Once Upon a Time

"Too many of their children were not coming home."

Writer: Tom Macrae

Format: Short Story

Released: July 2006

Printed in: Doctor Who Storybook 2007

Featuring: Tenth Doctor

Synopsis

In a quiet village where children are going missing, a story is being told. And stories are important here. But what is a village with no children. Who will tell the stories?

Verdict

Once Upon a Time was a great short story to continue my way through the 2007 Doctor Who Storybook! I was intrigued that given the placement of the story at the time of release within Series 2 that I found the Tenth Doctor travelling alone. Reading when I am now in 2025 that's no surprise and nothing new following the Christmas Specials between television series and then of course the run of 2009 Specials, but at the time of release the absence of Rose is a little surprising. She wasn't even referenced which was fascinating but it's fair to say she wasn't missed. The Doctor travelling alone was more than sufficient to make up the story and it was a very solid one at that. I was a little annoyed at the start to find the style being in the first person as that's traditionally something I don't usually enjoy, but it was actually fine here! It was a little weird in not knowing who exactly was telling the story until the end, but by the time we reached that point in proceedings there really was only going to be one answer! I thought the concept for the adventure was really strong and I liked how only the children could hear the music that was haunting the village. The eeriness and just horror of schoolchildren going missing on a daily basis one at a time was disturbing on so many levels. If this was released elsewhere or in a different format with the ability to have darker tones then this could have had a special kind of Stephen King feeling. The atmosphere was still impressive, and the sense of unease was certainly there. Brynn and Lissa being the last remaining children was good and them having a love interest added to the emotions, even if they were children. Since having children, I find any kind of story involving them a little difficult to read when it's anything negative. Thankfully, those who all went missing here were preserved and whilst it's obviously not a good thing that they were taken in the first place, the reason was strangely beautiful. The concept behind the Mountain was strong and I love the use of stories. It does seem pretty unique for the mountain that was actually a ship to be deemed a mountain when it was metallic, but I liked that in a story about stories it had become part of the village's historical story. Brynn encountering the Doctor was good and whilst I did enjoy the interactions, I wasn't a big fan of him referring to him simply as Doctor without the prefix! One word on the illustrations that accompanied this adventure and I don't mean to be negative in a story I have rated as highly as I have, but they were pretty naff. I just can't get on with this type of illustration as it just feels blocky and not anywhere near the level of the more traditional style that has been present in Cuckoo-Spit and The Cat Came Back. The likeness of the Doctor just feels off, but thankfully the content for this one was excellent and more than made up for things. The Doctor checking things off and ensuring that Brynn got to be the one to finish the story as he made his own way up the mountain to save Lissa was decent and I admired his efforts. It didn't feel very much like a children's story when he wrote it into existence that he woke everyone else up that had been missing by kissing his beloved, but who's to blame him? Bringing things full circle and revealing that it was Brynn telling the adventure's events once more to Lissa in their married olden days was a nice touch and a good feeling to finish on. Overall, a great little short story! 

Rating: 8/10