Doctor Who: Imaginary Friends

Doctor Who: The Decades Collection #1

by Jacqueline Rayner

It's nearly Christmas when six-year-old Gerry starts dreaming of strange worlds and monsters.

To his parents' confusion, Gerry insists that his dreams are real. He's travelled in time and space and met Daleks and cavemen and insects as big as people!

Desperate for help, what Gerry's family really needs, right now, is a Doctor.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Christmas

117 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 26, 2023

About the author

Jacqueline Rayner is a best selling British author, best known for her work with the licensed fiction based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.

Her first professional writing credit came when she adapted Paul Cornell's Virgin New Adventure novel Oh No It Isn't! for the audio format, the first release by Big Finish. (The novel featured the character of Bernice Summerfield and was part of a spin-off series from Doctor Who.) She went on to do five of the six Bernice Summerfield audio adaptations and further work for Big Finish before going to work for BBC Books on their Doctor Who lines.

Her first novels came in 2001, with the Eighth Doctor Adventures novel EarthWorld for BBC Books and the Bernice Summerfield novel The Squire's Crystal for Big Finish. Rayner has written several other Doctor Who spin-offs and was also for a period the executive producer for the BBC on the Big Finish range of Doctor Who audio dramas. She has also contributed to the audio range as a writer. In all, her Doctor Who and related work (Bernice Summerfield stories), consists of five novels, a number of short stories and four original audio plays.

Rayner has edited several anthologies of Doctor Who short stories, mainly for Big Finish, and done work for Doctor Who Magazine. Beyond Doctor Who, her work includes the children's television tie-in book Horses Like Blaze.

With the start of the new television series of Doctor Who in 2005 and a shift in the BBC's Doctor Who related book output, Rayner has become, along with Justin Richards and Stephen Cole, one of the regular authors of the BBC's New Series Adventures. She has also abridged several of the books to be made into audiobooks.

She was also a member of Doctor Who Magazine's original Time Team.

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jacqueline Rayner's Doctor Who novella is set in the 1960s & tells the story of Gerry. He's a young boy who insists he's travelled in time & space with someone called the Doctor.
Rayner sets up a beautiful "love letter to the Doctor" & one that long term fans of the TV series will especially enjoy. This is the first in a collection of six books celebrating the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who on television. Let's hope the next story is as good as this one, because Jacqueline Rayner has set the bar pretty high.
I have just finished this book in time to watch tonight's Doctor Who story on BBC1, when we say "Goodbye" to David Tennant & "Hello" to Ncuti Gatwa! It's hard to believe that the first regeneration I watched was in June 1974 when at the age of 9 I saw Jon Pertwee become Tom Baker. It just shows I've never really grown up!

[Jon Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

An oblique but heartwarming look at Doctor Who’s monochrome years, managing to be a sequel to an unlikely choice of story while thoughtfully looking at how Doctor Who might affect the lives of its first generation of viewers. Absolutely perfect as the launch of a celebratory anniversary range.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

* Potential Minor Spoilers *

An engaging Doctor Who story written in a more mature manner than stories such as Borrowed Time. The Billing family is characterised and developed well and you begin to develop a soft spot for them, especially Gerry.

However, the cover is misleading as The First Doctor doesn't even appear in the main story. In fact, The Doctor doesn't even appear until much later in the narrative. The book also isn't afraid to spoil episode after episode after episode of the first three Doctors' series. While it is nice to see callbacks here and there, as someone who is currently watching the series from the beginning it was an unwelcome and disappointing feeling to have the endings of several episodes and multiple companions straight up spoiled out of nowhere.

The final section of the book is extremely heartwarming and a well-written metafictional observation of the character on people's lives both in and out of universe. However, it doesn't take you long to get there at all. The story is 101 pages with an additional 17 appended for acknowledgements and a sampler of another book in the 60th Anniversary Series. While the story itself is good, it's hard to justify its short length and cynical advertising for the £13 asking price.

A nice, heartwarming Doctor Who story that should be avoided by those who haven't seen every episode and wish to avoid spoilers. It's a nice tale while it lasts. Worth a read, but perhaps not for the high price of entry. 

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aw, this book! And especially the ending. Beautifully crafted!! I was unsure when I started reading it, but as I ventured further, it hooked me in more and more. I devoured it and was left with literal heart shaped emojies in my eyes.

Following Gerry, he’s plagued with both adventures and nightmares accompanying the doctor in his dreams. Experiencing the daleks, mysterious cavemen trying to make fire, the doctor changing his face and friendships and heartache.

He seems to know everything about the doctor and his life, but his waking hours are proving to be more difficult. Nobody believes him that this mysterious doctor exists and it’s getting him into trouble. His mother buys him a bear (Doctor Bear - we all need one) for him as a replacement, but deep down he knows the doctor is real. The bear becomes a crux helping him through some really difficult times but the challenges he’s facing becoming much bigger than he can shoulder alone.

