Doctor Who books!

2458 Views 14 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Alessandra Kelley, Mar 8, 2014

balaspa

Discussion Starter · Feb 2, 2013

OK, I have been a fan of the Doctor and, of course, I watch the show on BBC America. I also watched the classic shows on PBS when I was younger.

Suddenly, I have rediscovered the books. I just downloaded and read a 2nd Doctor novel that was written by a modern author called The Wheel of Ice and got it on Kindle. I just downloaded an 8th Doctor novel for Kindle, ordered two used paperback version featuring the 8th Doctor and got a CD with a BBC radio play featuring him.

All of a sudden I am a kid again, obsessed and reading every Doctor Who book I can find - and still irritated that they are considered "kids" books.

So, please, tell me I am not the only person on here who reads them and combs the Amazon Kindle store in hopes of finding more!

1 - 15 of 15 Posts

mom133d (aka Liz)

· #2 · Feb 3, 2013

BBC and Penguin are releasing a short story each month devoted to each Doctor. The first was written by Eoin Colfer. Wasn't too bad but I didn't think he captured the grouchiness.

Keep scrolling through the list, you'll also find new adventures and a bunch of re-issues of the Target novelizations of the early episodes.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=doctor+who

CoraBuhlert

· #3 · Feb 3, 2013

There used to be a bunch of classic (mainly from the 1990s) Doctor Who e-books available for free on the BBC website, but they seem to be gone now. A pity, because some of them were quite good.

Carrie Rubin

· #4 · Feb 3, 2013

Can anyone tell me if these books are appropriate for a young adolescent to read (12-13 years old)? My son loves the TV show, and I bet he'd love the books, too.

mom133d (aka Liz)

· #5 · Feb 3, 2013

Carrie Rubin said:
Can anyone tell me if these books are appropriate for a young adolescent to read (12-13 years old)? My son loves the TV show, and I bet he'd love the books, too.

Everything I've read so far would be. Neil Gaiman and Terrence Dicks have both written memories of reading the books when they were young boys. Since the BBC also considers Doctor Who as a family show, I'd be disappointed if the books weren't appropriate for children.

Carrie Rubin

· #6 · Feb 3, 2013

mom133d (aka Liz) said:
Everything I've read so far would be. Neil Gaiman and Terrence Dicks have both written memories of reading the books when they were young boys. Since the BBC also considers Doctor Who as a family show, I'd be disappointed if the books weren't appropriate for children.

Thanks so much for the info. My son has a birthday coming up, and these books would be a great gift. I'll look into them.

Ann in Arlington

· #7 · Feb 4, 2013

I've read a bunch of DOCTOR WHO books and they've all been completely kid friendly.

CoraBuhlert

· #8 · Feb 4, 2013

The Doctor Who books published alongside the new series are definitely appropriate for younger readers, as are the Doctor Who novelisations published by UK company Target in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of the old Target novelisations (which were direct adaptions of TV episodes) have been republished as far as I know. So if you stick to the new BBC books or old Target books, there shouldn't be a problem.

However, I'd be a bit careful about the so-called New Adventures and Missing Adventures published first by Virgin Books and then by the BBC from approx. 1990 on up to the start of the new series in 2005. Those books were generally aimed at a slightly older readership, since Doctor Who was off the air and not gaining as many new young fans. Many of those New and Missing Adventures are okay for younger readers, but some are darker and also more violent than what you'd find in either version of the TV series.

As long as you stick to Doctor Who novels featuring Doctors Nine, Ten and Eleven a.k.a. Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith, you should be okay. And since your son is a fan of the new series, those are the Doctors he'll be familiar with anyway.

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Libby13

· #9 · Feb 4, 2013

I feel so silly, I had no idea there were books!

Carrie Rubin

· #10 · Feb 5, 2013

CoraBuhlert said:
The Doctor Who books published alongside the new series are definitely appropriate for younger readers, as are the Doctor Who novelisations published by UK company Target in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of the old Target novelisations (which were direct adaptions of TV episodes) have been republished as far as I know. So if you stick to the new BBC books or old Target books, there shouldn't be a problem.

However, I'd be a bit careful about the so-called New Adventures and Missing Adventures published first by Virgin Books and then by the BBC from approx. 1990 on up to the start of the new series in 2005. Those books were generally aimed at a slightly older readership, since Doctor Who was off the air and not gaining as many new young fans. Many of those New and Missing Adventures are okay for younger readers, but some are darker and also more violent than what you'd find in either version of the TV series.

As long as you stick to Doctor Who novels featuring Doctors Nine, Ten and Eleven a.k.a. Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith, you should be okay. And since your son is a fan of the new series, those are the Doctors he'll be familiar with anyway.

Thank you so much for this info. I printed out your comment so I'll have it for a reference when I shop for his birthday presents. Really appreciate you taking the time.

Debbie Bennett

· #11 · Feb 7, 2013

Lots of non-fiction DR Who stuff at www.telos.co.uk - they use US distributors too, so may well be available in US shops.

Leanne King

· #12 · Feb 8, 2013

Dont forget the audio books from Big Finish as well, although those are all pre-revival Doctors.

tensen

· #13 · Feb 14, 2013

Has anyone seen or read the Melody Malone book?

I heard they made the book describe in the episode The Angels Take Manhattan as an actual book, but I don't know who wrote it or remember what the title was in the episode.

Ann in Arlington

· #14 · Feb 14, 2013

tensen said:
Has anyone seen or read the Melody Malone book?

I heard they made the book describe in the episode The Angels Take Manhattan as an actual book, but I don't know who wrote it or remember what the title was in the episode.

I did. . . it's not bad. . .

It mostly features River Song -- as Melody Malone -- and has the flavor of a noir PI novel -- but with the element of the Weeping Angels. Really, though, neither The Doctor nor Amy nor Rory appear. I enjoyed it . . . enough that I'd probably pick up another. It was fairly short.

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Alessandra Kelley

· #15 · Mar 8, 2014

I have read a random assortment of Dr. Who novels over the years. One I remember enjoying even more than the episode was Castrovala, a fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) novel.

The episode itself was fun, but the novel had all sorts of extra touches, references to M.C. Escher and the like, that made it one of the niftier Old Who novels to read.

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