A New Look at a Literary Legend

by Theresa Gauthier 

Doctor Who: Legends of Camelot by Jacqueline Rayner

I have a love of books based on Doctor Who and on Star Trek. That’s no secret. I’ve reviewed more than a few of both on this blog. When a book comes along that combines my love of one of these franchises with some other literary favorite, I jump at the chance to read it. 

In this particular instance, Doctor Who paired with Camelot—it’s brilliant! It’s also nothing new. The Classic Series had an episode that crossed the Once and Future King with the Time-Traveling Gallifreyan back in the ‘80s. Sylvester McCoy’s “Battlefield” is a favorite of mine.

This newer tale introduces the Tenth Doctor (as played by David Tennant) and his companion, Donna Noble (as played by Catherine Tate) to the legend. In the story, the Doctor and Donna investigate a strange energy in Carbury and are pulled into another dimension. The Doctor, referred to as Merlin by several characters (harkening back to “Battlefield”) and Donna discover that time is fluctuating, spinning faster as they run through the legend of King Arthur. Once moment, Arthur is a boy, and yet soon after, he’s much older. With the truncated flow of time, and the rapidly approaching end of the legend, the Doctor and Donna must find out what’s happening and how to correct it.

The book is well-written , detailed, and fun. Donna, always one of my personal favorite companions, has an opinion on everything and isn’t afraid to speak it out loud. Her ability to see through details and connect patterns makes her a formidable companion—as demonstrated on several episodes.

The duo race headlong through the legend, which isn’t actually taking place on Earth. Remember, it’s an alternate dimension, and the people of this dimension don’t realize they’ve taken on the personas of characters from a legend not their own. 

With just the perfect amount of complexity to keep readers on their toes, the dialogue is so in character, you’ll hear Catherine Tate’s and David Tennant’s voices in your head, but truly it’s the tying in of the Seventh Doctor episode that made this so much fun for me. I’ve wondered since the first time I saw that episode if other incarnations of the Doctor might tie-in to the Arthurian legend, and that it was Ten and Donna who did just makes me giddy.

I have to say I also love the cover photo. David Tennant on horseback (flash to the season 2 episode “The Girl in the Fireplace”) holding his sonic screwdriver  while wearing his 3D glasses—Brilliant!