Doctor Who – Grab This Book

Doctor Who:The American Adventures – Justin Richards

Travel through time and space with the Twelfth Doctor in these six brand new adventures, set in a host of locations across the US and eras from throughout US history.

An invisible spacecraft turns up at the Battle of New Orleans, an alien presence is detected at the 1944 D-Day landings, and ghosts take over New York’s subway tunnels as they’re being dug in the early 1900s…

Filled with mystery, excitement and the Doctor’s trademark wit, these timey-wimey stories will delight any Doctor Who fan.

My thanks to Penguin Books UK for my review copy which I received through Netgalley

When Doctor Who goes off the air I switch to the books to get my fix of my favourite Timelord. This is a tactic which has been working for me since 1989 and I hope it never ends. When the novelisations of the tv shows ended I was bereft, however, Virgin Books and then BBC started releasing original novels featuring various incarnations of the Doctor and since the early 1990’s there have been a steady stream of new tales to enjoy.

Through the years Justin Richards has been a regular contributor to those original Doctor Who novels and he has written some of my favourite Doctor Who books. This means that when settled down to read Doctor Who: The American Adventures (six tales all from Mr Richards) I knew that I had some treats ahead…I was not disappointed.

As the name suggests all the stories are based in America and the Doctor will find himself arriving at some familiar points in time. The Oregon Trail (opportunity missed for The Ogron Trail), the California Gold Rush and with New York and a Florida theme-park also featuring we get a feel for different parts of the diverse landscape offered in the US.

I don’t believe it is possible to read a short story collection without favouring some tales more than others and this was the case with DW:TAA. I enjoyed the New York ghost story and the amusement park in Florida was fun too. That said the collection holds together really well and Who fans will enjoy the chance to see the Doctor (avec Capaldi face) back in the thick of the action.

A bit of Doctor Who knowledge will serve you well – but this is much more commonly found in readers over the last 10 years than was the case in the 1990’s!

Justin Richards is always very readable and this was an enjoyable evening’s entertainment. There are too few Capaldi stories available for readers so while we wait for the latest incarnation to light up our screens I recommend Doctor Who: The American Adventures.

Doctor Who: The American Adventures is available in hardback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-American-Adventures-Various/dp/1405928727/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1519588441&sr=8-4

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October 3

Doctor Who Cookbook – Joanna Farrow

Whether you’re planning a party to watch the latest episode, need a showstopping cake that’s bigger on the inside, or want a taste of the TARDIS at teatime, this is the ultimate collection of dishes from across space and time.

Keep the munchies at bay with a fleet of Atraxi Snax, and serve an Ood Head Bread with your dinner. Create your very own Picnic at Asgard, or invite the Zygon Pie into your house. And say ‘Hello, Sweetie’ to a deadly-delicious Dalektable Army, a Peek-a-Boo Pandorica cake, or some simple jelly babies.

My thanks to Tess Henderson at BBC Books for my review copy

Some reviews are harder to write than others, however, the Official Doctor Who Cookbook did present some new challenges as it required practical skills. It also meant I couldn’t just read it on my commute to work – Scotrail frown upon using the luggage racks on their trains as cooling shelves for cookies.

Some background on my household will help here… I make a mean key lime pie but my baking skills end there. My wife is a talented baker and has a cake making business. My eldest son is a Doctor Who fan (which pleases me) but my younger son is just a bit too young to get hooked on my favourite show. So guess who ended up being creative in the kitchen? Yup unskilled yours-truly and the child that doesn’t watch the show…not quite what I had planned BUT WE HAD FUN.

And The Official Doctor Who Cookbook is great fun for those prepared to don their aprons and get the ovens turned on. There are recipes for all skill levels, there are numerous sweet and savoury offerings. Cakes, cookies and biscuits sit alongside bread and pizza and they all have a Who theme.

Recipes can be a fickle thing and everyone has their own variation on a classic so my attempts at making a pavlova were not helped by my wife appearing beside the baking team to tell us that “that’s not how I make pavlova”. Noted. We continued to follow the recipe in the book and I was pretty damned pleased with how it turned out. NB don’t judge me on the visual appearance, the 6yo shaped the Adipose!

On a day where time was more of a luxury (and the children didn’t need entertained to the same degree) I turned my hand to a bread recipe, not going to share how that one turned out (“spoilers Sweetie”) but the work in progress was captured before I split my dough and flavoured some of it. The end result was delicious and was devoured – sadly the finer details of the artwork which look amazing in the book did not quite meet my practical skills so it was a bit “rough” round the edges but I was making it to eat not to display so the key test was passed!

