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A review by starryworlds
Doctor Who: 12 Doctors, 12 Stories by Eoin Colfer, Charlie Higson, Richelle Mead, Alex Scarrow, Derek Landy, Holly Black, Philip Reeve, Patrick Ness, Marcus Sedgwick, Neil Gaiman, Michael Scott, Malorie Blackman
5.0
I have enjoyed reading all these short stories. They were exhausting to read with jumping to different voices of the Doctor but it was a fun read. Also I was a bit disappointed that there isn't a story in this book that featured the War Doctor. This review will be long as I am going to review each story separately.
The First Doctor: A Big Hand for the Doctor.
4 stars.
Having only seen two serials from the first Doctor era, I thought I was going to struggle capturing the voice of the 1st Doctor but I didn't which I am glad for. I enjoyed this short story that consisted of soul pirates and only had the one companion, Susan. This short story was filled with action and weirdness in that he has to rely on a bio-hybrid hand that isn't a proper hand and this adds a comical element to the beginning of the story.
The Second Doctor: The Nameless City.
5 stars.
This story was enjoyable throughout and explores the question of what if the Time Lords didn't create the idea of TARDISes, what if it was a different alien lifeform and I feel like the 2nd Doctor was the best Doctor to explore this question.
The Third Doctor: The Spear of Destiny.
5 stars.
The third Doctor is one of my favourite Doctors and I have enjoyed all of his serials and this short story also included a similar pattern to the TV show serials in the way that UNIT is involved in the story. I enjoyed the way that it has included a lot of history with norse Gods but within this story the author put them as people living in tribes, which was really interesting for me.
The Fourth Doctor: The Roots of Evil.
5 stars.
The fourth Doctor is also one of my favourite Doctors and Philip Reeve has captured the fourth Doctors voice perfectly and it has sarcastic humour at the beginning when he lands on this planet where the inhabitants want to kill him.
The fifth Doctor: Tip of the Tongue.
3 stars.
This short story was my least favourite out of the 12 stories, which kind of worries me since he is the showrunner of the spin off show Class. Anyway back to the short story, it got a bit confusing due to the way that it swapped perspectives every few pages and at the end of the story it gave me a headache. Also the storyline didn't really grab my attention to the full focus of the story therefore I didn't pay full attention while I was reading it but I enjoyed the end of the story.
The Sixth Doctor: Something Borrowed.
4.5 stars.
I really enjoyed this short story which grabbed my attention straight away due to the flying lizards and I wanted to find out who was responsible for doing that. I have to admit this is the first story I have read of Doctor Who that is in 1st person and I actually quite enjoyed seeing it from Peri's perspective alone.
The Seventh Doctor: The Ripple Effect.
4.5 stars.
I really enjoyed the concept of this story as it explores a race of good Daleks which was actually worrying for me because for ten pages I kept thinking that the Daleks were planning something evil against the children.
The Eighth Doctor: Spore.
5 stars.
Even though I haven't watched the movie or the short clips with the eighth Doctor (only YouTube clips), I really enjoyed this story which features an alien virus that has a simplistic intelligence like a computer. I feel like there should be a TV show for the eighth Doctor that shows more of his adventures.
The Ninth Doctor: The Beast of Babylon.
5 stars.
I really enjoyed the fact that this short story features what happened after Rose Tyler said no the first time he asked her to travel with him and I always thought that he would have gone on adventures and this story explores it perfectly.
The Tenth Doctor: The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage.
4.5 stars.
The Tenth Doctor is also one of my favourite Doctors and this story explores fictional stories being in a different universe to some degree as in this case, it was a lifeform that was bringing people's imagination alive, which made it an interesting story and I feel like it should be explored more in the TV show.
The Eleventh Doctor: Nothing O'clock.
4.5 stars.
This story surprised me a little bit due to the fact that in other books, I can never capture the eleventh Doctor's voice but in this story I can capture his voice perfectly which could be to do with the writer of the story, Neil Gaiman. Anyway, I really enjoyed this story due to it exploring what could be in the prisons on Gallifrey.
The twelfth Doctor: Lights Out.
4.5 stars.
