Doctor Who: 50 Years of Inspiration in Sci-Fi Books

All of time and space (and fiction), where do you want to start?

I asked myself that question about twenty times before I even had a glimmer of an idea of how to start this blog post. But seriously, when you tackle something as wonderful and cult-like (in the best possible way) as Doctor Who, there's a little bit of pressure. Over the last five decades, Doctor Who has inspired so many books- from novel adaptations of the television show, to books that are actually from the show, to honorable and random mentions in fiction. It's the epitome of Science Fiction, and it's no wonder it's influenced so many books and ideas. I could write an entire post about my love for Who, but I don't think I have the emotional capacity for that, nor the non-scattered brain. So, instead, I promised a post about books that were inspired by Doctor Who because that's much more feasible- though not as fun as writing a fangirl post- maybe someday I'll be able to organize those thoughts.

For now though, here are some Who-related novels. Allons-y!

Gotta start with my personal favorite:
-The Angel's Kiss- by Justin Richards (or Melody Malone- you pick).

Ugh, Melody/River, ugh. So much love. And I think the reason I loved it so much was because River might be one of my favorite characters (oh, okay fine, she's definitely number 2- after Rose of course). Her voice was spot on and I could practically see her saying the things she did- the dialogue was dripping River Song. The story itself was fine. Honestly, I can't one hundred percent remember a lot of it... my bad. But if you like River/Melody, you'll like the book just for her. 

-Summer Falls- by Amelia Williams

Okay, so I think personally, my favorite part of this book was Amy's introduction. There's this whole situation where she runs into Clara who mentions the Doctor and what traveling with him does to you- she calls it a glow. Then, of course, it ends with all of our favorite sentence: "Run, you clever boy and remember" and we all cry. Besides that, the story was interesting but kind of strange, I don't know really how to describe it besides the fact that I wasn't super invested. Maybe it was just me.

-Dead of Winter- by James Goss

So for this one, the terrific three are thrown back to 18th century Italy and super creepy things happen (as they always do). Anyway, this is wonderfully done in first person so we get to really see into the minds of the companions, and the Doctor for a bit, which is so great because that's not really anything we get to see on the show. Also, Rory Williams, everybody. Rory Williams. Also, I feel like it really stays true to who the characters are, which is really hard to do when there are different writers writing the same character.

-The 50th Anniversary books-

Now, I didn't personally read these, but one of my very good friends did so I got her opinion on them (after I commented on how beautiful the covers were, sigh). For those who aren't aware of what the collection is, it's one book per doctor that has a new adventure separate from anything we've ever seen on television. Anyway, my friend Lindsey said that she thought the collection was really interesting since she hasn't seen any of the older doctors and never had a taste of them before this. She said she liked how the reader could get a sense of what the other doctors were like and how their personalities changed from each regeneration.

There are hundreds more, and I spent way too much time on the Wikipedia page of the novels (the new series at least) checking them all out and planning which ones I want to read next. If I had all the time in the world/traveled with the Doctor, then I would read them all and tell you all about them, but unfortunately I do/have not (yet) so that's why this list is so sadly short. This means, if you've read some Doctor Who books, feel free to share what you liked/didn't like about them, opinions are always welcome! So share and care!

Also, happy 50th anniversary, Doctor Who, and thank you for all that you've given us. Thanks for the adventures, and the characters, and most of all, for giving us the Doctor. Here's to another 50 years! Hope you all enjoy the episode and are extra careful with *spoilers* (guess whose voice I used there, just guess).

-Annie