By Russell T Davies, illustrated by Robert Hack

BBC Books

Rose is the story that brought Doctor Who back for the 21st century, and Russell T Davies’s novelisation – based on his script – is rereleased in hardback, illustrated by Robert Hack.

What a lovely edition, deliberately released on the day of Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary. Rose introduced us to the first Russell T Davies era of the show on 26 March 2005, the writer and show runner then novelised it as a Target paperback in April 2018. You can read my review here.  At the time, I said ‘As playful and easy-to-follow as you’d hope, Davies is having a ball creating another version of Rose….’, and this remains unchanged.

So, is it worth the upgrade? Absolutely. As with his illustrations for the hardback release of David Whitaker’s Doctor Who and the Daleks, Robert Hack’s colour illustrations add a new dimension to the prose. Sometimes a detail within a page, other times an entire page or a double-page spread, the colourful images pop off the page. I particularly enjoyed Clive’s Shed of Secrets which has pictures of the Doctor’s past adventures, and there’s a spectacular space battle scene.

Verdict: If you haven’t treated yourself to a book yet to mark the diamond anniversary, this is glorious addition to your Doctor Who bookcase/shelf/TARDIS-shaped cabinet. One of the best Target novelisations just got better. 10/10

Nick Joy

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