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midday_pigeon's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
teadrinking_bibliophile's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lexisunshine's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
Loved: pretty much everything! I love the Doctor, I love his adventures, the companions, the villains. I also loved all the writers’, especially Neil Gaiman’s, different takes.
Didn’t love: basically nothing. The only thing is that some of the stories don’t have as much resonance with me as an exclusively Nu-Who watcher.
Didn’t love: basically nothing. The only thing is that some of the stories don’t have as much resonance with me as an exclusively Nu-Who watcher.
teachinsci's review
4.0
As with all short story collections, this was a bit up and down in quality although the two poorest stories came at the beginning and the end. Each story (other than those two and one other) were well told and really gave you a feel of the Doctor presented. My favorites though were (inclusively) the seventh through eleventh stories. Each of these could have been an episode of the show unto themselves and the authors were obviously fans of the show.
If you love Doctor Who, in any of its regenerations, you would enjoy this book.
If you love Doctor Who, in any of its regenerations, you would enjoy this book.
tandemjon's review against another edition
I semi enjoyed these, they're too short but in most of the episodes they capture the doctor well. I just felt thr plots didn't have enough time to develop and felt a bit underwhelming.
hidekisohma's review against another edition
4.0
So having little to no knowledge of most of the doctors, i feel like i was in a pretty good position to be unbiased and see exactly how i feel about the different doctors and their mannerisms. the only doctors i had seen any episodes at the time of reading were the 1st, 11th, and 12th. and from reading these, i have to say, i definitely have more of a feeling of how they behave. some more than others.
As they're mini stories, it's much easier to read as you don't have invest 300+ pages on a doctor who you have no idea if you'd like. But long story short, here's what i thought of each doctor's story
1st: I enjoyed it. I didn't expect to see hartnell's doctor doing some peter pan cane fighting, but it was very entertaining. also i like eoin's writing style as i like artemis fowl. the 1st is also my favorite doctor so it was fun overall
2nd: i know hardly anything about doctor #2, but his story was interesting. the necronomicon and glass bad guys along with his kilt wearing companion was pretty fun.
3rd: it was an average story with an average payoff. i didn't dislike it by any means, but it just felt very average. although the 3rd doctor personality wise is still fun.
4th: the story of the tree planet was interesting, and the doctor was okay. the only thing i didn't like about it was how i felt like there were references i was missing. except it turned out there wasn't. that was just strange.
5th: the 5th doctor was barely in this one. he cameoed. that's about it. the actual story wasn't very good. masks that make people tell the truth. he takes the masks away from people. the end. wow. exciting. i wish it had more of him as he seems like he'd be a fun doctor to learn about.
6th: this plot has been done to DEATH. evil person wants to marry someone for an evil purpose and good person has to stop the wedding. the 6th doctor was fine and i didn't have an issue with the characterization, but when the premise for your story was even done in GUMMI BEARS, then maybe you need to come up with a different plot.
7th: this was by far the worst of the stories. They end up in an alternate universe where dalaks are good and ALL the doctor does is complain and whine about how dalaks can't ever be good and this is wrong and blah blah blah. I was actually kind of annoyed and disgusted with the doc in this one. Unlike the 5th, it actually had a plot, but the doctor was so whiny it ruined the mildly interesting story.
8th: I enjoyed the mannerisms of the doctor in this one. i want to get to know him more, but the story itself wasn't very good. it's like every "unknown slime thing killing everyone in a town" premise. didn't really care for the story, but i liked this doctor.
9th: Honestly, the only reason this one got me mad was because the companion in this one was actually way better than the actual companion he travels around with in the show (since reading this story i saw an episode of leather jacket man) in this story he had a badass lobster warrior girl. Why couldn't SHE have been the 9th doctor's companion? That would have been awesome! instead we get whiny flirt girl. The story itself was all right, not great, but i'm more mad at this one for showing me the wasted potential of the 9th doctor.
10th: The story started out really good and i was having a LOT of fun with the different book references they make. I also LOVE landy's writing style with his quick back and forths (you can totally tell this is the same guy who wrote skullduggery pleasant and he writes this exactly the same) the only thing that disappointed me was the ending. the ending did not impress me at all and i was actually quite disappointed with it. very lackluster ending.
