Doctor Who: The Library of Carsus discussion

We have not had some posts for a while so I have a suggestion. Rather than have each member look up all 46 members and read their Dr. Who Reviews one by one, we could each suggest a favorite book tiltle and give a breif synopsis. Basically, just suggesting to new readers which particluar Dr. Who books might be most enjoyable to start with.

Anyone else game for this idea? Or does anyone else have any suggestions for another discussion topic?

Just curious--Are Big Finish Audios included in this?

I'll suggest "Forever Autumn" featuring the David Tennant Doctor and Martha. It's perfect for the Halloween season, even with a Jack-O-Lantern on the cover. It's from BBC Books, one of those little hard cover ones. I liked it enough to buy it a second time after I gave my first copy to a friend.

Sure--why not include Buig Finish Audios? We have people review audio books on Goodreads, all the time.

I highly recommend Big Finish's "Chimes of Midnight." It has some truly eerie sequences, and a great old-fashioned mystery feel.

My full review is here, if anyone's interested:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...

For newcomers who want to try the novelizations of the classic series, I suggest the first three I ever read (pick one or pick 'em all):

- Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks by Terrance Dicks (third Doctor)

- Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon by Malcolm Hulke (third Doctor)

- Doctor Who and the Dinosaur Invasion by Malcolm Hulke (third Doctor). I remember this one in particular made an impression.

Each of the three is a decent sci-fi novella in its own right. The fact that they're Doctor Who books is just a bonus.

Other suggestions:

- Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus by Philip Hinchcliffe (first Doctor) is a good basic "what's this Doctor Who thing, anyway?" book. Ideal for people who don't really read sci-fi but are curious about Doctor Who.

- Doctor Who and Warriors' Gate by John Lydecker (fourth Doctor). Recommended for the reader who isn't all that interested in Doctor Who, but isn't averse to reading a Doctor Who book if it's got some actual science fiction in it.

If someone is determined to try an NA (New Doctor Who Adventures) but doesn't know which one to pick, I suggest Human Nature by Paul Cornell. It's an excellent example of much that is good, bad, and ugly about the NAs. If a person likes it or hates it or tolerates it, s/he can be confident of generally having that opinion about the NA line.

It's also online at the BBC's webpage.

Here's my list:

Iceberg by David Banks: bit of a jumble but makes nice use of Cyberman history

Birthright: not really a sequel to 'Iceberg', but it tells the story of what Ace and Bennie were up to while the Doctor was dealing with the Cybermen.
These two books are my favorite NA novels

Terror of the Zygons: one of the first Targets I ever bought and still one of my fave novelizations

Abominable Snowman and the Web of Fear: the books that made me fall in love with the second Doctor.
Was so thrilled to finally see Web of fear and find out it was as good as the book.

I think this is a good idea. I'm bringing this to the top with my mini-review here:

The Worlds of Doctor Who
Big Finish Productions
Purchase date unknown

Three stars.

An uneven set of stories. I thought the ending story in the chain was quite good--reuniting Leela, Romana II and the Doctor(though I have no idea where this story fits in everyone's respective timelines). Likewise, I enjoyed the first story, with Jago and Litefoot. The Counter-Measures and UNIT stories were all right, though I must admit the C-M story suffered for me not knowing the background to the series.

Doctor Who: The Roundheads

3 stars

An interesting setting and the companions and the Doctor were well written. However, there was hardly any of the Doctor in the books, I thought more could have been done with the characters disrupting historical events (it felt more like a minor sub-plot), and the scenes with Ben and the pirates were really over the top and full of stereotypes. But it was a fun read :)

Doctor Who: The Final Sanction

4 Stars

I really enjoyed this story. The main characters, especially the Doctor and Jamie, had really strong voices that fitted their TV versions, and I couldn't put this book down because I wanted to find out what would happen next. The Selachian-Human war was well told with perspectives from both sides, and there were lots of interesting scenes and side characters.
( I really love how Steve Lyons writes the Second Doctor and his companions, although I think I've read all of his books now. ): I wish there was more).

I have enjoyed a number of Steve Lyons' books over the years. Have you read Doctor Who: The Witch Hunters? Very good take on the whole Salem witch hysteria and Susan getting caught up in the mess thanks to her innate abilities. Lyons has a knack for historicals.

