Review: Doctor Who Time Lord Fairy Tales by Justin Richards

A stunning illustrated collection of fifteen dark and ancient fairy tales from the world of Doctor Who.

These captivating stories include mysterious myths and legends about heroes and monsters of all kinds, from every corner of the universe. Originally told to young Time Lords at bedtime, these twisted tales are an enchanting read for Doctor Who fans of all ages.

I am a lifelong fan of Doctor Who and as a child/young teen I spent may an hour reading as many of the Target novelisations as I could get my hands on (as ever, the local library did not let me down). However, somewhere along the way I stopped reading Doctor Who fiction - I wonder whether it was due to the sheer volume of books that were being published, especially after the show was cancelled by the BBC back in 1989 and writers/published filled the gap with New Adventures and Missing Adventures. I intend to remedy this in 2016 as a friend has recently recommended two books that I really like the sound of: Harvest of Time by Alastair Reynolds and The Wheel of Ice by Stephen Baxter.

But I am getting ahead of myself. A couple of months ago I had a lovely surprise package in the post, courtesy of those lovely people at Puffin. Said package included a copy of Doctor Who: The Dangerous Book of Monsters (devoured in a single sitting btw), and Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairy Tales. It was the latter of the two that really piqued my interest - it is an anthology of fairy tales, each of which has a Doctor Who twist. Most of the classic tales they are based on are instantly recognisable (including Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Three Little Pigs, Three Billy Goats Gruff and many more) but writer Justin Richards has very cleverly twisted them around to make them tales that just might be told to Gallifreyan kids.

I have to be honest, it took me a couple of stories to really get into the book, as it was aimed at a younger audience than I had originally presumed, and the tone of the stories is most definitely fairy-tale-ish in nature. However, once I had got my head around this I found myself really enjoying most of the tales. A number of the stories do not even feature the Doctor himself (and even when he appears it is usually little more than a cameo role to help save the day), but many of the classic Whovian monsters are there in one form or another, including Sontarans, Cybermen and Weeping Angels and some of the less well known to modern viewers, such as the Nimon and the Wirrn. 

Each story comes with its own wonderful illustration by David Wardle, all produced in a classic wood block printing style that perfectly matches the fairy tale theme of the book. Adult readers may recognise the style from the cover of Essie Fox's The Somnambulist, which Wardle also created.

For those of you who love audio books, a little googling has revealed that all of these tales are available to purchase as downloads from iTunes and Amazon, read by the likes of Paul McGann, Michelle Gomez, Sophie Aldred and even Tom Baker. I'm not a big fan of audio books (I have attention span problems), but these sound cracking so I might have to have a listen in the future. It also looks like there is a planned CD release for April, for those of you who prefer a physical copy.

Time Lord Fairy Tales is great fun and deserves a place on the shelves of any fan of Doctor Who, young or old. It has certainly whetted my appetite for more Doctor Who fiction, so if any of you have any recommendations they would be very gratefully received.

A Tale Dark and Grimm Blog Tour: Guest Post by Adam Gidwitz

I love fairy tales! Honest! But if you are a 8/9+ boy and you are horrified at me saying that please do not go just yet. You see, I am talking about fairy tales as they were originally written: stories that might make even the likes of Darren Shan a little squeamish. Not the sanitised Disney-fied versions that have seem to be accepted these days as the definitive versions. The original Grimm tales were bloody and nasty, and now debut author Adam Gidwitz wants to raise children's awareness of these gloriously dark originals. He does so with A Tale Dark And Grimm, a book that follows two little children called Hansel and Gretel. Yes, I hear you say, we know that story already.... but do you? I certainly didn't and I lapped up his relatively thin volume that retells their adventures in a gory, blood-soaked and totally hilarious manner. You want an example? Fair enough - in the version you know did Hansel and Gretel have their heads chopped off before they had even met the witch? Exactly! Boys (and girls) will totally lap this book up as let's face it, 8+ kids have a passion for things that make you go "euuurrrrgghhhh" and then leave you rolling on the floor laughing.


