| Title | : | Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairytales |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1405920025 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781405920025 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 260 |
| Publication | : | First published November 3, 2015 |
Fifteen tales of ancient wonder and mystery, passed down through generations of Time Lords.
Dark, beautiful and twisted, these stories are filled with nightmarish terrors and heroic triumphs, from across all of time and space.
Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairytales Reviews
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This review can be found on
Amaranthine Reads.
Heroes can be found in the most unlikely places. Perhaps we all have it within us to do great things, but may simply lack the circumstances or the reasons to be heroic.
Doctor Who is one of those classic British things that everyone knows about, despite the fact they've never seen it. Even before the series was rebooted in 2005, I had a vague notion of The Doctor and the Daleks and a few other monsters, and was absolutely on first-name terms with the TARDIS. He is an integral part of British culture and I eventually found my way to watching it on TV-and really enjoying it. David Tennant was my first Doctor, having missed out on Christopher Eccleston, and jumped right in to the middle of the Tenth regeneration and was hooked. Whilst lately the series has gone down the toilet in a rather out-of-control helix motion, I still hold a certain patriotic connection to it. It's a series I wish I'd had during my childhood.
Time Lord Fairy Tales was bought purely for two things: the cover and the fact that it is Doctor Who related. I dislike short stories as a rule, but read them anyway in the hope for a vague surprise of expectations being exceeded. This was no exception.
We have fifteen short stories, each written by Justin Richards, that have ideas, plotlines and general characteristics of our own well-loved fairy tales. Think Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and those fables that we all seem to know so well despite probably never having read them. Yet each story has a Doctor Who twist: either they feature the Doctor himself or have a decidedly science fiction element to them.
My only two areas of consternation were thus: one, I dislike short stories as a rule, and two, I currently dislike Doctor Who the television programme. Both of those were put to bed with the first story, a tale that features probably the scariest monsters of Doctor Who: the Weeping Angels. These moving statues scare the absolutely bejesus out of me, a fully grown adult. The first story goes right for the jugular and is written sufficiently enough that I felt palpitations. That rarely happens when I read and the suspense, storyline and general spooky feel of the piece really had me gripped.
From then on, it was a little lacklustre. I enjoyed the re-working of the fairy tales we know so well, but I feel as if more could have been done with them. There were interesting twists in a lot of them, and there were a couple of times I found myself thinking, "I did not see that coming", which in any story is a good thing.
They are all written well technically and the illustrations go so well it was a joy to see them, but I think my dislike of short stories held out and was not shaken by these. They are fun to read and any Doctor Who fan will enjoy them and I believe even if you dislike or have never heard of Doctor Who you can absolutely enjoy these for what they are, which are Our-World Fairy Tale re-workings with a sci-fi twist. -
I really enjoyed this book. A must read for any Doctor Who fan who also enjoys fairy tales.
"The Garden of Statues": 5/5, loved this one! Weeping Angels are probably my favourite DW villain.
"Frozen Beauty" : 4/5, I love the way this one paralleled the classic story.
"Cinderella and the Magic Box": 4.5/5, loved that this one featured 11!!
"The Twins in the Wood" 3/5, cute story but it was so predictable and didn't really do much for me. I have no idea what story this is supposed to be based on.
"The Three Little Sontorans" -3/5, very clever twist on the classic, but overall just kind of meh for me.
"Snow White & the Seven Keys to Doomsday" - 4/5, I liked this one but the end felt so convenient.
"Jak and the Wormhole" - 3/5, I enjoyed this one but I was a little underwhelmed.
"Little Rose Riding Hood" - 5/5, loved this one! Rose and Nine, what more do you need?
"The Gingerbread Trap" - 3.5/5, this one felt like a classic fairy tale, but it was basically copy and pasted from an episode of the show.
"The Scruffy Piper" - 3.5/5, this one was cute, that's all.
"Helana & the Beast" - 4.5/5, this one was very good, I liked it. One of my favourites in the book.
"Andiba & the Four Slitheen" - 4/5, this one was clever and I liked the ending.
"The Grief Collector" - 5/5, I loved this one and the twist it took on the Rumpelstiltskin story.
"The Three Brothers Gruff" - 3.5/5, clever story. I liked it well enough.
