If you like Doctor Who, you'll like this annual

Once again, the BBC have put together an excellent Doctor Who annual for all television fans of the programme, young and old. Gracing the front cover is the Doctor and the Red Dalek Supreme and Davros on the back cover, all on a silver foil backing which makes the annual 'stand out' amongst the rest!
Readers of BBC's Doctor Who Adventures comic will instantly recognise the format inside the annual. Every page is covered with facts and features on Series Four and readers are re-introduced to Donna, Martha, Sarah Jane, Rose and Jenny, as well as the Ood, Adipose, Master, Hath, Sontarans and, of course, Davros and his Daleks. With a mix of text story, comic strips and puzzles, this annual is a worthy accompaniment to the Doctor Who StorybookDoctor Who Storybook 2009 (Dr Who).

honesty and insight from the legendary Russell T Davies

How does a creative person actually write? I doubt whether the question has ever been answered with such honesty and detail as in this marvellous journal. Ben Cook's questions are probing and serious, and Russell's answers carefully considered and ruthlessly honest - and of course, leavened with unlikely humour. I could not imagine a better primer for any young aspiring screenwriter. Yes, there's a bit of sex in it - but that's life, isn't it?

lost in escher

following on from the talking book doctor who: pest control, which had david tennant reading an original doctor who story and doing lots of different character voices, it's now catherine tate's turn to do one.

like pest control, this is spread over two discs, each running for roughly one hour and ten minutes. there are no episode breaks in the middle of these discs, although there are chapters for ease of access, so essentially this is in two long episodes. the first does end on a cliffhanger.

the story involves the doctor and donna getting stuck in the edifice, a huge apartment block come space station. the place has dissolved into chaos as all the other residents, including some highly unusual aliens, are fighting amongst each other. can the doctor and donna find who runs the place and save the day?

catherine tate has an excellent reading voice and is good to listen to. she does a very good impression of david tennant as the doctor, and there was one point early on when I forgot it wasn't him speaking. she also does voices for many other characters. some of the male ones are a bit obvious but some of the alien ones are very imaginatives and work very well.

the story scores over pest control in that it's a bit more imaginative, both in the unique setting and the highly unusual aliens the doctor and donna meet on their way.

this possibly would be even stronger a piece of work if it was shorter, but that's a minor complaint as it's both an entertaining doctor who story and an enjoyable listen, thanks to the writer and the reader

An enjoyable collection of Doctor Who stories

The Doctor Who Storybook from Panini Books is good value for money. There are seven text stories and one comic strip, all illustrated in full colour by different artists. With stories written from some of the television series writers, the Doctor and Donna have been captured perfectly and it is easy to imagine the characters enacting the parts described in the text. This book comes highly recommended and is a suitable companion to the Doctor Who AnnualThe Official"Doctor Who" Annual ("Doctor Who").

Masterfully written `military' Doctor Who story

Barcode: 9781405678193

Throughout Doctor Who's history `military' stories have cropped up many times. The classic situation being the Doctor and his companion finding themselves in the middle of a conflict between two factions. It's his inquisitiveness and dislike of violence put up against the brash actions of the military forces that make for such powerful storytelling and with `Pest Control', writer Peter Anghelides shows how this concept works just as well on audio.

Take the recent series 4 of Doctor Who for example - In that alone you had the Sontaran two-parter as well as the Doctor's Daughter - both encompassing strong military themes. Thus, `Pest Control' fits very well into the overall feel of series, also in the way it encompasses the grander scale and darker feel of that series. What you immediately notice though is that within the audio format, there is complete freedom to create wondrous worlds and alien races without limitations of budget and this really shows here, the story having an epic feel to it.

Things kick off with the Doctor and Donna landing on a desolate, war-torn planet, caught in a conflict between the centaur-like Aquabi and the human soldiers, the insectoid Serfians being introduced shortly later. The human soldiers are the key focus here, ranging from the down-to-earth grunts, a sneaky reporter type, an uncaring leader and downright sinister medical advisor. Each is explored in fascinating detail, tempers obviously reaching fever point as differing attitudes bounce off each other. Donna herself even gets conscripted up into the armed forces!

On the whole, this is quite a gritty story, featuring themes of racism, descriptions of injuries (neck broken, limbs almost severed), a pretty high death toll and plenty of destruction on a large scale. Another important theme picked up on by the Doctor himself is the very best and very worst that humans can showcase and this idea becomes in many ways the crux of this story.

Of course, as Doctor Who always does so well, this grim backdrop is perfectly balanced against lovely little dashes of lightness with loads of great comedy moments from the Doctor and Donna featuring in this story along with some quaint references to Star Trek and Harry Potter too. It's also interesting to note that that the two actually spend most of this story apart (a good two-thirds at least). This works to the story's strength though, allowing the characters to play to their own personal strengths and really shine.

