The Nor’ Loch is being filled in. If you ask the soldiers there, they’ll tell you it’s a stinking cesspool that the city can do without. But that doesn’t explain why the workers won’t go near the place without an armed guard, nor why they whisper stories about the loch giving up its dead, about the minister who walked into his church twelve years after he died. It doesn’t explain why, as they work, they whisper about a man called the Doctor. And about the many hands of Alexander Monro.
Despite being a big fan of the TV series, this was the first Doctor Who book that I had tried. The format is a little smaller than most books, which made it really nice to hold and read.. especially in the bath! It also allows for the story to be fast paced, so that it feels like a TV episode.
This one was based on the 10th Doctor and Martha – The Doctor’s character is well written, which makes it very easy to picture him whilst reading (always a pleasure!), but I did feel that Martha wasn’t captured quite as well.
The actual storyline was actually like many of the TV episodes.. it could have been quite silly, and yet somehow, it works. I don’t know which age groups this book is aimed at, but younger readers may find this one a little frightening.
All in all, if this one is anything to go by, these books are great for fans, offering yet more time with The Doctor. I’ve already spotted some more I’d like to pick up!
BBC Books April 2008 £6.99 from Random House
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