"Sirgwain & the Green Knight" - 4/5, good story but I have no idea who this villain is supposed to be. -
2015 Book Awards: Definitely Re-Reading Runner-Up
(information about this award is available on my profile)
A collection of Doctor Who-inspired fairy tales was definitely a perfect thing to listen to today. As there are 15 stories, there were stories that I enjoyed a lot and stories that I enjoyed a bit less, but they were all good in their own way. If I did an average rating for this story collection it was roughly 3 2/3, which I rounded up to 4 stars.
Now, a quick run through the stories in order of preference, starting with the ones I rated the lowest.
Garden of Statues, read by Joanna Page
As it was a lot like the episode Blink it was quite a predictable story. Gave it 2 stars.
The Three Brothers Gruff, read by Paul McGann
Rated around 2.5 stars, based on The Four Skillful Brothers. Found myself zoning out a bit to this, despite Paul McGann doing a very good reading of it.
Jak and the Wormhole, read by Tom Baker
Rated about 3 stars, this story - a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk - did feel a little flat to me. It was Tom Baker that livened it up.
The Three Little Sontarans, read by Dan Starkey
Once again, a flat story (this time based on Three Little Pigs) but with a fabulous reader. Dan Starkey plays Strax on the show, if you didn't know, so having him voice three Sontarans trying to defeat an enemy with various strategies was ideal.
The Twins in the Wood, read by Anne Reid
Not really sure what story this was a retelling of, but it was quite enjoyable. A bit predictable, though, but gave it 3 stars.
Andiba and the Four Slitheen, read by Yasmin Page
A retelling of Alibaba and the Fourty Thieves, but with a female lead. I miss the Slitheen, actually, with their skin suits and all of that, so this was an enjoyable story thanks to that. Almost 3.5 stars.
The Gingerbread Trap, read by Samuel Anderson
Samuel Anderson did not do the best reading of this story, but this Hansel and Gretel retelling was still good. Anyone up for mind-enhancing frying oil? 3.5 stars.
Oh, right, and I cried when I realized who the enemy was in this story because Elizabeth Sladen :(
Frozen Beauty, read by Adjoa Andoh
A very good retelling of Sleeping Beauty and, for a short fairy tale retelling, it was actually quite unpredictable. But good space fairy tale! 4 stars!
Sirgwain and the Green Knight, read by Andrew Brooke
I'm a big King Arthur/Knights of Camelot/Merlin/whatever you wish to call it fan, so this - based on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - was definitely a good and quite unpredictable story. 4 stars!
Snow White and the Seven Keys to Doomsday, read by Sophie Aldred
Retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (nooo, really??). Sophie Aldred's reading was phenomenal and this story was highly enjoyable, especially since Snow White wasn't the princess that the Queen was out to kill but a servant girl who just happens to overhear the Queen's plans. 4.5 stars!
The Scruffy Piper, read by Nicholas Briggs
Retelling of The Pied Piper of Hamelin, featuring an invasion by Cyber Men - and the 2nd Doctor!! I definitely need to watch more Classic Who - I miss the old Doctors. 4.5 stars!
Little Rose Riding Hood, read by Rachael Stirling
Little Red Riding Hood. You all know who she meets, don't you? Yep; the Bad Wolf. All the fanart of Rose as this fairy tale character came true - except for that in this story Rose is a little girl and it's not a wolf that's waiting in her grandmother's cottage... Oh, and the Woodcutter? For some reason he's wearing a black leather jacket and speaks in a northern British accent............ 5 STARS!
Helana and the Beast, read by Pippa Bennett-Warner
I love Beauty and the Beast and this was a really good retelling of that with the Beast being a man who was transformed not due to a spell but thanks to tampering with evolution - or something like that. Helana comes along to free her father, who has been captured by the Beast to try and turn him back to a man, and brave Helana takes his place. Oh, and there's a man calling himself the Librarian, who lives in the library in a blue cupboard. 5 stars!
Cinderella and the Magic Box, read by Ingrid Oliver
Cinderella is not my favorite fairy tale, but damn this was good! Ingrid Oliver was exceptional, there was a masked ball, aliens with fangs who were afraid of sunlight and Cinderella got a ride to the castle not in a pumpkin wagon but in a blue box, steered by a man with a bow tie. 5 stars!
