are plenty of characters to keep you amused, and many to root for, even those you wouldn’t have considered rooting for in the first instance. Of course, the ending is a little lame, but then, it depends on how you like your endings. I found it too clean, to easily wound up, too much like ‘…and they all lived happily ever after.’

I’ve heard great things about Simon Guerrier, so I’m hoping the next novel of his I read, will keep me entertained till the end, instead of searching for a teleport out of the good ship Brilliant!

Who Reviews Sting of the Zygons Book Review by DJ Forrest

Written by Stephen Cole

BBC Books

Published 2007

There’s something so deliciously enjoyable about a Zygon story, that far outweighs anything written about Cybermen, or indeed the Daleks. Even though, all the dastardly of beings, creatures, monsters all have one thing in mind – world domination.

What I love about the Zygons, is their shapeshifting abilities. I mean, who’d have thought, that out of all the creatures on this Earth, that they would adopt the template of a mere bovine – a grazer of the fields. So, while the Doctor is busy prattling away to what he thinks is a harmless milk machine, he isn’t, and that’s what makes it fun.

This is the third time I’ve read Sting of the Zygons, and I knew the cows meant something important after the first read, but I couldn’t remember which one in the story bore any significance. I’m not giving you the plot, although with many these are fairly obvious after the first few pages of the first chapter.

The Doctor and Martha Jones have arrived in the Lake District in 1909, where the Beast of Westmorland is terrorising the local villages, dealing a hefty blow to the buildings, and a ghostly image of a little girl called Molly Melton, is seen across the land, just before terror strikes.

King Edward VII offers a knighthood for the capture of the Beast.

The Beast itself reminds me of the Doctor’s earlier encounter with the Zygons, with Tom Baker and that hideous creature that towered above a house, and for the best part of when the Beast is roaming the countryside, making a hell of a racket with its screaming, that’s all I can picture. Given that my initial thinking of the Beast of Westmorland was akin to the Puma sightings on Bodmin Moor, but this Beast is somewhat bigger than this – much, much bigger.

The cast are superb in this story. You have the rich, with their invested interests in capturing the beast, with hunting parties and motor cars which are real bone shakers, and never let the 10^th Doctor drive. Although we know he can drive, it’s clear he took lessons from The Stig!

There are horse drawn carriages, and the Zygons are really keen to grab whatever is inside them. There are some Zygons you feel sorry for, in fact there’s quite a few, plus the usual nasty ones which you really hope don’t make it to the end, or if they do, they meet either the wrath of the Time Lord or the mighty big beast.

There are some surprises too in the story. Mrs Unsworth, who sounds like a jolly B&B owner who cooks mighty big breakfasts, and likes watching moving pictures, and is quite handy with a frying pan, as a weapon. I’d forgotten about her. Not forgotten about the prim Nanny, most definitely not Nanny McPhee but I could imagine her quite well as a strict school teacher used to dishing out castor oil by the tablespoon!

All in all, Sting of the Zygons is a bloody good read and I’d recommend it to anyone who fancies a change from the usual tin pot enemies who we all love but often need a change from the norm.

Who Reviews The Art of Destruction Book Review by DJ Forrest

Written by Stephen Cole

For BBC Books

First published 2006

10^th Doctor with Rose Tyler

The story is set in 22^nd century Africa, in the shadow of a dormant volcano. There are a group of agricultural scientists growing new foodstuffs to feed the starving millions in the basking heat. The Doctor and Rose land on the planet after picking up an alien signal close by.  But, as the Doctor and Rose enter the field where the new crops are, they encounter men with guns and it takes a lot of fast talking to persuade the riflemen that they’re not stealing crops, or from any camp.

There’s also something quite wrong inside the dormant volcano. Deep inside one of the chambers lies something alien, and when it’s threatened, begins taking the wildlife hostage and manipulates it for its own use – and not just the wildlife, either.

This novel could work quite easily without the intervention of the Doctor and quite a few times I almost wished it hadn’t been a Who story. There were often times where I became a little frustrated with how easy the Doctor handled situations and there’s often too many times when the sonic screwdriver saves the day – as if it explained a moment when the author couldn’t.    

I’ve read a lot of Stephen Cole’s novels now and this one was possibly the hardest to get into at first, because it didn’t feel like a Who story at all. Of course, when you picture the two warring alien factions, then it does begin to feel Who like, and I don’t think I can ever look at another earthworm in quite the same way ever again. Thanks Stephen!

