Monsters and Villains

Review: Handbag-sized directory of horrors.

Like the other new Doctor Who books, this book is certainly handsome - it's like a posh glossy mag, with pretty picture spreads of some of the series' most notable enemies.

Should you actually sit down and read it, it's occasionally delightful - especially the wonderful little notes contributed by Russell T Davies (did you know that Cassandra once starred in a film called Run, Betty, Run?).

The rest of the text by Justin Richards is certainly dependable, but you can't help wondering how frustrated he was by the book's brief.

A few pages in, you find yourself asking - Who is this aimed at? Fans of the new series will be delighted by detailed accounts of the making of the Slitheen and the Dalek, and no doubt thrilled to find background info on Daleks and Autons... but would they want to know about old Doctor Who monsters?

If they did, they're sure to be baffled by the statistical approach taken by the entries, featuring transmission dates, lists, and puzzling info. Who, they will ask themselves, is K9? What is a Sarah Jane?

Fans of the original series will just glide through this content, pausing occasionally at the odd rare picture, or giggling at the text's attempts to try and upsell the monsters (The Mark 2 Yeti, have "shorter claws for urban terrain". Cybermen sport "Pipes for Cyberfluids integrated into Cybersuit").

Most disappointing is how incomplete the book is - no Jagrafess, or Reapers, and, unforgivably, no Gelth. Why not wait until the end of the series and give us a proper, fascinating book about new Doctor Who?

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

Patrice Breanne Alexander, age 12
I really liked it! I'm not really all that hip on the classic series, so this book filled me in on some of the past monsters that the Doctor had fought. And just to top it all off, it was a nice book. It had a nice cover and neat colred pictures. 10/10! Fantastic!

Patrice Breanne Alexander, age 12
I absolutly LOVED it! I flipped out when it finally came in the mail (Mom ordered it for me)! I'm embarrassed to say that I still have'nt seen the classic series and I'm not that hip on it. But this book kinda filled me in on some of the past monsters and villans. I also liked the glossy cover. I'd rate it 10/10! It was FANTASTIC!

Name:

Comment:

Thank you for your comments. The BBC reserves the right to modify any messages before appearing on this web page.