11th: This one was kind of stupid. ex-prisoner wearing masks and buying everyone's house? i mean...that's kind of lame the doctor was a tad annoying in this one and the villain's motivations and subsequent defeat were kind of ...meh. not great overall. Also, i have to say this. out of all the stories, this was the only one where i went "wow. i do NOT like this style of writing. at all." turns out it was written by Neil Gaiman. so you know...that made sense.
12th: not a fan that for some reason this story was in first person and was from the point of view of a dude who hung around with the doctor for JUST this story. the story itself felt way too short and rushed. the doctor was all right though it was just not a story you should have told in 30 pages.
in order of best to worst for me it goes
First, Second, Fourth, Third, Tenth, Ninth, Eighth, Twelfth, Sixth, Fifth, Eleventh, Seventh
Overall, hovering somewhere between a 3.5 and a 4. but since i can't do half stars, i'm going to give it a 4. Most of the stories ranged from good to all right. Sad there were some stinkers in there, but with 12 stories and 12 separate authors, that's bound to happen.
As they're mini stories, it's much easier to read as you don't have invest 300+ pages on a doctor who you have no idea if you'd like. But long story short, here's what i thought of each doctor's story
1st: I enjoyed it. I didn't expect to see hartnell's doctor doing some peter pan cane fighting, but it was very entertaining. also i like eoin's writing style as i like artemis fowl. the 1st is also my favorite doctor so it was fun overall
2nd: i know hardly anything about doctor #2, but his story was interesting. the necronomicon and glass bad guys along with his kilt wearing companion was pretty fun.
3rd: it was an average story with an average payoff. i didn't dislike it by any means, but it just felt very average. although the 3rd doctor personality wise is still fun.
4th: the story of the tree planet was interesting, and the doctor was okay. the only thing i didn't like about it was how i felt like there were references i was missing. except it turned out there wasn't. that was just strange.
5th: the 5th doctor was barely in this one. he cameoed. that's about it. the actual story wasn't very good. masks that make people tell the truth. he takes the masks away from people. the end. wow. exciting. i wish it had more of him as he seems like he'd be a fun doctor to learn about.
6th: this plot has been done to DEATH. evil person wants to marry someone for an evil purpose and good person has to stop the wedding. the 6th doctor was fine and i didn't have an issue with the characterization, but when the premise for your story was even done in GUMMI BEARS, then maybe you need to come up with a different plot.
7th: this was by far the worst of the stories. They end up in an alternate universe where dalaks are good and ALL the doctor does is complain and whine about how dalaks can't ever be good and this is wrong and blah blah blah. I was actually kind of annoyed and disgusted with the doc in this one. Unlike the 5th, it actually had a plot, but the doctor was so whiny it ruined the mildly interesting story.
8th: I enjoyed the mannerisms of the doctor in this one. i want to get to know him more, but the story itself wasn't very good. it's like every "unknown slime thing killing everyone in a town" premise. didn't really care for the story, but i liked this doctor.
9th: Honestly, the only reason this one got me mad was because the companion in this one was actually way better than the actual companion he travels around with in the show (since reading this story i saw an episode of leather jacket man) in this story he had a badass lobster warrior girl. Why couldn't SHE have been the 9th doctor's companion? That would have been awesome! instead we get whiny flirt girl. The story itself was all right, not great, but i'm more mad at this one for showing me the wasted potential of the 9th doctor.
10th: The story started out really good and i was having a LOT of fun with the different book references they make. I also LOVE landy's writing style with his quick back and forths (you can totally tell this is the same guy who wrote skullduggery pleasant and he writes this exactly the same) the only thing that disappointed me was the ending. the ending did not impress me at all and i was actually quite disappointed with it. very lackluster ending.
11th: This one was kind of stupid. ex-prisoner wearing masks and buying everyone's house? i mean...that's kind of lame the doctor was a tad annoying in this one and the villain's motivations and subsequent defeat were kind of ...meh. not great overall. Also, i have to say this. out of all the stories, this was the only one where i went "wow. i do NOT like this style of writing. at all." turns out it was written by Neil Gaiman. so you know...that made sense.
