jamietherebelliousreader's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars. I reviewed all eleven stories individually so this is going to be really long.
The First Doctor: A Big Hand for the Doctor by Eoin Colfer - ★★
This was fine. I liked the adventure but the character didn’t feel right and the pop culture references didn’t work as this is about the First Doctor but there was a mention of Hogwarts? It took me completely out of the story. Nothing special but I didn’t hate it. This definitely should’ve been a lot stronger to kick off the collection though.
The Second Doctor: The Nameless City by Michael Scott - ★★★
Very fun. I enjoyed this one a lot more. The Doctor and his companion, Jamie were charming and the adventure was fun. I wouldn’t have minded if this had been a little bit longer just to get more of it.
The Third Doctor: The Spear of Destiny by Marcus Sedgwick ★★★★
Really good story. Follows the Doctor and his companion, Jo, as they try to steal an artifact from a museum. It’s got some really cool action and the characters were great. My favorite one so far.
The Fourth Doctor: The Roots of Evil by Philip Reeve ★★★
Felt way too rushed. It was a fun read but I wanted more of it because the adventure that the Doctor and Leela go on is really interesting but it wraps up really quickly and felt kind of incomplete.
The Fifth Doctor: Tip of the Tongue by Patrick Ness ★★★★★
Loved this one a lot. The characters were great and though the Doctor doesn’t show up until late in the story I didn’t even mind that because the plot was so cool and the characters of Jonny, Nettie, and Nyssa were able to carry the story themselves. The writing was also really good.
The Sixth Doctor: Something Borrowed by Richelle Mead ★★★★
So great to read something by Richelle Mead. I adore her writing so much. This was fun but not enough of the Doctor’s personality got to shine here and the companion, Peri wasn’t the most interesting. Still a really fun adventure. I was just expecting more but it’s good for what it is.
The Seventh Doctor: The Ripple Effect by Malorie Blackman ★★★★★
This one might have been a bit too on the nose with the message but damn was it a good read. The Doctor and Ace were both great characters and I absolutely loved the plot. They have to go back and right the time paradox they go through where the Daleks are good and nice and loved. The Doctor faces his prejudices against them and it was all very well done. Loved the writing and I wish this had been a full length novel. So good.
The Eighth Doctor: Spore by Alex Scarrow ★★★★
Very action packed from beginning to end. Really good and I liked the writing. Felt a teeny bit rushed though and would’ve benefited greatly if it had been just a few pages longer. The plot was really cool though and I liked how it wrapped up.
The Ninth Doctor: The Beast of Babylon by Charlie Higson ★★★★
Very good and I absolutely adored the ending and how it sets up the introduction to Rose. The writing was good and the plot was fun. I will say that Ali was kind of annoying at times but not enough so for me to knock a star off of my rating. I have such a special place in my heart for the Ninth Doctor (played by the underrated Christopher Eccleston) as it was this revival series that got me into the show. This was just a good time all around.
The Tenth Doctor: The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage by Derek Landy ★★★★
Really enjoyed this one. Was surprised to see that the companion was Martha instead of Rose (because honestly who is more iconic than Tenth Doctor & Rose? That’s right, nobody) but I wasn’t mad about it at all. Martha was great. This was fun and had such a fairytale vibe to it which I really liked. This one also had some witty banter between the Doctor and Martha wich was great. Fun read.
The Eleventh Doctor: Nothing O’Clock by Neil Gaiman ★★★★★
I’m always blown away by Gaiman’s writing and this short story was no different. I love Amy and Rory and thought the plot was really unique. I think he really nailed the dynamics of all of the characters which I always appreciate. The ending was great as well. Just a really well done story but that might just be me being biased because Neil Gaiman is my favorite author but whatever.
Overall, this was a really entertaining collection of short stories. Not all of them worked but majority of them were awesome. My favorites were definitely the stories by Patrick Ness, Malorie Blackman, and Neil Gaiman.
The First Doctor: A Big Hand for the Doctor by Eoin Colfer - ★★
This was fine. I liked the adventure but the character didn’t feel right and the pop culture references didn’t work as this is about the First Doctor but there was a mention of Hogwarts? It took me completely out of the story. Nothing special but I didn’t hate it. This definitely should’ve been a lot stronger to kick off the collection though.
The Second Doctor: The Nameless City by Michael Scott - ★★★
Very fun. I enjoyed this one a lot more. The Doctor and his companion, Jamie were charming and the adventure was fun. I wouldn’t have minded if this had been a little bit longer just to get more of it.
The Third Doctor: The Spear of Destiny by Marcus Sedgwick ★★★★
Really good story. Follows the Doctor and his companion, Jo, as they try to steal an artifact from a museum. It’s got some really cool action and the characters were great. My favorite one so far.