The Official Doctor Who Cookbook is a lovely collection and would make a great acquisition for the fan that also likes to tinker in the kitchen. With half an eye towards the festive season it would be a great gift to give/receive (assuming cookbooks are your thing). The recipe’s are clearly laid out, not jargon filled and give clear instruction. As I indicated above there is a range of sweet and savoury and there are quick fun things to attempt and these are countered with a couple of more complex and time-consuming dishes (as with ANY cookbook). Some dishes will not suit the younger chef and the book does try to scale a range of age appeal and technical ability but be mindful that not every page will be a sure-fire hit…but it is a fun collection and that has to be an important factor when considering a purchase.

The Official Doctor Who Cookbook is published by BBC books and is available now.

You can order through this link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Official-Joanna-Farrow/dp/178594052X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475527630&sr=1-1&keywords=doctor+who+recipe+book

All Smiles... BEFORE THE SPOON ATTACK — All Smiles – BEFORE THE SPOON ATTACK

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July 5

In The Blood – Jenny T Colgan

All over the world, people are venting their fury at one another on social media. Dropping their friends, giving vent to their hatred, and everywhere behaving with incredible cruelty. Even Donna has found that her friend Hettie, with her seemingly perfect life and fancy house, has unfriended her. And now, all over the world, internet trolls are dying…

As more and more people give in to this wave of bitterness and aggression, it’s clear this is no simple case of modern living. This is unkindness as a plague.

From the streets of London to the web cafes of South Korea and the deepest darkest forests of Rio, can the Doctor and Donna find the cause of this unhappiness before it’s too late?

An original novel featuring the Tenth Doctor and Donna, as played by David Tennant and Catherine Tate.

My thanks to Tess at BBC Books for my review copy

I am writing this review in the early days after UK EU referendum – the internet is awash with anger, fear, accusations and aggression and it makes for a pretty bleak outlook. Why am I mentioning this in review of a Doctor Who book? Well it is that internet anger that Jenny T Colgan is highlighting in the excellent 10th Doctor adventure: In The Blood. I don’t believe any new book will have a better timed release this year.

The Doctor is on Earth and travelling around without his TARDIS – a jetsetting adventure takes him into peril in different corners of the globe as he tries to track down who is using the internet to interfere with the human race. People are going online and what they see is making them angry, there does not seem to be a single contributing element…people are just getting annoyed when they spend time surfing. That anger is pouring through them and when they return to the world around them people are lashing out at those nearby – a volatile situation is about to get 100 times worse.

In The Blood features The Doctor in his 10th incarnation and he is travelling with the Runaway Bride, Donna Noble. Where we have Donna we also get her grandfather, Wilf, too so a welcome return to two fan favourites.

Capturing the Doctor/Companion dynamic is essential in any Doctor Who story. Nothing lets down an original Doctor Who novel quite like a generic story which could be ANY regeneration with ANY companion. Jenny Colgan captures the David Tennant/Catherine Tate relationship perfectly and it is an absolute joy to read. I am not sure there has ever been a companion less in awe of the Doctor than Donna Noble (except perhaps Romana) and Jenny Colgan gives Donna all the best lines in this book. It is great to have the chance to enjoy a Doctor Who adventure that remembers to include the fun.

In The Blood sees Donna given the chance to shine. I felt she had much more time driving the story and (without spoiling too much) it is her determination to get to the cause of the excessive internet rage which seems to push the Doctor into action. A fun adventure with the added bonus of a cross-over with the 10th Doctor Big Finish audio adventure (also written by Jenny Colgan) Time Reaver.

I hope BBC Books have asked for a few more adventures featuring previous incarnations of The Doctor. I’ve always been a 2nd Doctor & Jamie fan…

In The Blood is published by BBC Books and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Jenny-T-Colgan/dp/1785941100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466624789&sr=8-1&keywords=in+the+blood+doctor+who

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May 11

Doctor Who: 365 Days of Memorable Moments and Impossible Things – Justin Richards

23 November 1963, The first-ever episode of Doctor Who An Unearthly Child is broadcast.

21 July 1969, Silence will fall.

23 August 2014, Deep Breath is Peter Capaldi s first full episode as the Twelfth Doctor.

3 March 2472, The Master tracks down the Doomsday Weapon.

For over half a century, Doctor Who has entertained and enthralled fans with the adventures of the Doctor. From the first glimpse of a police telephone box in a junkyard to the fall of Gallifrey, Doctor Who has provided a near-inexhaustible list of indelible memories.