12th: not a fan that for some reason this story was in first person and was from the point of view of a dude who hung around with the doctor for JUST this story. the story itself felt way too short and rushed. the doctor was all right though it was just not a story you should have told in 30 pages.
in order of best to worst for me it goes
First, Second, Fourth, Third, Tenth, Ninth, Eighth, Twelfth, Sixth, Fifth, Eleventh, Seventh
Overall, hovering somewhere between a 3.5 and a 4. but since i can't do half stars, i'm going to give it a 4. Most of the stories ranged from good to all right. Sad there were some stinkers in there, but with 12 stories and 12 separate authors, that's bound to happen.
ankertjes's review against another edition
4.0
the books weren't all that good, but the last ones were amazing!
starryworlds's review against another edition
5.0
I have enjoyed reading all these short stories. They were exhausting to read with jumping to different voices of the Doctor but it was a fun read. Also I was a bit disappointed that there isn't a story in this book that featured the War Doctor. This review will be long as I am going to review each story separately.
The First Doctor: A Big Hand for the Doctor.
4 stars.
Having only seen two serials from the first Doctor era, I thought I was going to struggle capturing the voice of the 1st Doctor but I didn't which I am glad for. I enjoyed this short story that consisted of soul pirates and only had the one companion, Susan. This short story was filled with action and weirdness in that he has to rely on a bio-hybrid hand that isn't a proper hand and this adds a comical element to the beginning of the story.
The Second Doctor: The Nameless City.
5 stars.
This story was enjoyable throughout and explores the question of what if the Time Lords didn't create the idea of TARDISes, what if it was a different alien lifeform and I feel like the 2nd Doctor was the best Doctor to explore this question.
The Third Doctor: The Spear of Destiny.
5 stars.
The third Doctor is one of my favourite Doctors and I have enjoyed all of his serials and this short story also included a similar pattern to the TV show serials in the way that UNIT is involved in the story. I enjoyed the way that it has included a lot of history with norse Gods but within this story the author put them as people living in tribes, which was really interesting for me.
The Fourth Doctor: The Roots of Evil.
5 stars.
The fourth Doctor is also one of my favourite Doctors and Philip Reeve has captured the fourth Doctors voice perfectly and it has sarcastic humour at the beginning when he lands on this planet where the inhabitants want to kill him.
The fifth Doctor: Tip of the Tongue.
3 stars.
This short story was my least favourite out of the 12 stories, which kind of worries me since he is the showrunner of the spin off show Class. Anyway back to the short story, it got a bit confusing due to the way that it swapped perspectives every few pages and at the end of the story it gave me a headache. Also the storyline didn't really grab my attention to the full focus of the story therefore I didn't pay full attention while I was reading it but I enjoyed the end of the story.
The Sixth Doctor: Something Borrowed.
4.5 stars.
I really enjoyed this short story which grabbed my attention straight away due to the flying lizards and I wanted to find out who was responsible for doing that. I have to admit this is the first story I have read of Doctor Who that is in 1st person and I actually quite enjoyed seeing it from Peri's perspective alone.
The Seventh Doctor: The Ripple Effect.
4.5 stars.
I really enjoyed the concept of this story as it explores a race of good Daleks which was actually worrying for me because for ten pages I kept thinking that the Daleks were planning something evil against the children.
The Eighth Doctor: Spore.
5 stars.
Even though I haven't watched the movie or the short clips with the eighth Doctor (only YouTube clips), I really enjoyed this story which features an alien virus that has a simplistic intelligence like a computer. I feel like there should be a TV show for the eighth Doctor that shows more of his adventures.
The Ninth Doctor: The Beast of Babylon.
5 stars.
I really enjoyed the fact that this short story features what happened after Rose Tyler said no the first time he asked her to travel with him and I always thought that he would have gone on adventures and this story explores it perfectly.
The Tenth Doctor: The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage.
4.5 stars.
The Tenth Doctor is also one of my favourite Doctors and this story explores fictional stories being in a different universe to some degree as in this case, it was a lifeform that was bringing people's imagination alive, which made it an interesting story and I feel like it should be explored more in the TV show.
The Eleventh Doctor: Nothing O'clock.
4.5 stars.
This story surprised me a little bit due to the fact that in other books, I can never capture the eleventh Doctor's voice but in this story I can capture his voice perfectly which could be to do with the writer of the story, Neil Gaiman. Anyway, I really enjoyed this story due to it exploring what could be in the prisons on Gallifrey.