The Fourth Doctor: The Roots of Evil by Philip Reeve ★★★
Felt way too rushed. It was a fun read but I wanted more of it because the adventure that the Doctor and Leela go on is really interesting but it wraps up really quickly and felt kind of incomplete.
The Fifth Doctor: Tip of the Tongue by Patrick Ness ★★★★★
Loved this one a lot. The characters were great and though the Doctor doesn’t show up until late in the story I didn’t even mind that because the plot was so cool and the characters of Jonny, Nettie, and Nyssa were able to carry the story themselves. The writing was also really good.
The Sixth Doctor: Something Borrowed by Richelle Mead ★★★★
So great to read something by Richelle Mead. I adore her writing so much. This was fun but not enough of the Doctor’s personality got to shine here and the companion, Peri wasn’t the most interesting. Still a really fun adventure. I was just expecting more but it’s good for what it is.
The Seventh Doctor: The Ripple Effect by Malorie Blackman ★★★★★
This one might have been a bit too on the nose with the message but damn was it a good read. The Doctor and Ace were both great characters and I absolutely loved the plot. They have to go back and right the time paradox they go through where the Daleks are good and nice and loved. The Doctor faces his prejudices against them and it was all very well done. Loved the writing and I wish this had been a full length novel. So good.
The Eighth Doctor: Spore by Alex Scarrow ★★★★
Very action packed from beginning to end. Really good and I liked the writing. Felt a teeny bit rushed though and would’ve benefited greatly if it had been just a few pages longer. The plot was really cool though and I liked how it wrapped up.
The Ninth Doctor: The Beast of Babylon by Charlie Higson ★★★★
Very good and I absolutely adored the ending and how it sets up the introduction to Rose. The writing was good and the plot was fun. I will say that Ali was kind of annoying at times but not enough so for me to knock a star off of my rating. I have such a special place in my heart for the Ninth Doctor (played by the underrated Christopher Eccleston) as it was this revival series that got me into the show. This was just a good time all around.
The Tenth Doctor: The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage by Derek Landy ★★★★
Really enjoyed this one. Was surprised to see that the companion was Martha instead of Rose (because honestly who is more iconic than Tenth Doctor & Rose? That’s right, nobody) but I wasn’t mad about it at all. Martha was great. This was fun and had such a fairytale vibe to it which I really liked. This one also had some witty banter between the Doctor and Martha wich was great. Fun read.
The Eleventh Doctor: Nothing O’Clock by Neil Gaiman ★★★★★
I’m always blown away by Gaiman’s writing and this short story was no different. I love Amy and Rory and thought the plot was really unique. I think he really nailed the dynamics of all of the characters which I always appreciate. The ending was great as well. Just a really well done story but that might just be me being biased because Neil Gaiman is my favorite author but whatever.
Overall, this was a really entertaining collection of short stories. Not all of them worked but majority of them were awesome. My favorites were definitely the stories by Patrick Ness, Malorie Blackman, and Neil Gaiman.
ingereyoung's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
terracottageek's review against another edition
2.0
Some of the stories just didn't feel like the characters I knew a loved.
somewheregirl7's review against another edition
4.0
For fans of Doctor Who this collection of eleven stories offers the perfect blend of excellent writers and excellent stories. Like most collections there are a few stories that lag behind the others a bit, but each is true to the doctor it features. If you love Doctor Who definitely give the stories a read.
thoroughlymodernreviewer's review against another edition
4.0
For the most part, this collection of short stories celebrating the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who was good. A few stories ended up being less good than others, but the good stories balanced out the not so good ones. But overall, it was really enjoyable having a collection of stories from each of the eleven Doctors, and each story is well crafted and easily read, so it ends up not really being a bad way to spend some time.
Personal highlights were:
A Big Hand for the Doctor by: Eoin Colfer
Nothing o' Clock by: Neil Gaiman
Personal highlights were:
A Big Hand for the Doctor by: Eoin Colfer
Nothing o' Clock by: Neil Gaiman
princessjulia's review against another edition
4.0
This was so much fun to read! My favourite stories were: The Fifth Doctor: Tip of the tongue, The Ninth Doctor: The Beast of the Babylon and The Eleventh Doctor: Nothing O'Clock. They were all pretty great though, honestly.
www.threebookbloggers.tumblr.com
www.threebookbloggers.tumblr.com
bookish_brooklyn's review against another edition
5.0
11 Doctors
11 Stories
1 Time Lord.
I thoroughly enjoyed this short story collection. Each author wrote each story well, and remained mostly canon to the series. Written for the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, this is a must read for all fellow Whovians.
