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eldigan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
emmamemmo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
peggy_racham's review
4.5
Some of my fave authors are on here. Its a mixed bag but mostly great stories. Highlights for me were Patrick Ness, Neil Gaiman and Holly Black
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Death, Grief, Murder, and Confinement
rebelbelle13's review against another edition
5.0
This is a fantastic collection of Doctor Who stories and is a must-read for any Whovian. No matter which of the Doctors is your favorite, there's a story in here with them in it- all by separate authors who take different approaches to the short stories. That is one of the major downsides here- they are all much shorter than I'd like them to be (and some more than others). As with any mix of short stories, some are better than others- there are great stories, so-so ones, and ones that really could have been better. My favorite by far were The Nameless City (The Second Doctor), Spore (The Eighth Doctor), The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage (The Tenth Doctor) and Nothing O'Clock (The Eleventh Doctor). These four stories were engaging, had depth, and really understood The Doctor and used him to his full potential. The most surprising story was from The Eighth Doctor, who I didn't know much about, but still thoroughly enjoyed the story. I typically don't like the works of Neil Gaiman, but found his Eleventh Doctor story spot on in terms of Matt Smith's Doctor and his companion Amy Pond.
The stories that I really didn't care for were Tip of the Tongue (The Fifth Doctor), Something Borrowed (The Sixth Doctor) and The Beast of Babylon (The Ninth Doctor). The Fifth Doctor story had very little of The Doctor in it- he was a background character to a group of children who we view the story from. Patrick Ness, the author of this story, has done this before- in a book I have DNF'd in the past called The Rest of Us Just Live Here, in which we view a superhero story from the non-super heroes. It's about as boring as it sounds. I want to read about The Doctor, not about a group of kids who are going through social problems with a bit of magical realism tossed in- so this one was a big let-down. The Sixth Doctor story I just found boring- as it was about a wedding taking place on a Las Vegas type planet. The Ninth Doctor story was far too short and didn't allow any time for the story to grow and for the reader to really learn anything about his character or the titular beast. The most disappointing story of the bunch (not mentioned above) was Lights Out (The Twelfth Doctor) because it was so short, and it was again told from the viewpoint of someone who wasn't The Doctor- so he wasn't in it much at all. I was bummed because Capaldi's Doctor is one of my favorites.
The other stories were just fine- entertaining, and long enough to get invested in the story and for their particular personalities to that regeneration (and that actor) to come through. The stories read quickly, and you can read them in any order you like. I jumped all over the place depending on what I felt like reading that day (I started with 11 and the last one I read was 4, for instance). I can certainly see myself rereading this collection in the future, and will definitely lend it to others.
The stories that I really didn't care for were Tip of the Tongue (The Fifth Doctor), Something Borrowed (The Sixth Doctor) and The Beast of Babylon (The Ninth Doctor). The Fifth Doctor story had very little of The Doctor in it- he was a background character to a group of children who we view the story from. Patrick Ness, the author of this story, has done this before- in a book I have DNF'd in the past called The Rest of Us Just Live Here, in which we view a superhero story from the non-super heroes. It's about as boring as it sounds. I want to read about The Doctor, not about a group of kids who are going through social problems with a bit of magical realism tossed in- so this one was a big let-down. The Sixth Doctor story I just found boring- as it was about a wedding taking place on a Las Vegas type planet. The Ninth Doctor story was far too short and didn't allow any time for the story to grow and for the reader to really learn anything about his character or the titular beast. The most disappointing story of the bunch (not mentioned above) was Lights Out (The Twelfth Doctor) because it was so short, and it was again told from the viewpoint of someone who wasn't The Doctor- so he wasn't in it much at all. I was bummed because Capaldi's Doctor is one of my favorites.
