Doctor Who: Martha in the Mirror

Doctor Who: New Series Adventures #22

by Justin Richards

Castle Extremis - whoever holds it can control the provinces either side that have been at war for centuries. Now the castle is about to play host to the signing of a peace treaty. But as the Doctor and Martha find out, not everyone wants the war to end. Who is the strange little girl who haunts the castle? What is the secret of the book the Doctor finds, its pages made from thin, brittle glass? Who is the hooded figure that watches from the shadows? And what is the secret of the legendary Mortal Mirror? The Doctor and Martha don't have long to find the answers - an army is on the march, and the castle will soon be under siege once more... Featuring the Doctor and Martha as played by David Tennant and Freema Agyeman in the hit series from BBC Television.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Time Travel, Fantasy, Adventure

Audiobook

First published April 10, 2008

About the author

Justin Richards is a British writer. He has written many spin off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and he is Creative Director for the BBC Books range. He has also written for television, contributing to Five's soap opera Family Affairs. He is also the author of a series of crime novels for children about the Invisible Detective, and novels for older children. His Doctor Who novel The Burning was placed sixth in the Top 10 of SFX magazine's "Best SF/Fantasy novelisation or TV tie-in novel" category of 2000.

Reviews

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book based on the television series. It features David Tennant as The Doctor and Martha as his companion. In this one, The Doctor and Martha visit a castle where they will be holding a peace treaty summit between two sides that have been fighting for ages. There is more to this summit than just a signing between two opposing sides.

There were some high points to this book as well as low points. I thought the portrayal of the two television characters were spot on as I had no problem envisioning the two actors. I loved the idea of the book too even though it really is nothing new. The set up at the beginning was intriguing and we were also introduced to two robots that put a smile on my face. The middle did get a little convoluted and my interest did begin to wane. This book was saved by the ending. I did see the twists coming from a mile away. That being said, I enjoyed them and the ending did remind me of a Doctor Who ending.

My interest in this book fluctuated throughout and that is why I settled on a three star rating. There were parts where I was totally invested and some not as much. This book is basically your typical media tie-in book that does provide another adventure with characters from the television screen.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Doctor and Martha arrive on Castle Extremis prior to the signing of a peace treaty. As part of the ceremony General Orlo, the Supreme Commander of the Zerugian forces provides a replica of the famous Mortal Mirror.

Richards sets up plenty of intriguing during the first half of the story and not just the importance of the mirror.
He also adds lots of fun additions including robots ‘Bill and Bott’ whilst Martha been mistakenly named as Martha Mouse is hilarious!

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Martha in the Mirror (Doctor Who: New Series Adventures #22) by Justin Richards was good installment of these tie-in novels. Martha and the Tenth Doctor are a couple of my favorites from this tv series and Justin Richards did a great job bringing their voices to life. Luckily, the two are spot on to their tv counterparts. It really reminded me of how much I miss Martha.

[Kimberley doruyter · Rating 3 out of 5]

alice in wonderland in reverse and on some kind of drugs

[Alyssa Greatbanks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a big fan of Doctor Who, and a big fan of reading, so of course I have a lot of the books. I usually find them very hit-and-miss, each book is written by a different author, so you never really know what you are getting. Especially when it comes to a not-so-popular character like Martha.

Martha happens to be my favorite companion, so naturally this was one of the first Doctor Who books I purchased. It just got buried under many many new books and I didn't get to it until now. I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't read it sooner. I wouldn't say it is the best Doctor Who book, but the author certainly nailed the characters pretty good.

It is a really nice adventure, I'd say a good two-parter if it was an episode, and it had some good twists that I wasn't expecting. Typical Doctor Who Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Wimey stuff. All in all, an enjoyable read.

[Deanie Nelder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martha in the Mirror is a good, solid entry into the Doctor Who franchise. It plays out mostly like a good (though not great) episode of the series, and is great for those of us who miss David Tennant and Freema Agyeman's characters on the small screen. The book would be better if it had gone into more depth about the plot in general, but is still an enjoyable read.

[Via ⚡️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freema Agyemen reads this so well, I forget the different voices aren't other actors!

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Source: I own this book.
Cost: Unknown

Title: Martha in the Mirror
Series: Doctor Who New Adventures #22
Author: Justin Richards
Overall Rating: 3.5 stars

This one was one of my childhood favourites, just due to the fact that it was creepy as hell! Revisiting these books has made me realise that my childhood favourites are still my favourites and also the fact that I liked really spooky books when I was younger.

I think the idea of this was just so good and Justin Richards is pretty decent writer, even if it's just for a spin off book series.

