The Wintertime Paradox by Dave Rudden

In my head, there’s something special about Doctor Who and Christmas, but I’m never quite sure what.

Is it the fact that it brings back memories of Doctor Who Annuals, which I used to get every Christmas and would then spend part of the day reading cover to cover? Or is it the fact that there were often television repeats during the Christmas holidays, which in those days were the only way you could see old episodes again? When I think of old series Doctor Who, I often remember the TARDIS in the snow, for some reason.

I know that it is not the Christmas Special episodes, very few of which I have even liked and most I have hated – to the point where they became running jokes in my household, to see at what point the episodes would take a turn into awfulness. (It was usually early on, but then got progressively worse.) Even David Tennant couldn’t save those for me, although Peter Capaldi’s last turn in Twice Upon A Time was much better than I expected.

Nevertheless, whatever it is, there is something about Doctor Who and Christmas I like – which is why this book caught my eye. The subtitle on the front cover is “Twelve Festive Tales of Tinsel and Time Lords”, and they are written by Dave Rudden, whose last foray on such things, Twelve Angels Weeping, was very well-received.

Whilst the book is clearly meant for Young Adults 40+ years younger than me, there is enough of the sense of wonder here for me to appreciate. The variety of alien races, the return of old favourites (although focussed on the most recent TV resurrection from 2005 onwards, understandably), not to mention the variety of recent Doctors and companions is great fun, all given at a fast pace.

We all have our favourite characters, of course, and part of the fun here is in having the opportunity to meet them again. For me, David Tennant as the 10^th Doctor with Rose is a favourite. The 9^th Doctor makes a suitably sad appearance. Other Doctors I was less enamoured about – I could never see the attraction of Matthew Smith’s 11^th Doctor, for some odd reason, and it is so here. Whilst I liked much of Peter Capaldi’s 12^th Doctor, he had some god-awful scripts to work with, which I think ultimately led to his demise. Nevertheless, they all take their turn and Rudden does well to ensure that each version is different in manner and style.

Here we see that it’s not just about the Doctors – Petronella Osgood from UNIT has a story and whilst the character of Missy is not a favourite of mine, I liked her Christmas crime story, Missing Habitas Frond. Rose is here, as is Amy and Rory Pond, Bill Potts, River Song and the trio of Jenny, Vastra and Strax.

Of the baddies, it is pretty clear which of the favourite ones to expect here – there’s a Cyberman on the front cover, for example! – but also Daleks (and Davros!), Autons, Plasmavores, Judoon and others. There’s also some pleasing surprises here too – I liked We Will Feed You to the Trees, a story told by the villain to give a slightly different perspective.

Whilst Christmas is not obvious in every story, there’s enough snow, Christmas lights and decorations (yes, tinsel!) and even pantomime to make it feel Christmassy enough.

Overall, does it meet my (normally high) expectations? Well, actually yes, pretty much. It’s really all about the range rather than the depth, and whilst there are many stories that I liked there were none I really disliked – which makes it a winner for me. I can see this being a modern equivalent of the Doctor Who Annual, with a young me reading this cover to cover, and possibly year after year. It does evoke that great sense of wonder that the best Doctor stories create, and at the same time has enough fun and scares to keep me page turning.

Whilst I’m not sure anyone who doesn’t understand the attraction of the series will ‘get it’, it is clear that this is not for them but for the enthusiastic fan and a labour of love for the writer who has clearly had a lot of fun weaving different elements of the Doctor Who mythos into a surprisingly coherent collection. Good fun – and a great Christmas read for fans.

The Wintertime Paradox is available now, in the usual formats. There’s also an audio book version, narrated by Sophie Aldred (who older fans may know as ‘Ace’ from the older series.)