The Grief Collector, read by Michelle Gomez
So Rumplestilskin is one of the creepier fairy tales I have ever heard, but also one of the best, and this retelling read by the fabulous Michelle Gomez made it even better. I had goosebumps for most of the story and I was absolutely sure that things would go to hell. Thankfully, though, the main character was assisted by a man in a blue pinstriped suit - and yes, I screamed because favorite Doctor is in the house! 5 FABULOUS STARS! -
I have to say that I am not a regular Doctor Who reader (usually reading only specials and those lost episodes from my childhood hiding behind the sofa) but this one caught my eye and I have to say I really enjoyed it.
In simple terms think of famous Grimm Brothers stories re-told with the characters being the more famous characters and monsters from the recent series - although not explicitly stated my guess is from the Matt Smith tenure.
So in short a series of tales with very much classic fairy tale vibes but most certainly set in and around the universe of Doctor Who and remarkably easy and fun to read too. -
Playful short stories taken from classic fairy tales featuring characters from Dr. Who. With its aim at younger readers, this collection has appropriate language and content for children. The stories move along quickly and you can be sure to get a happily ever after, unless you happen to like the bad guys.
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41st book read in 2017.
Number 58 out of 606 on my all time book list. -
"When I was your age — about, ooh, a thousand years ago — I loved a good bedtime story. The Three Little Sontarans. The Emperor Dalek's New Clothes. Snow White and the Seven Keys to Doomsday, eh? All the classics."- The Eleventh Doctor.
The idea of fairy tales with a Doctor Who twist seems a ridiculous idea at first but the brilliant Justin Richards makes it wonderful. In this collection are fifteen fairy tales that are mostly based on our traditional fairy tales, only with a sci-fi twist and a Doctor Who alien as the villain.
The Garden of Statues: The least fairy tale like story of the lot, this is a creepy Weeping Angel story which is great.
Frozen Beauty: Sleeping Beauty except with space travel cryogenesis and the Wirrn. A particularly clever idea.
Cinderella and the Magic Box: This one is closer to the original fairy tale than most here. The big difference is that the role of the fairy godmother is filled by the Eleventh Doctor. Oh, and there's vampires too. It works very well.
The Twins in the Wood: An odd one this where two royal twins escape execution from a rival to the throne and hide in the woods on Gallifrey. It managed to have a real fairy tale feel to it despite not being based on an actual fairy tale.
The Three Little Sontarans: It's the Three Little Pigs only with sontarans. A rutan plays the role of the big bad wolf. It's quite silly but it's a lot of fun.
Jak and the Wormhole: A wormhole instead of a beanstalk and Nimon instead of a giant. It strays a little far from the original tale but just about gets away with it.
Snow White and the Seven Keys to Doomsday: Clearly only existing because of the quote above, this was my least favorite of the collection. It had to somehow get that title to actually work within the Snow White story and what we're left with is a story that isn't really much like Snow White at all.
Little Rose Riding Hood: A young girl called Rose visits her Grandmother only to find she has been replaced by a zygon. The Ninth Doctor plays the role of the woodcutter. It makes excellent sense for the wolf to be a zygon. It's hinted that this is meant to be a young Rose Tyler but if so it conflicts with the history of the character on the show.
The Gingerbread Trap: Hansel and Gretel, with the witch being a Krillitane. Another excellent use of a Doctor Who alien.
The Scruffy Piper: My favorite of the collection, it's the Pied Piper with the Second Doctor and his recorder and the rates being cybermats. So ridiculous but so good.
Helana and the Beast: A Beauty and the Beast-esque story where the Twelfth Doctor makes an appearance. It loses the magic of the original tale.
Andiba and the Four Slitheen: Another that isn't based on a traditional tale, this is set in the fairy tale feeling location of a distillery. A decent story.
The Grief Collector: A take on the rumpelstiltskin story, with the Tenth Doctor helping sort things out. One of the best stories of the collection.
The Three Brothers Gruff: The billy-goats are made to be humans and the troll is a sontaran on this take on the classic. It sort of loses the wit of the original tale but worth reading just for the idea of a sontaran being confused for a troll.
Sirgwain and the Green Knight: Presumably based on the Arthurian story, one I am not familiar with, this sees the role of the green knight taken by an Ice Warrior. The Ice Warrior is less villainous than we often see.
All in all, this works excellently. Doctor Who often has a feel of fairy tale about it and here Richards takes that further than ever. They are written in the style of fairy tales and the book itself is beautiful, with a great cover, thick pages and lovely illustrations. It all comes together to be a wonderful thing. -
Full disclosure: I initially saw this hardcover in the bookstore and knew I was going to buy it. Without reading the synopsis, without knowing anything about it (except Doctor Who! And Fairytales!). Purely based on looks alone I had to have this novel.
