British Author Challenge November 2025: Doctor Who & Related Series

The very first episode of Doctor Who was broadcast at 17:16:20 GMT on 23 November 1963. The story of an alien travelling through time in a blue box was originally intended as an educational program for family viewing; the series has been embraced by people of all ages and become one of the most successful science-fiction shows in history, inspiring several spin-offs and a massive multimedia franchise.

There are countless tie-in novels, novelizations, and comics in the Doctor Who universe, so it can be daunting for newcomers. My advice is to just pick a book that sounds interesting and dive in; the books tend to be stand-alones and can be enjoyed with little knowledge of the show.

Selected Series & Works
Doctor Who {non-TV} (This is a master series from which you can find all the subseries.)
Doctor Who: Target Novelisations
Doctor Who: Fourth Doctor Adventures
Doctor Who: Eighth Doctor Adventures
Doctor Who: New Series Adventures
Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor comics
Doctor Who: Past Doctor Adventure series
Bernice Summerfield New Adventures
Bernice Summerfield: Big Finish Novels
Torchwood Novels
Torchwood: The Official Comic
Titan's Torchwood
The Sarah Jane Adventures
Class
K-9 and Company by Terence Dudley
Scratchman by Tom Baker
Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen by Douglas Adams
The Drosten's Curse by A. L. Kennedy
The Coming of the Terraphiles by Michael Moorcock

Also see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Novels_based_on_Doctor_Who

If I can get it from my local library, I am going to read Doctor Who: Volume 1, Fugitive by Tony Lee for this challenge. Volume 1 sounded like a good place to start since I have little knowledge of the good doctor.

>2 alcottacre: A Tenth Doctor book! He's my favorite!

My experience of the comics is that they stand alone even more than novels, so I think they'd be fine for someone who isn't very familiar with the Doctor.

OMGGGGG I love Doctor Who! I didn't know they made books :o

Back in 2014, I started reading Running through Corridors by Robert Shearman which is about a marathon watch of early Doctor Who. I started watching the episodes on the side though many weren't available. This time I'm jumping through time and will go for Running through Corridors 2 which features their marathon watch of the 1970s shows.

>4 louisisaloafofbreb: According to Wikipedia there have been Doctor Who books since 1964—so almost as long as there's been a show!

There are also a lot of audio dramas available. The publisher, Big Finish, releases a free episode from one of their serials each month and it's regularly a Doctor Who story; this month's is available for about another day. https://www.bigfinish.com/offers/v/halloween25 Code word is HORROR

>6 amanda4242: Oh wow! That's a fact I didn't know

>5 avatiakh: Sounds like a fun project and a fun read!

>7 louisisaloafofbreb: Glad you got to learn something new today! :)

You're local library may have some DW books and comics, and there are tons of them on Internet Archive.

https://archive.org/search?query=doctor+who&page=4&and%5B%5D=mediatype%3...

>3 amanda4242: Great! Thanks, Amanda!

I have so many Doctor Who books over the years - mainly of the first four incarnations and the Target Novelisations.

I have a couple on the shelves that I know that I haven't read and most of my old books were lost to me when I went off to Malaysia and my then-girlfriend sold them all in a fit of pique.

I bought Doctor Who: Stones of Blood by David Fisher today and I will read it over the weekend.

>11 PaulCranswick: Curses on your ex-girlfriend! May she never find a parking space! May her umbrella never open in the rain! May she always get the shopping cart with the wonky wheel!

Doctor Who: Rose by Russell T. Davies

"Rose" was the very first Doctor Who episode I saw, so I thought it appropriate that the novelization should be the first book I read for this month's challenge.

This is the introduction of the Ninth Doctor and his new companion, nineteen year old shop girl Rose Tyler. Obviously the plot of the novelization is the same as that of the episode, but, being unconstrained by time limits and budgets, Davies took the opportunity to give characters proper backstories, expand a bit on the Auton invasion, and add little touches both from past episodes and from those which aired in the dozen or so years between "Rose" airing and the book being written.

Doctor Who: Rose is a great example of how to write a novelization and an all around joy to read.

I wish I could say that I thought a lot of Doctor Who, Volume 1: Fugitive but I cannot say that I was all that impressed. For a graphic novel, I did not care overmuch for the artwork. I enjoyed the storyline of the first part of the book but did not care for the second part of the book as much. I gave it 3.5 stars.

>14 alcottacre: The artwork for the comics can be...less than stellar. Sorry it wasn't a better read!

Big Finish's free audio episode this month is a Doctor Who title, featuring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor. https://www.bigfinish.com/offers/v/causeway?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium... Code word is COPENHAGEN

>15 amanda4242: "Less than stellar" certainly covers it, lol.

I don't think I'm going to get through Running through Corridors vol. 2 this month as I need to watch some Dr Who episodes along the way and that slows down all my reading.

E-book deal: Humble Bundle has a bundle of Doctor Who comics available for the next 18 days. The 4 item bundle is $1, the 19 item is $10, and the 65 item is $25. All books are DRM free.

Doctor Who Megabundle link

The December thread is up!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/375679