That said, I really enjoyed the characters, the good guys and the bad guy come good. It was also great to read a story based on Earth but in another part of the world, rather than the UK. The action was there. I could smell the earth and could picture the scene as the earthworm characters began to fire back at the escaping humans.

I did get a little lost in one part of the story near the end, where the team with the Doctor, or with Rose, had to retrieve something, which was I think later taken back by the earthworm creatures with weapons on their shoulders. Cool piece of kit – hence why I can never look at an earthworm in quite the same fashion.

A lot of Who stories are fairly easy to follow from the first chapter, indeed some from the first page, but this took a bit of time to suss the characters and draw any kind of attachment to them. Towards the middle and near the end, the story picked up pace and everything began to make a lot of sense, and you had to feel for the female member of the agricultural team. You can tell from the writing that Stephen spent time building strong characters in the scientists at the base, and how their lives had changed since working to grow foodstuffs to feed the starving. My favourite character would have to be Solomon.

Rose and the Doctor tired me out however, from their moments of capture to their ultimate release. I wondered if they would ever find the peace required to send the worms packing and save the planet, and with too few pages left, it did seem as if a Part Two was needed, but as all good stories go, the author managed to wrap it up well – it wasn’t rushed – it all came good in the end.

Who Reviews The Price of Paradise Book Review by DJ Forrest

Written by Colin Brake

For BBC Books

First published 2006

Starring Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler.

Laylora is a paradise planet. A place where all inhabitants are peace loving, where tropical beaches stretch for miles, where it’s warm and all is good - except, since the arrival of an explorer some 15 years ago, the planet has faced poor crop yields, where raging monsters terrorise the neighbourhood, and where people are going missing. Brother Hugan, the shaman, is concerned enough to want to pray to the goddess Laylora in the hope that he can find a peaceful outcome.

When a spaceship crashes through the jungle foliage and unleashes chemicals into the forest, and the Doctor and Rose land somewhere in amongst the chaos, following a message from the damaged Spaceship called the Humphrey Bogart, you know, if anyone is going to find the root cause, it’s the Doctor himself.

There’s enough detail in the inhabitants of the tropical planet, to build an image of who they might be, and you grow a fondness for them instantly. You begin to question the boy Rez and his family history and of the connection to the spaceship, although, I was pleasantly surprised that the connection wasn’t as predictable as I first thought.

For me personally, when the chase was on, I didn’t want to stop after one chapter (reading a chapter a night), I wanted to plough on and find out if the heroes of the hour would make it through, and who the casualties would be, and if the monster was revealed.

The monsters I have to say are brilliant, and although I couldn’t wholly picture them, they did conjure up enough of an idea of what they could be, that folklore images played a huge part in helping the story along, and kudos on the idea of what they were at the end. Brilliant.

From a writing point of view, I liked how each chapter was broken up into different scenes. Sometimes a chapter would be given to one character, but this was split so that the story from three different characters were all set into the one chapter, which helped to gain an insight into the story without you losing sight of the action.

Overall, this is a well written novel and well worth a read. I have no idea in which order this novel comes in for the 10^th Doctor and Rose adventures, but to be honest, that doesn’t really matter to me. It’s the Doctor and Rose Tyler, adventuring in the TARDIS, and oh yeah, lots and lots of running, and climbing!

Who Reviews The Clockwise Man by DJ Forrest

Written by Justin Richards

For BBC Books

First published May 19th 2005

The Clockwork Man kind of gives it away a little as to what the story is about, and you get the feel that you’ve seen and heard of these monsters before, and to an extent you have. But what this story does, is tell of another type of clockwork monster, that can convey human characteristics, almost flawlessly in fact, so that unless you were sure that there was no clock in the room, would be unable to detect any hint of a droid.

I like this story. There’s a hint of history in this novel, of the Russian tsar and the family in hiding. There’s trouble afoot in 1920s London, people are being attacked by heavy handed thugs, but what they’re searching for is unclear for quite a while.

The fact that this story is set in London, makes it more exciting. Sure, a journey into the wide blue yonder on a planet that doesn’t really exist, makes for some fun reading – but knowing that the story is Earth based, well, I just find it more appealing really.

This is a 9^th Doctor story with Rose Tyler in tow. No Captain Jack I’m afraid, but enough characters to keep the story going as there were in the 3^rd Doctor story – Carnival of Monsters.

