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Doctor Who: New Series Adventures #Special 3
DOCTOR WHO: DARK HORIZONS
From popular author Jenny Colgan, a thrilling new adventure in which the latest Doctor battles Vikings, chess and an unstoppable fire....
On a windswept northern shore, the islanders believe the worst they have to fear is a Viking attack. Then the burning comes. Water will not stop it. It consumes everything in its path - yet the burned still speak.
The Doctor encounters a people under attack from a power they cannot possibly understand. They have no weapons, no strategy and no protectin against a fire sent to engulf them all. The islanders must take on a ruthless alien force in a world without technology; but at least they have the Doctor on their side... Don't they?
On a windswept northern shore, the islanders believe the worst they have to fear is a Viking attack. Then the burning comes. Water will not stop it. It consumes everything in its path - yet the burned still speak.
The Doctor encounters a people under attack from a power they cannot possibly understand. They have no weapons, no strategy and no protectin against a fire sent to engulf them all. The islanders must take on a ruthless alien force in a world without technology; but at least they have the Doctor on their side... Don't they?
309 pages, Paperback
First published July 5, 2012
24 people are currently reading
2244 people want to read
About the author
Jenny T. Colgan
29 books94 followersJenny T. Colgan is a pseudonym of author Jenny Colgan.
Jenny Colgan is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including 'The Little Shop of Happy Ever After' and 'Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery', which are also published by Sphere.' Meet Me at the Cupcake Café' won the 2012 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, as was 'Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams', which won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2013.
Under her Jenny T. Colgan pseudonym, she is a writer of romantic comedy fiction and science-fiction, and has written for the Doctor Who line of stories.
She also uses the pseudonyms Jane Beaton and J.T. Colgan
Jenny Colgan is the author of numerous bestselling novels, including 'The Little Shop of Happy Ever After' and 'Summer at the Little Beach Street Bakery', which are also published by Sphere.' Meet Me at the Cupcake Café' won the 2012 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance and was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, as was 'Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams', which won the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year Award 2013.
Under her Jenny T. Colgan pseudonym, she is a writer of romantic comedy fiction and science-fiction, and has written for the Doctor Who line of stories.
She also uses the pseudonyms Jane Beaton and J.T. Colgan
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
September 6, 2013
Based on the character of the 11th Doctor as played by Matt Smith, Jenny T Colgan has brought the Time Lord to life in this well-written, authentic and tightly-paced historical science fiction story.
On a Viking ship headed to Iceland, Henrik - a farm boy given the chance to fulfil his dream of being a Viking warrior - helps guard their most precious cargo: Freydis, daughter of the Duke of Trondheim, who has sent her off to marry the King of Iceland, Gissar Polvaderson. Gissar is old, fat and extremely ugly, and Freydis is not going quietly. But suddenly, she is the least of any Viking's worries: when within sight of land - a weather-exposed Scottish island - a great tentacle of fire bursts from the sea and sets the ship alight. Men fall overboard and are quickly caught by the flames before they hit the water. Utter destruction seems imminent, and only Henrik remembers to release Freydis from her locked storage closet.
On the island, the Doctor has arrived by TARDIS and made his way to the small village near the coast, which is deserted. Everyone has rushed down to the beach to watch the Viking ship approach, bringing their deadliest enemies with it. When the inexplicable fire reaches out like an arm to the ship, no one is moved to help - except the Doctor.
Bringing the poor singed survivors to the hostile islanders, the Doctor encourages everyone to get along while he promises to help them solve the mystery and get rid of the threat. But this is no ordinary fire, and it has a purpose, a desperate, desperate purpose. Can the Doctor figure it out and solve it before more lives are lost?
While I grew up watching Doctor Who on the telly - the ABC used to show it every weekday at 6pm during the season, back in the day when a single storyline took 6 half-hour episodes to tell - this is the first time I've read any Doctor Who fanfiction. (I'm not, in fact, a reader of fanfiction in general, and don't seek it out.) Nevertheless, I was excited to have the chance to try it, and while it was both better than I'd expected and also not quite as good as I would have liked, it was certainly hugely entertaining.
Fans of the contemporary Doctor Who series will surely recognise the eleventh Doctor; Colgan has done a superb job of capturing the nuances and body language, the quiet loneliness tinged with hopeful sadness, the vague dithering punctuated by moments of piercing clarity, the classic eccentricities that mark all the incarnations of the Doctor: fripperies of attire, for example, and a preference for hot tea or some similar foodstuff. The character of the Doctor comes across at once as approachable and knowable, and yet also utterly alien. She was able to bring the reader as close to him as you possibly can, while still retaining that sense of mystery and higher thought, of the gulf of utter loneliness - all of which is made more tangible if you come with some prior understanding of the Doctor's character. Colgan does not expound on a lot of backstory. Alongside his more melancholy side is his trademark humour, which Colgan captures perfectly:
True also to the formula, while the Doctor arrives on the island alone, he manages to acquire a couple of temporary assistants: Henrik and Freydis. These two have their own side story going, with a backstory about Henrik surviving a plunge under the ice as a boy and becoming the Miracle Boy who came back to life. Freydis is arrogant and superior with a firm belief in the Gods' plans for her; she matures considerably over the course of the book, and a romance - of the tender, innocent variety Doctor Who is known for - blossoms between them.
The actual plot is interesting and with such high stakes - people die in this story - there's considerable tension. The truth of the fire is intriguing and a problem not easily solved, and you're never really sure what the Doctor is doing or thinking until the last moment.
