Twice Upon a Time

"At my time of life, there is nothing left to fear."

Writer: Paul Cornell
Format: Novel
Released: April 2018
Series: Target 160

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, First Doctor

Synopsis

'Silly old universe. The more I save it, the more it needs saving.'

Still reeling from his encounter with the Cybermen, the First Doctor stumbles through the bitter Antarctic wind, resisting the approaching regeneration with all his strength. But as he fights his way through the snowdrifts, he comes across the familiar shape of a blue police box, and a mysterious figure who introduces himself as the Doctor...

Thrown together at their most vulnerable moments, the two Doctors must discover why the snowflakes are suspended in the sky, why a First World War Captain has been lifted from his time stream moment before his death, and who is the mysterious Glass Woman who knows their true name.

Verdict

Twice Upon a Time was a very good novelisation of the televised episode of the same name. It was neatly fleshed out by Paul Cornell and whilst it still has some issues, it was a very good read. Now, I really don't understand why David Bradley appears on the cover. This is the novelisation and surely we should be thinking of William Hartnell when it comes to the First Doctor that features in this book. That really irks me and I did my best to read it as picturing Hartnell and I thought the author did a good job in staying true to his first incarnation. The sexist comments weren't eradicated which was a real shame and whilst they didn't seem as prominent and obvious as they appeared on television, it is still horrendously bad writing as the First Doctor simply wasn't like that and now so many people who haven't experienced his era will think that is the case. I liked how Cornell used the thoughts of the Twelfth Doctor to cover it up a little bit with him thinking he was just doing it to make him uncomfortable and I also loved the moment that Bill told the First Doctor and the Captain of her experiences with the 'fairer sex'. That was magnificent. I thought it was quite emotional reading what the Doctor felt for Bill and he wanted nothing more than to just travel the universe with her. But she was gone. One thing I did adore about this novel was learning of the life Bill and Heather had together. I like that they decided to grow old on Earth as humans and it was also great to learn what Nardole got up to after sacrificing his future in The Doctor Falls. The plot was done well and whilst there isn't actually too much going on, the dialogue was presented excellently. The Glass Woman was written well and I liked how it was revealed that she had eyes on the Doctors through Bill. The concept of Testimony was good but the explanation seemed a little quick here, or perhaps too late. The Captain was an excellent character and him being stuck in the middle of two Doctors was fantastic. He really was quite out of his depth. The meeting between the Twelfth and First Doctor was superb and I liked the comments about the TARDIS. The numerous references to River Song were unexpected and I loved that it was revealed that the ring that fell off the Doctor's finger during regeneration was actually his wedding ring. The regeneration speech of the Twelfth Doctor was good but I was hoping for a little more from the First Doctor's last moments but it did lead back into The Tenth Planet very well. The way that each Doctor decided they would regenerate, and their conversations about it, was very good and I liked how despite starting off with a somewhat tested relationship, they admired and respected each other by the close. The jokes about Borusa's poetry were terrific. I thought the regeneration scene was presented fantastically and I was not expecting to get so much with the Thirteenth Doctor. It seemed a little extended and for this to be the first prose where the Doctor is referred to as a 'she' was excellent. It did seem weird but we'll soon get used to it. Overall, a very good novelisation!

Rating: 8/10