So, once upon a time there was a twenty-something year old (details aren't important!) woman who desired the gloriously titled Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairy Tales. It was a thing of beauty to behold, and in no time she became the happy owner of the title. One day she opened the beautifully illustrated book and began to read...
This tale does not have a happy ending.
The Review
I was under the impression that this book would be full of fairytales that were told to Time Lord/Gallifreyan children, and that they would have a classic fairytale twist (Brother's Grimm elements etc) like a sort of Doctor-Who/Morbid-Ye-Olde-Fairytales crossover.
This book is nothing of the sort. Its basically a spin on classic fairytales with Time Lord elements/twists - basically including Cybermen, Weeping Angels and the like. Some of the stories even include hints of various incarnations of the doctor (one story blatantly comes out and reveals to readers the Second Doctor's involvement).
Now, while this is disappointing, its not something I can fully fault the book on. I actually would have been ok with this had the actual stories/writing been any good.
The author has a very bland style of writing, something that makes it easy to zone out of whats happening. None of the characters involved were very compelling either, and a lot of the stories themselves were uncreative re-workings of the original fairytales. I just found the whole thing to be, frankly, quite boring. Boring is not a word that should be associated with fairytales or Doctor Who!
On the plus side I did enjoy two of the stories.
The Garden of Statues which was a timey-wimey tale that included the Weeping Angels.
Snow White and the Seven Keys to Doomsday which was actually a pretty cool short story. I would've liked this one to be much longer.
Overall a disappointing book but not one that I am regretting buying. That beautifully designed hardcover looks pretty amazing on my bookshelf, if I do say so myself.
So, I guess there was a (superficial) happy ending after all!
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As someone who grew up a massive fan of fairytales and their various retellings, then somewhere along the way fell in love with the world of Doctor Who, this was such a satisfying read for me. It could have easily come off as gimmicky and cheesy, but the author focused on telling each story well and marrying it with only the DW elements that worked with it best. The Doctor shows up in a few of the stories, and I had fun guessing the incarnation and imagining the lines in his voice.
I think I'll be re-reading some of these tales again, on a day when I need a dash of adventure and a slice of cozy. <3
(Get this for your Whovian.) -
As histórias tradicionais deixam de ser assim tão tradicionais quando se cruzam com o universo de Doctor Who (o nosso universo, portanto) e ganham uma nova dimensão, desconhecida e surpreendente.
Quem diria que os anões iriam ajudar a Branca de Neve a conseguir encontrar as sete chaves que seriam necessárias para destruir uma arma de destruição massiva, que mantinha o seu povo submisso?
No entanto, a primeira história foi a que me tocou mais, talvez porque ainda não tinha compreendido a verdadeira essência do livro (pegar em histórias tradicionais e dar-lhes uma roupagem whoesca), ou pela temática em si, pelos vilões que aparecem, pela história. -
I don’t think I could have made a better choice than to use my Audible credit to purchase this gem of an audiobook. I loved every minute of every story. I wasn’t always sure what fairy tale a story was based on, but that didn’t matter to me, because they all had the feel and sound of a fairy tale, and that was exactly what I wanted. The first is a wonderfully creepy tale involving the Angels, and while it felt familiar to me, I couldn’t quite place its origin in the fairy tale canon. However, most of the other stories were immediately obvious, even if you’re not paying attention to the titles, including one that was an interesting version of Sleeping Beauty and another equally interesting version of Hansel and Gretel. There are also versions of Cinderella (which is one of my absolute favorites), Jack and the Beanstalk, Snow White, Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, and several other well-known stories.
Normally, I’m not one to re-listen to an audiobook, but I think Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairy Tales might be the exception. I also want to add the hardcover edition, which is supposedly beautifully illustrated like a children’s storybook, to my collection. This is definitely one of the books every Doctor Who fan should have. -
As pretty as this book is, it wasn't what I was hoping for. I thought perhaps it would be fairy tales written within the Time Lord's own mythology, but instead it turned out to be a re-hash of familiar tales with Who monsters shoehorned in. Not the author's fault, who was obviously asked to put together a tie-in, but a bit of a disappointment.
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Doctor Who + Fairy Tales make one hell of a love child!
