Am I ready for today’s episode of Doctor Who? Absolutely. Am I prepared to lose David Tennant and the Fourteenth Doctor? Not at all. While I am thrilled and excited about Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor, I needed more time with Ten/Fourteen. I found this holiday anthology of stories with Ten and Fourteen and couldn’t pass up the read.
Synopsis:
Return to the incredible days of Ten this Christmas . . .For the Tenth Doctor, the festive season always brought adventure.In fact, he’s saved Christmas across space and time more times than we ever knew . . .Join the Doctor (and Donna and Martha and Rose, and other friends old and new) for incredible tales of daring and danger. From Daleks plotting to save humanity to Sycorax working to exploit it . . . from star-narwhals massing on the Moon to a toy factory in space.Because even in the jolliest of seasons there’s a world or two to save.
Review:
This was a fast and fun read! Throughout the collection, readers spend time with the Tenth Doctor, the Fourteenth Doctor, Rose, Martha, Donna, and UNIT in various festive and holiday settings. Like all anthologies, there were highs and lows in the collection. However, with this collection, the highs were very high, and the lows weren’t all that low. If you’re a fan of Doctor Who and looking for a holiday read, this collection is a great choice.
Several of the stories were absolutely excellent. “Saviour,” a Doctor Who spin on a vampire story, is my favorite of the bunch. Vampiric aliens are always a welcome surprise. “The Eternal Present,” a story featuring Ten and Rose and a Brazilian 1930s expedition, is also incredible. “Dark Waters” is especially lovely as Jackson Lake, a Tenth Doctor holiday special favorite, returns. “The Big Store” is a fun and somewhat wacky android/toy story, and it genuinely made me giggle.
Although Ten Days of Christmas is published by BBC Children’s Books, it’s a great read for adults, young adults, and older youth. It’s not oversimplified at all and does not read like a children’s book.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars for the book as a whole. 5/5 stars for the stories “Saviour,” “The Eternal Present,” “The Big Store,” “Under Control,” and “Into Control.”
Leave a Reply