Call me sentimental.
I’ll wait until you do so.
Done?
Thanks, and I don’t mind that label as I regard the past as a more comfortable place to be cosseted by than the present/future. The past is safe but the future is uncertain; you can relax into it, as you know it, lived through it and can learn from it.
So, in randomly scanning through BBC BOOKS (from Penguin Books) release, DOCTOR WHO – 100 SCARIEST MONSTERS I was relieved that a phalanx of CLASSIC SERIES aliens & assorted perennial troublemakers are analysed shoulder-to-shoulder with the more recent creations that have attempted to undermine our beloved last of the Time Lords.
From Sea Devils to Scarecrows, from Mr Sin to (NEW SERIES) Macra, from Carrionites to Caan, from Kraals to Krillitanes, and from Time Beetle to Terileptils.
Across 210-pages, printed & ‘bound’ to the highest of quality (question: why cannot British industry compete with the Chinese printing industry to produce such publications?), unfortunately SCARIEST MONSTERS echoes the previously released MONSTER MISCELLANY publication (see review) in content and, therefore, fans may feel cheated by such duplication and duplicity on behalf of BBC BOOKS in an blatant act of ‘wallet-dipping’. In fact, each publication is written by Justin Richards.
However, and I am pleased that there is a ‘however’, not only is this latest offering increased value for money in comparison (£9.99 for an extra 24% page count with a larger page size format) but its content is all-new, intelligently written, complimented with a cascade of never-before-seen photographs and a creative layout design. It’s a revelation and far superior than the MONSTER MISCELLANY.
The content is, of course, biased toward the 2005-2011 series (70% of its content) but the acknowledgment of the CLASSIC SERIES is be welcomed but the choice of “scariest monsters” is debatable (maybe that this one of reasoning behind the publication; to spark debate amongst fans?).
Is a Quark scarier than Scaroth of the Jagaroth splintered across time? Is the pedestrian plodding of the Wirrn more scary than the careering invisibility of a Zeta Minor ‘antimatter creature? Surely, the alien parasite within the Keller Machine more scary than a Draconian? And are Adipose Children scary? And where is the Mara infestation if the Midnight Entity is included?
The book’s highlight is the catalogue of photographs that accompany the (all too brief) text throughout. Simply, the picture research is excellent. There’s even a slight appreciation to the James Bond film franchise; see if you can spot it.
Pedantically, there are only a few errors and these are so minor that only one could be highlighted. Page 205 states that the “Ironsides” are described as “Daleks in khaki World War II ‘livery’”. Khaki is actually a ‘yellowish drab shade’ and not green as the casing were painted. Yes, I did say that it was minor.
DOCTOR WHO – 100 SCARIEST MONSTERS is the perfect companion for fans this Christmastime; visually creative, intelligently written and comprehensive.