While Colgan shows an ability to write good, well-researched historical fiction and brings to life the community, culture and individuals of the period and setting, the pace did at times become a little slow - little lulls before the storm, so to speak. I didn't mind except that when the pace drops, so does the momentum. There were several facets to the story: Vikings, more Vikings, Henrik's story, Freydis' coming-of-age, the chief's son Eoric, villagers Brogan and her partner, Braan, the fire, and little Luag, the chief's other son, who is adorably sweet. There's plenty going on here, and yet it did lose some oomph somewhere around the halfway-to-three-quarters mark. I was surprised at the number of typos and other glitches in the text - including a sentence that abruptly ends before it's finished - but these don't detract from the strength of the story. The ending was good, and overall Dark Horizons was an entertaining, thoughtful, satisfying and mostly exciting novel that successfully brought to life the eleventh Doctor.
My thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book via TLC Book Tours.
On a Viking ship headed to Iceland, Henrik - a farm boy given the chance to fulfil his dream of being a Viking warrior - helps guard their most precious cargo: Freydis, daughter of the Duke of Trondheim, who has sent her off to marry the King of Iceland, Gissar Polvaderson. Gissar is old, fat and extremely ugly, and Freydis is not going quietly. But suddenly, she is the least of any Viking's worries: when within sight of land - a weather-exposed Scottish island - a great tentacle of fire bursts from the sea and sets the ship alight. Men fall overboard and are quickly caught by the flames before they hit the water. Utter destruction seems imminent, and only Henrik remembers to release Freydis from her locked storage closet.
On the island, the Doctor has arrived by TARDIS and made his way to the small village near the coast, which is deserted. Everyone has rushed down to the beach to watch the Viking ship approach, bringing their deadliest enemies with it. When the inexplicable fire reaches out like an arm to the ship, no one is moved to help - except the Doctor.
Bringing the poor singed survivors to the hostile islanders, the Doctor encourages everyone to get along while he promises to help them solve the mystery and get rid of the threat. But this is no ordinary fire, and it has a purpose, a desperate, desperate purpose. Can the Doctor figure it out and solve it before more lives are lost?
While I grew up watching Doctor Who on the telly - the ABC used to show it every weekday at 6pm during the season, back in the day when a single storyline took 6 half-hour episodes to tell - this is the first time I've read any Doctor Who fanfiction. (I'm not, in fact, a reader of fanfiction in general, and don't seek it out.) Nevertheless, I was excited to have the chance to try it, and while it was both better than I'd expected and also not quite as good as I would have liked, it was certainly hugely entertaining.
Fans of the contemporary Doctor Who series will surely recognise the eleventh Doctor; Colgan has done a superb job of capturing the nuances and body language, the quiet loneliness tinged with hopeful sadness, the vague dithering punctuated by moments of piercing clarity, the classic eccentricities that mark all the incarnations of the Doctor: fripperies of attire, for example, and a preference for hot tea or some similar foodstuff. The character of the Doctor comes across at once as approachable and knowable, and yet also utterly alien. She was able to bring the reader as close to him as you possibly can, while still retaining that sense of mystery and higher thought, of the gulf of utter loneliness - all of which is made more tangible if you come with some prior understanding of the Doctor's character. Colgan does not expound on a lot of backstory. Alongside his more melancholy side is his trademark humour, which Colgan captures perfectly:
Two men brought forward Corc's boat. It was incredibly small, made of tightly stitched animal skins stretched taut over a frame of bowed wood, with two light paddles. It didn't look seaworthy for a Sunday duck pond, never mind the wild North Atlantic.
The Doctor coughed politely. 'Well! Isn't she just lovely! Great!'
He took the boat from the men with thanks. It hardly weighed anything.
'OK, let me just go... with this boat... and sort everything out... Who needs a TARDIS, I am perfectly happy not bothering the local ecosystem and causing mass panic... perfectly.'
He reached the water's edge, took off his shoes and dipped in a toe.
'It is rather parky, isn't it? I remember this from yesterday.'
He put the boat down on the bobbing waves. It immediately capsized.
'Ha! So funny when they do that, isn't it.' [p.79]
True also to the formula, while the Doctor arrives on the island alone, he manages to acquire a couple of temporary assistants: Henrik and Freydis. These two have their own side story going, with a backstory about Henrik surviving a plunge under the ice as a boy and becoming the Miracle Boy who came back to life. Freydis is arrogant and superior with a firm belief in the Gods' plans for her; she matures considerably over the course of the book, and a romance - of the tender, innocent variety Doctor Who is known for - blossoms between them.
The actual plot is interesting and with such high stakes - people die in this story - there's considerable tension. The truth of the fire is intriguing and a problem not easily solved, and you're never really sure what the Doctor is doing or thinking until the last moment.
While Colgan shows an ability to write good, well-researched historical fiction and brings to life the community, culture and individuals of the period and setting, the pace did at times become a little slow - little lulls before the storm, so to speak. I didn't mind except that when the pace drops, so does the momentum. There were several facets to the story: Vikings, more Vikings, Henrik's story, Freydis' coming-of-age, the chief's son Eoric, villagers Brogan and her partner, Braan, the fire, and little Luag, the chief's other son, who is adorably sweet. There's plenty going on here, and yet it did lose some oomph somewhere around the halfway-to-three-quarters mark. I was surprised at the number of typos and other glitches in the text - including a sentence that abruptly ends before it's finished - but these don't detract from the strength of the story. The ending was good, and overall Dark Horizons was an entertaining, thoughtful, satisfying and mostly exciting novel that successfully brought to life the eleventh Doctor.
My thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book via TLC Book Tours.
September 10, 2013
This began as a decent pulp fiction Doctor Who yarn marred by some odd literary discontinuities. However as I read on it became one of those books that you consider tossing aside even though you're just 50 pages from the end.
As for the discontinuities ... the Doctor tells the men of the first viking ship that they have to -leave- their capsized boat and swim under water to shore, but then they keep coming up for air under the boat as they swim to shore. Later, on the second viking ship, the princess can't find a suitable piece of wood to fasten the scrap of metal onto and then in the next paragraph she's fastening the scrap to a "stout piece of wood".
It's as though during editing paragraphs were cut out and these discontinuities went undetected.
Yet not enough of the story ended up on the cutting floor. This isn't Steinbeck, it's British pulp fiction. But as I read the book I became convinced that it was simply too long. It is as though it were written in the shorter, paperback Doctor Who format and then inflated 50%. That inflation does not help the story keep a reader engaged. The cast of support characters in particular becomes crowded, boring, and poorly realized.
Bottom line, I finished the book but wouldn't recommend it to other Whovians. It has some decent ideas, and would have made a good short story or graphic novel, but at 310 pages ... it's simply 100-150 pages too long.
As for the discontinuities ... the Doctor tells the men of the first viking ship that they have to -leave- their capsized boat and swim under water to shore, but then they keep coming up for air under the boat as they swim to shore. Later, on the second viking ship, the princess can't find a suitable piece of wood to fasten the scrap of metal onto and then in the next paragraph she's fastening the scrap to a "stout piece of wood".
It's as though during editing paragraphs were cut out and these discontinuities went undetected.
Yet not enough of the story ended up on the cutting floor. This isn't Steinbeck, it's British pulp fiction. But as I read the book I became convinced that it was simply too long. It is as though it were written in the shorter, paperback Doctor Who format and then inflated 50%. That inflation does not help the story keep a reader engaged. The cast of support characters in particular becomes crowded, boring, and poorly realized.
Bottom line, I finished the book but wouldn't recommend it to other Whovians. It has some decent ideas, and would have made a good short story or graphic novel, but at 310 pages ... it's simply 100-150 pages too long.
October 30, 2015
basically your repetitive doctor who story.
November 12, 2013
I was so excited going into this novel. The synopsis said amazing things about the Doctor meeting Vikings, and computer based aliens being caught in the wrong time. There was mention of Norse Gods and adventure. Over all, it sounded exactly like the kind of book I wanted to read.
Unfortunately I was let down. Not only was the plot weak, but so were the characters, including the Doctor himself. The Doctor didn't even sound like the Doctor throughout most of the book. There would be the odd line where I found myself thinking, 'Yea, I can hear him saying that,' but otherwise every single thing that came out of his mouth or went through his mind made me cringe.
The other characters weren't given much personality, and those who were I found very annoying. Freydis, for example, was the most whiny, pretentious little witch I have ever read. Her voice gave me a pounding headache every time she was written on a page.
Speaking of Freydis, that was another issue that I had with this book. I understand it is written in a different time period, and a different part of the world, but the names were impossible to wrap my head around. I found myself constantly confused when names would be mentioned, as I was unable to remember which characters had what significance due to them all bleeding into one another in my mind. This was also partially due to the fact that the author attempted to write sections from almost every character's point of view. This not only made the story more difficult to follow, but it made the character voices get lost within the writing. Every character sounded almost the same on the page, which made them difficult to tell apart, yet again.
Over all I was very disappointed by this book, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone wanting to read a Doctor Who novel. There are much better ones out there than this.
Unfortunately I was let down. Not only was the plot weak, but so were the characters, including the Doctor himself. The Doctor didn't even sound like the Doctor throughout most of the book. There would be the odd line where I found myself thinking, 'Yea, I can hear him saying that,' but otherwise every single thing that came out of his mouth or went through his mind made me cringe.
The other characters weren't given much personality, and those who were I found very annoying. Freydis, for example, was the most whiny, pretentious little witch I have ever read. Her voice gave me a pounding headache every time she was written on a page.
Speaking of Freydis, that was another issue that I had with this book. I understand it is written in a different time period, and a different part of the world, but the names were impossible to wrap my head around. I found myself constantly confused when names would be mentioned, as I was unable to remember which characters had what significance due to them all bleeding into one another in my mind. This was also partially due to the fact that the author attempted to write sections from almost every character's point of view. This not only made the story more difficult to follow, but it made the character voices get lost within the writing. Every character sounded almost the same on the page, which made them difficult to tell apart, yet again.
Over all I was very disappointed by this book, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone wanting to read a Doctor Who novel. There are much better ones out there than this.
October 28, 2025
Having read a few very well-written Doctor Who novels from Jenny in previous years, I'll admit I actually expected more. This book, though with a promising premise, really just dragged along. Her portrayal of the 11th Doctor was fairly accurate, but this book suffers from several significant plot holes and inconsistencies that are hard to reckon with as a hard-core, well-versed Whovian. I had genuinely hoped for better, but unfortunately this isn't one of her better Doctor Who novels.
August 3, 2013
Of all the novels I've read with the Eleventh Doctor, this is the best. The Doctor is traveling alone and lands somewhere in the North Sea... in the Middle Ages. There are Vikings and Scots and an alien that lives on electricity and even true love.
The story itself was top notch. The new monster fit right into the Who pantheon. The Arill live on electricity, and in pre-Industrial Earth, the only source is the brain. They're consuming people, and of course, the Doctor can't have that.