Having loved this book I was really chuffed to be asked by the good people at Andersen Press if I would like to be involved in Adam's blog tour, and I feel honoured to be kicking the tour off on Day One. The blog continues tomorrow at the So Many Books, So Little Time blog, but in the meantime, it is my great pleasure to hand you over to Adam Gidwitz:

The Grimm Truth About Fairy Tales

Once upon a time, fairy tales were horrible.

Not boring horrible. Not so-cute-you-want-to-jump-out-the-window horrible.

Terrifying, bloody, disgusting horrible.

Now, if you’ve been raised on the drivel that passes for fairy tales these days, you probably don’t believe me.

First off, you’re constantly hearing the same fairy tale again and again and again. “Today, children, we’re going to read a Cinderella story from China! Today, children, we’re going to read a Cinderella story from Madagascar! Today, children, we’re going to read a Cinderella story from deep space!” And you, meanwhile, are wondering how many students have been convicted of murdering their teachers.

Second of all, those stories they keep telling you over and over are all about fairy godmothers, and talking frogs, and cute little girls in red caps. And they are generally about as interesting as a cookbook. In Swahili.

But you see, the real Grimm stories are not like that.

Take Hansel and Gretel, for example. Two greedy little children try to eat a witch’s house, so she decides to cook and eat them instead—which is fair, it seems to me. But before she can follow through on her perfectly reasonable plan, they lock her in an oven and bake her to death.

Which is pretty cool, you have to admit.

Or Cinderella. You think you know what one, right? But did you know that when the first step-sister tries to put on the slipper, and her big toe is too big, so she cuts it off with a knife? Or that the second step sister tries on the shoe, but her heel is too big, so she takes the same knife and cuts off a nice juicy chunk of her heel? And then, at the end, both step-sisters have their eyes pecked out by birds? Sweet, huh?

And that’s not to mention the stories that are so terrible adults deny their very existence. Have you ever heard of a story called Faithful Johannes? Of course not. Because in that story, two lovely little children get their heads cut off. By their parents. The heads get put back on, of course. So it’s no big deal.

What about the fabulous fairy tale Fowler’s Fowl? Heard of that one? Of course not. That’s because Fowler’s Fowl is about a lovely young woman who marries a very important doctor who lives in a very big house. He gives her keys to every room of the house, and tells her she can go anywhere—anywhere, that is, except the basement. He tells her that if she ever goes in the basement, he will kill her. So of course she goes into the basement, and what does she find? The bodies of all the women he’s married before her, hanging, dead, from the ceiling. And then, of course, he comes home. I won’t tell you what happens then. You can probably guess.

“Okay,” you are now asking, “if fairy tales are so horrible, why are all the versions of the stories I’ve heard so unbelievably, mind-numbingly boring?” Well, you know how it is with stories. Someone tells a story. Then somebody repeats it—and it changes. Someone else repeats it—and it changes again. Then someone’s telling it to their kid and taking out all the…well, the horrible, awesome parts…and the next thing you know the story’s about a sweet girl and a glass slipper and singing mice—and you’re so bored you’ve passed out on the floor.

Even the Brothers Grimm changed the fairy tales some. So I’ve written a book that goes back and sets them right. You see, there is a story behind the stories of Grimm’s Fairy Tales. A story that winds all throughout that those horrible, bloody tales, like a trail of breadcrumbs winding through a forest. It appears in stories you may never have heard, like Faithful Johannes and Fowler’s Fowl. And in some that you have—Hansel and Gretel, for instance. It is the story that you will find in the book A Tale Dark and Grimm.

Now, this story isn’t for everybody. It is scary, and gory, and grim. But it is a tale worth knowing. For, in life, it is in the darkest zones that one finds the brightest beauty and the most luminous wisdom.

And, of course, the most blood.