Steven Moffats second story of the RTD2 era is a banger, it may not be his best Christmas special let alone story but it sure is a hell of a good one to go out on, there are issues with this but Moffat nails 15s characterization , you can also tell that Ncuti is really in his stride here , like damn he’s good, he really feels like the doctor (not that he didn’t before) it really felt that Moffat was going for a mix of 7 and 12 here (more 7) and I really liked that, the use of a bootstrap paradox to show a year of the doctors life passing, joy becoming a star, one made of the hearts of life to bring joy and peace to earth, was absolutely beautiful, it’s a banging start for Season 2 of this era and with that fantastic trailer, I can only look forward for what’s more to come!

Well to start off I should say that my experience with this novel was weird, unfortunately due to getting busy I read this novel over a scattered period of days which led the narrative flow of the book not being as smooth for me as well as me not being able to remember many plot points at times, however I will say, character/prose wise this was amazing, it’s definitely Cornell’s worst of the 3 NAs he’s done so far but that’s not fair to say when his other 2 were my top 2 of the range, no future is still great, letting us feel bad for the monk, satisfyingly wrapping up the Alt universe cycle (although the books plot feels a bit all over the place) as well as emotionally wrapping up all the character arcs of the last few books letting our tardis team finally be happy, finally be able to accept eachother , ace is able to manipulate the doctor beat him at his game, the doctor goes from warrior to healer and he accepts ace has grown and is different, they embrace eachother and their future relationships, Benny also comes to terms with both of them, she can’t and won’t leave the doctor. And I can’t wait to see this new friendlier dynamic explored.

“'It's only the same as your TARDIS!

'How do you know about that?'

Mel thought for a moment. 'Sorry,' he said finally. 'Continuity error. You never did tell me that, did you?' This is getting just a little out of hand, I think.

Best to end it all now.”

This novel was fantastic, I love the style in which it’s told, through the master of the land of fiction, the prose and creative use of narration in this book make it one of the most enjoyable intriguing NAs so far, arguably the most fun I’ve had reading a virgin new adventure, when the twist was finally hit that the crew were in the land of fiction I was genuinely shocked! The meta stuff was great, I’m not sure how to explain what I mean by that but take one look at the quote above and you can kind of tell, this story was crazy and when they do meta stuff well it just works , and Steve Lyons gets it, I’m sorry if I’m repeating myself but the plot and the medium through which the plot is told is just brilliant , it’s not a super emotional book, there are some good character moments (and some bad but we’ll get into that in a minute) but you’re more so reading this book for a whacky mystery novel that’s quite brutal at times. The bad parts however come from the characterization of ace, I think there are some good scenes between her, Benny and the doctor (together and separately) however at times ace just acts extra cruel for no reason and kind of out of character, though I like how we really get to see into the relationship between her and the doctor, as well as Benny and the doctor, I’m ready for them to start healing their relationships than their relationships constantly being shattered over and over, and I hope no future as I’ve been told by others starts to let them heal and make them feel like friends or at least pals again. Overall great book! Can’t wait for Lyons next novel and sequel, Head Games!

Easily the best of the alternate universe cycle so far, Kate orman makes her doctor who novel debut and comes in with a BANG, if this is supposedly her worst book I look forward to see how her future books are like, this book is a bit rough around the edges with the flow of the prose sometimes being a bit jump starty and perspectives changing to quick with no indicator as to when it occurred (this could also be a PDF error but I don’t think so) and if this is fixed I cannot wait to see ormans more character oriented stories (The room with no doors….) as the character stuff is amazing here, we get a really nice look and introspective into the status-quo of each of the tardis team and their relationships with each other, the trust between the doctor and ace is deteriorating rapidly and Benny is stuck in the middle of that unsure if she should leave, but can she leave the doctor and ace on their own? Ace feels connected to the doctor, like they’re one in the same but their actions and personalities differ so much to the point it causes strife between them, Benny puts it well when she says “'I guess you can't stuff three personalities this strong into a phone booth and not have some conflict.” The dynamic between the three of them is great and while I like the fact that these issues have been addressed in a clearer way than any other book with this trio so far has, I would 1) like to see more of Benny as much as she’s a player in this one I still feel that she’s sidelined compared to ace, and 2) is like to see a conclusion to this, we don’t need to solve the doctor and aces complex love for eachother yet but I’d like to see them come to some sort of getting along (similar to how they all were at the beggining of shadowmind) so the team doesn’t feel as toxic, or if not at least expand on it more like this novel… overall this is great, a great plot, setting and character work from orman. Can’t wait to read more!