Justin Richards is one of my favourite Who writers. His novel ‘The Deviant Strain’ is still one of my ultimate favourite 9^th Doctor novels, plus it also features Jack Harkness. The Clockwork Man is again a wonderful story packed full of twists and turns and a few smiles here and there especially when you find out what’s in the room above Rose Tyler’s in the hotel. It’s very stiff upper lip, country club kind of attitude in much of the guests, but it’s enjoyable to read and not as stuffy as a few old ‘classic’ period novels. Especially as, when the chips are down, they all come out fighting!

I love the 9^th Doctor novels. Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor is perhaps a little more brusque with Rose. He likes her, enough to want to keep her alive to send home to Jackie once in a while, but he does allow her to think for herself, even if he does sigh a little when she doesn’t click automatically on what the hell he’s talking about. Some of the time through the story, I often wasn’t sure what he was getting at either – and I’m not blond!

Overall, it’s a great story and definitely one to pick up on a wintry evening, when the fog is settling and the street lights come on. It’s not a scary book, as some have been of late. It’s enjoyable though. And you may need a hanky – just saying!

Who Reviews Only Human by DJ Forrest

Written by Gareth Roberts

For BBC Books

Published 2005

The first time I read this novel I was very disappointed with it. I felt that Jack Harkness who travels with the 9^th Doctor and Rose, was not represented at all well in the story. He was for the most part, a babysitter for a Neanderthal. What I felt in reading it for a second time, was a different feeling altogether, although if I hit my patch I could probably fix that wrong feeling in a jiffy.

Only Human is about a traveller, 28,000 years out of his time, unable to return, because up until he met with the Doctor, he had no clue of time travel. He had merely followed someone into a spaceship and landed on planet Earth, present time, dressed in his usual casual wear, carrying a club. As you do!

This story has a well thought out idea of a race of people who use patches for moods, so that for any wrong feeling, they type in a code, similar to a mobile phone control, on their name badge and instantly all the wrong feelings leave them. Ingenious! It did make me think of Bliss, the mood patch that had wiped out most of the human race in the ‘Gridlock’ episode.

Think back to the very first Torchwood Big Finish drama with Captain Jack Harkness – Conspiracy - when he discovered the group behind all the stories spouted by a well known news reporter, who thought the lovely girl by his side, was his daughter, but was in fact working for the Committee. Sadly, it wasn’t The Committee we know of in the Torchwood Audio stories with Big Finish.

Back to the novel – as we know, the Doctor and companions tend to have separate adventures – the Doctor goes off in one direction, and the companions veer off in another, either by accident or by default, it’s just what they do. In this story, Jack stays home and works with the Neanderthal, keeping daily journals, in which the Neanderthal, up to speed on keyboards and computers, keeps a log of his own, which I found most chucklesome.

Jack’s a lot different in this story to that of The Stealer of Dreams – yes, I’m aware, a different writer, but you get the feeling that Jack hadn’t been travelling that long with the Doctor after the first meeting of him in the Blitz with Rose Tyler. So, I’m thinking he’s quite a bit younger, than he was in the previous Jack novel. He’s still as daring with his costume choices and in his distractions especially the one outside the hospital.

On second reading, I found this novel extremely entertaining, Jack’s work was valuable to the Doctor. And while Jack was busy on Earth, the Doctor and Rose were busy enquiring after the race of people 28, 000 years in the past, who had no knowledge of computers or the digital age, or what CD’s were for, yet time travelled. And the monsters that lurked behind the Grey Door, where several of the ‘humans’ were sent, left me thinking of the creature in The Resurrection Casket, and their voices in my head were of David Tennant’s performance of the character, often sounding as if he had a  mouthful of cotton wool.

It’s a good read, and if after your first reading you’re miffed about Jack stuck in a flat babysitting, put the book back on your shelf, leave it there a few years, then read it again, and you’ll be remarkably surprised by how well it reads, and how much you’ll enjoy it.

I know I did.

Who Reviews Bunker Soldiers by DJ Forrest

Written by Martin Day

For BBC Books

Published in 2001

I have to confess that this is my first ever First Doctor novel, but I think I chose wisely. Bunker Soldiers written by Martin Day, who I’ve been informed is a really good writer of Who, and quite rightly so, given the detail and the content, and most definitely not the run of the mill NuWho category that often appears on a children’s level, is packed full of history, with a sci fi twist. That’s not to say I dislike NuWho novels, what I mean by that first paragraph is that, when you open the first page of text, it’s small font, and fairly hard going, and you get the feeling that this story is directed more for an older fan/adult, rather than a young child, waiting to see where the Tardis will take him next, or which alien he’s going to give no second chances to.