This collection makes such an enjoyable and quirky read, perfect for any Whovian. Now I'm not normally a sci-fi gal...except when it comes to Doctor Who (for some reason, don't ask) It's light-hearted and accompanied by illustrations, featuring the doctors and their companions (some familiar, some new) each in a fabled short story adventure (15 all together) that mixes beloved fairy tales and gives them a sci-fi twist with a side of Doctor. Memorable and familiar DW monsters make their appearance too; can you say "Don't blink"
Each tale is unique, gripping and lovable, but all are consistent with tone and structure so that it's not wibbly wobbly timey-wimey. The stories are smooth and fast-paced.
For young and old alike. I would love to see another volume come out with even more tales!
IG Post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CjlsY3SB3Ya/ -
This is a beautifully produced collection of "Doctor Who Fairy Tales" which range from slightly altered Grimm stories, to Arthurian legend and tales from 1001 Nights. They are very short and the language is clearly aimed at children, but it's a lot of fun to see when and in what way the Doctor Who universe collides with the fairy tale world. One of my favorite stories is "Little Rose Riding Hood" which features Rose who is on her way to her grandmother and very afraid of the "BAD WOLF" whose signs she's seen everywhere. Not only does she meet the Doctor, but she also discovers that her grandmother has been exchanged with an almost perfect replica, created by a Zygon. This is one of the many examples where the perfect monster was chosen to slightly change this story. Not all of them feature the Doctor in one of his incarnations, but I really enjoyed the ones that do, because they give us a glimpse of what it must be like to meet him from the perspective of wholy unsuspecting people. It's also interesting to have science-fiction stories that clearly take place in a version of the future with very advanced technology, and have them told in the style of "Once upon a time..."
The stories are also accompanied by gorgeous illustrations in black and white. A very nice addition to the expanding Doctor Who book world! -
This is... dull.
"Time Lord fairy tales," you think. "How exciting!" And I did too, settling in for an exciting glimpse in to Gallifrean mythology and folklore, stories that could only come about from a race that can manipulate the very timestream and experiences near immortality simply as conditions of existence. And two hearts!
Buuuuut no. What we have instead is Earthen fairy tales, retold under the guise of the Whovian canon, incorporating words/races that ostensibly define entire races of characters, but these actual characters behave within the limitations of regular Earthens. The Sontarans we meet here are decently Sontaran, but everyone else - well, there are concerns over aging, no mention of regeneration, petty squabbles over royal bloodlines, and everything else you'd expect out of bad retellings of classic (primarily German) fairy tales.
The Weeping Angels story that intros this collection isn't terrible, but it's as close as the entire collection gets to an actual "Time Lord" fairy tale.
Hard pass, Whovians. Go read the comics instead. -
This collection of stories was not quite what I was expecting - it's actually proper retellings of classic fairytales, with a Time Lord twist. Represented here are classics like Cinderella, Red Riding Hood and Beauty and the Beast, with added monsters like Sontarans, Slitheen and Cybermen. The Doctor even makes an appearance in a few of them, in various incarnations.
I found them all to be charming, well written tales and I loved seeing how each fairytale was woven into the Whoniverse.
I got my copy from the library, but I may have to pick up my own, to read to my small children when they become little Whovians (can't be long now).
No Daleks though. I suppose they're not really fairy tale material. -
Got this as a birthday present from my mom and brother a few years back; started reading the individual stories and then got distracted by something (life? I guess?) and put the boxed set up on a shelf in the breakfast nook for easy access for when I was back in the mood.
Three years ago? Four years ago? I don't know, honestly, because of that whole pandemic time warp thing. Long enough ago that I sort of quit seeing it, even though I quite literally have looked at it almost every day since then because of its placement in such a high-traffic area of our home.
Anywhoodles, did some rearranging and cleaning in that area of the house last month, and, as part of such, moved the set to my study so I would remember to read it through.
Which I did, today! And am so glad I did. Brought back fond memories of my time spent in the Doctor Who universe/s, from when I started watching Peter Capaldi as the Doctor in 2016 and 2017 and then going back to the Christopher Eccleston beginning in 2005 and watching straight on through 2017 to get the full effect of all the story lines. (As I'm typing this I'm realizing that I've been saying "Ecc-el-ston" in my head all this time. For shame.) Didn't like the writing for the Jodie Whittaker Doctor for the first two of her seasons, so I quit watching, and more's the pity, because I liked her as the main character. Oh, and back to Peter Capaldi: Loved him so much in "Local Hero." And both my husband and I loved that movie so much that Once Upon A Time We Went To Pennan (in Aberdeenshire, Scotland), where it was set. Fun fact? You can't get there from here. We're still not sure how we did. Much less how we made it back.