11 Stories
1 Time Lord.
I thoroughly enjoyed this short story collection. Each author wrote each story well, and remained mostly canon to the series. Written for the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, this is a must read for all fellow Whovians.
ksd1441's review against another edition
4.0
Overall a 3.5 (rounded up). A fun collection of stories covering all the Doctors so far (excluding our upcoming Capaldi, though). The overall rating does not reflect every story, but I'll break those down in a minute. For someone who is new to the Whovian Universe, this may not be as exciting. I have not seen every episode that ever was, but I have seen a bit of each Doctor. And each author in this bunch does a different service to each of the Doctor's reincarnations. Some better than others.
1st Doctor (by Eoin Colfer) - 1 star. Meh. There were some interesting lines and the story itself had potential, but it really wasn't written like a Doctor Who story. It felt more like someone was given a summary and a small clip and they went from there.
2nd Doctor (by Michael Scott) - 2 stars. Scott was able to capture the attitude of the 2nd Doctor, but the story itself fell a little flat. Not a bad idea, just a little too much "getting there" and then the solution was one paragraph.
3rd Doctor (by Marcus Sedgwick) - 3 stars (there's a pattern setting up, huh?). 3rd Doctor may be my current least favorite version of the Time Lord, but this story was enjoyable. We get the right feel and an active companion and an interesting story. With the Doctor stranded on Earth during this life, there are still plenty of options for adventures. At least he didn't go too kung-fu.
4th Doctor (by Philip Reeve) - 4 stars (yup). For starters, I love Philip Reeve and Tom Baker is my favorite classic Doctor. The combination was great, and I thought the monster being a freakin' tree was creative, and only Reeve could pull that off. He got all the voices right and just the correct amount of action and "chatting. People are less likely to kill you if you stop and have a chat."
5th Doctor (by Patrick Ness) - 4 stars. Also really love Patrick Ness. I only recently found his Chaos Walking series, so I was excited to see his name on the list. 5th Doctor is okay. If you were to transfer this story to television, it would be a "Doctor Lite" episode. He's not in it for much, but we still get a wonderful story and something that would indeed transition well. Great.
6th Doctor (by Richelle Mead) - 3 stars. Richelle Mead in a Doctor Who collection? Really? Okay, um.. it was fine. It's the only story in this collection from the 1st person perspective of the companion (Peri). Even though we don't get a whole lot of Doctor in this story either, I do think she was able to capture 6's signature sass and dryness.
7th Doctor (by Malorie Blackman) - 3 stars. Fun story, and it has Ace! Ace is fun. This story had the more stubborn and darker side of the Doctor. 7 never seemed to have a distinct character like some of the others, so I can't say how accurate Blackman was, but it was a good story. It fit into the rhythm correctly, even if the solution was a tad confusing.
8th Doctor (by Alex Scarrow) - 4 stars. Never heard of Alex Scarrow, but 8 is one of my favorites despite his short tenure, and I think this story did him justice. We are companion-less, but with 8's in-your-face-fast-paced attitude, I can see him not having someone constantly like the others. Dark villain and not afraid to include death. Bit of an easy solution, but enjoyable. Yay 8.
9th Doctor (Charlie Higson) - 3 stars. My First Doctor, so this not being a 5-star quality story made me a bit sad, but it was good. This takes place in that "short" amount of time between the Doctor first leaving Rose and then coming back to add "Did I mention it travels in time?" There has been fan speculation online as to where he went then and how long he was indeed gone, and I think this is a great attempt at answering that. We see 9 getting into an adventure by mistake, as usual, and meeting an unusual one-time companion - who eventually convinces him to go back and ask Rose to join him again.
10th Doctor (by Derek Landy) - 5 STARS! This one was a smash. Landy was able to capture the essence of the show completely, and the voices of both 10 and Martha were absolutely perfect! I know some people may be going "Aww, Martha?" Shut UP. Martha is awesome. Anyway, great story and an interesting world to visit. Simply brilliant. Landy's Skullduggery Pleasant has been on my reading list for a while; thanks to this it has been bumped up.
11th Doctor (by Neil Gaiman) - 4 stars. Neil Gaiman! What's not to like! He could have botched it and I would have given it 4. But, of course, he didn't. Imaginative plot and villain, I got to have Amy again (no Rory :( sad face). The writing was terrific and a clever conclusion. Neil Gaiman pretty much is the 11th Doctor.
1st Doctor (by Eoin Colfer) - 1 star. Meh. There were some interesting lines and the story itself had potential, but it really wasn't written like a Doctor Who story. It felt more like someone was given a summary and a small clip and they went from there.