Doctor Who: 365 Days is a unique and captivating chronicle of drama or humour, terror or joy, for each and every day of the year. Revisiting classic battles, iconic characters, game-changing plot twists, and more, it s a fascinating portrait of the Whoniverse and an essential addition to any fans collection.”

My thanks to Sophie at EDPR for my cherished review copy

As I write this review it is May 11th. It’s a reasonably quiet day in the history of Doctor Who but it does mark the first day (in 1973) that Harry Sullivan gets a mention. It happened during a Jon Pertwee episode – even though Harry did not appear on screen until Tom Baker’s first episode (Robot).

If you know who Harry Sullivan was, did not need me to add the word ‘Robot’ when mentioning Tom Baker’s first episode and are now wondering what else happened on 11th May (Episode 3 of the Wheel in Space) then this book is absolutely for you. 365 Days of Memorable Moments and Impossible Things is a day to day guide of over 50 years of Doctor Who and is a book written with the fans firmly in mind.

I have had this book for a few weeks and have regularly checked in to see which events would get a mention. I had wondered if the initial novelty would pass and I would stop picking up 365 Days…no sign of it yet. I’ve been watching/reading Doctor Who for over 35 years so there are many moments I am delighted to be reminded of and it makes me want to re-watch so many classic episodes all over again (if time would only permit it).

Although I have mentioned two events from the ‘classic’ years the book does also feature events for the newer fans that are more familiar with the recent incarnations of The Doctor: 18 September “Donna’s Life Is Changed By A Time Beetle”. The daily entries are detailed, informative and often fun.

The book cover is in TARDIS blue and pleasingly embossed. Inside there are many illustrations (beautiful sketches) to highlight the text heavy tome. Important to be aware (if you are ordering online) that 365 Days is monochromatic once you get past the cover – this in no way detracts from the overall beauty of the book but on this occasion don’t expect the luxurious colour illustrations which usually come with the BBC publications.

365 Days is a book written for the fans of the show. It is likely to be too niche for those that will watch an episode of Doctor Who if it happens to be on – younger kids may also find it a bit too text heavy (particularly if they are only aware of the Doctor’s more recent adventures).

As a long-standing fan of the show (who cannot in any way claim to be young) this book captures all the reasons I have devoted so much time towards following the adventures of an alien known only as “The Doctor”.

Doctor Who: 365 Days of Memorable Moments and Impossible Things is published by BBC Books in Hardback and Digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doctor-Who-Memorable-Moments-Impossible/dp/0062455656/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1463002464&sr=8-2&keywords=doctor+who+365

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February 11

James Goss – Douglas Adams: City of Death

HOW DOUGLAS ADAMS WROTE THE MOST POPULAR DOCTOR WHO STORY IN A WEEKEND. (and other things to shame all other writers)

If you’re not a Doctor Who fan, the chances are you’ll have met one at a party. They’ll have backed you into a corner, saying “No, but seriously, have you seen City Of Death? It’s really, really good. I mean, it’s by Douglas Adams and it’s set in Paris and it has Tom Baker in it and…”

At that point you’ll either be excusing yourself to lunge at the guacamole, or you’ll be hooked. And City Of Death is well worth your time. True Doctor Who fans (especially the ones blocking your path to the ham and pineapple pizza) will perhaps opine that it’s not the best Doctor Who story ever, but it’s certainly the most popular. On its original broadcast it got the show’s highest audiences ever – thanks in part to ITV being on strike, but we prefer to ignore that and concentrate on how brilliant it is.

City Of Death is a breezy story about time travel, art theft and a villainous Parisian Countess. It’s also terribly, terribly annoying – because Douglas Adams wrote it in a weekend. You look at the hundreds of other Doctor Who stories out there – some dogged by the elaborate excuses of late authors, some rewritten on the studio floor, and some painstakingly developed over the course of years – and then there’s City Of Death. When the original script fell through, Adams was grabbed by the show’s producer and stuck behind a typewriter until it was done.

Could such a thing be done now? 1979 was such a primitive time for the internet that it had never even got cross about Katie Hopkins (imagine that). Without the distraction of emails, texts, and wikipediaing Paris’s geography, Adams was forced to rely on his wits and a lot of coffee. And he got through it, and produced something brilliant – a story that’s genuinely funny, and a fiendishly complicated time travel plot that just works.

