Mark Stammers

This was undoubtedly groundbreaking in 1994 as the first professional Doctor Who short story collection. I would have read it in 1996 or 1997 as a teenager, and I don't have any recollection of it at all. That's not too surprising, because while the authors should be applauded for giving it a stab, and even throwing in two or three stories with pretty challenging approaches, it's just not terribly memorable overall - and the wraparound material isn't especially cohesive, either, which sinks show more it down even further. The best stories are Vanessa Bishop's "The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back" (Third Doctor) and Paul Cornell's "Lackaday Express" (Fifth Doctor), each of them probably representing the best traits of traditional and radical Who writing at the time. Jim Mortimore's "The Book of Shadows" (First Doctor) is worth a look, too, presaging a lot of his later experimental work. show less

5

Surprised this has so few reviews. Theoretically outdated now, given most of the information is online or on the new Blu-Ray sets, this is still an exquisite volume, bulging with facts and exquisite photographs. One can only imagine the excitement for fans of the time to track down such well-researched and detailed information.

6