By Cavan Scott

BBC Books, out now

Deep down in Boggle Woods, something is stirring. Mysterious Shining Men are appearing across the country, but which ones are real and which are wannabe fame hunters? And when mum Sammy Holland is snatched away from her children to another dimension, it clearly is a case for a mad man with a box and his new student. 

Doctor Who‘s Season 10 TV adventures launch to the accompaniment of a trio of hardback fiction originals, giving us the opportunity for further adventures with the winning dynamic of the Doctor and Bill. As with the first televised tales for the 2017 season, one’s in the past (Jonathan Morris’ Plague City), one’s in the future (Mike Tucker’s Diamond Dogs) and let’s put the spotlight on Cavan Scott’s contemporary tale, The Shining Man.

For those following the Ninth Doctor’s ongoing comic book adventures, Scott is a name that you’re already familiar with, and you’ll probably know his co-written Doctor Who Comics Event, Supremacy of the Cybermen. As he ably demonstrated in his Wit, Wisdom and Timey-Wimey Stuff (co-written by Mark Wright), Cavan knows his Doctor Who lore, and by the time you hit the final chapter of his first full-length hardback tale about our favourite Time Lord, you’ll appreciate his understanding of folklore too.

There’s a moment in the opening chapters where the TARDIS is under attack and Bill has to rescue a first edition of Little Miss Sunshine versus the Sulky Skarasen from the time and space machine’s library shelf, which neatly reciprocates the Doctor’s recent arrival in the world of Roger Hargreaves. It’s little touches like this, and even a cheeky reference to a Ghost duvet cover (the superhero from last Christmas’ The Return of Doctor Mysterio) that give a little wink to the readers, who are likely to be in the target range of young adults right up to seasoned Target book veterans. Surely Mr Marter is a nod to Ian Marter, 70s action man Harry Sullivan?

References to Smile and Thin Ice set the story in the early stages of Season 10, clearly before the relevance of the mysterious vault has been revealed. I always have great respect for a writer who is expected to recreate an established character on the page before they’ve actually been properly seen. Scott actually thanks Edward Russell in the acknowledgments at the back for “…a sneak peak of Bill on screen”, meaning that he had this, early scripts and Friend from the Future to go on. To his credit, he writes Bill as Pearl Mackie, and it’s easy to hear her East London patois wrapping round his dialogue. There’s also less of the curious Bill we’ve seen at the stat of the season, who keeps throwing big questions at her university tutor. Scott’s Bill is more self-confident, prepared to play her own proactive role in the story.

Writing for Peter Capaldi’s Doctor is possibly easier, with two seasons and three Christmas Specials to scrutinise, and again the author has recognised that it’s not just about throwing Scottish jokes into the mix and grumbling in a curmudgeonly fashion. The 12th Doctor has not only mellowed for this season, he finally feels comfortable in his shell after a season of ‘Am I a good man?’, some reckless abandon in year two and recovering from his 24-year farewell night with River Song. The Doctor, as written by Scott, is straight in to the adventure, brandishing psychic paper and Sonic screwdriver as the plot demands it. There’s precious little time focusing on what he TARDIS is/does or what role our hero fulfils – this is a book written for fans of the show who just want to pick it up as an extension of the brand and get right into the action.

I’m tempted to say little more about the plot as it takes the Doctor and Bill deep into the woods, shifting genre and expectations. It rattles along nicely with frequent chapter points, mini cliffhangers and plot reveals to sustain the 250 pages. The supporting cast boast a strong raft of female characters, from investigative reporter to police detective to mum, gran and daughter. And by the time the Doctor is split up from Bill as they fulfil their own respective roles in bringing the story to a close, you feel these these new ladies are more than just supporting the main duo.

Verdict: Any book with a chapter title of SPLINK (it’s a Jon Pertwee road safety reference) should bring a smile to your face, and there’s certainly much to enjoy in this diversion into folklore by way of Labyrinth. With modern references to boost its immediacy (the perils of social media and the cost of going viral) this is also an old-fashioned fairy tale.    7/10

Nick Joy

Click here to order The Shining Man from Amazon.co.uk