An Apple a Day...

"Trenzalore shall be colonised. All animal life shall become food for the Krynoid."

Writer: George Mann
Format: Short Story
Released: February 2014
Printed in: Tales of Trenzalore 02

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor

Synopsis

It's the time of the harvest festival for Christmas and the town is rejoicing and hoping the Green Man can bring them fortune. Except, the Krynoids have arrived on Trenzalore and the green men might be giving them more than they hoped for, as they have germinated...

Verdict

An Apple a Day... was a terrific little continuation of the Tales of Trenzalore collection! I wouldn't really have expected anything less from George Mann and having him pen the return of the Krynoids to do battle with an elderly Eleventh Doctor was just great. I really liked it! It was quite simple so it doesn't burst into the significantly higher echelons of ratings, but it was a real pleasure to read through this evening. I thought the harvest festival was a good basis for the story and I thought the linkage of the Krynoid to the Green Man was very well done. Even though it was hinted that it was the Krynoids who were the monster this time to have broken through the technology barrier of the Papal Mainframe, the moment they were named really was spectacular. The Seeds of Doom is a classic in every sense of the word so the Krynoids coming back here was very much welcomed. The fate and story of Pieter was a real shame but his greenhouse being the way that the Krynoid could germinate on an otherwise snowy planet was nicely done. I thought Theol was superb and if it wasn't for his age I'd say he would make a brilliant companion! The Doctor's admiration for this youngster was a joy to see and I could just see his smile in the words written down with the boy's inquisitive nature. He was asking all the right questions and the Doctor liked that. One thing I've been a little surprised by in the two stories from this book so far is the lack of Handles. Now, I fully appreciate there's only so much you can do with a Cyberman head but the Doctor was so hurt when he perished so I thought he'd be a little more prominent. His little line was funny though and led to a lovely reference to K9. The tension created in the story by the Krynoid chase sections were very good indeed and I liked how Theol's father had a history with the Doctor and actually died in a monster attack. I felt like we should have learned what the monster was at least, especially if it contributed to the Doctor losing his leg! The links this story had with what we saw in the latter stages of The Time of the Doctor were very good with the walking stick present and its connections to Pieter being particularly poignant. The way the Krynoid was defeated was very clever with the Doctor rallying the folks of Christmas to bombard the giant devourer with an array of snowballs freezing its functions and then ringing the bells to smash the frozen figure into pieces. It was neatly done. My favourite aspect of this story though was probably Theol leading the Doctor through Pieter's residence and the surroundings. It seems unlikely that things would have gone well for the Doctor without this youngster which is quite something. Overall though, this was a fantastic little story and I have been very impressed with this collection. I was glad to see that an elderly version of the Doctor was presented and it had the feeling of the First Doctor which was a real treat.

Rating: 8/10