But it was the original characters that really made this novel shine. Henrick and Freydis, the Viking princess on her way to her new husband and the sailor in charge of getting her there, were fantastic. I particularly enjoyed the interactions between Henrick and the Doctor.
Corc, Braan, Brogan, and Luag, the Scots we got to know the best, were all unique individuals. Corc was a fantastic stoic chief trying to hold things together as his village and family fell apart.
In short, I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for an adventure with Eleven, or just a great science fiction story in general.
The story itself was top notch. The new monster fit right into the Who pantheon. The Arill live on electricity, and in pre-Industrial Earth, the only source is the brain. They're consuming people, and of course, the Doctor can't have that.
But it was the original characters that really made this novel shine. Henrick and Freydis, the Viking princess on her way to her new husband and the sailor in charge of getting her there, were fantastic. I particularly enjoyed the interactions between Henrick and the Doctor.
Corc, Braan, Brogan, and Luag, the Scots we got to know the best, were all unique individuals. Corc was a fantastic stoic chief trying to hold things together as his village and family fell apart.
In short, I highly recommend this novel to anyone looking for an adventure with Eleven, or just a great science fiction story in general.
January 17, 2022
Just dragged on longer than I felt it needed to. Especially listening to the audiobook it was hard to keep track of all the unusual names and characters. Technically well written, just not very exciting or captivating for me.
Read
August 10, 2017I listened to the audiobook. I remember it being really good. I was enjoying it way more than I thought I would. I would definitely enjoy listening to this one again.
March 24, 2015
Luag eyed him carefully. "Grown-ups don't run about and do screaming."
"Who Says I'm a grown-up?" said the Doctor. "Perhaps I'm just unnervingly tall. Come on!"
This book was pretty cool. It's my first time reading a novelization of Doctor Who, despite being a fan of the show for some years now. I think the most interesting thing about this book was that it featured the 11th Doctor on his own, without any companions. However, that didn't damper his spirits too much! The author is obviously a big Doctor Who fan, and there were several instances where I could picture Matt Smith delivering the lines clear as day in my head.
The novel focuses on some mysterious happenings in a small village on the shores of Scotland during the Dark Ages. Add in some Vikings and some nasty invading aliens, and ta-da! An episode, er-novel, of Doctor Who! The book's characters were pretty likable and when some of them met their untimely end, I was actually quite upset (I won't reveal who dies, of course). The book humanized villagers and terrifying Vikings alike, with some interesting character development along the way. There was even romance, which took place between the Viking princess Freydis and the Viking Henrik (who both become stand-in companions during the book). However, my absolute favorite relationship in the book was between the young village boy Luag and the Doctor. I love how the Doctor is with children, it's very sweet. And this was no exception, prepare to say "aw!"
The book featured an interesting interpretation of invading aliens. It left the reader questioning their true intent until the end. The resolution of the story also had a unique twist, and was quite heartwarming. My only criticism was that the book did drag on for a while in the middle. The reader waits a while for the action to return, while the Doctor does a little bit of soul searching and eats some raw rabbit with the villagers (yuck!).
Overall, the book was really interesting. I think any fan of the show would enjoy it, at least a little. It was really interesting for me to see how the TV show translated to literature. I think I'll probably pick up another Doctor Who novel in the future... especially since waiting for the new season to start seems to take forever!
"Who Says I'm a grown-up?" said the Doctor. "Perhaps I'm just unnervingly tall. Come on!"
This book was pretty cool. It's my first time reading a novelization of Doctor Who, despite being a fan of the show for some years now. I think the most interesting thing about this book was that it featured the 11th Doctor on his own, without any companions. However, that didn't damper his spirits too much! The author is obviously a big Doctor Who fan, and there were several instances where I could picture Matt Smith delivering the lines clear as day in my head.
The novel focuses on some mysterious happenings in a small village on the shores of Scotland during the Dark Ages. Add in some Vikings and some nasty invading aliens, and ta-da! An episode, er-novel, of Doctor Who! The book's characters were pretty likable and when some of them met their untimely end, I was actually quite upset (I won't reveal who dies, of course). The book humanized villagers and terrifying Vikings alike, with some interesting character development along the way. There was even romance, which took place between the Viking princess Freydis and the Viking Henrik (who both become stand-in companions during the book). However, my absolute favorite relationship in the book was between the young village boy Luag and the Doctor. I love how the Doctor is with children, it's very sweet. And this was no exception, prepare to say "aw!"
The book featured an interesting interpretation of invading aliens. It left the reader questioning their true intent until the end. The resolution of the story also had a unique twist, and was quite heartwarming. My only criticism was that the book did drag on for a while in the middle. The reader waits a while for the action to return, while the Doctor does a little bit of soul searching and eats some raw rabbit with the villagers (yuck!).
Overall, the book was really interesting. I think any fan of the show would enjoy it, at least a little. It was really interesting for me to see how the TV show translated to literature. I think I'll probably pick up another Doctor Who novel in the future... especially since waiting for the new season to start seems to take forever!
Read
December 1, 2012I've meant to read some Jenny Colgan for many years, ever since I was sat near her at a wedding and soon realised she was One Of Us. Even bought one of her books from a charity shop, but I could just never get past that cover. I'll happily sit on public transport reading comics, kids' books, Georges Bataille, but chick-lit? Turns out I have limits.
The cover of this, though, has Matt Smith and a burning viking, so no problem there.
