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A review by scampr
Doctor Who: Tales of Terror by Richard Dungworth, Craig Donaghy, Mike Tucker, Paul Magrs, Scott Handcock, Jacqueline Rayner, Rohan Eason
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
In finishing my previous read at the start of October, I figured now was the perfect opportunity to finally read this horror themed anthology - and it did prove to be an enjoyable collection of stories to get me into the Halloween mood!
Last year I read another Doctor Who anthology in the form of The Target Storybook (which I really loved) so I expected this book would be to my liking too.
Despite comprising 350 pages, the large font size and border space of Tales of Terror means it's actually a much quicker read than your average Doctor Who novel. Across the book are twelve short stories, one for each of the Doctor's incarnations 1-12. They average just under 30 pages each and are accompanied by a rather nice black and white illustration somewhere in the chapter that highlights a key moment/characters in that story.
The majority of this book's adventures feature a returning monster or villain, and the ones they chose to include are all suitably scary or creepy to fit the Halloween vibe - and leaning on the iconography of established villains was a smart move given how brief these stories had to be. I do think this anthology was geared to accommodate a younger demographic, as there isn't a whole lot of complexity or character exploration; but that's okay! The intention is clearly to deliver a collection of spooky stories set in the Doctor Who universe, something easy to read for quick, light-hearted scares.
I can't go into great detail given how many there are, but on the whole these are a satisfying bunch of stories - my personal favourites being chapters 4, 6 and 11!
The six authors that contributed clearly understand and appreciate the respective Doctors and companions they're writing for, giving us solid characterisation and dialogue to engage with. The sense of atmosphere is constantly great and the enemies we encounter are well utilised to craft a satisfying tale (it doesn't just feel like a kid smashing action figures together at random). The aforementioned illustrations round things off nicely with cool, scratchy black linework scenes that are moody and intricate.
As is the case with anthologies, there's a good bit of variety between the different characters, settings and dilemmas that feature. With the swift pacing and simplistic horror focus it makes for a more relaxed read, which is nice every now and again to break up the more distinguished and dense novels. There may be nothing ground-breaking, but it's good fun and well executed if you're in the mood for Who-horror!
Last year I read another Doctor Who anthology in the form of The Target Storybook (which I really loved) so I expected this book would be to my liking too.
Despite comprising 350 pages, the large font size and border space of Tales of Terror means it's actually a much quicker read than your average Doctor Who novel. Across the book are twelve short stories, one for each of the Doctor's incarnations 1-12. They average just under 30 pages each and are accompanied by a rather nice black and white illustration somewhere in the chapter that highlights a key moment/characters in that story.
The majority of this book's adventures feature a returning monster or villain, and the ones they chose to include are all suitably scary or creepy to fit the Halloween vibe - and leaning on the iconography of established villains was a smart move given how brief these stories had to be. I do think this anthology was geared to accommodate a younger demographic, as there isn't a whole lot of complexity or character exploration; but that's okay! The intention is clearly to deliver a collection of spooky stories set in the Doctor Who universe, something easy to read for quick, light-hearted scares.
I can't go into great detail given how many there are, but on the whole these are a satisfying bunch of stories - my personal favourites being chapters 4, 6 and 11!
The six authors that contributed clearly understand and appreciate the respective Doctors and companions they're writing for, giving us solid characterisation and dialogue to engage with. The sense of atmosphere is constantly great and the enemies we encounter are well utilised to craft a satisfying tale (it doesn't just feel like a kid smashing action figures together at random). The aforementioned illustrations round things off nicely with cool, scratchy black linework scenes that are moody and intricate.
As is the case with anthologies, there's a good bit of variety between the different characters, settings and dilemmas that feature. With the swift pacing and simplistic horror focus it makes for a more relaxed read, which is nice every now and again to break up the more distinguished and dense novels. There may be nothing ground-breaking, but it's good fun and well executed if you're in the mood for Who-horror!