By Richard Dinnick

BBC Books, out now

A hardback compendium of short stories from the Doctor Who universe, but in a shift from the norm, it’s other characters taking centre stage.

In the opening introduction by Chancellor Drakirid, Historian to the Bureau of Ancient Records on Gallifrey, we’re warned that the following set of 14 tales might not be unequivocally true, and that a mysterious character frequently intercedes as a deus ex machina. And so writer Richard Dinnick sets the scene for this addictive collection of stories, all of which are based on ancient myths. So, it’s not just a case of playing Spot the Doctor or a game of Gallifreyan Where’s Wally?, but also recognising the timeless legends that have been given a Doctor Who twist.

Dinnick is writing the current run of Titan’s 12th Doctor Who comic books and really knows his stuff. In addition to the broad strokes that any aficionado would be expected to know, he sews little continuity references into the narrative; Easter eggs for the well-versed. I’m not tempted to go into the stories in great detail because at around 15-20 pages in length they are compact, self-contained little treats, and part of the fun is in not knowing which alien race or planet are involved, or indeed which incarnation of the Doctor will appear, if at all.

The author is very good at getting you into the heart of each story very quickly, while delivering just the right amount of context to set you running. I particularly enjoyed The Unwanted Gift of Prophecy – the tale of Lucy, a time traveller’s wife tasked with visiting her husband’s former selves. The Jeopardy of Solar Proximity features a female Ice Warrior and Daleks – it’s like one of those backup strips in early Doctor Who Weekly. And talking of illustrations, Adrian Salmon has illustrated the book with 28 line drawings of the iconic (and otherwise) monsters.

Verdict: Doctor Who is no stranger to using myths in its stories – The Mind Robber, The Time Monster, The Myth Makers and The Horns of Nimon immediately spring to mind – but here’s a very snackable bunch of yarns that you can dip into over a cup of coffee, or just binge the lot in true Nextflix style. A carnival of monsters from multiple eras, reenacting classic tales – this miniscope of myths is a delight. 8/10

Nick Joy

Click here to order Myths and Legends from Amazon.co.uk