[Stephen Robert Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

PersonI read this first in 2008.This Curse Of Peldon meets Star Treks Mirror,Murrow with Snow White added.A god old fashend Dr.W dark creepy aliens,a murder mystery in a floating castle.

[Melenia · Rating 3 out of 5]

CD Audio Book

Abridged

Decent read. Not my favorite.

[Isabella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 stars

Martha in the Mirror was more violent than normal Doctor Who books and episodes tend to be. Not that I'm complaining. Doctor Who used to get in trouble with producers during the 60s for not being family friendly, and they've kind of given up now.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neat premise that got a bit muddled. This one got a little confusing for me; it seemed like characters were running back and forth between clues and events that didn't exactly move the mystery, or perhaps even the story, and I was struggling to keep track of who was doing what, when and where.

On the other hand, the dialogue was mostly spot-on, I really liked the concept of the Mortal Mirror, and the audio was read by Martha herself, Freema Agyeman, who puts her heart into the reading *and* does an outstanding Doctor. Might move my rating up another star after a second listen.

[Dale Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor and his companions have been around for over 50 years. His story has been told on TV, Radio, Audio Adventures, Comics, even in animation. But, the biggest footprint are the many Who books that have been written over the years. Between the TV series book adaptions and the hundreds of follow on books, Doctor Who may have the largest library of books of any pop culture and media entity.

In this, author Justin Richards take the Doctor and Martha on another adventure this time, to an amusement park situated on a floating rock in space. But, as is often the case, the TARDIS misses its mark (or did it) and lands the two into a murder mystery that may destroy the future of two warring worlds.

While this may be a typical Doctor and Companion adventure … they head out for a specific point and place and yet miss the mark and end up in the middle of another worldly problem that needs their help (I truly think the TARDIS does this on purpose...she does have a sense of humor)… Justin Richards has written an enjoyable story that has fits nicely into the Whovian universe and the Doctor's M.O. Richards specifically captures the mannerisms of the David Tennant played Doctor and I could actually visualize David saying those lines as I was reading through the story.

All in all... this was s good solid story. And, while a little predictable … Janna and Tylda for one... it was still an enjoyable read.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

To summarize, there's a mirror. There's a girl. There are alien diplomats. There are robots. And finally, the Doctor and Martha.

I have a thing about mirror beings so I knew I'd like it right off the bat. The story is not very unique per se but it was enjoyable and I loved the little twists. I really enjoyed this story from the beginning so imagine my surprise when I realized that it took me 3 months to finish. Life, eh?

Not an actual spoiler but: when The Doctor and Martha introduced each other as Doctor Duck and Martha Mouse, I couldn't stop smiling. I really like the bickering and the Doctor's flawless, flawless humor. I could hear Martha's groans over the book. Honest.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story was an okay read, but by far not the best I've read in the Doctor Who series. It was predictable and in several sections boring. The two main characters, the Doctor and Martha, both came across weird (so not like their on-screen personas. This is probably the main reason I'm giving the book such a low rating. I can deal with a less than stellar story as long as the Doctor and his companion are portrayed correctly. Still if you love the show and can't get enough you'll more than likely want to read this, but if you're new to DW novels I would suggest you start with a different one.

[Kandarp Shah · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first doctor who book, but enjoyed it..

[Coco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating Story; Love the ending: a dream which only belongs to the little girl

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

As kind of 'stop gap' books whilst I consider what to tackle next on the shelf I find these Doctor who books to be just the job...they are of varied quality plot wise but don't really take up much of your time and are enjoyable enough.
Unlike the 'target' imprint of old these books are not novelization of episodes seen on the T.V. but are more a continuation of adventures within that time scale ..this book features David Tennant's Doctor and Martha Jones and is a enjoyable tale of a cosmic mirror within a castle where a treaty is taking place...the mirror itself is a kind of Trogan horse type device in the plot but also much more and I won't give away all as the book is fairly short so the plot really wouldn't sustain me giving too much away.
Anyhow I find this series of books fit in well with the current series...I think the option of bigger budgets and the lower cost of CGI these days has benefited the T.V. series and possibly cost the books a little of their appeal...the older books fleshed out plots and aliens that were maybe subdued on T.V. due to the technologically not being there in the eighties or nineties to dazzle as current episodes do..the format of the series is also more episodic so single books work fine.
All in all this was good enough as a Doctor Who book it's fine...as a separate sci fi classic it would maybe struggle but really it does what it says and as a fan of the T.V. incarnations this book works well enough for me.