That’s the real legacy of City Of Death – one that haunts the rest of us. Anyone who’s ever used the “#amwriting” hashtag; Anyone who’s ever handed in a first draft and said “It’s rough but we’ll get it right in a few goes”. Douglas Adams wrote City Of Death in a weekend, and they pretty much started filming that first draft on Monday. It’s a fact which haunts everyone.

In fact, next time a writer friend of yours Facebooks to say “Managed 2,000 words today and nearly reached the summit! #Phew #SmashedIt”, why not just reply “Douglas Adams wrote City Of Death in a weekend”? I’m sure they’ll thank you.

City Of Death – Douglas Adams & James Goss – BBC Books

The Doctor takes Romana for a holiday in Paris – a city which, like a fine wine, has a bouquet all its own. Especially if you visit during one of the vintage years. But the TARDIS takes them to 1979, a table-wine year, a year whose vintage is soured by cracks – not in their wine glasses but in the very fabric of time itself.

Soon the Time Lords are embroiled in an audacious alien scheme which encompasses home-made time machines, the theft of the Mona Lisa, the resurrection of the much-feared Jagaroth race, and the beginning (and quite possibly the end) of all life on Earth.

Aided by British private detective Duggan, whose speciality is thumping people, the Doctor and Romana must thwart the machinations of the suave, mysterious Count Scarlioni – all twelve of him – if the human race has any chance of survival.

But then, the Doctor’s holidays tend to turn out a bit like this.

City of Death is published by BBC Books and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here.

James Goss is the author of two Doctor who novels: The Blood Cell and Dead of Winter, as well as Summer Falls (on behalf of Any Pond). He is also the co-author, with Steve Tribe of The Doctor: His Lives and Times, The Dalek Handbook and Doctor Who; A History of the Universe in 100 Objects. While at the BBC James produced an adaptation of Shada, an unfinished Douglas Adams Doctor Who story, and Dirk is his award-winning stage adaptation of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. His Doctor Who audiobook Dead Air won Best Audiobook 2010 and his books Dead of Winter and First Born were nominated for the 2012 British Fantasy Society Awards. His new book, Haterz, is out now.

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December 22

The Chimes of Midnight – Robert Shearman

Hallowe’en 1938. ‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house not a creature was stirring… But something must be stirring. Something hidden in the shadows. Something which kills the servants of an old Edwardian mansion in the most brutal and macabre manner possible. Exactly on the chiming of the hour, every hour, as the grandfather clock ticks on towards midnight. Trapped and afraid, the Doctor and Charley are forced to play detective to murders with no motive, where even the victims don’t stay dead. Time is running out. And time itself might well be the killer..

Last month I was invited to take part in the Booktrail Advent tour. I had to select a Christmas book and confirm the location which would then be plotted onto a map. It was great fun to be involved in the Advent Tour and even I was surprised that I opted for Wisconsin rather than Scotland for my location (I managed to stop waving the saltire for a day). https://thebooktrail.wordpress.com/booktrailadvent

The problem I initially faced when considering which book to use as my Christmas themed story was that I just do not read Christmassy stories. I read crime and thrillers and they tend not to be seasonal as a rule. There are dozens of stories set over winter and at Christmas time but very few actually have a festive feel. In the end I opted for the brilliant Winter Prey by John Sandford as it captured the bleakness of a dark winter (seasonal if not festive).

To the point though – the story I WANTED to use was actually The Chimes of Midnight. A Doctor Who audio play first released in 2002 by Big Finish productions. It starred the 8th Doctor (Paul McGann) and his companion Charley Pollard (India Fisher).

Why did I not use The Chimes of Midnight? Because there is no actual location specified in the story that The Booktrail could have plotted on the Advent Map!

Why did I want to use The Chimes of Midnight? It is a fabulous murder mystery set on Halloween when it was the Night Before Christmas…Doctor Who can do these things and it makes sense!

The Doctor and Charley find themselves ‘under the stairs’ in a large stately home. The Butler, The Cook, the Maid and the Chauffeur are all present and initially do not seem too perturbed by the arrival of two strangers in their midst. Preparations are well underway for Christmas and Mrs Baddeley is making her plum pudding. “Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without plum pudding”

But each time the clock strikes the hour someone dies and the Doctor and Charley realise that they must get to the bottom of the mysterious murders (and the even more mysterious behaviour of the survivors) if they are to survive past midnight.

