'Doctor Who: Twice Upon A Time' – Paul Cornell (BBC Books)


I had such a great time reading 'The Christmas Invasion', the other day, that I thought to myself, 'It has been one of those weeks mate, why don't you just keep comfort reading and try out those other two Doctor Who books that have been sat on a pile on books for however long it has been' (since August which isn't that actually, not compared to other books). So that's just what I did, with 'Twice Upon A Time' and 'Damaged Goods'. Give me a couple of days and I'll get my head round just how different a 'Doctor Who' story 'Damaged Goods' is; for now, let me tell you all about 'Twice Upon A Time' instead...

Still reeling from his encounter with the Cybermen, the First Doctor stumbles through the bitter Antarctic wind, resisting the approaching regeneration with all his strength. But as he fights his way through the snowdrifts, he comes across the familiar shape of a blue police box, and a mysterious figure who introduces himself as the Doctor…

Thrown together at their most vulnerable moments, the two Doctors must discover why the snowflakes are suspended in the sky, why a First World War Captain has been lifted from his time stream moments before his death, and who is the mysterious Glass Woman who knows their true name. The Doctor is reunited with Bill, but is she all she seems? And can he hold out against the coming regeneration?

If you've been around here recently, you've probably gathered that I have a bit of a soft spot for 'Doctor Who' stories involving more than one incarnation of the Doctor. I love it and I love watching completely different Doctors bounce off each other, sometimes this can be more watchable than the actual story. I can't remember exactly when 'Twice Upon A Time' first aired but I really enjoyed watching Peter Capaldi's 12th Doctor recoil in horror at how, erm... of his time the 1st Doctor was. It was a lot more enjoyable than the actual story which was basically a long run-up to the Doctor's regeneration with not a lot else happening (sorry but that's how it was for me). So I wasn't too surprised to find myself faced with exactly the same thing here. The only problem was, it didn't work as well as it did on the TV...

I don't think that any of this was Paul Cornell's fault who captured the story perfectly and had this brilliant trick of making me forget which Doctor I was reading about at any given time. It may have just been me being tired but I'm giving Cornell the credit here for writing about two Doctors, facing the same problem, as one Doctor, which they are of course. It just felt like a different way of looking at the same situation and I could really get behind that.

The problem that I had with the book was that while it was great seeing all this stuff happening for the Doctor(s), there just wasn't enough plot to go round and it showed, it really showed. As much fun as it was watching the Doctors bounce off each other, I couldn't help but look outside that and wonder where the rest of the story was. On the TV, things happen quickly and it's easy to get caught up in the flow. If you're settling down for a couple of hours with a book then a threadbare plot will show, it can't help itself.

Cornell does a good job with what he has but at the same time, you can only do so much with very little. I suspect that if you enjoyed watching 'Twice Upon A Time' then you'll get more out of the book than I did. I had issues with the show though and these found their way over to the book.

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