Another important part of Doctor Who is its absorbance of various influences and working them into new, exciting visions. In `Pest Control' there's a whole host of touchstones, ranging from previous elements of the show itself (there's even a giant robot in this story) to classic sci-fi films like Aliens in the way the insectoid aliens burst out from the unwitting human hosts as well as the clear conflict within the human military itself.

This story flows really well, hooking you right from the start and is excellently paced. Maybe because it was written specifically for audio, this story feels cinematic by the and before long you've reached the terrifying track 11 of part 2, kickstarting an awesome finale.

In terms of production, David Tennant as an absolute joy to listen to as he narrates, conveying the Doctor just as well as he does on TV as well as supplying us with voices for a whole host of memorable supporting characters. There's also lots of nice atmospheric backing music and little touches of sound effects that just really bring out the realism in this story like the scary hisses and clicks of the Serfians.

So, all in all, whether you're a long time fan of Doctor Who or if this is your first taste of the show's audio range, you're in for a real treat with this story!

The Doctor trap made my head spin

"The Doctor Trap" is one of the first Doctor Who novels to feature Donna as the Doctor's companion. Though, through the first half of the book she isn't very present, as the Doctor and her get seperated on the first pages.
Sebastiene, the ruler of his own planet, has set out to hunt the doctor down and kill him. Therefor he brought a couple of hunters to Planet 1, all infamous for wiping out rare species. He even created a Doctor-double, made from the Doctor's"biggest fan", Baris. The Doctor manages to swap places with Baris, though and now has not only to rescue Donna, but also get back his TARDIS and escape from the planet.

When I read the book description, I was afraid this could be a second"Last Dodo", another Doctor Who novel where he is hunted for being the last of his kind. But"The Doctor Trap" certainly does not imitate that one. It is faster and more exciting. Again the Doctor and his companion are very well written (including some small banters the way I liked them on the TV series). Plus, I really had to use my brains at one point - the"Doctor Trap" and it's explanation (or the explanation Sebastien though it had), made my head spin. So confusing.
A really good read I'd certainly recommend to Doctor/Donna friends.

High-octane spaceship and robot fuelled action in a distant galaxy

Barcode: 9781846075575

`Shining Darkness' presents Doctor Who at it's most `sci-fi', right from the start plunging us into a galaxy far removed from our own. The central theme of this book revolves around robots - or `mechanicals' as they are also known in this book - presenting on one hand the obvious typical sci-fi techy stuff involving them, while equally developing a strong moral message which becomes the backbone to this story.

With the Doctor and Donna separated early on, we follow two groups - one of them strongly anti-machines, the other group opposed to them trying to uncover their sinister plan and stop them. It's not long before we are swept off into a frantic planet-hopping scramble as the classic `collecting all the pieces of an artefact' storyline is expanded into an epic scale.

With it's various planets and spaceship chases/battles, this book has the feel of a Hollywood action thriller, a full on space opera that moves along at a fantastic pace. One thing that is so good about the Doctor Who novels is that they are free from the budget constraints of the TV show and this is no better demonstrated than here, especially in the epic finale.

The Doctor and Donna are excellently characterised, free from the overuse of personality cliché's copied from TV series that sometimes afflicts the New Series Adventures books. That said, this book isn't entirely free of cliché's as the `comedy robot duo' archetype crops up halfway through the book. The majority of the book's various protagonists are interesting and well-developed though and all in all, everything in this book comes together fantastically - definitely worth a read if you are a Who fan.

FANTASIC

This book is packed with information and definetly worth the price. A must-have for only £14.99!!! You can get it for £3.99 delivered...somewhere...

Doctor Who Goodness!

This item is LOADS of fun! You work through the 4 3D models through the colourful and helpful instruction booklet. The first model you make is K-9 and I was soooo excited when I finished him - he looks GREAT!! The TARDIS and Cybermen head are fantastic also, with the Dalek being equally as great.

I'd recommend this to older"kids" but once made, the models can be given to children. The instructions are clear and the finished projects are just GREAT!!!

One of the better ones!!

I've read a few doctor who books now and have tended to be dissapointed with the ending or the 'monster', however, this one is fabulous. it keeps you gripped throughout the whole book. you also have two stories running along side each other as the doctor and martha are seperated and martha gets into serious trouble and you actually feel relief when the doctor inadvertanly finds her and their two stories join.

the descriptions are so good and the 'hands' are very creepy, especially as it describes marthas thoughts as shes trapped in pitch black knowing they are somewhere in the room.

all in all a much better one than some of the others, and the doctor and marthas characters are very well written from the actors in series 3, in the way they speak and their relationship - even making reference to Rose at one point when the doctor makes a life altering decision!!

fast paced and keeps you glued!! ****