Chimes of Midnight is a full cast audio drama produced by Big Finish. Each month for well over 10 years Big Finish have released a brand new audio adventure featuring Docto Who. The plays feature past Doctors (Paul McGann, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Tom Baker and Sylvester McCoy) and their companions too.

New companions have been introduced to the audio plays and the stories are deemed canon thanks to recent intervention by Stephen Moffatt! Charley Pollard is the companion for this story. She travelled with Paul McGann’s 8^th Doctor for many audio adventures and is a favourite amongst the fans. She is voiced by India Fisher who is possibly better known as the voice of Masterchef on the BBC. To me she will only ever be the Edwardian Adventuress travelling through space and time!

So The Chimes of Midnight – THE best Christmas murder mystery (in space and time).

You can buy The Chimes of Midnight on Download here: http://www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/the-chimes-of-midnight-653

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October 19

Doctor Who : Deep Time – Trevor Baxendale

‘I do hope you’re all ready to be terrified!’

The Phaeron disappeared from the universe over a million years ago. They travelled among the stars using roads made from time and space, but left only relics behind. But what actually happened to the Phaeron? Some believe they were they eradicated by a superior force… Others claim they destroyed themselves.

Or were they in fact the victims of an even more hideous fate?

In the far future, humans discover the location of the last Phaeron road – and the Doctor and Clara join the mission to see where the road leads. Each member of the research team knows exactly what they’re looking for – but only the Doctor knows exactly what they’ll find. Because only the Doctor knows the true secret of the Phaeron: a monstrous secret so terrible and powerful that it must be buried in the deepest grave imaginable…

My thanks to BBC Doctor Who books for my review copy

This was the third of the Glamour Chronicles books I read and I felt that it brought the series to a nice conclusion. I had struggled to find a ‘correct’ reading order, however in my chat with Gary Russell he indicated that Royal Blood should come before Deep Time and that Big Bang Generation could be read anytime. Thus my reading order of Royal Blood, Big Bang Generation then Deep Time left me feeling I had stumbled onto the best way to approach the Glamour Chronicles.

The Doctor and Clara find themselves on board a deep space exploration ship. It is a state of the art craft which is embarking on an archaeological exploration to find the last of the fabled Phaeron Roads – wormholes in space which the ancient Phaeron race once used to traverse the galaxies before they mysteriously disappeared and passed into legend.

The ship they are travelling on crosses into the wormhole they had been seeking but the journey is too much for their craft and they find themselves stuck in deep space. They are unable to pilot their way to safety and their ship is rapidly losing all life support functions. For the Doctor and Clara survival becomes paramount but someone within the crew is working to their own agenda and if that means the lives of others have to be sacrificed then this will not keep them from their goal.

On reflection I would say Deep Time was (for me) the most fun read of the three books from this release cycle. The story unfolded at a fast pace, there were plenty of action sequences and the small cast of characters are frequently exposed to peril and find their numbers dwindle at an alarming rate. This is classic Doctor Who fare – Trevor Baxendale does a great job of creating characters you actually care about and provides the villain of the piece who you want to get their comeuppance.

Fans of The Doctor and Clara will not be disappointed with Deep Time and for those following the Glamour Chronicles this is the story where the Glamour is most prominent.

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September 18

Gary Russell Q&A – Doctor Who: Big Bang Generation

Today I am delighted to be able to welcome Gary Russell. Gary is a former editor of the official Doctor Who Magazine, has written several Doctor Who novels and non-fiction books, and was producer for Big Finish Productions of the monthly New Doctor Who Adventures from 1998 to 2006. Gary is now a member of the script-editing team on Doctor Who and Torchwood.

My our chat took place before today’s official confirmation that Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) was leaving Doctor Who sometime during Season 9…this makes the first question seem oddly phrased!

First (and I am not sure if I can ask this without some spoilers): no Clara but a return of an old friend?

The joy of the current TV show is that Clara comes and goes – some of her TV stories meld into the next, others have gaps you could drive a fleet of double decker buses through. So I reasoned it was perfectly feasible that while Clara is off having school trips to Stonehenge or Austria or seeing her Gran or whatever, the Doctor would be off having adventures by himself. But always the Doctor tends to find himself chums as he goes from place to place. So I thought a River Song story would be nice but when Steven Moffatt suggested Bernice, a whole different story popped up – a much more fun romp. I was delighted at the suggestion, truly over the moon. She’s one of my favourite characters in any fictional universe and I miss playing in her sandbox enormously, so I was so happy to write for her, Ruth, Jack and lovely Peter again.