The story here is the base-under-siege model so familiar from classic Who, except it's not really much of a base - we're on an island off the tip of a Scotland still deep in the Dark Ages*, where villagers and Vikings must form an uneasy alliance after the sea starts turning them into fire zombies. There are some intriguing twists on the format - so, the Doctor's frustration when he comes up with a solution but part of it is simply *waiting*, something which even in the baggy old stories you would never have got away with on screen. This is also, of course, a bit earlier than most of his adventures, and there are some lovely riffs on how that throws his usual interactions out - especially the bit where a barbarian is less impressed by the TARDIS being bigger inside, than by the colour of the outside, for which they don't even have a word.
Also, Journey into Mystery fans will be pleased to note that the Doctor is canonically established as Loki in a young body.
My only real quibble is with the editing - at one stage we get Beltane used to mark the beginning of winter, and a parsec as a unit of time, within the space of a page. Ouch.
Still, I might even get around to that Colgan novel with the pink cover now.
*So it's set in the present day ha ha ha.
The cover of this, though, has Matt Smith and a burning viking, so no problem there.
The story here is the base-under-siege model so familiar from classic Who, except it's not really much of a base - we're on an island off the tip of a Scotland still deep in the Dark Ages*, where villagers and Vikings must form an uneasy alliance after the sea starts turning them into fire zombies. There are some intriguing twists on the format - so, the Doctor's frustration when he comes up with a solution but part of it is simply *waiting*, something which even in the baggy old stories you would never have got away with on screen. This is also, of course, a bit earlier than most of his adventures, and there are some lovely riffs on how that throws his usual interactions out - especially the bit where a barbarian is less impressed by the TARDIS being bigger inside, than by the colour of the outside, for which they don't even have a word.
Also, Journey into Mystery fans will be pleased to note that the Doctor is canonically established as Loki in a young body.
My only real quibble is with the editing - at one stage we get Beltane used to mark the beginning of winter, and a parsec as a unit of time, within the space of a page. Ouch.
Still, I might even get around to that Colgan novel with the pink cover now.
*So it's set in the present day ha ha ha.
Read
December 3, 2015Graded By: Mandy C.
Cover Story: The Boat, The Boat, The Boat is On Fire
BFF Charm: Hell Yeah!
Swoonworthy Scale: 2
Talky Talk: Write Us an Episode
Bonus Factors: No Clara, Vikings, Norse Mythology
Anti-bonus Factor: Feels
Relationship Status: Companions
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: The Boat, The Boat, The Boat is On Fire
BFF Charm: Hell Yeah!
Swoonworthy Scale: 2
Talky Talk: Write Us an Episode
Bonus Factors: No Clara, Vikings, Norse Mythology
Anti-bonus Factor: Feels
Relationship Status: Companions
Read the full book report here.
August 20, 2019
What a disappointment - 2*
To say this is in the same collection as The Dalek Generation and The Plague of the Cyberman, HUGELY disappointing.
The monster was ridiculous and bored me completely.
The characters and their plot weren't that exciting.
WHY WEREN'T THE VIKINGS MORE EXCITING?
I've read 39 of these now so I know not to have the highest expectations but even some of the Martha adventures were more interesting than this one.
To say this is in the same collection as The Dalek Generation and The Plague of the Cyberman, HUGELY disappointing.
The monster was ridiculous and bored me completely.
The characters and their plot weren't that exciting.
WHY WEREN'T THE VIKINGS MORE EXCITING?
I've read 39 of these now so I know not to have the highest expectations but even some of the Martha adventures were more interesting than this one.
July 13, 2019
A really enjoyable unabridged audio book. I would have given it five stars, but I hated the female lead character... otherwise, I totally recommend it!
-- Joseph and I listened to this again on our way to Colorado. Very enjoyable.
-- Joseph and I listened to this again on our way to Colorado. Very enjoyable.
March 29, 2023
I really love this book.
It feels like I am watching a Doctor Who special episode or movie!
It feels like I am watching a Doctor Who special episode or movie!
March 13, 2015
This book was awesome! Of the three supersiszed novels, this one is hands-down my favorite. It is very obvious that the author is a Whovian.
June 27, 2019
DNF at 50 pages. Very boring writing, and nearly no detail or imersivness in the writing. The characters are plain including the doctor.
January 18, 2025
I haven’t had the greatest track record with Jenny Colgan and unfortunately this doesn’t really change that. I’ve read one shorter Doctor Who story of hers in a River Song anthology, and I don’t really remember much about it, so it was probably relatively inoffensive. The problem with this book is it feels like it should also have been a short story and instead is stretched to a length beyond that of the usual Doctor Who New Series Adventure and it certainly suffers for that.
Now admittedly part of my problem is that the Eleventh Doctor isn’t one of my favorites. In fact I probably like him least of all the New Who Doctors I’ve watched, though I don’t hate him. And here he’s running solo, presumably filling in some of the gap where’s he’s off on his own for two hundred years before The Wedding of River Song. I don’t mind the idea of the Doctor being solo with one off local help - it generally worked well in the David Tennant specials. But this book doesn’t really give very good secondary characters to make up for the lack of Rory or even Amy.
The secondary characters are various Vikings and Scottish villagers. The closest to companions are Henrik and Freydis, a random guy and the princess he’s been guarding on her way to her being married off to the King of Iceland. Of course the two fall in love in a fairly generic and well worn way. Also, the apparent King of Iceland is just one of many signs that the author clearly wanted to do a historical Who story but couldn’t be bothered to spend time doing five minutes of Wikipedia research to check things. There’s also issues with clothing and goofy stuff like quadrilles mentioned in a book supposedly occurring in the 11th or 12th century.
