Review: Doctor Who: Twelve Angels Weeping by Dave Rudden

I always like looking for seasonal books, no matter the time of the year. I picked up this book this past summer knowing I would keep it for Christmastime. Having just read it, I can say it was a great find!

This book collects twelve short stories set in the Doctor Who universe. Please note the distinction: set in the Doctor Who universe, but NOT necessarily Doctor Who stories. That’s probably the most refreshing part – as much as I love reading stories with the Doctor (and there are a few in here where he is a main character, including a great and always welcome Doctor/Amy/Rory story), he is not always present, with a cameo in some stories and just a reference in some others. The focus of these stories are the villains, all of which are counted down (12 Angels, 11 Cybermen, etc.) until we get to one (the Master). Sometimes being the focus means existing in the white space (hello, the Silence!), but these are definitely more villain stories than Doctor stories.

Just like the Doctor, Christmas is treated the same way. I can only think of one story that was set on actual Christmas (and maybe two that were set in a planet’s Christmas analogue), but sometimes the connection is as brief as a passing mention like “lit up like Christmas lights”. While this could be a problem for those expecting straight-forward Christmas stories, it does give the author much more space to play in.

And play he does! If there had been no author information available I would have expected that this was a compilation by different writers. Each story is uniquely approached. As mentioned before, there is a straightforward Doctor/Rory story that reads like a shorter version of a normal Doctor Who novel…but also an “Ocean’s Eleven”-type caper that moves backwards and forwards in time…and also the complete recording a Sontaran would hear from the time it is born through the time it is landing on a planet ready to fight (note: not a long time)…and also an audio diary transcription from someone being influenced by the Silence.

Speaking of which, while the Angels and the Silence are probably the two best recent Doctor Who villains on the show (aside from whatever was attacking the shuttle in “Midnight”), the Silence story was the winner here – they come off just as scary on the page as they do in the show! Much props to Stephen Moffett – that dude could write some great Doctor Who stories (except for season finales).

Anyway, this is a great seasonal pickup for Doctor Who fans. There have only been a few Doctor Who books that I’ve read that I’ve put on the “exalted” shelf, and all of them were by Simon Messingham. But this one joins it – nine out of ten hot dogs!

Now I’ve got to buy the Halloween book before October!