fieldofhats 's review for:

Doctor Who: The Ruby's Curse by Alex Kingston

3.0

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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I love River. She’s one of my favorite characters in Doctor Who, and when I found out about this book I knew I needed to read it. One thing I hated about the eleventh Doctor’s era is what they did to River — her plotline in series 6 was convoluted, forced, and at times painful to watch. All mystery, all agency, and all wonder of her character was stripped away from her during A Good Man Goes to War. From that point on, her entire character was defined either by the Doctor or Amy, she wasn’t allowed to be her own person.

This book allows her to be her own person. She takes her story into her hands and creates a narrative unique to her. This book is the best thing to happen to River as a character. The Doctor, Amy, and Rory are less than side characters — which is such a good move. Alex Kingston even manages to stay within the canon storyline while still being independent, which is a feat in and of itself.

So, why only three stars? The hardboiled, depression-era detective milieu is not my preferred vibe at all. I hate it, in fact. I’m not sure why, it’s just not something I like reading. I loved the bits when River was in Stormcage

and I thought the plot where she went inside her own story was very interesting,

but I had an extremely hard time getting into both mysteries, but especially Melody Malone’s.

This is a fun book for fans of Doctor Who, but only if you like mystery novels and the hardboiled milieu. Even if you’re indifferent about that style, you’ll probably enjoy this book.