This story also surprised me because I can't capture 12's voice in other books but I could for this one. I just want to say want to say that I really want Holly Black to be a writer on the Doctor Who TV show. Also she has done something in a short story which Moffat has never done for the twelfth Doctor. Anyway I really enjoyed the way she explored fear of darkness within this story and how one person's life can be effected with this fear.
The First Doctor: A Big Hand for the Doctor.
4 stars.
Having only seen two serials from the first Doctor era, I thought I was going to struggle capturing the voice of the 1st Doctor but I didn't which I am glad for. I enjoyed this short story that consisted of soul pirates and only had the one companion, Susan. This short story was filled with action and weirdness in that he has to rely on a bio-hybrid hand that isn't a proper hand and this adds a comical element to the beginning of the story.
The Second Doctor: The Nameless City.
5 stars.
This story was enjoyable throughout and explores the question of what if the Time Lords didn't create the idea of TARDISes, what if it was a different alien lifeform and I feel like the 2nd Doctor was the best Doctor to explore this question.
The Third Doctor: The Spear of Destiny.
5 stars.
The third Doctor is one of my favourite Doctors and I have enjoyed all of his serials and this short story also included a similar pattern to the TV show serials in the way that UNIT is involved in the story. I enjoyed the way that it has included a lot of history with norse Gods but within this story the author put them as people living in tribes, which was really interesting for me.
The Fourth Doctor: The Roots of Evil.
5 stars.
The fourth Doctor is also one of my favourite Doctors and Philip Reeve has captured the fourth Doctors voice perfectly and it has sarcastic humour at the beginning when he lands on this planet where the inhabitants want to kill him.
The fifth Doctor: Tip of the Tongue.
3 stars.
This short story was my least favourite out of the 12 stories, which kind of worries me since he is the showrunner of the spin off show Class. Anyway back to the short story, it got a bit confusing due to the way that it swapped perspectives every few pages and at the end of the story it gave me a headache. Also the storyline didn't really grab my attention to the full focus of the story therefore I didn't pay full attention while I was reading it but I enjoyed the end of the story.
The Sixth Doctor: Something Borrowed.
4.5 stars.
I really enjoyed this short story which grabbed my attention straight away due to the flying lizards and I wanted to find out who was responsible for doing that. I have to admit this is the first story I have read of Doctor Who that is in 1st person and I actually quite enjoyed seeing it from Peri's perspective alone.
The Seventh Doctor: The Ripple Effect.
4.5 stars.
I really enjoyed the concept of this story as it explores a race of good Daleks which was actually worrying for me because for ten pages I kept thinking that the Daleks were planning something evil against the children.
The Eighth Doctor: Spore.
5 stars.
Even though I haven't watched the movie or the short clips with the eighth Doctor (only YouTube clips), I really enjoyed this story which features an alien virus that has a simplistic intelligence like a computer. I feel like there should be a TV show for the eighth Doctor that shows more of his adventures.
The Ninth Doctor: The Beast of Babylon.
5 stars.
I really enjoyed the fact that this short story features what happened after Rose Tyler said no the first time he asked her to travel with him and I always thought that he would have gone on adventures and this story explores it perfectly.
The Tenth Doctor: The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage.
4.5 stars.
The Tenth Doctor is also one of my favourite Doctors and this story explores fictional stories being in a different universe to some degree as in this case, it was a lifeform that was bringing people's imagination alive, which made it an interesting story and I feel like it should be explored more in the TV show.
The Eleventh Doctor: Nothing O'clock.
4.5 stars.
This story surprised me a little bit due to the fact that in other books, I can never capture the eleventh Doctor's voice but in this story I can capture his voice perfectly which could be to do with the writer of the story, Neil Gaiman. Anyway, I really enjoyed this story due to it exploring what could be in the prisons on Gallifrey.
The twelfth Doctor: Lights Out.
4.5 stars.
This story also surprised me because I can't capture 12's voice in other books but I could for this one. I just want to say want to say that I really want Holly Black to be a writer on the Doctor Who TV show. Also she has done something in a short story which Moffat has never done for the twelfth Doctor. Anyway I really enjoyed the way she explored fear of darkness within this story and how one person's life can be effected with this fear.