The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage

"Children can be so cruel... children's writers can be even worse."

Writer: Derek Landy

Format: Novella

Released: November 2014

Series: 12 Doctors, 12 Stories: 10

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Martha 

Synopsis 

The Tenth Doctor and Martha land on a planet that looks exactly like Earth but is full of fictional characters from Martha's childhood. Together they must solve the mystery of who has created a world of books and why, before their story concludes. 

Verdict 

The Mystery of the Haunted Cottage was an excellent little story! Yet another superb adventure in what is turning out to be quite the hidden gem of a 12 Doctors, 12 Stories set. Apart from the anomaly that was Tip of the Tongue, I haven't been disappointed with any of these stories and I really have been thoroughly enjoying them. At university, the amount of Doctor Who I've been able to do has obviously been on a decrease but today I was back up to the old tricks of a train journey. However, this was not the familiar South Wales to Mid Wales venture via England. My journey actually started in England and I arrived in South Wales for an extended weekend. With the journey only lasting around two hours, a Target novelisation was sadly out of the question so what better than one of these novellas? I thought the timing would be perfect but in reality, they weren't quite long enough! That being said, with all the historical reading I've been doing for class preparation or research for assignments, I could do with a little less to be honest! I think next time I'm going to have to try out an audio for this particular train journey. When going from Bath to Mid Wales, the Target readings should continue though. Anyway, to the story at hand and it featured what is probably my favourite novelised TARDIS pairing in the Tenth Doctor and Martha. They're the pair I've read the most original novels of together and I'm not sure what it is but they just work so well together in prose. That was no different here which was really nice. The dialogue between the pair is characterised so well from their on screen adventures which is hugely positive and I think the two characters themselves were characterised very well here. I loved the similarities this story shared with The Mind Robber, a story that got nicely referenced on more than one occasion. It's such a significant story and how can anybody resist the urge to return to its fundamentals of delving into fiction. The Doctor acting as if he knew Rapunzel from their previous meeting in the aforementioned Second Doctor TV story was wonderful. Rapunzel herself didn't seem too pleased to see Martha though! Not quite the prince she was expecting. The timing of writing was beneficial here with a nice foresight reference thrown in when the Doctor mentions his next screwdriver having a torch. As we know, the Eleventh Doctor's had just that. I really liked The Chase reference in regards to Dracula - Classic references I really do enjoy. Speaking of which, there was another wonderful one to The Sun Makers! The Doctor would only lose at chess if it was to a familiar robotic dog. I do love K9! And now he's got a film coming out in the future! Bonkers. Martha realising that the setting was that of a book she read as a child, the same name as the Who story itself is titled, was really good and immediately I was intrigued. Her picking up on all the clues was great and I also loved the idea and concept of the Un-men! It's incomprehensible to think of nothing. There can't be nothing but there not can't not be nothing. It can certainly mess with your head! But the story as a whole did not which was brilliant. It was fun, well-paced and had a superb plot! It was definitely an entertaining read and I really liked how well the Doctor and Martha got along. The resolution definitely worked well within the story. Overall, a more than good read and one I thoroughly enjoyed on what will soon become a familiar train ride. I've had this collection nearly a year now, and I'm almost coming to its end. It's a good job I've got a new graphic novel on the way then. 

Rating: 9/10