The other stories were just fine- entertaining, and long enough to get invested in the story and for their particular personalities to that regeneration (and that actor) to come through. The stories read quickly, and you can read them in any order you like. I jumped all over the place depending on what I felt like reading that day (I started with 11 and the last one I read was 4, for instance). I can certainly see myself rereading this collection in the future, and will definitely lend it to others.
jrjquinton's review against another edition
3.0
Some stories were really good, others were a little boring.
isabellarobinson7's review against another edition
3.5
Rating: 3.54 stars
So that's my average rating based on my individual ratings of each story. Here's a quick synopsis of each short story and my brief thoughts (emphasis on brief because there's 13 to get through here):
First Doctor: The Doctor loses his hand and has to wait for a replacement. Plus the author uses his own made up language from his own independent series in this story, which is a tinsy bit obnoxious. Otherwise it's kind of boring.
★★½☆☆/★★★★★
Second Doctor: Jamie gets a weird book. The Master sells the Doctor out to get money, fame, power, the works. So not too different for him. Much better than the first one. Also I just love the Second Doctor.
★★★★☆/★★★★★
Third Doctor: The Doctor steals Odin's spear (yep, Norse mythology Odin) from an exhibition on 1973. And the Master is Frey, because of course he is. And that is even more hilarious when you think that Magnus Chase from Rick Riordan's series is the son of Frey, so technically Magnus is part Timelord. It's a really cool short story, but its high rating is 100% influenced by my mythology nerd brain.
★★★★★/★★★★★
Fourth Doctor: A whole planet of people hate the Doctor and the planet isn't Gallifrey and the people aren't Timelords! There is also a giant killer tree. Kind of a let down story-wise. I was pretty disappointed. The Fourth Doctor honestly deserves better.
★★★½☆/★★★★★
Fifth Doctor: It's 1945 and the new craze is Truth Tellers, which do as their name suggests (that is they bypass the human filter and tell the truth regardless of whether it is appropriate or not). And naturally, everyone goes crazy. A great short story, perhaps attributed to its concept, but not very specific for the Fifth Doctor. Any of the other Doctors could have been swapped in and little would change. Also, it was more on the minimalist side in terms of the sci-fi elements, which I am not particularly adverse to, it was just a surprise more than anything I think.
★★★½☆/★★★★★
Sixth Doctor: There's a wedding and the Doctor turns up to find someone quite familiar. As much as it would be a spoiler to say who the Doctor meets, it is really not much of a mystery as to who it is. (Hint: starts with M...) Anyway, I kind of skim read this one (I allow myself to do this in anthologies when I'm not really feeling a story) because I'm not a huge fan of the Sixth Doctor. The story was better than I thought it would be though.
★★½☆☆/★★★★★
Seventh Doctor: Daleks are nice and the Doctor is confused. The timey whimey-est story here. Also one of the best! I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Though, I may be biased, because I really love the Seventh Doctor (which may in turn be influenced by me being unduly partial to the number seven and the fact that Sylvester McCoy played Radagast in The Hobbit movies and was one of the only good parts of the films).
★★★★★/★★★★★
Eighth Doctor: An alien-space-virus-thing wants to wipe out the human race. A story that hits a little too close to home given the world's present state. Also not a fan of the Eighth Doctor, so I wasn't hugely into this one.
★★☆☆☆/★★★★★
Ninth Doctor: Remember how in the first episode of the new Doctor Who called Rose when the Doctor asked Rose to travel with him in the TARDIS and she declined so he left? Then remember how he came back, told Rose the TARDIS also travels in time, and so she joined him? (That part where she ran in cringey slow motion, yeah. Give them a break, it was 2005.) This was what happened in between those two visits (because five seconds in a time machine can be five days). The concept was perhaps better than the execution.
★★★½☆/★★★★★
Tenth Doctor: The Doctor and Martha get trapped in a book, and it's nothing like all us bookworms dreamed it would be. When I saw that Martha was the companion here I'll admit I was a little disappointed, but I think Ten largely makes up for it. (Though, I have come to appreciate Martha more reading some books with her in them. Maybe it's just her writing in the show that bothered me.)
A generous ★★★★☆/★★★★★
Eleventh Doctor: Some creepy mask-wearing dudes buy this guy’s house in the 80's and then try to buy the world. Amy's there being awesome and Eleven does all his goofy things (which were written wonderfully by the way) and it probably made me laugh the most out of all the stories.
