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reader1718's review
5.0
Love it!
River Song is one of my favorite Doctor Who characters and this book was a wonderful opportunity to travel with her on many incredible adventures.
River Song is one of my favorite Doctor Who characters and this book was a wonderful opportunity to travel with her on many incredible adventures.
zelenah's review against another edition
3.0
I found this to be rather hit and miss. I liked the 2nd and final story. The only one I really disliked was the fourth one, and that was mainly due to the writer, not the story in and of itself.
If you love River, you'll probably like this.
If you love River, you'll probably like this.
queer_universe's review against another edition
5.0
This was fucking amazing! Ohh I want to read it again.
tardislibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Join me in my jump through time and space, will you, Sweetie?
First thing is first. If you know me, then you will know I tend to have a genuine distaste for Professor River Song. I typically find her to be terribly obnoxious. Way too "I'm badass, you and everyone in this universe and the next know it." Really freaking annoying, guys. Occasionally, she grows on me though, more so as of late, but she's still on my "not so fab character list." Same with Missy. I hated her in the beginning, but near the end of Capaldi's era, I started to like her a bit more. For this reason, I had put off picking up this book. But, after some time had passed, I came across this in the library stacks and, for shits and giggles, I decided to pick it up.
I was pleasantly surprised. It was kind of funny and made me like River a bit more than I had. The book consisted of five "diary entries," all from different events in River's life. Of which, I believe, two included the Doctor. And one which included a living mannequin of Elvis. But that's a story for you to check out for yourself. As River says, "Spoilers!"
Each of the stories, or diary entries, gave me a new perspective on River's character. Though you'll see with her character on the show, River tends to only care for herself, the Doctor, and her parents, Amy and Rory. In the book, she shows a part of herself we don't normally see. That River is the main heroine. She decides how she will act. She decides whether or not she will intervene in events. We actually get to see some of her adventures, which was fun.
If you're like me and tend to avoid anything Professor River Song (though her diary I would steal in a heartbeat. And the vortex manipulator), you shouldn't skip out on The Legends of River Song.
P.S. There is the occasional spelling error--and no, I'm not talking about the differences between American English and British English, these are legit mistakes (i.e.: closed instead of close) and the occasional missing punctuation mark. But don't worry, they don't interfere with the story, nor do they occur too often. It's just stuff that was missed before publication.
First thing is first. If you know me, then you will know I tend to have a genuine distaste for Professor River Song. I typically find her to be terribly obnoxious. Way too "I'm badass, you and everyone in this universe and the next know it." Really freaking annoying, guys. Occasionally, she grows on me though, more so as of late, but she's still on my "not so fab character list." Same with Missy. I hated her in the beginning, but near the end of Capaldi's era, I started to like her a bit more. For this reason, I had put off picking up this book. But, after some time had passed, I came across this in the library stacks and, for shits and giggles, I decided to pick it up.
I was pleasantly surprised. It was kind of funny and made me like River a bit more than I had. The book consisted of five "diary entries," all from different events in River's life. Of which, I believe, two included the Doctor. And one which included a living mannequin of Elvis. But that's a story for you to check out for yourself. As River says, "Spoilers!"
Each of the stories, or diary entries, gave me a new perspective on River's character. Though you'll see with her character on the show, River tends to only care for herself, the Doctor, and her parents, Amy and Rory. In the book, she shows a part of herself we don't normally see. That River is the main heroine. She decides how she will act. She decides whether or not she will intervene in events. We actually get to see some of her adventures, which was fun.
If you're like me and tend to avoid anything Professor River Song (though her diary I would steal in a heartbeat. And the vortex manipulator), you shouldn't skip out on The Legends of River Song.
P.S. There is the occasional spelling error--and no, I'm not talking about the differences between American English and British English, these are legit mistakes (i.e.: closed instead of close) and the occasional missing punctuation mark. But don't worry, they don't interfere with the story, nor do they occur too often. It's just stuff that was missed before publication.
onceuponarachel's review against another edition
5.0
I keep writing and deleting this review because it's just a dissertation on how much I love the character River Song (tl;dr - a lot) but I'll try to keep it to this book.
The werks:
-How fun that this fandom is so open to non-official works that I was able to find this at my library!
-This is a collection of 5 short stories, all about River's adventures. 3 of them feature a Doctor, and 2 don't, which I really liked! She's got her own life to get on with, ya know.
-2 of them are written by women and 3 are not, which is unfortunate only in the sense that I would have loved more women writing about her. She is an incredibly contradictory character that the tv actress Alex Kingston brings a LOT of subtly to, so writing her (especially from her perspective, with her internal monologue) takes a lot of nuance.
Highlights:
-the writers do an amazing job with Eleven, who is essentially a "bundle of awkward flamingo limbs" who can't have a serious emotional conversation.
-at one point she refers to Queen Elizabeth I as her "conjugal predecessor" and I stan a queen
Overall, I'm giving it 5 stars because now that I've reached the Jodie episodes I was having serious River withdrawals, and I loved reading these. The fifth story is the weakest IMO, so it's lame to end on that one, but the rest are fun.
PopSugar 2020: A book with a book on the cover.
The werks:
-How fun that this fandom is so open to non-official works that I was able to find this at my library!
-This is a collection of 5 short stories, all about River's adventures. 3 of them feature a Doctor, and 2 don't, which I really liked! She's got her own life to get on with, ya know.
-2 of them are written by women and 3 are not, which is unfortunate only in the sense that I would have loved more women writing about her. She is an incredibly contradictory character that the tv actress Alex Kingston brings a LOT of subtly to, so writing her (especially from her perspective, with her internal monologue) takes a lot of nuance.
Highlights:
-the writers do an amazing job with Eleven, who is essentially a "bundle of awkward flamingo limbs" who can't have a serious emotional conversation.
-at one point she refers to Queen Elizabeth I as her "conjugal predecessor" and I stan a queen
Overall, I'm giving it 5 stars because now that I've reached the Jodie episodes I was having serious River withdrawals, and I loved reading these. The fifth story is the weakest IMO, so it's lame to end on that one, but the rest are fun.
PopSugar 2020: A book with a book on the cover.
erudani's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it, they really captured River Song's personality.
mirielen_arantes's review
4.0
Já que a BBC não me dá nenhum indício de River conhecendo sua (segunda) esposa tão cedo, eu vou me entupir de tudo relacionado a ela no universo expandido!
River Song (tbm conhecida como Melody Pond e Melody Malone) vive em uma linha temporal que segue em direção oposta ao de seu marido/esposa, Doutor(a) - "Your future is my past. Your first is my last"
River Song (tbm conhecida como Melody Pond e Melody Malone) vive em uma linha temporal que segue em direção oposta ao de seu marido/esposa, Doutor(a) - "Your future is my past. Your first is my last"
micrummey's review
3.0
Like with any collection of short stories they can be hit or miss. I really liked A Gamble With Time by Steve Lyons but not as keen with stories where The Doctor is Absent. I think there is a definite chemistry between River Song and the Doctor which should be exploited. As a character River is ace and each writer uses her characteristics well.
Certainly not a high brow read and won't win any literary awards but for a take your brain out read worth a go.
Certainly not a high brow read and won't win any literary awards but for a take your brain out read worth a go.
almostlikequake's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
raben_76325's review
3.0
This was good, but as a collection of short stories, the writing was uneven. It definitely helped us get our River Song fix!