2nd Doctor (by Michael Scott) - 2 stars. Scott was able to capture the attitude of the 2nd Doctor, but the story itself fell a little flat. Not a bad idea, just a little too much "getting there" and then the solution was one paragraph.
3rd Doctor (by Marcus Sedgwick) - 3 stars (there's a pattern setting up, huh?). 3rd Doctor may be my current least favorite version of the Time Lord, but this story was enjoyable. We get the right feel and an active companion and an interesting story. With the Doctor stranded on Earth during this life, there are still plenty of options for adventures. At least he didn't go too kung-fu.
4th Doctor (by Philip Reeve) - 4 stars (yup). For starters, I love Philip Reeve and Tom Baker is my favorite classic Doctor. The combination was great, and I thought the monster being a freakin' tree was creative, and only Reeve could pull that off. He got all the voices right and just the correct amount of action and "chatting. People are less likely to kill you if you stop and have a chat."
5th Doctor (by Patrick Ness) - 4 stars. Also really love Patrick Ness. I only recently found his Chaos Walking series, so I was excited to see his name on the list. 5th Doctor is okay. If you were to transfer this story to television, it would be a "Doctor Lite" episode. He's not in it for much, but we still get a wonderful story and something that would indeed transition well. Great.
6th Doctor (by Richelle Mead) - 3 stars. Richelle Mead in a Doctor Who collection? Really? Okay, um.. it was fine. It's the only story in this collection from the 1st person perspective of the companion (Peri). Even though we don't get a whole lot of Doctor in this story either, I do think she was able to capture 6's signature sass and dryness.
7th Doctor (by Malorie Blackman) - 3 stars. Fun story, and it has Ace! Ace is fun. This story had the more stubborn and darker side of the Doctor. 7 never seemed to have a distinct character like some of the others, so I can't say how accurate Blackman was, but it was a good story. It fit into the rhythm correctly, even if the solution was a tad confusing.
8th Doctor (by Alex Scarrow) - 4 stars. Never heard of Alex Scarrow, but 8 is one of my favorites despite his short tenure, and I think this story did him justice. We are companion-less, but with 8's in-your-face-fast-paced attitude, I can see him not having someone constantly like the others. Dark villain and not afraid to include death. Bit of an easy solution, but enjoyable. Yay 8.
9th Doctor (Charlie Higson) - 3 stars. My First Doctor, so this not being a 5-star quality story made me a bit sad, but it was good. This takes place in that "short" amount of time between the Doctor first leaving Rose and then coming back to add "Did I mention it travels in time?" There has been fan speculation online as to where he went then and how long he was indeed gone, and I think this is a great attempt at answering that. We see 9 getting into an adventure by mistake, as usual, and meeting an unusual one-time companion - who eventually convinces him to go back and ask Rose to join him again.
10th Doctor (by Derek Landy) - 5 STARS! This one was a smash. Landy was able to capture the essence of the show completely, and the voices of both 10 and Martha were absolutely perfect! I know some people may be going "Aww, Martha?" Shut UP. Martha is awesome. Anyway, great story and an interesting world to visit. Simply brilliant. Landy's Skullduggery Pleasant has been on my reading list for a while; thanks to this it has been bumped up.
11th Doctor (by Neil Gaiman) - 4 stars. Neil Gaiman! What's not to like! He could have botched it and I would have given it 4. But, of course, he didn't. Imaginative plot and villain, I got to have Amy again (no Rory :( sad face). The writing was terrific and a clever conclusion. Neil Gaiman pretty much is the 11th Doctor.
adamdavidcollings's review against another edition
4.0
It's not easy to review or rate a collection of 11 stories, but let me say that my favorite stories were:
* The Second Doctor
* The Third Doctor
* The Fourth Doctor
* The Eight Doctor
* The Second Doctor
* The Third Doctor
* The Fourth Doctor
* The Eight Doctor
silkcaramel's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a treat to the fans of the show, written by authors who are clearly fans too. The characterization of the Doctor (in their 11 incarnations), companions and even the villains that we know from the show are spot on and even the new characters are written like they could easily belong on the show. Some of the short stories could be easily transformed into episodes for the TV series and it would be awsome to watch them. Since I bought this edition of the book right after the 50th anniversary, the short story for Capaldi's Doctor, 12th, wasn't in it, so I had to purchase it separatly and I was glad I did, because it was one of my favorites. Classic Who fans will be pleased to read the Classic Doctor's stories and find their old favorites in them, and some great characters from the Classic series that didn't make an appearance in New Who so far, like The Rani.
If you're a fan of Doctor Who, this is a must read.
If you're a fan of Doctor Who, this is a must read.