Frida Kahlo and the Skull Children

"Suffering was what it meant to be human."

Writer: Sophie McKenzie 

Format: Novella

Released: October 2024

Series: Icons 01

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor

Synopsis

Some art can be deadly...

Young Frida Kahlo is angry. Injured in a terrible accident, she lives with constant pain and worries that her dreams are unreachable. 

But when the TARDIS lands in Mexico City – drawn by a strange disturbance in its energy fields – Frida's life is turned upside down. Aliens have arrived, taking over the bodies of children and killing anyone who gets in their way. 

With the fate of the Earth at stake, the Doctor and Frida must find a way to understand their alien invaders, and each other.

Verdict

Frida Kahlo and the Skull Children was a great novella to kick off the brand new Icons series! I'm a big fan of the idea behind this series because it's something a little different and I'm all for being unique. I also quite like that they are novellas and this made for a rapid read as I continue to enjoy my paternity leave. I actually read quite a few chapters whilst also holding my little girl in her infancy rocking her to sleep! The size of the book certainly helped there. I think it's also wonderful to be getting a brand new book for the Thirteenth Doctor as due to circumstances outside of a lot of people's control, her prose error was cut drastically short which is a monumental shame. I thought it was quite refreshing to have her travelling alone here as that's something we haven't been able to enjoy on screen and I must say the author absolutely nailed her characterisation. I was really impressed with that. Whilst the range name is as it is, I can't say I had ever heard of Frida Kahlo prior to the announcement of this book. I didn't actually do any research prior to reading as I was hoping the book would tell me what makes her iconic, but I'm not sure it went all the way there in that regard. The Doctor clearly recognised her name which is something and her backstory was quite emotional in how she was originally determined to be a scientist before suffering a car accident that has now turned her to the world of art. The way her pain was utilised when it came to Talbak inhabiting her body was really intriguing. I found the concept behind the Caretans to be fascinating and I was very excited to find that the Doctor realised they were pre-Gallifrey. That makes them ancient! I love delving into the Dark Ages and earlier when it comes to the Whoniverse because things seem a lot more dangerous and nothing is really off the cards. There's also a strong sense of vulnerability. I thought the idea of them essentially being a walking form of binary code was incredibly unique and not something I'd even be able to imagine. It was a little difficult to comprehend but I liked how it was explained as the book went on. More primary functions were almost downgraded and the fact they had lain dormant on Earth for over sixty-six million years was quite something. Time to them meant nothing as they looked for an AI singularity. I thought the Earthshock reference from the Doctor was incredibly poignant and I love the idea of the Caretans coming to Earth from that freighter that wiped out the dinosaurs. I must say, I loved the 1926 setting of Mexico City and whilst I think explaining away the translation circuits went a little too overboard needlessly, I wasn't expecting an AI threat in the twentieth century! Certainly not this early on. I thought the Doctor coming up with the plan thanks to some harmless suggestion by Frida was great and it made sense to create a virtual reality. The Caretans could live as they desired in feeling what humanity felt and did in their very own metaverse. I thought it was all quite simple really! The relationship and dynamic between the Doctor and Frida was good and whilst I thought the change in attitude towards Kahlo assisting was a little on the nose, they really did blossom together. Frida admired the Doctor despite not entirely understanding her which I thought was quite fun. The added threat of Kappa as one part of the Caretans that had seen its code corrupted was good and I liked that it took over Margo towards the end who had a strong friendship with Frida and was due to be adopted that night. The Doctor tricking it with the lure of a replication code but actually solving the problems was nicely done, even if I had worked it out as it was happening. It was logical and quite clever really! Overall, a fantastic little read and a strong way to start this new and exciting series.

Rating: 8/10