Book #221 of 2021:
Doctor Who: Adventures in Lockdown edited by Steve Cole
This 2020 publication is a lovely collection of short fiction, all either written during the COVID-19 pandemic or at least unreleased until then. Only three of the sixteen entries are brand-new for this title; most were posted free online over the course of last summer as a way to rally the spirits of Doctor Who fans in a time of global uncertainty. And that’s the thematic link between these pieces: they are generally not canonical Whoniverse adventures taking place throughout the lockdown — although I’m sure those will come eventually — but rather tales in the continuity of that franchise that we all could use right now. Some involve similar periods of isolation for the Doctors and their companions; others are heartwarming deep dives into beloved corners of fandom history, revisiting favorite episodes with a new perspective, scene, or entire sequel event.
There are only two duds in my opinion (including an embarrassment of a Steven Moffat poem), and on the opposite extreme Neil Gaiman’s contribution “One Virtue, and a Thousand Crimes” about his original character the Corsair is practically worth the price of admittance on its own. I’d also highlight Pete McTighe’s “Press Play,” in which the Thirteenth Doctor is surprised by a hologram recording of her granddaughter Susan, and Paul Cornell’s “The Shadow Passes,” in which the latest TARDIS team has to shelter underground on an alien planet for a few weeks, as additional favorites. Like the rest, these items have been penned by authors who know and love the series well, and their fondness shines through just as intended.
Granted, the heavy male skew is disappointing, but that’s probably part of a larger conversation on who gets invited to participate in this sort of thing by sci-fi genre gatekeepers even in the era of the first female Doctor. And while I can’t predict how the book will age overall, it certainly feels welcome in our present moment.
★★★★☆
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