The market for Doctor Who books is thriving and more titles appear every month than you can shake a sonic screwdriver at. Into what might be regarded as a rather crowded (time and) space, Justin Richards has put together one more, Time Lord Letters.
Justin Richards is no stranger to Doctor Who books, having written many books (fiction and non-fiction) and audiobooks for everyone from Virgin New Adventures, to BBC Books and Big Finish. Amongst his many roles he is Creative Consultant to BBC Books
Time Lord Letters is audacious in its simplicity; as the Doctor has wandered around the fourth dimension he has written various letters around the edges of his many adventures, or had letters written to him. These cover all series of the show and a whole host of moments from various end of story departures, notes to companions left behind (including, of course, Susan), complaints to various organisations and much more besides.
The structure is slightly ad hoc, no doubt to blend material from all fifty-plus years of the series, and to create interest to fans both new and old. Each letter is presented in one to three pages of material including a short synopsis of any relevant TV episodes and plenty of pictures. The overall effect is attractive and well thought out.
The letters themselves range from the amusing (the Third Doctor’s application for a UNIT pass), to the indignant (his time at the academy) to the emotional (the aforementioned letter to Susan)). The book as a whole is contains over 100 letters across its 256 well-presented pages. The best letter? For us, it’s the final one – no clues though, you’ll have to read it yourself to find out!
Destined for many a fan’s Christmas stocking, this is well worth a browse and deserves its place in any collection.
TIME LORD LETTERS (DOCTOR WHO) / AUTHOR: JUSTIN RICHARDS / PUBLISHER: BBC BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 24TH