But we know the doctor always saves the day, but can he help this lonely little boy and his family? (Spoiler alert: big happy feels incoming).

I seriously loved this book and I flew through it in record time. The 60th anniversary books (that I’ve read so far) have all been great and I’m slowly making my way round all the others. Can’t wait for more !

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

History in the making!

Jacqueline Rayner has done it again. All I'm saying. No spoilers. You...yes you there...not you...the other guy or is it a girl. Yes you. You need this book 📖 now!

[Gabor Hernadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story about a little boy who lives through the adventures of the Doctor in his dreams. But obviously all of this, the Doctor, the daleks, the cybermen, is nothing else only his too vivid imagination.... or is it?

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a joy to read. It perfectly captured the show's history. The ending was poignant and I really cared about the characters.

[Jon Mackley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really short novel, 100 pages (if you take out the completely empty left hand pages before a new chapter starts). There’s a preview of another book for the last 15 pages or so.

The story itself is OK, and it looks at the television stories for the first and second doctors (although why the Third Doctor is present, is a bit of a mystery as his tenure doesn’t begin until 1970, unless Gerry sees things a year after they happen, but that doesn’t really make sense because the final encounters are happening in “real” time.)

My three gripes with this are that I didn’t really feel like I was reading a story that was set in the 1960s. Some of the print (particularly Gerry’s handwritten notes) were difficult to read. And also the plot: a character external to the TARDIS crew witnessing the events has been done before, and better, in novels such as “Who Killed Kennedy”.

All in all, a bit of a damp squib for the anticipated fireworks of the 60th anniversary.

[Miles Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gorgeous little love letter to Doctor Who. A cosy journey back into the sixties with beautifully indulgent references and nods to the past - plus a sort of unexpected sequel! A must for fans, absolutely whipped through it.

[Ari Lola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not expect this one to be a doctor light story. And as it was kind of advertised as being a “first doctor” story, we didn’t have an actual scene of the first doctor anywhere, which was quite disappointing. Besides that, halfway through the doctor just regenerates. Also spoiled almost all the episodes of the first doctor and I have not seen all of them yet !!! >:(

Negativity aside, still a sweet story, not very doctor who in my opinion but still a nice read.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a love letter to Doctor Who. There’s been a few of these over time but Jac Rayner really pulls together an affecting and clever novella here. The Doctor is present throughout without it being a Doctor Who adventure. Gerry at the centre of the story is all of us and his story is our story in many ways.

Highly recommended

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short but sweet, this book is an odd tale of a boy who sees the Doctors adventures in his dreams. The mystery is kept going and links to the boys real life and dreams create some excitement.
A fun anniversary celebration of the 60s era.

[Hidekisohma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why do 90% of first doctor novels have to stink? it's actually getting to the point of being frustrating.

Okay, first and foremost, this is not a first doctor book. Hell, it's barely a doctor who book at all.

The story is about a little British boy in the 60's who ran away from home one day and found his way back. ever since then he's had dreams where he's been like a ghost and watched the First doc and his companions do stuff, but he can't interact with them or anything. essentially like he's watching the show in VR. His parents think he's crazy and chat amongst themselves.

This is basically the entire story. Just him saying he sees things and the parents telling him he's crazy. Now, i bet you're like "wait a second, something's missing' and you're right. The doctor is not really in this book. In fact, 85% of this book doesn't have the doctor in it. He doesn't, in fact, show up until the last 15 pages. And by that point, he's already regenerated into the 3rd doctor.

So yes, This isn't even technically a first doctor book as the first doctor doesn't appear in this story other than from the point of view of a child writing about him in his book.So, if you were hoping a first doctor book would be about...well the first doctor, then you're outta luck.

Even the absolute WORST first doctor novels at least had him IN IT. This is bordering on false advertising. It reminds me of that terrible 5th doctor short story from the 13 doctors compilation where he showed up in the last 4 pages after everything was already resolved. Just awful.

The only saving grace of this story and the reason it didn't get a 1 is because the last 15 pages are actually REALLY good. like, even though it's the 3rd doctor, Ian comes back, there's a happy ending, and even though it's 3 and not 1, i really enjoyed it. The problem IS is that 85% of the novel is a big fat boring NOTHING. The mother of the boy has more lines then the doctor and Ian combined. Which is NONSENSE.

I get the author was trying to like...write a love letter to the 1st doctor era being on TV or something but this was NOT the way to do it. Don't advertise a book as a first doctor book if it's not a first doctor book. the last 15 pages do not save a book of NOTHING.

The only thing i can say is that this book is mercifully short at 100 pages (it's more of a novella tbh) if this had been about normal length, i absolutely would have given this a 1 despite the cute ending.