Also, back to the fairy tales, it was quite fun to revisit all those childhood favorite stories, while at the same time trying to figure out what the "twist" would be.
Makes me wish The Precious Nephews were little again and I could read these aloud to them. Oh, well, at least I can be thankful we used to have such times together, and that they enjoyed watching some Doctor Who with me, AND that the episode "Vincent and the Doctor" made such an impact on them that they remembered it and wanted to see it again after our extended family attended the Beyond Van Gogh exhibit in Birmingham, Alabama, late last year. Which was A M A Z I N G.
So, would definitely recommend to fans of the series, and/or those who would enjoy reading these to and with their younger children. As a matter of fact, I can think of two young families right now to whom I need to send this review.....
Thanks again to my mom and brother!
______________________________
Matt Smith. I mean, seriously, you had to ask? Although, truth be known, it was really River Song who did it for me. I still want to be her when I grow up. -
Hm, die Bewertung bei solchen Anthologien ist wirklich schwierig. Eine Geschichte, die für mich gar nicht funktionierte, drei die mir wenig brachten, vier die sich recht gut lasen und sieben, die mir sehr gefielen, dazu eine schöne Buchgestaltung. Tja ... ich entscheide mich für 3,5*
Etwas konkreter (aus meinen Blog):
Dieses (englischsprachige) Time-Lord-Fairy-Tales-Book enthält insgesamt 15 Geschichten, die Variationen hauptsächlich von Märchen darstellen, u.a. von Rotkäppchen, Dornröschen, Rumpelstilzchen, Aschenputtel, dem Rattenfänger von Hameln, Sir Gawain und der Grüne Ritter, Schneewittchen u.a. Man begegnet Ice Warriors, Weeping Angels, Sontarans, Cybermen u.a., in manchen Geschichten taucht eine Inkarnationen des Doktors auf. Wie das so ist mit einer Geschichtensammlung, nicht jede überzeugt.
Meine Favoriten sind
- "Garden of Statues" und "Sirgwain and the Green Knight" - ihr Ende überraschte mich zwar jeweils nicht (ich habe auch bei der zweiten Geschichte gewusst, wie sie ausgehen wird), aber ich fand sie beide in sich sehr stimmig und sehr gut erzählt; außerdem enthaltenen beide Erzählungen Rassen aus dem Doctor Who Universum, die ich sehr interessant finde ,
- "Snow White and the Seven Keys to Doomsday", "The Grief Collector", "Cinderella and the Magic Box" und "Litte Rose Riding Hood" - fand ich jeweils kreativ mit interessantem Dreh
- auch "The scruffy Piper" mochte ich sehr, was u.a. am vorkommenden Zweiten Doktor liegt. ;)
Nichts anfangen konnte ich mit
- "Three little Sontarans"
und überzeugen konnten mich auch nicht
- "Andiba and the four Slitheen" sowie "The three Brother Gruff",
was viel mit den "Gegenspielern" und ihren Eigenschaften/Zielen zu tun hat, die sich deutlich auf die Geschichten auswirken; ich finde insofern weder die Kombination Geschichte/Rasse noch die jeweilige Adaption besonders gelungen.
- Auch "Helana and the Beast" war keine Offenbarung für mich, wenngleich der Anfang gelungen war und ein "Librarian" auftauchte.
Die Geschichten
- "The Gingerbread Trap", "Jak and the Wormhole" The Twins in the Wood" and "Frozen Beauty" hatten für mich ihre Momente, stachen aber nicht so heraus wie die eingangs erwähnten Favoriten.
Daneben: Mir gefällt die Aufmachung der Hardcover-Ausgabe mit der Covergestaltung, dem griffigen Papier, den Einzeltitel-Seiten und den schwarz-weißen-Scherenschnitt-Illustrationen (eine auf der Titelseite und eine weitere in der zugehörigen Geschichte). -
I first saw this book on Booktube and had no idea it was out there, which shame on me because I call myself a Doctor Who fan. It caught my attention right from the start, the cover, Doctor Who (of course), and that it was all about fairy tales. I was hoping it was more of an original play on characters from the show, but it was mainly retellings of well known fairy tales with a Doctor Who twist to them. Which is just fine with me because it made those stories that much better.