This book is kinda weird to me, it feels like a nothing burger, it’s not a boring book but at the same time does nothing interesting, Aces rising tension with the doctor and her trying to figure him out are cool and Benny wanting to leave due to rising tensions between ace, 7 and even herself at points are nice, there are a few cool scenes scattered throughout (specifically the bar scene with 7 in the Q4) But other than that this book just kinda feels lackluster and forgetable, I don’t see myself really looking back on this book or remembering much from it in the next few weeks let alone when I’m done with the NAs

Iceberg while definitely a step down from birthright is still a pretty neat story, Banks gets the cybermen in ways that not many other writers do, the doctor only really shows up halfway into the book but Ruby and the rest of the cast are interesting enough to warrant the first half a decent read, the vivid gory imagery presented in this book is everything you’d want out of a cyberman story and while it’s not the best thing ever, it’s still an enjoyable book albeit it one I won’t remmeber much about by the time I post this review , the cyberman lore stuff was a bit confusing timeline wise as I haven’t read banks book on it (not that you need to) but it didn’t take away anything from the story for me, Ruby and the doctor are really great together and it’s honestly sad that she ended up not being able to travel with him , the idea of the dehumanization is used brilliantly here but in a way which almost makes the cybermen sound right? It’s weird, not their facist views but more the idea that survival is needed, no matter the cost and humans are heading in the same direction, but yeah overall its just okay, a fun cyberman romp which offers some cool quotes!

“Alone with his choice, the Doctor began to reprogram the console.

You win this round, whoever you are, he thought. But watch the shadows.

And don’t slip for a moment. Because when you do, I’ll be there, and I’ll bring you to book. For Earth. For the children.

He touched the function execute switch.”

Wow what a book, mortimore goes to some extremely dark places and really does an in-depth look into the concept of war through the eyes of not only the innocents but also Both sides, the parallels between chtall and the brigadier are brilliant the conflicting ideas of war and peace between the hardcore UNIT people and the doctor/Morka are also great, mortimore also puts Jo and Benton through hell, and the twist at the end, the doctor making the choice to end the alternate timeline by time ram… puts a nail on the coffin, the doctor is mad now, whoever this mysterious villain is has completely shattered the barely healing bond between ace and the doctor as well as forced his hand to do something terrible, and the doctor is out for revenge, it’s some great set up as well as just a great story in general, while I’m a bit upset Benny wasn’t used more (she feels like, except for the last chapter, more of a second violent ace with the scenes on the submarine) and it’s getting to the point now where I can’t make excuses for authors not knowing how to characterize Benny or use her as we’re now 10 books in with her! That being said this story is still fun regardless, some parts were hard to visualize but other than that it was brilliant, the character stuff with Benny, ace and 7 in the epilogue being my favorite part!

This story was pretty good , from the shocking death of the doctor and Helen being wiped from existence to the strange reveal of the companion of the story being MR James, it’s a rollercoaster of a ride that feels like shada for some reason (university setting probably) with professor Snape from Harry Potter as the antagonist with its own unique big finish twist, while I did enjoy the story I kind of wish this episode focused a bit more on Helen and her grandfather, I know we got a focal Helen story in what lies inside with albies Angels but I really wanted to explore more of her family history and how that affects Helen as a character. Liv was great in this story she shows a real streak of independence here earning the standout character for this story. As we near the point where she will leave the doctor and Helen I wonder how they will all say goodbye. Overall this story is a fun time bending and shocking adventure, I’d put it at about equal to the last story (bird song) it’s fun! And a pretty decent one.

This is an interesting story, an interesting mystery makes this a fun and at times a bit creepy as we don’t know who to trust. The cast is brilliant as always . This story gives Helen some good characterization, and as the next story is likely to focus on her even more I’m excited to see how this set continues to develop her, her being able to have such a healthy relationship with liv that even though they disagree they can still make up easily and talk past their differences is really nice to see. This story also really suggests that we’re gonna be having solo Helen and 8 adventures once Liv leaves and I’m excited to see how Helen fairs as in this story it’s explicitly said that she kinda relies on liv as an emotional rock , she’s glad she’s there and as much as she loves the doctor she needs liv to really ground it all (that was my interpretation at least). The plot twist in my opinion is alright, I certainly didn’t see it coming but the flipping of Myra isn’t real too the real bex was alive in the ship felt kinda quick paced.

finally, the final scene showing bexs death as liv and Helen sing the birdsong is beautiful , I think the doctor using the sound of the birds to signify that the planet is safe is really sweet too, overall fun story! Nothing amazing but certainly a fun story with a fun team