By James Goss, Cavan Scott, Paul Magrs, Peter Anghelides, Jacqueline Rayner and Richard Dinnick

BBC Books, out February 22

Missy, the female incarnation of the Master, is showcased in six very different short stories, proving that she’s as lethal and bonkers off-screen as in her televised adventures.

Released to tie in with International Women’s Day, what’s immediately refreshing is that this book does not come with an overt in-your-face feminist agenda, it just tells half a dozen tales of Michelle Gomez’s version of the Master, with each of the authors finding a particular angle or nuance from what we’ve seen on TV, and creating their own extension. I immediately took to the character when she was still known as Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere, and it wasn’t until the end of Dark Water that it was revealed who exactly she was. For me, it wasn’t because she was a woman, it was because she was well-written and performed with a razor-sharp wit and terrifying ferocity.

While I’m not convinced Missy is a positive role model for either gender, she certainly is a strong female character as evidenced in first tale Dismemberment by Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen’s James Goss, where she responds to the sexism in her exclusive London club, that seems to have no issue with tyrants but draws the line at… gulp!… women! As you’d anticipate, this is a fire and brimstone Old Testament Missy who makes her point demonstrably.

In Lords and Masters by Cavan Scott, she is stranded when the Gallifreyan High Council severs her TARDIS’s link to the Eye of Harmony, sending her off on a mission to stop time experiments because the Doctor is unavailable. Teddy Sparkles Must Die! by Paul Magrs has some children suspicious of their new Mary Poppins-like governess… for good reason.

Peter Anghelides’ The Liar, The Glitch and the War Zone crashes Missy’s TARDIS into St Mark’s Basilica in contemporary Venice, pursued by Gryphon warriors in this fun, time-hopping caper. Girl Power! by Jacqueline Rayner is a high concept idea, being a series of correspondence between Nardole and the Doctor, relaying Missy’s requests for various items to keep her occupied during her isolation in the vault prison.

In the final story, Richard Dinnick’s Alit in Underland, we’re in the timeframe of The Doctor Falls, seen through the eyes of child Alit who becomes involved in the Master and Missy’s journey through the ship, while trying to avert a plan by the Cybermen to disease the homestead where Nardole and Hazran’s community are fighting to survive.

Who aficionados will enjoy the Easter eggs for fans across the collection – mentions of Skarasens, Shada and Tharils – and Missyphiles will be delighted to see that her toxic brooch, gravity-defying parasol, sonic gadgetry and Tissue Compression Eliminator are all used.

Verdict: It isn’t difficult to ‘say something nice’ about this fun volume. These sort of collections can be a bit hit or Missy, but in the capable hands of six seasoned Doctor Who authors, the Time Lord/Lady (do we need to make a distinction now?) returns for a welcome and fun book of bad deeds and witty asides. 8/10

Nick Joy