Not only does it have a beautiful cover, but it has several illustrated pages throughout the stories that make this read even more special. The first story in it gave us an illustration of the weeping angels among the garden that all the children love to play in. It has a nice mix of feels with happy moments, sad ones, wanting, and a little bit of fear from the angels.
“There was no doubt about it this time. The angel that had been weeping was now staring up at them; the one in the shadows of the alcove had moved forward into brilliant sunshine; and the angel that had been reaching out towards them had shifted from where it had stood on the other side of the terrace. Now, it was right in front of them.”
It continues that way in every story that follows, with special appearances from the doctor as well as characters such as the Wirrn that lay eggs within the host and hatch once grown. Sontaran’s in a Three Little Pigs retelling, Cinderella’s Godmother turns out to be the doctor and her carriage is the TARDIS. Those are only a few that make up this fairy tale collection.
There were a few where I wished for more pages, some that were not as I expected but still good, others that gave off the right amounts of creepiness. Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairy Tales is a great collection for any Whovian and even if you’re not a fan, it’s still a great set of fairy tale retellings, maybe even making the reader a new fan of the Doctor Whoniverse. -
I've never read a piece of Doctor Who fiction before and I am so glad I chose this one to start with. I had an absolutely delightful time reading this and I will definitely be reading more stuff from this author.
The 15 stories in this lovely collection are all classic fairy-tales retold with a clever Doctor Who twist. Now, I read a lot of fairy-tale retellings, and sometimes they can get a bit repetitive after a while. But that was not the case with this at all. Each tale felt totally fresh and exiting. They all grabbed my attention within the first few sentences and kept it 'till the end. I really had to pace myself as not to devour the whole thing in one sitting.
The writing is crystal clear and fast-paced. The author mixes fairy-tale and sci-fi elements seamlessly. But what really makes this collection work is the tone. There's so much atmosphere and wonder in these stories. From the dark and creepy to the strange and lovely.
Here you will find dark forests, beasts of many varieties, royalty (both the good and evil kind), brave farm-boys, clever girls, amazing spaceships, strange planets and lots of adventure.
And if that wasn't enough to convince you, there's also the Doctor taking on the role of fairy godmother in my all time favorite version of Cinderella. Seriously. You do not want to miss that.
This is a perfect read for any Doctor Who fan, no matter how old or young. And you don't even have to be a fan to enjoy it. You just have to think that fairy tales set in space sound like a damn good time, and honestly, who doesn't? -
I bought a copy of this at Forbidden Planet when I wasn't feeling well because it looked very comforting. The artwork is AMAZING. Wonderful black and white fairy tale illustrations featuring Doctor who monsters. It's a beautiful book and Justin Richards is one of my favourite Big Finish writers so I was sure I would enjoy it.
This was just WONDERFUL! I can't recommend it highly enough! It was a beautiful twist on traditional fairy tales with a science fiction or Doctor Who twist to the stories. It was a joy starting each new story and figuring out what the variation would be. Without wanting to give too much away, Matt Smith's Doctor as a fairy godmother, Wirren, NIMONS!!! There's a really great mixture of both "classic" and "new" Doctor who in these stories. These aren't Time Lord tales as would be told on Gallifrey for Time Tots, but European stories with a Doctor Who twist. They are done perfectly, the language, the tone, everything is lovely. Perfect for young or older fans. I enjoyed this so much I am going to have to buy the audio book version as well. As delightful as this was to read to myself. I think these are stories that really deserve to be heard as well. One of the best pieces of Doctor Who fiction I've ever read. I'm so glad I bought this. -
Definitely a must read for every Whovian!
I loved all the stories where the Doctor was involved but all the other ones were amazing, too. The art work (especially the cover) is brilliant and I like the feel of the book.
5/5 -
I loved everything about this book. I love the cover. I love the thick pages. I love the illustrations. And I loved the stories. Some involved The Doctor and some didn't. Some were closely related to fairy tales I knew, and some weren't.
A must read for any DW fan :) -
That was fun
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Ah, this was fun in all the ways Doctor Who is.
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I really badly wanted to do a rewatch of the Doctor Who series. But unfortunately I can't stream it anywhere, so that's a huge bummer. So instead of watching the series, I bought a book set in the world of the Time Lords. Second best thing.
