Doctor Who: City of Death
by Douglas Adams & James Goss (BBC Books, 2015)
Like Douglas Adams’ script before it, this posthumous collaboration appears to have been written somewhat hastily; while it does capture (and at times build upon) the splendour of the 1979 serial, this isn’t quite the much-pined-for novelisation that Gareth Roberts’ Shada was.
Doctor Who: Engines of War
by George Mann (BBC Books, 2014)
This readable (if unproofread), epically themed yet superficial bridging novel evokes something of the classic series four-parters. For all the promise the Time War offers, John Hurt’s so-called War Doctor for the most part could (and should) have been Paul McGann’s Eighth.
Nemesis of the Daleks (Doctor Who graphic novel #15)
(Panini, 2013) [Collecting comics from 1990]
For all that these comics are visually evocative and constitute an impressive editorial achievement when the strips could have been cut altogether, the stories themselves are mediocre, featuring (if at all) a companionless Seventh Doctor as either passive bystander or omnipotent wizard.
The Doctor: His Lives and Times
by James Goss & Steve Tribe (BBC Books, 2013)
This photograph-rich primer on Doctor Who comprises one-third a potpourri of reminiscences by cast and crew across fifty years (with crosspollination between classic and news series Who) padded unfortunately with an excruciating, nigh unreadable pastiche of ersatz news articles and faux memoire.
Doctor Who FAQ: All That’s Left to Know about the Most Famous Time Lord in the Universe
by Dave Thompson (Applause Theatre and Cinema, 2013)
First and only question: Why the misnomer? This hastily potted history-cum-personal reminiscence is memorable more for its recurrent vitriol against the 6th and 11th Doctors (a non-partisan non-appreciation of both Classic and New Who) than for hammering out mostly non-existent interrogation points.
The Man Who Invented the Daleks: The Strange Worlds of Terry Nation
by Alwyn W. Turner (Aurum, 2011)
Turner exhaustively researches Terry Nation’s life, shows how the Daleks developed both along- and inside British culture of the 60s and 70s, and contextualises the infamous pepperpots within the broader scope of Nation’s work, from which scrutiny their creator emerges somewhat diminished.
JN-T: The Life & Scandalous Times of John Nathan-Turner
by Richard Marson (Miwk, 2013)
Alternatively, “Over-promoted and over-promoting: John Nathan-Turner and the wretchedly flamboyant demise of Doctor Who.” Apologist Richard Marson argues the self-fulfilling tragedy of JNT’s being shackled to a programme he lacked the wherewithal to produce. An assiduously researched, disheartening exposé of 1980s Who.