The actual threat is okay but the book spends way too long just hanging around when it turns out the Doctor could’ve defeated it pretty damn quickly, weather permitting. As I’m coming to expect from any Who novel that doesn’t list a monster in the title, this seems to be a totally new creation. The threat at first seems to be fire dancing around above the water and killing people, but the Doctor eventually goes underwater and discovers its actually some sort of digital energy being who goes from world to world eating the internet and reproducing. Basically a computer virus on steroids. Too bad it landed on Earth a thousand years before the internet.
Though okay I said that was the actual threat, but the real threat here is the padding of the book. This could’ve been a pretty fun short story or novella. The Doctor shows up, saves people from a burning ship, dives underwater, finds the alien, gives his one warning, saves the day. Instead this is three hundred pages where not a lot happens. The good Doctor Who tie in novels feel like they could be episodes or even two parters from their related season. This instead feels way too much like Eleven’s swan song where large parts of the story are just him hanging around with random civilians. It consistently feels like the story is just marking time and never really does enough to justify its status as a special edition.
Admittedly I ended up not really liking Michael Moorcock’s Doctor Who novel but at least that one earned being a bigger book. This one could be worth the extra page count - it is after all Doctor Who with Vikings in it. But the Vikings are barely researched stereotypes and the threat never gets all that interesting compared to the numerous other baddies that convert humans. It’s not the worst Doctor Who book I’ve read, but it’s sure up there as one of the most boring. And it’s too bad I didn’t like this, because I want to read all the novels with Donna, but guess who wrote one of those.
Now admittedly part of my problem is that the Eleventh Doctor isn’t one of my favorites. In fact I probably like him least of all the New Who Doctors I’ve watched, though I don’t hate him. And here he’s running solo, presumably filling in some of the gap where’s he’s off on his own for two hundred years before The Wedding of River Song. I don’t mind the idea of the Doctor being solo with one off local help - it generally worked well in the David Tennant specials. But this book doesn’t really give very good secondary characters to make up for the lack of Rory or even Amy.
The secondary characters are various Vikings and Scottish villagers. The closest to companions are Henrik and Freydis, a random guy and the princess he’s been guarding on her way to her being married off to the King of Iceland. Of course the two fall in love in a fairly generic and well worn way. Also, the apparent King of Iceland is just one of many signs that the author clearly wanted to do a historical Who story but couldn’t be bothered to spend time doing five minutes of Wikipedia research to check things. There’s also issues with clothing and goofy stuff like quadrilles mentioned in a book supposedly occurring in the 11th or 12th century.
The actual threat is okay but the book spends way too long just hanging around when it turns out the Doctor could’ve defeated it pretty damn quickly, weather permitting. As I’m coming to expect from any Who novel that doesn’t list a monster in the title, this seems to be a totally new creation. The threat at first seems to be fire dancing around above the water and killing people, but the Doctor eventually goes underwater and discovers its actually some sort of digital energy being who goes from world to world eating the internet and reproducing. Basically a computer virus on steroids. Too bad it landed on Earth a thousand years before the internet.
Though okay I said that was the actual threat, but the real threat here is the padding of the book. This could’ve been a pretty fun short story or novella. The Doctor shows up, saves people from a burning ship, dives underwater, finds the alien, gives his one warning, saves the day. Instead this is three hundred pages where not a lot happens. The good Doctor Who tie in novels feel like they could be episodes or even two parters from their related season. This instead feels way too much like Eleven’s swan song where large parts of the story are just him hanging around with random civilians. It consistently feels like the story is just marking time and never really does enough to justify its status as a special edition.
Admittedly I ended up not really liking Michael Moorcock’s Doctor Who novel but at least that one earned being a bigger book. This one could be worth the extra page count - it is after all Doctor Who with Vikings in it. But the Vikings are barely researched stereotypes and the threat never gets all that interesting compared to the numerous other baddies that convert humans. It’s not the worst Doctor Who book I’ve read, but it’s sure up there as one of the most boring. And it’s too bad I didn’t like this, because I want to read all the novels with Donna, but guess who wrote one of those.
March 4, 2023
A terribly generous 1 star because honestly, this book is laughably weak.
Does anyone remember to that horrible Twelve Doctor episode, “The Girl Who Died”? This story is the same (as in there are Vikings in it) but even worse.
I picked up this book because I wanted to experience the Eleventh Doctor without his frankly subpar companions. Amy, River and Clara are all had terrible personalities, so reading about them is as appealing as eating long expired food. I never in my wildest dreams thought this novel can be just as bad, but Jenny T. Colgan did it! Her characters and plots are beyond awful.
The Vikings are a complete joke. They are cartoonish and simplified to the extent that I was dreading the appearance of a horned helmet, a severed leg and a parrot. And if anyone would associate pirates with this description, I'm not joking. The Vikings here are all the stereotypes ever made it into the internet not just about Scandinavia but any topic which has to do with the sea.
The two main character, oh Lord. Freydis was the most typical YA novel heroin it's literally painful. And I'm sure she wasn't more than 12 years old. Her knight in shining armour is Henrik (the name is of German origin and while it’s popular in Scandinavia historically, it doesn’t during the Viking era). Well, Henrik was this little girl's jailer for weeks, if not months, but she, for some unfathomable reason, fall in love with him the moment he let her out of her cage. This romance wasn't developed, it wasn't cared for, it just was....but what for? Their actions never followed any logic, their emotional scenes were BORING and Freydis attitude was incredibly irritating. At some point I was wondering if she was only there to call the Doctor a God.