★★★★½/★★★★★
Twelfth Doctor: All the Claras get stories! Yes! The thing everyone has been waiting for is finally here!! Another case of the concept topping the execution, but in this case the concept was so good I think it largely made up for it.
★★★★☆/★★★★★
Thirteenth Doctor: The (female) Doctor did some stuff, I guess, and cracked some jokes that probably don't land and... that's it. Despite this being the last story, I don't remember much about it at all. I guess I could chalk that up to me not liking the Thirteenth Doctor (and I'm a female too so I'm not being one of those sexist, snobbish guys just hating all feminist advances) which is pretty much entirely a result of the poor scripts she got in these latest two seasons. I really really hope and pray they can iron out all the issues surrounding the disconnect between the writing and the acting for Jodie's last season, because she is an incredible actress (just watch Broadchurch, all the evidence is there) and she deserves a shot at fulfilling the roll of the Thirteenth Doctor like I know she is absolutely capable of doing. Anyway, (tangent over) in terms of this anthology, it's sad not to end on a high note.
★★☆☆☆/★★★★★
So what I have learned is that I am very picky about my Doctor Who content. Eh, what's new?
So that's my average rating based on my individual ratings of each story. Here's a quick synopsis of each short story and my brief thoughts (emphasis on brief because there's 13 to get through here):
First Doctor: The Doctor loses his hand and has to wait for a replacement. Plus the author uses his own made up language from his own independent series in this story, which is a tinsy bit obnoxious. Otherwise it's kind of boring.
★★½☆☆/★★★★★
Second Doctor: Jamie gets a weird book. The Master sells the Doctor out to get money, fame, power, the works. So not too different for him. Much better than the first one. Also I just love the Second Doctor.
★★★★☆/★★★★★
Third Doctor: The Doctor steals Odin's spear (yep, Norse mythology Odin) from an exhibition on 1973. And the Master is Frey, because of course he is. And that is even more hilarious when you think that Magnus Chase from Rick Riordan's series is the son of Frey, so technically Magnus is part Timelord. It's a really cool short story, but its high rating is 100% influenced by my mythology nerd brain.
★★★★★/★★★★★
Fourth Doctor: A whole planet of people hate the Doctor and the planet isn't Gallifrey and the people aren't Timelords! There is also a giant killer tree. Kind of a let down story-wise. I was pretty disappointed. The Fourth Doctor honestly deserves better.
★★★½☆/★★★★★
Fifth Doctor: It's 1945 and the new craze is Truth Tellers, which do as their name suggests (that is they bypass the human filter and tell the truth regardless of whether it is appropriate or not). And naturally, everyone goes crazy. A great short story, perhaps attributed to its concept, but not very specific for the Fifth Doctor. Any of the other Doctors could have been swapped in and little would change. Also, it was more on the minimalist side in terms of the sci-fi elements, which I am not particularly adverse to, it was just a surprise more than anything I think.
★★★½☆/★★★★★
Sixth Doctor: There's a wedding and the Doctor turns up to find someone quite familiar. As much as it would be a spoiler to say who the Doctor meets, it is really not much of a mystery as to who it is. (Hint: starts with M...) Anyway, I kind of skim read this one (I allow myself to do this in anthologies when I'm not really feeling a story) because I'm not a huge fan of the Sixth Doctor. The story was better than I thought it would be though.
★★½☆☆/★★★★★
Seventh Doctor: Daleks are nice and the Doctor is confused. The timey whimey-est story here. Also one of the best! I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Though, I may be biased, because I really love the Seventh Doctor (which may in turn be influenced by me being unduly partial to the number seven and the fact that Sylvester McCoy played Radagast in The Hobbit movies and was one of the only good parts of the films).
★★★★★/★★★★★
Eighth Doctor: An alien-space-virus-thing wants to wipe out the human race. A story that hits a little too close to home given the world's present state. Also not a fan of the Eighth Doctor, so I wasn't hugely into this one.
