The Good Doctor

"A stranger and her friends. Come to save us all."

Writer: Juno Dawson
Format: Novel
Released: 25th October 2018
Series: NSA 63

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham

Synopsis

"To distort the purity of the Good Doctor is an abomination!"

On the planet of Lobos, the Doctor hails a violent war between the native Loba and human colonists. The TARDIS crew departs - only for Ryan to discover he's left his phone behind. Again.

Upon returning, the Doctor finds that the TARDIS has slipped hundreds of years into the future - and something has gone badly wrong. The Loba are now slaves, serving human zealots who worship a figure known as The Good Doctor.

It's time for the Doctor to face up to the consequences of her last visit. With Lobos on the brink of catastrophe, will she be able to make things right?

Verdict

The Good Doctor was a very good novel and a great start to the format for the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends! It was a really decent book and I was glad that the novels accompanying the television series started strongly. I thought the novel took a little time to get into the full swing of things after a hasty first chapter but once the TARDIS landed on Lobos for the second time, at the wrong period, the story really kicked into gear. I thought the writing of all four members of Team TARDIS was excellent and I was particularly impressed with how well Jodie Whittaker's likeness was captured on the page. The characterisation of the Thirteenth Doctor was really impressive. I thought the relationship with Yaz was lovely here and the reaction of the Doctor when the mine was blown up showed just how much her friends meant to her. Graham was superb in this book and him being mistakenly worshipped as the Good Doctor was quite intriguing. I was initially sceptical of the decision for Graham to be the one that Lobos had come to see as their religion's figurehead but it actually was great writing and the text that followed really went to undermine those who didn't think the Doctor should be a woman. What was so bad about women? Why should they be inferior? That being the stance at this point in the history of Lobos was good and I loved the Doctor's reaction to that. It'll be interesting to see, as alluded to here, if her change in gender will cause any problems during her travels, particularly into the past on Earth. Mykados was an excellent character and his absolute devotion to the cause of the Good Doctor was extraordinary. I'm an Atheist and I found the absolute ridiculing of religion here just wonderful. Surely religious people could see similarities to their religion here? Anyway, Tempika and Jaya's relationship was a terrific highlight of the story and I liked how iconic and symbolic their relationship was at the novel's conclusion. They would lead the new Labos into peace and harmony and more importantly, equality. Graham finding the true history documents and the original peace treaty that the Doctor and co helped broker on their first visit was very good. I wasn't sure about Ryan forgetting his phone being the reason why the TARDIS returned to Labos but I enjoyed the vague resemblance to The Ark. Trolos was another interesting character and the Doctor's absolute refusal to fight with a weapon in the trial by combat was perfect of her personality. I really liked that and she seemed to stay alive quite easily with her words. Mykados killing himself instead of living in the new world was unexpected but just showed how devoted he was to his religion, even if it was one he had constructed, at least in some part. Graham's adoption of the Good Doctor was very humorous throughout and I also loved the reference to Bradley Walsh's role as presenter of The Chase. That was very clever writing. Pry was a good character too and Yaz stalling his bringing down of the Temple was great. The role the Eyes played in the resolution was really good and I liked how the Doctor and her companions all came together at perfect timing. Even the TARDIS did as she was told! The epilogue was really wonderful and a lovely little summary of just who the Doctor is and what she stands for. She should be believed in. Overall, a very good novel!

Rating: 8/10