The Stealers Of Dreams

Review: Reading group tackles Steve Lyons' novel.

For our final review of a new Ninth Doctor novel, the children of Somers Park Primary School were let loose on Stealers of Dreams.

Beth and Callum (Year 6), Jade (Year 5) are all avid fans of the new series (particularly Beth who thought Captain Jack was wonderful!)

Was it exciting?

Despite the fact that the book was set on a world where imagination was banned, the book had us gripped from the first page. Why did Kimmi keep seeing monsters in her room? Why could no one else see the monster? And why were people sent to the mysterious 'Big White House'.

The book had some brilliant action sequences in it. We really liked the Doctor's ride on the back of Inspector Waller's bicycle as he raced to defuse the fiction geek's bomb. Rose also had some great actions scenes, such as when she was surrounded by zombies. The book builds to an exciting ending and the TARDIS crew attempts to defend the rebel base at the end reminded us of The Parting Of The Ways.

Was it scary?

The description of Kimmi's monster was scary because the author only gave you little bits of writing about it at a time. The zombies were also scary because Rose kept seeing them out of the corner of her eye before she realized what they were.

Was it funny?

We thought the relationship between the TARDIS crew was funny at times and reminded us a little bit of Boom Town. We really liked Rose's reaction to eating the blue chips! We also thought it was funny when the Doctor tried to calm Dominic before examining him by telling him not to get his knickers in a twist!

Did they feel involved with the plot and the characters?

Although it took a little while for us to get involved in the plot we were gradually drawn into it by little clues: what was the static? Why is Hal Gryden the most dangerous man in the world? The TARDIS crew were very well written, especially the 'fantastic' Doctor and the 'sweet' Captain Jack! (We really liked it when Jack offered to look after the tramp – ahh!)

We didn't like Inspector Waller at first but grew to like her as we had more information about her. There were lots of other interesting characters, although some of their names were a bit complicated (that's what comes from living in outer space we suppose!)

Did it feel like 'proper' Doctor Who?

The book felt a little more in depth than an episode of Doctor Who because we got to find out what the characters were feeling. The Ninth Doctor certainly felt right and reading the book made us realize just how much we are going to miss him :( We also thought it was great to see the relationship between Rose and the Doctor develop.

Was it a suitable book for their age?

Once the story got into its stride and the action started (people falling out of windows and the rebels starting to fight back) we found the reading easier. Some of the characters' names were a little tricky (because they were aliens) but it was worth sticking at it and we'd recommend it to anyone.