★★☆☆☆/★★★★★
Ninth Doctor: Remember how in the first episode of the new Doctor Who called Rose when the Doctor asked Rose to travel with him in the TARDIS and she declined so he left? Then remember how he came back, told Rose the TARDIS also travels in time, and so she joined him? (That part where she ran in cringey slow motion, yeah. Give them a break, it was 2005.) This was what happened in between those two visits (because five seconds in a time machine can be five days). The concept was perhaps better than the execution.
★★★½☆/★★★★★
Tenth Doctor: The Doctor and Martha get trapped in a book, and it's nothing like all us bookworms dreamed it would be. When I saw that Martha was the companion here I'll admit I was a little disappointed, but I think Ten largely makes up for it. (Though, I have come to appreciate Martha more reading some books with her in them. Maybe it's just her writing in the show that bothered me.)
A generous ★★★★☆/★★★★★
Eleventh Doctor: Some creepy mask-wearing dudes buy this guy’s house in the 80's and then try to buy the world. Amy's there being awesome and Eleven does all his goofy things (which were written wonderfully by the way) and it probably made me laugh the most out of all the stories.
★★★★½/★★★★★
Twelfth Doctor: All the Claras get stories! Yes! The thing everyone has been waiting for is finally here!! Another case of the concept topping the execution, but in this case the concept was so good I think it largely made up for it.
★★★★☆/★★★★★
Thirteenth Doctor: The (female) Doctor did some stuff, I guess, and cracked some jokes that probably don't land and... that's it. Despite this being the last story, I don't remember much about it at all. I guess I could chalk that up to me not liking the Thirteenth Doctor (and I'm a female too so I'm not being one of those sexist, snobbish guys just hating all feminist advances) which is pretty much entirely a result of the poor scripts she got in these latest two seasons. I really really hope and pray they can iron out all the issues surrounding the disconnect between the writing and the acting for Jodie's last season, because she is an incredible actress (just watch Broadchurch, all the evidence is there) and she deserves a shot at fulfilling the roll of the Thirteenth Doctor like I know she is absolutely capable of doing. Anyway, (tangent over) in terms of this anthology, it's sad not to end on a high note.
★★☆☆☆/★★★★★
So what I have learned is that I am very picky about my Doctor Who content. Eh, what's new?
timelordash92's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
saoki's review against another edition
5.0
Oh this is marvelous. Not a single bad story, although some are definitely better than others. My favorites were:
"A Big Hand for the Doctor", because Peter Pan. And pirates. And the 1st Doctor being specially heroic.
"The Roots of Evil", which captures the essence of a 4th Doctor story while also being something that feels like it was written in this century.
"Tip of The Tongue", which is a great story, full stop. I will look into this author's books because I was actually impressed.
"Something Borrowed", because I love Sixie, but also because it's an Actually Good Story with the Rani in it, and that on itself is a wonder.
"Nothing O'Clock", because Neil Gaiman. I had actually already read this one in one of his collections, but I wasn't a Whovian back then and was mostly impressed with the villain. Now that I'm capable of fully appreciating how much trivia Gaiman manages to sneak into a story without making it bloated I understand that this story is really great.
"A Big Hand for the Doctor", because Peter Pan. And pirates. And the 1st Doctor being specially heroic.
"The Roots of Evil", which captures the essence of a 4th Doctor story while also being something that feels like it was written in this century.
"Tip of The Tongue", which is a great story, full stop. I will look into this author's books because I was actually impressed.
"Something Borrowed", because I love Sixie, but also because it's an Actually Good Story with the Rani in it, and that on itself is a wonder.
"Nothing O'Clock", because Neil Gaiman. I had actually already read this one in one of his collections, but I wasn't a Whovian back then and was mostly impressed with the villain. Now that I'm capable of fully appreciating how much trivia Gaiman manages to sneak into a story without making it bloated I understand that this story is really great.
lillianeis_bored's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
chicafrom3's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Originally a collection of eleven stories for Doctor Who's 50th anniversary, updated edition for the Thirteenth Doctor, does exactly what the title says: thirteen short stories, one for each Doctor. Varying quality, but all ranging from good to very good. My favorite is Lights Out by Holly Black, featuring the Twelfth Doctor dealing with a teenage alien navigating the truth of their identity and past.