Holidays in the Time Vortex by Theresa Gauthier

 The Wintertime Paradox by Dave Rudden

Just as The Beatles seem to be a part of Christmas to me, Doctor Who (the BBC Drama coming up on its 60^th Anniversary) has always had a close connection to the holiday for me. Not lease because of the tradition since the reboot of the series in 2005 to air a Christmas Special, changed in recent years to a New Year’s Special. 

There have been many Christmas short story collections in the Doctor Who Universe over the years, and this one, The Wintertime Paradox by Dave Rudden, is a worthy addition to the series.

The collection consists of twelve stories with some sort of holiday twist, though some will be more holiday and others will be more twist. It’s hard to pick a favorite. There are so many good stories here, and so many familiar characters.

In A Perfect Christmas, Madame Vastra, Jenny, and Stray have one for those who are fans of the Paternoster Gang. The tale manages to keep Christmas in the forefront, and more important than that, manages to hold onto the delicious lines that are said in passing but which fans of the trio will love.

It’s funny, sweet, exciting, and one of the best Paternoster stories I’ve read. Jenny in particular sets Vastra straight as the detective tries too hard to please her human wife.

For the Girl Who Has Everything takes the reader deep into the UNIT vaults and for a look at Petronella Osgood’s early days as a member of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce—though I prefer UNIT’s earlier moniker, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. I’ve never been sure if the change was retcon or had a canon explanation. I keep thinking I missed a reference somewhere that would explain—but I digress.

Rory Pond takes center stage in Visiting Hours, as he visits River Song in Stormcage. I loved this one—just to see Rory being both heroic and fatherly as he brings his daughter a Christmas dinner that Amy lovingly packed. 

Nothing is simple, however, and River and Rory have anything but a calm, peaceful visit together.

We Will Feed You to the Trees seems sinister, but there’s so much more going on than you realize. The ending is clever and the Seventh Doctor shines as he sees through the obvious to reveal something no one on the planet he’s visiting would have guessed. It’s easy to think this story is heading for s far different ending than the one it gets!

The 13^th Doctor shows up in The Paradox Moon, which is full of brilliant lines that I could hear Jodie Whitaker deliver —playing out in my head as though it were an actual epidote—as she dives deep into the clever little asides that make watching Doctor Who so much fun. In a series of esoteric remarks and twisting in on itself as only a timey-wimey Doctor Who tale could, The Paradox Moon makes me wish Jodie Whitaker had a few more years to her tenure as The Doctor.

However you prefer your Doctor Who fiction, there’s bound to be something here for you. Me? I love all the Doctors, and I love all of these stories!