Eleven was in character with his inactions in places where it’s inexcusable why he didn’t do at least something (he could have got rid of the villain in this book a hundred pages in, but for some reason let innocent people live in fear of catching on fire and burning alive from the inside out), and with constant monologues to himself, which were already very forced in the show in retrospect, but here it was glaringly obvious.
And most importantly, for the love of everything good in the world, where was the editor or at least a proof reader before this book got published? It is pure confusion in a historical sense. The clothes described in there were thrown together from at least a span off one thousands of years, like supporting garments which we actually call corsets didn’t exist in the Viking era and neither did crinolines. Also the author couldn’t get bothered to look up dietary facts from the era she was writing about. In the novel the characters only eat fish and rabbits, and when they couldn’t use fire for approximately two days they were already dying from starvation and started to eat raw rabbit meat. Cheese, eggs, diary products, fruits, vegetables and wheats existed. They were also very adept at preserving methods like drying fruits. No one lived on a strictly meat based diet either and it would take a lot more than two days of fasting to die.
All in all, this novel is 200 pages too long at the minimum. It had clearly no care from the author or the publisher as it’s, next to its already numerous faults, riddled with many many many unnecessary parts, disconnected pages long going nowhere short additions, sentences and scenes which doesn’t relate to each other, etc.
I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, not even the most diehard Doctor Who fans in the world.
Does anyone remember to that horrible Twelve Doctor episode, “The Girl Who Died”? This story is the same (as in there are Vikings in it) but even worse.
I picked up this book because I wanted to experience the Eleventh Doctor without his frankly subpar companions. Amy, River and Clara are all had terrible personalities, so reading about them is as appealing as eating long expired food. I never in my wildest dreams thought this novel can be just as bad, but Jenny T. Colgan did it! Her characters and plots are beyond awful.
The Vikings are a complete joke. They are cartoonish and simplified to the extent that I was dreading the appearance of a horned helmet, a severed leg and a parrot. And if anyone would associate pirates with this description, I'm not joking. The Vikings here are all the stereotypes ever made it into the internet not just about Scandinavia but any topic which has to do with the sea.
The two main character, oh Lord. Freydis was the most typical YA novel heroin it's literally painful. And I'm sure she wasn't more than 12 years old. Her knight in shining armour is Henrik (the name is of German origin and while it’s popular in Scandinavia historically, it doesn’t during the Viking era). Well, Henrik was this little girl's jailer for weeks, if not months, but she, for some unfathomable reason, fall in love with him the moment he let her out of her cage. This romance wasn't developed, it wasn't cared for, it just was....but what for? Their actions never followed any logic, their emotional scenes were BORING and Freydis attitude was incredibly irritating. At some point I was wondering if she was only there to call the Doctor a God.
Eleven was in character with his inactions in places where it’s inexcusable why he didn’t do at least something (he could have got rid of the villain in this book a hundred pages in, but for some reason let innocent people live in fear of catching on fire and burning alive from the inside out), and with constant monologues to himself, which were already very forced in the show in retrospect, but here it was glaringly obvious.
And most importantly, for the love of everything good in the world, where was the editor or at least a proof reader before this book got published? It is pure confusion in a historical sense. The clothes described in there were thrown together from at least a span off one thousands of years, like supporting garments which we actually call corsets didn’t exist in the Viking era and neither did crinolines. Also the author couldn’t get bothered to look up dietary facts from the era she was writing about. In the novel the characters only eat fish and rabbits, and when they couldn’t use fire for approximately two days they were already dying from starvation and started to eat raw rabbit meat. Cheese, eggs, diary products, fruits, vegetables and wheats existed. They were also very adept at preserving methods like drying fruits. No one lived on a strictly meat based diet either and it would take a lot more than two days of fasting to die.
All in all, this novel is 200 pages too long at the minimum. It had clearly no care from the author or the publisher as it’s, next to its already numerous faults, riddled with many many many unnecessary parts, disconnected pages long going nowhere short additions, sentences and scenes which doesn’t relate to each other, etc.
I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, not even the most diehard Doctor Who fans in the world.
March 18, 2022
Historically, this seems to be a bit of a hash. I don't know a Viking longboat going from Norway to iceland would come close to the Other Hebrides. The people living there were probably Viking or Viking dominated (by place name) or descendants of the early Pictish (not Celtic) culture. Given the time period set (roughly 1,180 AD) I'm not clear that Rabbits would;d have been present. The idea that a second long ship turns up a day or so later is just pure farce.
At its basic level, there is a fun reasonably interested Doctor Who story hidden in the book. Unfortunately it is surrounded by a massive amount of filler material that a decent editors would have removed. Pages of flash backs or descriptive material (pages on the cation of a sea shore caves for example). A poorly explained "love story" (not needed, but if you did include it it really should be much better described), an island "Celtic" culture that is pure fantasy, so far as I can tell. Writing style is always one of personal preference, but this particularly poor. Its impossible to tell what the target reader's age is meant to be (I'd say 8 to 10, but then some of the language suggests quite a bit older). The other thing I'd add is that its far too long a book for such a simplistic plot. It's also full of post modern thinking - the "baddy" isnt a baddy at all, just misguided and ignorant. Its all pretty tiresome in places. The Viking Princess is also much more of a modern character.
The positives are that the author catches Matt Smiths verbal style very well (although I find it much more interesting to watch Matt the actor than read his stream of consciousness style rambling) and her sheer enthusiasm for Doctor Who.
