The Monsters Inside

Review: the TARDIS crew do time in space.

Rose Tyler may be well travelled in time, but less so in space. Stephen Cole attempts to rectify this in The Monsters Inside, as the TARDIS draws the Doctor and Rose to Justica - a prison the size of a solar system.

Immediately arrested for trespassing, Rose is sent to space borstal, where bullying and food fights ensue. It's a great opportunity for Cole to showcase Rose's feisty and determined attitude, and he's clearly done his homework regarding Billie's performance onscreen.

Meanwhile, the Doctor is sent to a secure research centre, where he's forced to work on an astro-mechanics project with a menagerie of alien creatures that probably failed the audition for The End of the World.

Among these are some old enemies of the Doctor's. I won't spoil the surprise, but suffice to say that they're handled well, with plenty of new insight into their culture and motivations.

Highlight of the novel is a hilarious scene in which Rose bluffs her way through a tough test on spatial geometry armed only with her extensive knowledge of EastEnders.

If you're only familiar with the new series, you'll probably love The Monsters Inside but might be slightly baffled by the galactic scale of the thing. Long-term fans, however, are likely to get an extra buzz from the similarity in style to more traditional Who novels.

Send us your comment now. We'll publish the best on this page.

Stephen
I am halfway through the book but I think it is really good. It is also the first Doctor Who book I have read.

B. Harvey
It was a really good book. Gripping and it was good to see the return of the Slitheen and introducing the new family. It was really good. It was strange to see Rose and The Doctor behind bars! Almost scary :(. Brilliant book though

Christopher Clifford
This is a great book I did not expect the Slitheen to show up!

Anita Boreham
This is one brilliant Doctor Who book! I haveread it about five times, and it still sometimes scares me, it's that good! What a storyline! Bringing a new family from raxocoricofallapotorius (sorry if it's spelt wrong) was a great idea.

Jack bool (9)
I really thought this book was 'FANTASTIC'!. Because my third favourite bad guy was in it A slitheen. To me I thought they were bulling Rose.Becuase they were kicking spuds round the kitchen and allsorts of things. this book was brilliant. 10 out of 10 easy.

Eloise Wright
I thought it was a really good, the writer (Stephan Cole) is brill! 10/10.

sean
this book is really brilliant im reading it and have got so into it that i want to read more like it. I do believe that rose and doctor will meet again and the slitheen will be stopped on their tracks.

theta sigma
great book, red 100 times. love the part with the grav amplifier

TARDIS 42/17
not ma fave book but still a good read, i liked the other Raxacorrocalfallapatorians (and yea i can say that even if i can't spell it!)and the way they had modified the compression devices, and i think the award for most useful thing goes to the sonic screwdriver!

Ben.t from knaresborough
I,ve read the monsters inside , its an amazing book full of action and danger! (just how I like them!) I am going the rate this 100/100 for amazing amazination and action this definetly deserves every single mark an amazing read from ben .t

Paige Davies - Helme (11)
I thought it was a brilliant book,slow start,but full of humour and character's thoughts. I also Have the other two books: The clockwise man and winner takes all,as mentioned by Matthew Balne . I thought they were great books as well and I would reccomend them to everybody who is mad about Doctor.Who

Matt Balne
Yes, finally, I have finished it! Wahoo! Not my favourite one, but it deserved a 9.5 out of 10! Xx

Hollie Malster (14)
Wow. This book is 'Fantastic' as the doctor would say. It has to be my favourite so far.

Peri
i got this one in the mail today, along with the new doctor who caleder, and i did'nt put it down!!:) it was SO great! page 213 was the best! ( go on, look it up!) it just gave me a warm tingly feeling....

jad
the monsters inside was grait i am 9 i have read monsters and villens the clockwise man and winner takes all i think the monsters inside was the best

Roseanne (21)
Having read this book four times in two weeks, I still find it fascinating, I can't put it down, but I must learn to, because some things(some people- okay, yes I fancy Christopher Eccleston, he's okay for a guy 20 years my senior, people still ignore me when I mention his name.)can distract you from your work, and my job isn't the most important of all, but, hey, it's still my job. I really must stop all this talk about Doctor Who, it drives my relatives crazy

Deanna (The Biggest Ninth Dotor Who Van Ever!!!)
i think this is one of the best books i have read. it made me read on and when there parts of the book that were sad i cried and stuff like that and to me that is what makes a great book it is to feel what is going on and the characters were great in it too but i have to say i really enjoyed it great one Stephen Cole you made the book just the kinda book i would read and thats the first one i have read but when i get the chance im buying one of the other books which will great so i can't wait...

dannii-rose
This book was FANTASTIC- no other word for it- after all, it's got, thrill, adventure lots of monsters- Blathereen, Slitheen, Globs (what are globs? Does anybody out there know?) My favorite part was when I finally found out where the Slitheen are from- me and my mum had some fun trying to say Raxacoricofallapatorius(who came up with that name, it's FANTASTIC!It's so simple when you know how) But I still find The Clockwise Man by far the best.

Andrew Beet
fantastic book. Great to see the Slitheen. There was a good suprise as to who the enemy was. It was great. you was thinking who is this enemy?. I never even thought it was the slitheen. i think the tell tale sign was when one of the prison guards passed wind. Brilliant book and one book i'll be reading again.