The Glamour Chronicles spans all three books in this release window. Where does Big Bang Generation fit in the arc continuity?

I know Una’s book comes before Trevor’s. But mine goes wherever you choose.

I always imagine writing to be a very individual process, does writing a book which has overlap with other author’s work (in this case the story of The Glamour) create unique challenges?

Not for me – I’m a very selfish writer, The only person who has any input into my books is Justin as range editor. I don’t let people read work-in-progress. I don’t ask advice or story suggestions from anyone. Writing prose is vastly different from writing, say a TV script, which is all about collaboration to ensure that everyone else in a production can do their job reasonably, practically and make them shine. A novel, to me at least, is an incredibly more personal labour. As a result, I established with Justin early on that other than seeding the Glamour into the story, it wouldn’t need to impact upon, or have impact from, either Una or Trevor’s stories.

Your author notes indicated that Steven Moffat asked you not to use a character you had wanted to include. Is it more tricky to have story ideas approved now than it was when you were writing New Adventure novels for the 7^th Doctor back in the 1990’s?

In the handful of post 2005 stuff I’ve done, I’ve not encountered any huge problems. This is probably because I spent much of 2006-2011 being the git that said “no” to people on behalf of either Russell or Steven whilst working at BBC Wales, as I know what can and can’t be done. Indeed, i suspect the powers that be in Cardiff now are probably slightly more relaxed about things than I ever was – we were still finding our feet, “additional-fiction” speaking back then. Now there are lots of templates to work from, so it’s chilled out more. But I tended to adhere to my own guidelines from Russell’s days when doing BBG.

You have worked with Big Finish on a lot of projects and I loved that many Big Finish characters are named in Big Bang Generation. Are you seeing an increase in the number of fans of the tv show discovering the audio plays and finding their way to the back catalogue of New Adventures and 8^th Doctor books?

Well I pretty much created Big Finish with Jason back in the day so I’m always happy to see BF ideas transferred to other mediums – god, I was so proud at the Eighth Doctor’s “Charley, C’rizz” etc speak in Night of the Doctor. So honoured too! If that one speech made just one person go and look at BF, look at the great stuff Nick Briggs is creating there these days, then the blood, sweat and tears that I put into BF’s first eight years is worth it.

You were Editor of Doctor Who Magazine in the early 1990’s – a time where the show was off the air. Do you think the current team have it easy now that there is so much new content to cover each month?

I always said when I was at DWM that I wouldn’t want to do that magazine if the show was on air. I had it lucky – it was an era when the “death” of the TV show was still recent enough that we weren’t dying or drying up regarding content, we could still be positive but weren’t beholden to a production team looking over our shoulders. I would hate that, I would also hate that scrabble to be the first with news, photos etc. I left DWM about a year before the McGann TV Movie burst into life – and I was so glad I wasn’t there. Today, poor Tom has it a billion times worse (although my predictions about interfering production teams never came into existence) but that mad effort to be, as the official magazine, the first, the biggest, the most prominent…nah, that’s not for me. I couldn’t hack that pressure. Tom Spilsbury and his team need sainthoods for what they have to go through. So do I think they have it easy? No, I think they have it a hundred times harder than I ever did.

During your time at DWM (and I read every issue through your run) were there any standout memories, interviews or even episode discoveries that you can share?

The day Marcus Hearn rang me up to say he’d discovered the telesnaps to all those missing Hartnell adventures was amazing. Tomb of the Cybermen turning up was fun. We did a nice run of female journalists interviewing female companions which I was rather proud of. We changed the comic strips to feature past Doctors, again I liked that. Adrian Salmon’s Cybermen strip was a highlight. Very proud to have done Colin Baker’s Age of Chaos comic, and putting all the Dalek Chronicles strips together in one place for the first time (hands up who spotted we got two pages the wrong way round? Luckily very few because most previous reprints of that particular story arc *also* made that mistake so fans were used to seeing it wrong! Phew!) I was lucky not just to have Marcus as my number two, but also designers like Peri Godbold and Paul Vyse doing amazing work on a four-week turnaround in an era before computers and DTP. I also had the 30th anniversary *and* DWM’s 200th issue in the same year. My brief time at DWM is one of the happiest I’ve ever been. Loved it all.

