The Three Brothers Gruff

"Every race has its weaknesses"

Writer: Justin Richards

Format: Short Story

Released: August 2026

Printed in: Time Lord Fairy Tales 14

Featuring: Sontarans

Synopsis

We are all stories in the end...

Sixteen tales of ancient wonder and mystery, passed down through generations of Time Lords. 

Dark, beautiful and twisted, these stories are filled with nightmarish terrors and heroic triumphs from across all of time and space.

Verdict

The Three Brothers Gruff was a fun little story to continue my way through the Time Lord Fairy Tales collection! I'm a sucker for a Sontaran adventure so to get a second one in this book is a big positive for me. I knew right from the off with the arrival of a spherical ship that it was going to be them and once black armour was described, there was only one race it was going to be. I like the simplicity of having Commander Starn return from The Three Little Sontarans as it just keeps things moving from a continuity perspective and it makes sense that if there are fairytales about a Sontaran, then it would be the same one. I thought the story clearly took inspiration from The Sontaran Experiment which I'm absolutely okay with as that is one of the first Classic era serials I ever watched. I loved the impact the Sontarans made in The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky so I remember being very excited receiving the DVD of that story for Christmas 2008 and catching up on their past encounters with the Doctor. Having Starn here reporting on a planet and testing the local population felt familiar and I enjoyed that aspect of the story very much. The threat posed to Starn from his higher in command was good in that if the report of the feasibility of the planet wasn't provided within a day, then the Sontaran invasion would not be risked and therefore not commence. As far as the three brothers were concerned, that was music to their ears and they knew what needed to be done. The humour and almost comical way in which Starn revealed his own weakness and that of the entire Sontaran race was just gloriously perfect of this race. He thought he was boasting and showing strength in explaining that even in having a weakness, theirs was on their neck in the form of the probic vent which meant that they had to face their enemies. Starn was almost beaming with pride on the page in explaining this but it brought his downfall. I thought Naze was the best of the Gruff brothers and it was good that he realised not to showcase all of his intelligence when it came to the testing in place by Starn. Even when a wrong answer provided a significant electric shock, he knew not to appear too clever as the Sontaran might not want him. The way he saved and then enlisted his other brothers for what was needed to take out Starn and prevent their planet from being invaded. I don't think they should have been able to carry the Sontaran over to his ship but at the same time the gravity of the planet was never established. I'll let it slide. I thought their plan to smash up anything they could see in the ship to prevent the report getting back to Sontaran Command was excellent and felt right to just cause chaos. Overall, a really fun little tale to continue my way through the book! Just one to go now. A great read.

Rating: 8/10