Rayner is normally pretty okay as i didn't mind "The last Dodo" even if the writing was a tad childish, but this one....man. This was just infuriating.

A good ending does not save a bad book. Here's a thought, if you're going to make a book about the first doctor, have it star the first doctor. Shocking thought i know.

2 out of 5.

[Kelsey Hayes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, I enjoyed it in the end but being a short book, meant that I really only enjoyed about 30 pages of it! Great payoff but quite a slow moving story.

[RobinLikesReading · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Imaginary Friends" by Jacqueline Rayner is the first Doctor Who book of a 6 book series that was released for the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who. Every book tells about a different decade. This one is about the 60's.

Gerry is a 6 year old boy who keeps having dreams about an old man named The Doctor. He believes these dreams are real and that he's actually traveling with The Doctor and his companions but he also knows The Doctor and his companions can't see Gerry. No one believes him when he tells people The Doctor is real. But he keeps insisting he is real and he really wants to meet The Doctor.

This is the perfect love letter to the Doctor, their companions and Doctor Who as a whole. I wish I read this 2 months ago when it was actually the 60's anniversary. This novel has references to the first Doctor, second Doctor, third Doctor, fourth Doctor, nineth Doctor, thirteenth Doctor, daleks, cybermen, the faceless ones, UNIT, multiple classic stories, multiple companions, the sonic screwdriver, the Master, etc..... I'm probably forgetting some.

This is a very heartwarming novella. The ending was so so very sweet. I will probably be rereading this at some point and I can't wait to start reading the other 5 books soon!

[Xander Toner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, just really sweet. I've had a topsy-turvy relationship with some of Jacqueline Rayner's work, but this book really worked well for me. I really liked the novella format, it was enough time to really flesh out all the necessary and required characters without feeling like it was overstaying a welcome. The two protagonists in Gerry and Claire are wonderful characters, and the story really built onto their fantastic characterisation. It also worked well as a Sixtieth Anniversary celebratory piece, by using established Doctor Who events and lore and building a story on-top of it, rather than simply having it _be_ the story in a fanwankery sort of way. The plot being so closely tied with the pre-existing television series didn't hold it back. The only bit I got slightly miffed at was the fact it was the Third Doctor who appears at the end, not Two. This book feels like such a celebration of 60s Doctor Who, it feels odd that its not Two that meets Gerry in the end, but rather Three.

[Edward Buckton]

Was quite impressed by this story, which I think is fairly ambitous. A well-realised setting and characters lend a welcome sense of verisimilitude to 60s Who, which wasn't necessarily common in that era. Other reviewers, and Rayner herself, have characterised the book as a "love letter" to Doctor Who; Imaginary Friends stands out in this regard because, rather than focussing on what the show merely *is*, it instead reflects on what Doctor Who does, and what it achieves.

(Note: Skipped 17-page preview of The Cradle; it's only like the next-time trailer, right?)

[Jason Spencer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely, short story of... Well, not exactly the Doctor? Meet Gerry, a lovely young boy who seems to have a friend named the Doctor... Odd. Strange. Weird things keep happening around Gerry, but why are these things happening to a seemingly normal boy?

The Doctor doesn't seem to be in this much at all - which I really enjoyed and thought it was a rather unique touch on a Doctor story. There's little running from aliens or foreign planets here - and that makes for a much more intense, personal story that touches the heart.

Like I said, a short story with a touching ending. This deserves to be read if you're a fan of Doctor Who - there are many call backs to previous Doctor adventures. A few of these went over my head, but I'm sure a die-hard fan will catch and understand them all.

It's encouraged me to seek out the others from this set.

[Ben Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a very quick, very easy read which is less of a new story and more of an excuse to revisit some fun moments from the very early years of Doctor Who. Had quite a fun moment reading a chapter that referenced an episode I'd watched earlier that day!

It does mean that none of the characters are particularly fleshed out or convincing, but if you treat it more as a little love letter to early Who, it's cozy and comforting.

Fun little book, but I cannot comprehend why otherwise good authors are completely incapable of writing children, even if they HAVE children. The sections written from the perspective of a small child become borderline unbearable at times. But it doesn't quite sink the book.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

1st ドクターの行動を逐一知ってるゲリー。誰に言っても信じてもらえない。母親のクレアはゲリーにドクターの話を他人にする時は夢で見たって付け加えるようにとアドバイス。そしてゲリーが欲しがっていた1stドクターに似たのテディベアをプレゼントする。

最後は本当に泣かされてしまった。
ゲリーの話がTVの話なのかそれともドクターのいる世界なのかよくわからなくて。
それが実は本当に本当だったと判明。
クレアの目を通して子供時代に1stドクターをみた人たちがどんな時代や変遷を経ていまもドクター・フーが続いていることに関しての思いみたいなものを擬似体験できた感じ。
クレアの人生の最後の瞬間まで描かれるので、時の流れや家族が1番楽しかった時代、当たり前にあったものが過ぎ去ったきらめく幻のようなものでしかなくなる寂しさとそれでもHappy ever afterとはこういうことなんだと言いたくなるような。