Over the years you have written a significant number of Doctor Who adventures. Have you a favourite Doctor/Companion team to write for?

Loved the Tenth Doctor and Donna. *Always* love writing for the Sixth and Mel. Would love to do the Third and Jo one day. Have yet to do the Ninth, War or the First in a novel – and want to. Curiously I’ve never done a Fourth Doctor novel and more curiously have no desire to, but if I did I think it would need to be a Leela story because I love the character so much. A Leela solo book – now that appeals! Years ago I did for BBCi a web series called Real Time that deliberately set up a sequel that never happened. I’d love to expand and finish that as a novel.

Are there any classic monsters that you would like to write into a future story?

I’ve done my personal biggies – Ice Warriors, Autons, Silurians and Sea Devils. Never done Davros or Daleks, that would be nice. But deep, deep down I have a passion for doing the Bandrils at war with the Taran Wood Beasts – surely that’s a winner? No? Oh okay then…

Finally, are you a collector? You have been such an active part within the world of Doctor Who for a good number of years – have you any souvenirs or memento’s which you cherish?

I collect action figures, comics, music and books. I have (I believe) every edition of every foreign translation f the Target Books and the post 2005 books (I may have missed a couple of French or Hungarian editions since I’ve been here in Australia) – that’s always been my passion. Heaven knows why, I can’t read the blasted things. But they look pretty. I’m a pretty obsessive collector, I can’t have one in a series, it’s all or nothing! But I don’t collect autographs, I don’t collect props or things that have been in the show. I’m just a sucker for certain parts of mainstream merchandise. But I collect the same sorts of things outside Doctor Who too. I’m a massive lifelong Marvel Comics fan (one day I will write the Fantastic Four or die trying) and have more Marvel Legends action figures than my house can cope with!

My deepest thanks to Gary for taking time to answer my questions.

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September 17

Una McCormack Q&A – Doctor Who: Royal Blood

Today I am delighted to welcome Una McCormack. Una’s latest novel , Royal Blood, is one the three new Doctor Who titles from BBC Books. Featuring the 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald, Royal Blood forms part of the Glamour Chronicles trilogy.

Shall we start with an easy one? What can we expect The Doctor and Clara to encounter in Royal Blood?

The Doctor and Clara arrive in the mediaeval city of Varuz to discover that the technology is far more advanced than they would expect, and that the city is facing the threat of an invasion. They both try to prevent war breaking out – but things are complicated when a figure from Earth legend, Lancelot, arrives, in search of the Holy Grail.

The three new Doctor Who titles just released, your book and those by Trevor and Gary are all part of a story arc which brings The Doctor into contact with The Glamour. What is the Glamour and does it pose a threat to the TARDIS crew?

The Glamour is very mysterious. It can take many forms, and look very different to different people, but its chief property is that people want to possess it. This makes it very dangerous, and very hard to fight.

How much co-ordination has to take place between three authors before you all begin writing to ensure that The Glamour is defined correctly and the plotlines all tie in?

Although they’re connected by the Glamour, and are best read in a particular order, the three books do stand alone quite well. The series consultant, Justin Richards, and the project editor, Steve Tribe, did the co-ordination of the projects. I’ve worked on other projects, such as the Star Trek series The Fall, where the five authors collaborated through a kind of email ‘writers’ room’. We had a lot of ideas and information flying to and fro!

How do you get to be one of the Doctor Who authors? Do you approach the team and pitch an idea or are you invited to contribute?

For the first book, I approached the editorial team and asked to write. I had a long background in writing TV tie-in novels from the work I’d done on the Star Trek books, and this stood me in good stead. The turnaround can very tight on these kind of books, so they want to know that you can write them quickly while maintaining quality. I’ve been invited back for subsequent books.

You have previously written two 11^th Doctor Novels. Did it feel different writing for Peter Capaldi’s Doctor rather than Matt Smith? The two actors clearly have different approaches to the character but ultimately it is still The Doctor who is the hero.

There were definitely differences. Matt Smith’s is a very physical performance, with lots of hand-flapping and jumping around – you have to find a way to convey that through the prose. Peter Capaldi’s Doctor is very focused, quite grumpy – but often missing things around him that seem obvious. At the same time you have to convey something essentially ‘Doctorish’ about the character – never cowardly or cruel, always kind.

Are there any classic monsters that you would like to write into a future story?

The Kandyman.

Does the history of the show add an extra element of pressure when you write or do you find the backstory makes it much easier to position a situation and drop in the characters we know so well?

