REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Monsters Inside by Stephen Cole

Title: Doctor Who: The Monsters Inside
Author: Stephen Cole
Year of Publication: 2005
Genre: Media Tie-In
Format: Hardcover
Length: 253 pages
First Line: “Wherever it was, it wasn’t Earth.”

Summary: The TARDIS takes the Doctor and Rose to a destination in deep space – Justicia, a prison camp stretched over six planets, Earth colonies deal with their criminals.

While Rose finds herself locked up in a teenage borstal, the Doctor is trapped in a scientific labour camp. Each is determined to find the other, and soon both Rose and the Doctor are risking life and limb to escape in their distinctive styles.

But their dangerous plans are complicated by some old enemies. Are these creatures fellow prisoners as they claim, or staging a takeover for their own sinister purposes?

Review: Stephen Cole decides to take Rose for her first trip to an ‘alien’ planet (Remember series 1 of Doctor Who? Did Rose ever go off Earth… Nope). This trip winds Rose and the Doctor up in prison. They are not held in prison together! Rose is put in juvi and the Doctor is held in a science unit where he uses his mind for his time. Both try to find each other from their respective cells while battling the prison from the inside.

The Monster of the Week in this novel is a monster that is introduced in series 1, the Siltheen (even though this bugs me that we can only call them Siltheen, see Worst Part). The Siltheen family reveals that this book takes place after the events of ‘Aliens of London’/’World World Three’. This book also introduces a fellow family named Blatheen, who have since made an appearance in an episode of ‘Sarah Jane Adventures’.

The characterization of Rose and the Doctor is great. I can definitely visualize both the Doctor and Rose acting the way they did in the novel as if it was an episode from the show.

It is a fun book. I kind of rolled my eyes at the ending, however.

Worst part: It still bothers me that we have not found out what race the Siltheen and Blathereen are. As this book makes clear, Silteen and Balthereen are just their surnames. Yet… everyone refers to ‘the Siltheen’ as a race. Yes, I know it’s a bit nitpicky.

Best part: Characterization is dead-on.

Grade: B

Recommend For: Doctor Who fans of course. More so if you enjoy the 9th Doctor and/or Rose.

Other Books by This Author: Doctor Who: Feast of the Drowned and Doctor Who: Ring of Steel