The twelfth Doctor: Lights Out.
4.5 stars.
This story also surprised me because I can't capture 12's voice in other books but I could for this one. I just want to say want to say that I really want Holly Black to be a writer on the Doctor Who TV show. Also she has done something in a short story which Moffat has never done for the twelfth Doctor. Anyway I really enjoyed the way she explored fear of darkness within this story and how one person's life can be effected with this fear.
The First Doctor: A Big Hand for the Doctor.
4 stars.
Having only seen two serials from the first Doctor era, I thought I was going to struggle capturing the voice of the 1st Doctor but I didn't which I am glad for. I enjoyed this short story that consisted of soul pirates and only had the one companion, Susan. This short story was filled with action and weirdness in that he has to rely on a bio-hybrid hand that isn't a proper hand and this adds a comical element to the beginning of the story.
The Second Doctor: The Nameless City.
5 stars.
This story was enjoyable throughout and explores the question of what if the Time Lords didn't create the idea of TARDISes, what if it was a different alien lifeform and I feel like the 2nd Doctor was the best Doctor to explore this question.
The Third Doctor: The Spear of Destiny.
5 stars.
The third Doctor is one of my favourite Doctors and I have enjoyed all of his serials and this short story also included a similar pattern to the TV show serials in the way that UNIT is involved in the story. I enjoyed the way that it has included a lot of history with norse Gods but within this story the author put them as people living in tribes, which was really interesting for me.
The Fourth Doctor: The Roots of Evil.
5 stars.
The fourth Doctor is also one of my favourite Doctors and Philip Reeve has captured the fourth Doctors voice perfectly and it has sarcastic humour at the beginning when he lands on this planet where the inhabitants want to kill him.
The fifth Doctor: Tip of the Tongue.
3 stars.
This short story was my least favourite out of the 12 stories, which kind of worries me since he is the showrunner of the spin off show Class. Anyway back to the short story, it got a bit confusing due to the way that it swapped perspectives every few pages and at the end of the story it gave me a headache. Also the storyline didn't really grab my attention to the full focus of the story therefore I didn't pay full attention while I was reading it but I enjoyed the end of the story.
The Sixth Doctor: Something Borrowed.
4.5 stars.
I really enjoyed this short story which grabbed my attention straight away due to the flying lizards and I wanted to find out who was responsible for doing that. I have to admit this is the first story I have read of Doctor Who that is in 1st person and I actually quite enjoyed seeing it from Peri's perspective alone.
The Seventh Doctor: The Ripple Effect.
4.5 stars.
I really enjoyed the concept of this story as it explores a race of good Daleks which was actually worrying for me because for ten pages I kept thinking that the Daleks were planning something evil against the children.
The Eighth Doctor: Spore.
5 stars.
Even though I haven't watched the movie or the short clips with the eighth Doctor (only YouTube clips), I really enjoyed this story which features an alien virus that has a simplistic intelligence like a computer. I feel like there should be a TV show for the eighth Doctor that shows more of his adventures.
The Ninth Doctor: The Beast of Babylon.
5 stars.
I really enjoyed the fact that this short story features what happened after Rose Tyler said no the first time he asked her to travel with him and I always thought that he would have gone on adventures and this story explores it perfectly.
The Tenth Doctor: The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage.
4.5 stars.
The Tenth Doctor is also one of my favourite Doctors and this story explores fictional stories being in a different universe to some degree as in this case, it was a lifeform that was bringing people's imagination alive, which made it an interesting story and I feel like it should be explored more in the TV show.
The Eleventh Doctor: Nothing O'clock.
4.5 stars.
This story surprised me a little bit due to the fact that in other books, I can never capture the eleventh Doctor's voice but in this story I can capture his voice perfectly which could be to do with the writer of the story, Neil Gaiman. Anyway, I really enjoyed this story due to it exploring what could be in the prisons on Gallifrey.
The twelfth Doctor: Lights Out.
4.5 stars.
This story also surprised me because I can't capture 12's voice in other books but I could for this one. I just want to say want to say that I really want Holly Black to be a writer on the Doctor Who TV show. Also she has done something in a short story which Moffat has never done for the twelfth Doctor. Anyway I really enjoyed the way she explored fear of darkness within this story and how one person's life can be effected with this fear.
bookish_redpanda15's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0