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A review by rebelbelle13
Doctor Who : Thirteen Doctors 13 Stories by Naomi Alderman
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.