Time Lord Fairy Tales tells 15 stories from Time Lord childhood. As Earthlings we might kinda recognize most of time, as they are loosely based on the fairytales familiair from our youth. The sci-fi spin on these very old fairytales was very nicely done and befitted the fairytales, but also the Time Lord aspect.
It was so lovely to see all the known characters from the Doctor Who series, like the Cybermen and the Sontarans. This book gave me all the Doctor Who vibes I was hoping for and therefore I give this book 4 very well decerved stars.
Now I'm off the really be sure if I can't find the series to stream in the Netherlands, because I miss the series even more after reading this book.. -
Eine wunderschöne Box mit Märchen aus der Welt von Dr. Who - natürlich inspiriert von unseren ganz eigenen Sagen und Legenden. Die Illustrationen sind dem klassischen Holzschnitt nachempfunden und geben der Sammlung eine weitere besondere Note.
Ich kannte nicht alle Originale, aber das muss man auch nicht. Man kann die Geschichten ganz unbedarft geniessen; sollte aber immer im Hinterkopf behalten, dass es sich um Märchen handelt und nicht um Kurzgeschichten o.ä. Ansonsten könnte man rasch Unzufriedenheit entwickeln, weil manche Dinge ziemlich einfach vonstatten gehen. Aber genauso funktionieren Märchen ja.
Für Fans von Dr. Who ist diese Box eine wundervolle Geschenksidee. Auch zum Sich-Selber-Schenken. Meine liebste Geschichte war die Neuinterpretation von Schneewittchen. Aber es gibt natürlich auch noch viele andere tolle Geschichten zu entdecken. -
3.5 stars - The average of my individual ratings of each story should technically see me rounding down, but I enjoyed this as a whole so much I had to round up to 4!
The Emperor Dalek’s New Clothes (1.5/5)
Snow White and the Seven Keys to Doomsday (4/5)
Little Rose Riding Hood (3.5/5)
Cinderella and the Magic Box (4.25/5)
The Gingerbread Trap (3.5/5)
Helana and the Beast (4.25/5)
Andiba and the Four Slitheen (3/5)
Sirgwain and the Green Knight (3.5/5)
Garden of Statues (4.25/5)
Frozen Beauty (3/5)
The Three Little Sontarans (2.5/5)
The Three Brothers Gruff (3/5)
The Grief Collector (3.5/5)
The Scruffy Piper (3/5)
The Twins in the Wood (3.5/5)
Jak and the Wormhole (4/5) -
The Garden of Statues (Weeping Angels) ***
Frozen Beauty (Wirrn) ***
Cinderella and the Magic Box (Eleventh Doctor, Vampires) ****
The Twins in the Wood (Gallifrey) ***
The Three Little Sontarans (Starn, Sontarans, Rutan) ***
Jak and the Wormhole (Nimon) ***
Snow White and the Seven Keys to Doomsday ***
Little Rose Riding Hood (Ninth Doctor, Zygon) ****
The Gingerbread Trap (Krillitane) ***
The Scruffy Piper (Second Doctor, Cybermen, Cybermats) ****
Helana and the Beast (Twelfth Doctor) ****
Andiba and the Four Slitheen (Slitheen family) ***
The Grief Collector (Tenth Doctor) ****
The Three Brothers Gruff (Starn) ***
Sirgwain and the Green Knight (Ice Warrior) **** -
This is an absolute gem for all of Doctor Who fans out there. It isn’t a novel, but rather a story collection; there are 15 short narratives (Time Lord fairytales) all in all and they are the amalgamate of Doctor Who magic and fairy tale magic so the product is rightly marvellous. I mean, who doesn’t want to get a double dose of fantasy :) Some of my favourite stories are “Garden of Statues” (wink to the Weeping Angels), “The Grief Collector” (even creepier than Rumplestilskin), “Cinderella and the Magic Box (absolutely lovely) and of course “Helana and the Beast” (retelling of my favourite Disney fairytale) followed by “Little Rose Riding Hood” who, of course, meets Bad Wolf. Writing is neat and perfect, and in front of our eyes, familiar fairy tales come to life but slightly altered and with a Doctor Who spice. One of the most beautiful Doctor Who fictions I have ever laid my eyes on. I am already in a state of mind where I wish to download an audio-book as well :) :) :)
Apart from the magical writing, I must also emphasise the amazeballs artwork; those black and white illustrations reminded me so much of Quentin Blake’s “Alice in Wonderland” illustrations and that was an additional bonus since it contributed to the atmosphere in stories.
