The first novel for the Thirteenth Doctor riffs on how a single event can, if exploited by those in pursuit of power, turn history on its head

The events of the past have consequences. Moments, both significant and seemingly not, can echo and grow louder, reverberating in the present as they rebound off the mountains of time. Consequence looms large in The Good Doctor, the first book tie-in for the Thirteenth Doctor and a Doctor Who debut for award-winning Young Adult writer Juno Dawson.

The Good Doctor brings us to Lobos, a planet in the middle of a bloody war between the native Loba, a canine species who can trace their ancestry back to Laika, the poor dog shot into space by the Soviets, and a tribe of human colonists looking to take control of the planet and its inhabitants.  The action begins with the Doctor and her friends attempting to bring the warring factions to the table to thrash out a peace deal. Successful in this endeavour, the Doctor and chums pack up the Tardis and head back to Earth, only to discover that Ryan has left his phone behind. With the old Tardis playing up again, the foursome head back to Lobos but find themselves landing 600 years after their last visit.

Slippage

The Good Doctor

Things haven’t gone so well in that time, particularly for the natives who, in living up to the traditions of oppressed peoples everywhere, have come under the yoke of the human occupiers. To make matters considerably worse for Laika’s offspring, the humans have spent the intervening six centuries establishing an all-powerful organised religion, the founding myths of which have been grossly misinterpreted and are now being wielded to keep a tight grip on the locals.  As you might expect, the Doctor and her pals are having none of this and set about trying to right some wrongs. A classic Doctor story ensues, which features prominent roles for Yaz, Graham and Ryan as well as a strong supporting cast of rebel heroes (as well as anti-heroes), bad guys hiding behind a corrupt and powerful religion, and a few other interesting characters along the way.

The story riffs well on the consequences of moments in time. How one, seemingly well intentioned event can, if exploited, abused even, by those interested only in the pursuit of power, turn history on its head. As is always the case with the Doctor, time matters and The Good Doctor explores how, through the slippage of time, events can be (mis)interpreted to suit other narratives: a throw-away comment can become a rule, a person can become a God. This question has been explored before in the storylines of previous Doctors, which Dawson makes a nod too (“Time Lords have strict rules about intervention”). Is she ultimately doing this for the greater good and at what cost? Is her involvement really only leading to worse things to come for the innocent of the universe? These questions are central to the Doctor’s story. That she is there to do good is undoubtable, but as we find out in this book, good deeds don’t always lead to the best of outcomes and one person’s “gallant protector” can be another’s “capricious tyrant”.

Language Flows

The Good Doctor

One of the real strengths of Dawson’s writing in The Good Doctor is how well she captures the dialogue throughout. The Doctor and her companions, who are all relatively new to us (eight episodes in at the time of writing) appear exactly as they do on screen and one of the real benefits of this is you get to spend more time in their company. Although our protagonists aren’t given a great deal more depth than they get on-screen, they are given more room to express themselves than they would in a typical under-sixty-minute episode. Whether it is Graham insisting he gets home in time for Pointless or the Doctor, with her unmistakably excitable Northern vernacular, calling people her mate and exclaiming her love for Yorkshire Tea, the language flows perfectly and you can easily picture the same conversations being played out on screen.

We are in good hands with Dawson, a writer who is on the record as saying that it was a “dream to work within the Whoniverse”. She brings to the table some great framing of our now fairly familiar Doctor and her crew while also capturing the sense of humour, particularly with Graham’s awful jokes and lovable grandad routine. Our main characters are here with their familiar warmth and a real thread of humanity and compassion that, for this writer at least, makes the thought of a few hours in their company an all-together pleasant daydream. The Good Doctor is a great first novel for our new Doctor and offers the promise of some wonderful times to come with both Whittaker and Dawson at the helm of our beloved blue box.

The Good Doctor by Juno Dawson is published by BBC Books. The adventures of the Thirteenth Doctor continue in the novels Molten Heart by Una McCormack and Combat Magicks by Steve Cole.

Chris Bateman
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