The Doctor likes playing chess. But, how he’s alone in the TARDIS, challenging himself to the occasional match is starting to get a little stilted. Time to find an opponent… Landing in the Outer Hebrides in the 12th century, our favourite Time Lord discovers much more than he bargained for – including rampaging vikings, a furious princess on her way to an arranged marriage, local villagers eating pre-cooked turtles, a backstory for the Lewis Chessmen, and an alien life-form which lives, breeds and kills through fire. This isn’t going to be the quick stop-off the Doctor first imagined.
JT Colgan (in reality, top romantic comedy author, Jenny Colgan) has written what is one of the most exciting 11th Doctor adventures to date (and I told her so last night, via Twitter!) In Dark Horizons, she captures Matt Smith’s portrayal of the Doctor perfectly, introduces us to some wonderful new characters (Henrik being a particular favourite), and even allows us a glimpse (from a distance) of a holidaying 4th Doctor, Sarah Jane and K9! Add to that quite possibly the most exciting TARDIS sequence you’ll ever read (I won’t say where it takes place – spoilers, and all that) and you’ve got a timey-wimey historical romp that will keep you gripped, page after page.
9/10 – very highly recommended!
