Review of Canaries by OctaviaTheNerd
1 May 2024
This review contains spoilers
What if TLV is all just a ploy for the reintroduction of Faction Paradox into the Doctor Who universe. If that's the case I'm all for it. This is a fantastically written short story and makes me want to go out and purchase The Wintertime Paradox (also written by the same author). On numerous occasions reading this short story I screamed out loud with joy (much to the annoyance of my peers sat around me) in particular at these two lines: "Worn by a long-forgotten cult who worshipped impossibility and contradiction." and "‘Do you know what a paradox is?’"
These lines filled me with immense joy as I immediately knew they were talking about Faction Paradox. I shan't get into the nitty gritty of Faction Paradox but for those of you who don't know who they are essentially they are a time-travelling cult who worship paradoxes and try to create them as frequently as possible.
Dave Rudden does an extremely good job at weaving suspense and tension into this little package, from the constant calls by a scared Doctor warning our main character about the threats that the objects pose to the moment of the big reveal you are left on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next
Overall, one of the best Doctor Who related short stories I have read for a long, it's a credit to everyone who worked on it and to everyone who worked on TLV