12-xmass-1By Jacqueline Rayner, Colin Brake, Richard Dungworth, Mike Tucker, Gary Russell and Scott Handcock

Twelve festive tales of everyone’s favourite Time Lord…

Very much in the mould of the 12 Doctors, 12 Stories, and the Time Lord Fairytales, this is a fun collection of short Doctor Who tales, with each author providing two of them. They’re told in chronological order, but that doesn’t mean that each Doctor deals simply with their own period from the TV series – there’s more than one “crossing of the streams” in here (it’d be a real spoiler for the stories to say which), and classic Doctors meet new monsters (er… that sounds familiar…). A couple of the authors take the opportunity to fill in the gaps in Doctor Who continuity – long term fans can probably guess the name of at least one of those writers – while others tell completely standalone stories, whose only familiar points of reference are the Doctor and the TARDIS.

Quite a few companions turn up – Ian, Barbara, Vicki, Jamie, Zoe, Jo and Mike Yates are in the first three – and like the Doctors themselves, the characterisation is pretty much spot on. (There’s only one incarnation who feels more like a clichéd version of the character, and the writer on that more than makes up for it in their characterisation of the Doctor in their other story!) No Daleks or Cybermen – the familiar aliens are a little less well-used, and the new creations fit well in their eras.

Some of the tales are frantic adventures, feeling like they’re cramming more in than the page count allows; others are more meditative. It makes for a varied read – and a suitable stocking present for any Who fan, young or old.

Verdict: A Merry Christmas to all of you at home from the Doctors. 9/10

Paul Simpson

Click here to order 12 Doctors of Christmas from Amazon.co.uk