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