現実にドクターが存在する世界であることが判明し、ゲリーはイアンの学校コールヒルに転入することになって(死者続出校だけど大丈夫？とうっかり不安になってごめん)、フーヴィアンとしては最高の夢すぎる展開で。

イアンが3rdに気がつけなくて爆笑するところも可愛かった。

[Andrew Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this short, moving book. Told from the perspective of a young boy, Gerry, and his mother, Claire. Gerry is somehow able to dream the adventures of the Doctor, starting in a Totter's Yard, back to the stone age, onto Skaro and beyond. Gerry's family are well-drawn and the Doctor's stories weaved well into Gerry's life. And it is really emotive about childhood and parenthood, and subtly Christmassy too. A great anniversary present.

[Ryan Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of this series of novels I've read so far, this one is the best for celebrating the beginnings of Doctor Who.

It's a doctor-lite story, but pays off at the end, which I imagine for most fans is incredibly heart warming.

Following a young boy called Gerry, this book took me back to when I was a young boy and introduced to the world of Doctor Who. It's been a magical journey ever since!

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Decades Collection is six novellas each set in a decade of Doctor Who's run. Imaginary Friend is the first, set in the 1960s. Jerry is a young boy in mid-60s England, who begins to dream of a mysterious Doctor and his adventures.

This is an absolutely fantastic Doctor Who story. Don't miss it.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful tale, with an unexpected link to an early TV tale and modern merchandise! Focusing on the 1960s, it then goes on to incorporate all of modern Who, all done with great affection. It also shows the truth of motherhood and marriage, the joys and tribulations. Fantastic!

[Chris Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very close to 5 stars. Jac Rayner is usually reliable, and doesn’t let us down here. She weaves the Doctor through the story of the Billings admirably. To quote Jac herself, this is a love letter to Doctor Who.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely, sentimental taste of 60s Doctor Who through the meta window of a little boy's dreams. There's even a little link at the end to a more recent event that ties everything together with a neat & pretty bow. Reading this was a very nice way to spend an afternoon.

[Luke Nyul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A properly charming story of a young boy who dreamed of having adventures with the doctor! A gentle and loving tribute to six decades of Doctor Who and a lovely story to kick off the decades collection! Excellent stuff!

[Sarah Bowyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great first foray into Doctor Who fiction. I really loved the ending of this book.

[Jennifer Baratta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you narrators for telling this fabulous phenomenal story thank you author.

[James Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had planned to read this book on Doctor Who's anniversary a few weeks ago; however, I wasn't finished with the book I was reading and didn't want to pause it, so I decided to push it forward slightly into December.

This was an incredible book, an absolute love letter to the 60s era of Doctor Who, and a story that really examines the impact of Doctor Who on children's minds. At 100 pages long, the book is more akin to a novella or short story, but I'd say it's one of the best Doctor Who books I've ever read.

Being a Doctor Who fan from a very young age, I knew what it was like for Gerry, watching The Doctor fight monsters and save people, in fact, I too was on my way to be 7 years old when I first watched Doctor Who in 2010 with The Eleventh Hour, the same age as Gerry (though he begins his adventures in a junkyard on the 23rd November 1963).

The story here is focused on Gerry and his family, but the relationship between Gerry and his mother, Claire, is the highlight. The years pass, and the perspective shifts between Gerry and Claire as they journey through the good and the bad of their average lives as a family of 5 in the 60s. There's Gerry's older sister Alice, his younger brother Francis, his mummy, Claire and daddy, Ray.

It becomes obvious that Gerry is a big Doctor Who fan; he's playing Daleks with his siblings outside and knows all about cavemen and insects and Marco Polo, radiation, too. There are parts of the book where we are shown entries from Gerry's "dream" journal where he has written about his "advenchurs with Doctor Who". Being a young child, there were many spelling mistakes, and some of them were incredibly funny to me, such as Cook William for Koquillion and Bedroomshire for Bedfordshire. There are so many slight, but obvious references to Doctor Who stories of the 60s, but through the eyes of this wide-eyed child, clutching Doctor Bear everywhere he goes, mentions of the Postbox Tower and that The Doctor and Dodo are in London are imagined in a whole new light.

The author of this piece, Jacqueline Rayner, is a seasoned veteran when it comes to Doctor Who stories. I find, though, that Imaginary Friends is a tour de force in Doctor Who fiction and shines a light on the shared experiences of Doctor Who fans who have been one since they were a child, that I feel no book, Doctor Who or not, could ever capture, let alone capture within 100 incredible pages.