At its basic level, there is a fun reasonably interested Doctor Who story hidden in the book. Unfortunately it is surrounded by a massive amount of filler material that a decent editors would have removed. Pages of flash backs or descriptive material (pages on the cation of a sea shore caves for example). A poorly explained "love story" (not needed, but if you did include it it really should be much better described), an island "Celtic" culture that is pure fantasy, so far as I can tell. Writing style is always one of personal preference, but this particularly poor. Its impossible to tell what the target reader's age is meant to be (I'd say 8 to 10, but then some of the language suggests quite a bit older). The other thing I'd add is that its far too long a book for such a simplistic plot. It's also full of post modern thinking - the "baddy" isnt a baddy at all, just misguided and ignorant. Its all pretty tiresome in places. The Viking Princess is also much more of a modern character.
The positives are that the author catches Matt Smiths verbal style very well (although I find it much more interesting to watch Matt the actor than read his stream of consciousness style rambling) and her sheer enthusiasm for Doctor Who.
September 10, 2020
I wish I could rate this book higher, since it is my favorite incarnation of The Doctor, but sadly, this book just lacked... something. It was boring. It dragged on in many parts, and I was seriously considering skimming or skipping to the end. There was way too much filler and repetition toward the middle, to the point where The Doctor even comments something to the effect of "I usually solve problems in under an hour, and this is just taking days." (hardy-har) The Doctor just gives the Arill way too many chances and lets far too many people die before taking action. That's the bad stuff. Now, the good stuff, of which there are a few things: The Doctor's character. Colgan hit the nail on the head, and he's spot on. I could see him in my head speaking the lines and acting out the scenes. Well done. I really enjoyed the historical setting, and the Viking culture. I also loved the tie-in with the Aurora Borealis, and Henrik and Freydis piloting the TARDIS. The Doctor was by himself here, with no companions (most likely between Amy and Rory and Clara), which is rare. Honestly, there's a lot of good here, but it's lost in between filler and it's a hundred pages longer than it really needed to be. All in all, it's serviceable, and enjoyable, but a little long.
January 19, 2021
Dark Horizons is darker and slightly more mature than the usual Doctor Who series.
Eleven is on a solo adventure and lands on a small island in the North Sea at a time of vikings. The world is bleak and hard, there's an alien threat in the sea and the Doctor just wants to find someone to play chess with!
Colgan portrays Eleven really well. He's the mumbling raggedy man with the weight of the universe on his shoulders. His loneliness, age and weariness comes across at times, more so than other noveilastions of Eleven. Being a solo adventure there's also a cast of new supporting characters, one of which reminded me a lot of Two and Jamie (which is always a joy).
Eleven is on a solo adventure and lands on a small island in the North Sea at a time of vikings. The world is bleak and hard, there's an alien threat in the sea and the Doctor just wants to find someone to play chess with!
Colgan portrays Eleven really well. He's the mumbling raggedy man with the weight of the universe on his shoulders. His loneliness, age and weariness comes across at times, more so than other noveilastions of Eleven. Being a solo adventure there's also a cast of new supporting characters, one of which reminded me a lot of Two and Jamie (which is always a joy).
January 12, 2020
2.5 stars rounded up.
This had a rough start for me, I think mainly because my brain had to get into Dr. Who gear. Some books require the reader to shift gear, not merely because of the genre, but rather the nature of the characters and various situations. Having never read a book in this series before, or having watched sinced the 80s my brain required a lot of gearing up. Once I became absorbed my attention wasn't held long, my thoughts pinballed to anything else. So as the line goes, my rating is based on the trite lines "It's not You, it's me!"
This had a rough start for me, I think mainly because my brain had to get into Dr. Who gear. Some books require the reader to shift gear, not merely because of the genre, but rather the nature of the characters and various situations. Having never read a book in this series before, or having watched sinced the 80s my brain required a lot of gearing up. Once I became absorbed my attention wasn't held long, my thoughts pinballed to anything else. So as the line goes, my rating is based on the trite lines "It's not You, it's me!"
July 9, 2021
If you like Doctor Who and you like the sort of fan fic style genre of these kinds of books, you will definitely enjoy this novel.
When the Eleventh Doctor comes across some folks who are fighting an alien force that they don't even have the technology to understand, he knows he needs to help. They lack weapons, they lack understanding, and worst of all, they lack any sort of protection.
Colgan brings us another great Doctor Who story, perfect for those of us who wish the TV show had way more episodes!!
When the Eleventh Doctor comes across some folks who are fighting an alien force that they don't even have the technology to understand, he knows he needs to help. They lack weapons, they lack understanding, and worst of all, they lack any sort of protection.
Colgan brings us another great Doctor Who story, perfect for those of us who wish the TV show had way more episodes!!
January 22, 2020
I'm not sure what happened with this book. It's well written, has a cool creature, the Doctor is pretty doctorish and the historical bits are mostly correct, but it came out pretty boring. There is a strong start and a nice ending, but the middle is more of a muddle, like it was supposed to be a lot shorter.
August 2, 2017
I really enjoyed this story! Well done
September 27, 2017
Pretty good little story.
December 18, 2017
It was meh. Not the best written Doctor Who book, but not the worst.
May 23, 2018
Dr Who and the Vikings. Against the burning monster. Fun. Had a lot of good characters and nice detail but it was padded and felt over long
June 19, 2018
I bought the book in England and i have nooooo regrets❤️ LUVV DR WHO
December 23, 2018
An excellent Viking age adventure with some well developed original characters
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