The Face of Fear

"I refuse to be a monster!"

Writer: Rochana Patel

Format: Short Story

Released: October 2025

Printed in: The Adventures After 02

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Zoe

Synopsis

Discover what happened after...

A remarkable collection of new Doctor Who short stories that give a glimpse into the moments just after the Doctor saves the world, and the credits roll.

The Doctor has had many adventures, visited many planets and made a whole host of friends (and some enemies). 

But if you thought it was all over after the TARDIS doors closed, and the time ship dematerialised, onto the next adventure, you'd be very much mistaken.

From Earth's past, present and future, to the furthest reaches of the universe, here are eight tales that give us a glimpse into the worlds the Doctor left behind. Sometimes triumph, sometimes tragedy (and always chaos) these are stories you'll never forget.

Verdict

The Face of Fear was an excellent story to continue my way through The Adventures After collection of sequels! This was dubbed as a sequel to The Web of Fear, but that is basically a red herring in a rather tremendous way as it gets revealed to actually be a sequel to The Faceless Ones! I thought that was handled really well and I was certainly duped for the first half of proceedings. Starting seemingly where events with the Yeti and the London Underground left off in having the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria wandering on the tracks to find the TARDIS was good fun and seemed logical for an immediate sequel. It also tied in nicely with the UNIT dating controversy as that serial could feasibly take place at just about any point between the 1960s and 80s with all of the contradictions that have come since then! So with it seemingly being 1966 which admittedly did feel a little off, the Doctor and Jamie needing some shelter as they searched for their time and space machine they called home, who else would they call upon but Polly! That was hugely exciting as her departure always felt a little rushed given that she and Ben barely featured in the last half of their exit story. It also did feel weird that Ben wasn't mentioned alongside Polly, but I guess that was caveated by his surprise entrance later in the story at Polly's house with the Doctor and Jamie believing he would have been away on leave. That was certainly feasible. But I'm not sure the Ben Jackson we all knew would have just stopped and watched from upstairs as his old chums were chased by a pretty terrifying creature! I was loving the journey across the era of the Second Doctor and I thought with Victoria seemingly being the current companion that it was going to end there, but alas we really did stretch across the entire era as Zoe was revealed to be the woman behind everything! Sort of. That was really fun and really not something I saw coming which is always fun. That familiar attire being described before she was named was brilliant in planting the quick seed that sparked a smile as I read in bed in the early hours of the morning. It was glorious stuff. Everything turning out to be a Chameleon simulation was a really interesting concept and it was fun for the last Second Doctor TARDIS trio to have landed on their home world. It's a shame we didn't get more of a chance to explore that, but just being there at all and the description of how devastated and broken it was made for some quite spectacular imagery. Even the moons were battered. That was quite a bleak world to say the least. I like the idea of the Doctor and Jamie giving the Chameleons some personalities to present themselves on and old companions like Ben, Polly and Victoria were the prime candidates. They always did feel a tad off which was explained by them being Chameleons, and even the Doctor within the simulation needed reminding of the likes of The Wheel in Space and The Mind Robber to get reacquainted with Zoe, and when he was it was obvious there was nobody better to stay behind and keep an eye on things. The little ambiguity at the end regarding whether the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe were actually their own true article was fascinating and a fun teaser. Might they be Chameleons from this point forward? The TARDIS would seem to indicate no, but it's a cheeky little Easter egg. Overall, a tremendous read to continue the collection! 

Rating: 9/10