BOOK REVIEW: DOCTOR WHO – THE OFFICIAL QUIZ BOOK / AUTHOR: JACQUELINE RAYNER / PUBLISHER: BBC BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
If you want a Doctor Who quiz book, this is the one to look out for. It is an official BBC product and has been compiled by Jacqueline Rayner, who writes a regular column for Doctor Who Magazine and has also penned various books and audios.
The Official Quiz Book consists of 3,000 questions covering all aspects of the show, focused on the television episodes, not the plethora of books, audios or comics. Every episode has at least one associated question so there will be something for every single fan.
Questions are arranged by topics and include such delights as Initially (questions whose answer all begin with a specific letter), the companions of each Doctor, various monsters, behind the scenes questions, and Titles in Titles, where dialogue from pre-1996 Who is cited that includes the title of a post 2005 episode (and vice versa) – a fiendish idea that works well. Additionally, there is a whole host of other quiz staples such as anagrams, titles with missing vowels and everything in between. For each section there are 15 questions split into three sets of five: Jericho Street Junior (for casual fans), Coal Hill School (for more serious fans) and Time Lord Academy (you know who you are).
Quiz books are not for everybody, but there is plenty here for anyone looking to host a formal quiz on the Time Lord and all around him, and many Whovians will simply enjoy using this as a way of making new connections between elements of the show they love. Any fan picking up a copy will find much to engage their enthusiasm.