Just finished:
Burning Heart: solid 6th Doctor story with a stealth Judge Dredd crossover

The TV movie: really needs a better title.
Nice to have the 8th Doctor get a target book.
Still not the strongest story, but Gary Russell does a decent job of bringing the movie more into Who history and trying to prop up the shaky bits

Plague City: The Capaldi Doctor, Bill and Nardole land in Edinburgh during the black plague and they aren't the only aliens in the quarantined city...!

Reads like a really solid TV episode, with a bit of history, a bit of sci-fi, a crowded tardis and a great sense of humor.

Death in the Stars: The Mel and Glitz spin-off novel is clunky but fun.
Makes good use of Who history and reads like the pilot for a TV series we never got.
Wouldn't mind a sequel or more companion spin-off books.

Travis wrote: "Death in the Stars: The Mel and Glitz spin-off novel is clunky but fun.
Makes good use of Who history and reads like the pilot for a TV series we never got.
Wouldn't mind a sequel or more companion..."

Ooh, this sounds fun! As does the one above.
Thanks for the recs!

Lori S. wrote: "Travis wrote: "Death in the Stars: The Mel and Glitz spin-off novel is clunky but fun.
Makes good use of Who history and reads like the pilot for a TV series we never got.
Wouldn't mind a sequel or..."

Both are fun.
Nothing earth shattering, but both capture the feel of their respective eras really well.

Cat's cradle: Witch mark: whenever I find a New Adventure book, I pick it up and I generally find myself thinking 'How did they do a gazillion of these as very few of them are any good...?"

At best, they are okay reads, but even those reek of trying too hard or the author seeing what they can get away with as regards sex, swearing and violence,

The Doctor and Ace were well written, the rest is a faintly interesting jumble of ideas that never fully come together.

Travis wrote: "Cat's cradle: Witch mark: whenever I find a New Adventure book, I pick it up and I generally find myself thinking 'How did they do a gazillion of these as very few of them are any good...?"

At bes..."

I tried reading that one too. Never managed.
There are gems among the dross, but, yeah, a lot of the books are less than stellar. Still, we had them!

Seconded Death in the Stars especially on audio as Bonnie reads it. It’s weird but a lot of fun at the same time as being a messed up mystery. It’s all over the place but I loved listening to it.

If you love River I strongly don’t recommend The angel’s kiss but very strongly do recommend and love and have read multiple times:
The Ruby’s Curse by Alex Kingston
She also does the audio and it’s brilliant and wacky and timey wimey. Melody Malone and River Song get all wrapped up together and end up in an archaeological and time traveling adventure. And there’s a talking cat.

My favorite TARDIS team also has my favorite TARDIS team novel: Eleven, Amy, and Rory novel Borrowed Time by Naomi A Alderman. This one is just my absolute favorite. Plays with time in an entirely different way than Doctor Who usually does and it’s brilliant.

Lori S. wrote: "Travis wrote: "Cat's cradle: Witch mark: whenever I find a New Adventure book, I pick it up and I generally find myself thinking 'How did they do a gazillion of these as very few of them are any go..."

I preferred the missing adventures line to the new adventures myself.

Tali wrote: "If you love River I strongly don’t recommend The angel’s kiss but very strongly do recommend and love and have read multiple times:
The Ruby’s Curse by Alex Kingston
She also does the audio and it’..."

Want to check out 'Ruby's curse'.
That one looked fun.
Friend of mine was moving, so he gave me some Who books.
Need to get through that pile before I can buy any more.

Tali wrote: "If you love River I strongly don’t recommend The angel’s kiss but very strongly do recommend and love and have read multiple times:
The Ruby’s Curse by Alex Kingston
She also does the audio and it’..."

I just read The Ruby’s Curse recently and really enjoyed it. Will have to check out Borrowed Time. I love when they play with time.

Wheel of ice: really nice blend of a classic Troughton episode with a more hard science fiction adventure.
I was skeptical but the author makes the two fit way better than I expected.
The Tardis crew all sound right and get something to do and there's enough classic references sprinkled along.

Fun read.