Fleeting Faces

"A man like Davros respects strength."

Writer: Steve Cole

Format: Short Story

Released: September 2024

Printed in: Fifteen Doctors 15 Stories

Featuring: Fourteenth Doctor

Synopsis

Discover the latest edition of this much-loved anthology, with a bonus story featuring the Fourteenth Doctor, as well as a brand-new story featuring the Fifteenth Doctor! 

Fifteen wonderful tales of adventure, science, magic, monsters and time travel – featuring all fifteen Doctors – are waiting for you in this very special Doctor Who volume.

Verdict

Fleeting Faces was a strong way to kick off my reading of the Fifteen Doctors 15 Stories collection! I think it’s pretty cheeky that this is the fourth edition of this collection of short stories now as it is quite steep to ask fans to purchase a whole new book for two new stories here with the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors, but thankfully my local library has a copy and I was quick to pounce on it! I’m keen to keep up with everything possible regarding the current era, but I couldn’t miss out on a new (ish) story for the Fourteenth Doctor also! He’s going to become quite the unique and rarified incarnation as years go by so to get a novelisation of Destination: Skaro here as the first part of the story was absolutely delightful. I think that’s where the main focus of this blog entry will focus because I also think it’s a little sneaky to basically rehash the Under Control/Into Control two-parter from the Ten Days of Christmas collection last year and the 2024 Doctor Who Annual. I’m really not sure it warrants being in three separate publications! But alas here we are and at least there was a good link from the Fourteenth Doctor encountering the Dalek and linking straight in. I thought the second part was pretty rubbish I’m not going to lie with Alfredo the pig humorously becoming a companion (sort of), whereas part three with the Sycorax Queen was outstanding. But I’ve blogged these before during last year’s festive period so please do use the search function for my thoughts on these. Skaro is where the focus should be and I actually read this story 366 days after first watching the televised version from my hotel room in Yerevan, Armenia. It was different surroundings this time at home post workout at 6.30am. I think the story is brilliant and I liked how it didn’t quite feel as much of a spoof in prose. I love seeing Davros at the earliest point we’ve ever seen him on screen, although the insinuations here regarding Genesis of the Daleks felt wrong. We cannot possibly be rewriting the history of the Dalek creator here as his entire background relates to the Kaled-Thal war and how he was reduced to a survival machine. This isn’t a wheelchair and in no way represents disabled people so I do hope the next time we see Davros he is back in his traditional travel machine. The little inclusion of Nyder was marvellous though and I think the failed anagrams in naming what would become the Dalek almost went too far. Thankfully they didn’t, although some of those names were atrocious! Dalek was the clear winner and it’s tremendous to think that it’s the Doctor who provides that name. But it doesn’t stop there as he mentions the word exterminate and also coins the iconic title of the genesis of the Daleks. Castavillian was a fun character here and his reaction to the content provided from the Doctor was something he could eat right up! I was a big fan. The Doctor’s reaction to releasing where and more importantly when he was worked so well and I like the little details. This takes place just over an hour after the conclusion to The Power of the Doctor and in between we had Liberation of the Daleks as well which was neatly referenced. I thought the ending of the entire story to alluding to lead into The Star Beast was good stuff as well. Whilst it’s a shame we didn’t get anything new for the Fourteenth Doctor, this is an eventful short story involving Davros, the first Dalek and a returning Sycorax. The continuity with The Christmas Invasion is strong and I like that the Doctor puts a plunger in place of the killer claw. And somehow Davros approved! Overall, a strong bit of prose and I look forward to reading how the collection concludes. But can we also get a War and Fugitive Doctor story to really complete things? 

Rating: 8/10