Jess
Nice Book. What can i say? I wish it was made into a TV episode. By the time i had finished reading the prologue i was hooked on it. Bring out more Doctor who books. Please!!!!!!!!!

Hannah (the biggest dr who fan eva!!!)
this book rocks, and to make things better, when i brought this, my friend got the other one, so when we finished our books, we swapped to read the other. We got two for the price of 1!

Suganya
Although i havent read the book yet, I am fasinated by the pharagraph at the top. Doctor who is really well written. Now im really into it!!!!

John Byatt
Absolutely excellent. I think the criticism thrown at the Raxacoricofallapatorians was unfair, and they come across very well in this book, just as they did in the TV series. I was a little sceptical at how Stephen Cole would portray the ninth Doctor at first, as I have read his eighth Doctor novel "To the Slaughter" and found it heavy going. "The Monsters Inside" however is a completely different read. I think it comes across as readable by children or adults alike, much in the way that J K Rowling's Harry Potter books do. I shall miss the ninth Doctor now he has regenerated but am glad we can explore his mindset in these books. I found it very unput downable indeed. 10/10.

David
I've got to say, its a brilliant read. I'd finished in a few days cause I couldn't put it down!

Matthew Laskey
I have to disagree with Jonathan, I think this book is extreme. The ninth doctor is better than usual in this book.

Matthew Laskey
I just couldn't accept the fact that I'd finished the book so I read it again. It's cool to find that there's someone bigger and better than the Slitheen, and the riot was one of the many brilliant parts of the book. I wish there were more books out!!

Amy
I love it. It's one of the best books I've ever read. My compliments to the author.

Mark Walsh
This is the second of the Ninth Doctor Books i have read and boy is it a good one. The book starts off throwing you straight into the action with the Doctor and Rose arriving on the prison world only to be seperated and locked up in different prisons. This sets the scene for a emotional rollercoaster as the Doctor and Rose frantically try to get back together while unravelling the sinster secrets the prison holds. The book is packed with humour and adventure and really captures the excellent chemistry between Rose and the Doctor. The Eastenders scene brought a smile to my face!Look out also for some old enemies of the Doctor and Rose! Having read this one and the Clockwise Man i can't wait to read Winner Takes All! Lets hope the next three Ninth Doctor books are as good as the first.

Amy (10)
My favourite book - I just can't put it down! I love the Eastenders scene. I agree with the other comments, and yes - at one point about a hundred people and things were there. I got confused on some parts, but just a great book!

Rosie
This ist he best book i have read and i really really enjoyed reading it

Immi, 13
I loved this, and I'm now half-way through "Winner Takes All". "The Monsters Inside" was brilliantly written, capturing the characters of Rose and the Doctor perfectly. I was laughing, crying and clinging to every word on each and every page, now for me, that makes a brilliant book.

Ace
As I read, I could hear the banter between the Doctor and Rose, I could hear the Doctor's concern for Rose and his quiet threats as to what would happen if she wasn't returned to him safely. I could hear Rose's glib comments as she reacted to her situation. Well done to Stephen Cole to making these two wonderful characters translate so well to the written page. As for the old enemy...they came across beautifully! And the scene with the astrophysics and Eastenders...hilarious.

Matthew Laskey
This book reads more exciting and funny than the TV series.I hope the author writes more

Ems
Found this book in our local supermarket and was gripped from the first page. Cole's caught the Doctor's and Rose's characters in both hands, and written as though you were there - easily made into a film. I loved most of Rose's scenes in the borstal, and her knowledge of 'Enders had me laughing. As fun as the series, and i can't wait for more.

paul
The book is great and looking at all the other views by people, we all think it is entertaining and cool.

Matthew Balne
Brilliant book so far. Can't wait to finish it and by The Clockwise Man and Winner Takes All

klisher
the format of the new books is brilliant. a hard back for only £6.99!. fit nicley along side the paperbacks too. is rose supposed to be 19 or 12 . she would be sent to an adult prision, what with her being an adult and all. the scenes with her in prison are too juvenile for her characters age,remember she was at work at the start of "Rose" not at school .

Josh
It sounds great. I'm glad that the author had used this as an opportunity the delve into some past histiry of Doctor Who.

dom
Well said!

wiggy
this book is worth every penny it is a great read and you never want to put it down just as gripping as the series!

Jonathan Baldwin
This is the first of the three new novels I've read and I largely enjoyed it, finishing it in just 1 day. Readable, fun, exciting in places. I got confused with some of the characters' names - there seemed to be lots of people running around at one point - and I wasn't keen on the gags that if I told you about them would spoil the aliens' identity. It reminded me of the early 8th doctor BBC novels, so that was quite welcome. Rose is well written, as is the Doctor - but for me, it only reinforced my growing dislike for the 9th Doctor's characterisation, with glib dialogue and flippant remarks. The book has (at times too) obvious elements for younger readers (I suspect the manuscript had little bits added at the editorial stage - the prison where Rose is reminds me of Hogwarts at times, and the early line about the meaning of 'TARDIS' was painful), but it's not a 'children's book' by any means. I was expecting the hardback book to be bigger in size, but it's not much bigger than a paperback. Not sure why this format was chosen - again, maybe to capitalise on a trend for small hardbacks in the children's market.

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