Bunker Soldiers is written in different fonts in the story and told from a few quarters. In one part it’s third person omniscient, in another it’s first person, and told by Steven, who travels with the First Doctor and young Dodo. They’re in Kiev, before the invasion of the Mongol army. They’re inside the city walls and can only view the TARDIS but never venture in, as the ship proves to be a weapon the Russian army could use in their defence against the soldiers marching towards them.

As with much of the First Doctor stories, it’s a history lesson for children, told by an alien traveller in a blue box.

At first I was a little confused by the third involvement in the story. It almost feels as if it’s not part of this story but another. It comes in at a later stage, of an age far into the future, of which the Doctor explains near the end, when it all begins to make sense, even to me.

There’s an awful lot of confusion in the story that had me lost a few times until it began to make sense to me, but I must admit, I was in the same boat as Steven when the Doctor fathomed out who the antagonist really was, and why it only attacked some people and not others. It reads like a horror story about vampires except, targeting only some of the characters and not all of them, that intrigued me enough to want to continue reading and find out why.

It's by no means a children’s book on the level of the newer Who stories, which carry larger font and seem to be directing the story to a bunch of 11 year olds. I love children’s books like the next man or woman and it has to be said, that as much as the story is a history lesson about the battle of Kiev in the year 1237, it would probably not keep a child focused on a history lesson in this day and age, unless it came with electronic gadgets and wifi.

It is a difficult story to get into and it’s taken me almost three years before I finally picked up the book and willed myself to read it. But you know what, I’m glad I did. Not only do I feel a tad more educated on historical events, bar the odd sci fi element, it was well worth the read, and if I only managed a chapter a day (during work breaks), elements of the story still live in my head, and I now wish to find more stories that involve Steven and the First Doctor.

Who Reviews Doctor Who and the Crusaders by DJ Forrest

Written by David Whitaker

For BBC Books

Published in 2011

You can be easily fooled into thinking that every book you read regarding the Doctor is going to be a great novel, but sometimes, as with any novel, there will always be one, or a few that you just know, reading into the first few pages, that you’re not going to find it as interesting as the last. I’m finding that with Doctor Who and the Crusaders.

What I realise with the old Who novels are that, given the television series was filmed live, and so the old tapes were recorded over, and over and over again, much of the old series was lost, and it was only in book form, that any of the fans were able to relive, or first hand, read of the First Doctor’s adventures in Time and Space. So for that, I suppose I shouldn’t criticise too harshly.

Except, I am finding this novel particularly difficult to read and not feel as if I should question Whitaker’s writing technique. Of course, I’m not a published writer, and what would I know about writing. The man wrote the story in the first instance, so he knows all of the characters, and of their history within the novel as he did in the actual serial back in the 1960s. So ideally, any comments I may have about his style of writing should therefore be kept to myself.

There is a significant difference between this novel and that of Bunker Soldiers. The difference in telling the story for starters. The Crusaders novel comes with illustrations which are fantastic and of the era, despite the novel having been published in 2011; there’s that old kind of Hardy Boys/Famous Five illustrations I remember as a kid.

It’s a history lesson again, this time telling of Richard the Lionheart fighting the Saracens, while King John lavished in the castle back in England, plotting his brother’s demise. I must admit at this point; all I can visualise of King John is the Disney caricatures from Robin Hood – is that a bad thing?

What is also frustrating about this novel is that, and I’m now three quarters of the way through the story, is the lack of any alien activity, unless you count that of the travellers with the Doctor. Only Ian seems to be doing anything heroic.

Perhaps this is just the history lesson told by the old man in the blue box, without much interfering, no waving of a sonic screwdriver and no memorable quotes to retell. I don’t know. I am just not finding anything exciting to tell you about the novel.

I’m going to keep reading it, as I promised myself to read every novel on my shelf – and that’s a considerably long shelf of books to work through. As for the First Doctor stories, I’m finding him extremely uninteresting, and if it weren’t for his companions doing most of the legwork and firing up the interest from the audience, this particular fan would have given up long ago.

Sorry can’t rate this novel as being something I’d recommend, unless of course, you were wishing to gain some insight into King Richard and his life in Egypt and his battles with Saracens.