I try not to let the history of the show interfere with the story I’m telling. I don’t go out of my way to ignore it or contradict it, but I want the stories in books to have their own momentum rather than rely on knowledge of the series. The readership of these books can be quite young, 8-14, so you want to make sure that these readers are enjoying the books. They might not have seen Doctor Who before!

I am in my early 40’s and can just about remember watching K-9, scenes from the Leisure Hive, City of Death and State of Decay. But everything from Logopolis onward! Can you pin down your earliest memories of Doctor Who?

I am also in my early 40s, but my earliest memory is of Jon Pertwee’s final story, ‘Planet of the Spiders’. I was very frightened by the Buddhist chanting. I’m still slightly frightened by Buddhists.

Finally, if you could pair any of the Doctor’s incarnations with any of his companions who would you like to write an adventure for?

What an interesting question! I’d like to write Tegan. I could imagine her being grumpy at most of the Doctor’s incarnations, but it might be fun to see if she could out-cross the Twelfth Doctor!

My profound thanks to Una for taking time to answer my questions. If there is any way that 12th Doctor/Tegan meeting could happen I suspect it would make a lot of people very happy!

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September 16

Doctor Who: Big Bang Generation – Gary Russell

“I’m an archaeologist, but probably not the one you were expecting.”

Christmas 2015, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Imagine everyone’s surprise when a time portal opens up in Sydney Cove. Imagine their shock as a massive pyramid now sits beside the Harbour Bridge, inconveniently blocking Port Jackson and glowing with energy. Imagine their fear as Cyrrus “the mobster” Globb, Professor Horace Jaanson and an alien assassin called Kik arrive to claim the glowing pyramid. Finally imagine everyone’s dismay when they are followed by a bunch of con artists out to spring their greatest grift yet.

This gang consists of Legs (the sexy comedian), Dog Boy (providing protection and firepower), Shortie (handling logistics), Da Trowel (in charge of excavation and history) and their leader, Doc (busy making sure the universe isn’t destroyed in an explosion that makes the Big Bang look like a damp squib).

And when someone accidentally reawakens The Ancients of the Universe – which, Doc reckons, wasn’t the wisest or best-judged of actions – things get a whole lot more complicated…

My thanks to BBC Books.

“I’m an archaeologist, but probably not the one you were expecting.” It is on the back of the book, in big bright white letters – if you recognise the origin of the line then you should know you are in for a treat. Gary Russell’s contribution to Doctor Who down the years is not insignificant. He knows what the fans like (in fact he created a lot of what the fans like) so you know that there will be fun times ahead when you start to read Big Bang Generation.

Now take a glance back to the cover of the book and you will see the Doctor, you will see the TARDIS but someone is missing…no Clara. Not a design choice, Ms Oswald is not a player in this story, instead the Doctor is reunited with a former travelling companion and (no spoilers) it works brilliantly. The TARDIS crew in Big Bang Generation is a treat for the long standing fans who have travelled with the Doctor beyond the tv shows through the many books and audio adventures.

Forming part of The Glamour Chronicles trilogy I feel that Big Bang Generation provides the reader with the most information about the mysterious Glamour it certainly features much more than it had in Royal Blood (which I had read before Big Bang Generation). The scale of Big Bang Generation is also much greater than the other books in the trilogy. Events unfold over long periods of time and there are several different destinations covered through the telling of the story. This book felt (at the time) like the finale, however, the author did confirm that he felt Big Bang Generation could fit anywhere into the trilogy.

The Doctor finds himself pursuing the Glamour once again but not to own one of the most coveted treasures in the galaxies: as that way lies a dangerous path. He needs to track it down to try to contain or supress its power and ensure it does not fall into the wrong hands. Should The Glamour be damaged or misused the effect upon the surrounding land could be catastrophic.

So when an archaeological dig threatens to uncover the Glamour from its hidden resting place it is somewhat surprising for the lead archaeologist to meet their future self and be warned that the dig should cease. Time travel does throw up some unusual conversations at times.

What follows is a hugely entertaining chase through space (and time) to gain control of The Glamour and ensure it always remains in the ‘right’ hands. The story is full of subtle jokes and observations which fans will spot and love (I am pretty sure I missed one or two along the way – so a re-read will be guaranteed).

Gary Russell is one of my favourite Doctor Who authors and Big Bang Generation did not disappoint. Many more of these please and the Doctor will continue to shine.

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