[TheGeekProblem · Rating 2 out of 5]

Going back to Martha's run is always rough for me. Martha was a good character that was treated terrible by the narrative. The Doctor was never as kind towards Martha as he was towards Rose and later on towards Donna, he was rude and tended to leave her to fetch for herself (if this was because he trusted her that much or he simply was that much of an airhead in this regeneration was never addressed). During her run, the Doctor is viewed mostly from the outside so he mostly comes across as weird or, you know, alien. He's marked as Other from the moment Martha is introduced because that's how she sees him, as something (someone) different. This book highlighted those characteristics making it a bit hard to read for me, specially since Martha is so capable in every single situation she's trusted in. The series didn't know what to do with Martha and while the books and audios have treated her better there's still books like this one in which we see how the writers struggle with her character.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

An enjoyable tale, suitable for younger readers as well as adult fans. Avoiding spoilers, the Tardis team discover a parallel world that is integral to a plot involving a peace conference between yet more humans (never mind) and a crocodilian race (more interesting). The premise of how this other world changes people was interesting, and I could imagine how this would have worked on TV.
I wish the character of the elderly diplomat had been fleshed out more, and the elements of alien cuisine and culture could have been expanded upon to give a real sense of the strange and weird. The main characters were very much in keeping with their TV personas, and this would certainly appeal to any fan of Tennant's wonderful Doctor.

[Kyle Theobald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is admittedly a nitpick but the title of this book is a bit odd, since it kind of implies Martha is going to be central to the plot of the story, when she is not really. She does go into the titular mirror (as does the Doctor), but only briefly. Still it makes more sense than The Deviant Strain, which Justin Richards literally just named after the typeface used on the cover.

Another pattern I'm observing with Richards, he likes writing twists, though how effective they are as twists tends to be a bit hit and miss. For instance, hey look there's a peace conference going on and on one side there's a military General who is talking cryptically about negotiation being form of surrender and also gave a "gift" to the other side which happens to be in the title of the book. I wonder if he has some sort of secret plan to stop the negotiations... That said there was at least one payoff that was satisfying and well seeded and overall I found the story quite engaging. Also enjoyed the setting of a medieval style castle that's essentially floating in space.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decenr Dr. Who advenrure wirh my favorite companion

As usual, the TARDIS doesn't land in the era the Doctor intended. He intended to take Martha to Castle Extremis when it would be an amuaememt park. He lands instead during one of apparently several peace conferences between 2 factions that have been fighting each other for generations.
It will be up to them Doctor and Martha to ensure the peace process continues.

[Emilija · Rating 2 out of 5]

2022 52 Book Challenge - February Mini Challenge 2) Mirror, Mirror, on the wall

This was not the best Doctor Who book that I've ever read, the main plot was a bit confusing and awkward to follow, even if the mirror plot was pretty neat. The Janna plot line was pretty obvious from the beginning and it felt like it detracted from the main plot

The characterisation was pretty decent and I liked how they referenced the Doctor Who episodes.

[Pat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Excellent portraits of Martha & the Doctor, with dialog that sounds like them. Parts were confusing, & I kept mentally rewriting the book as I read it. Lots of action & a fairly complex world, though the naming ... "Casaubon"? For an extraterrestrial? Really? Other names were no better. A sort-of fun read, but not one I'm likely to reread.

[James Haigh-Kenworthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great first 100 or so pages, some lovely scenes to end the story and 2 fantastic robots that provide some humour, all ruined by an over complex plot with too many characters working around a mirror that i think even the writer struggled to understand how it works. And Martha is hardly ever in the titular mirror either. A promising adventure that fell ultimately flat.

[Cara Noyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could hear David Tennant's character in my head, for the dialogue of the Doctor was specific to his awesome portrayal. Martha was a bit too daft, however. Minnie Mouse? Really? I loved Bill and Bot, the service robots who had to clean up messes. They were amusing and cleverly written.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt that this book was good in theory. I was really looking forward to the premise, but it just didn't do it for me. I liked the book as a whole, but it was slow moving and only really picked up nearly halfway through. It was better than okay, but I'm a little disappointed.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

あらすじ

　とある星域の平和条約に纏わるドラマ。

　鏡の中でしか生きられない少女の物語。双子の少女、ジェナとティルダ。

　ジェナは心の優しい気立てのいい女の子。ティルダは皮肉っぽく意地悪な女の子。

　しかし、ある事故でティルダが亡くなってしまう。
　その日からジェナの様子もすっかり変わってしまった。ドクターがジェナと出会った時、ジェナはティルダに追われていると怯えていた。死の鏡に纏わる伝説とジェナとティルダ。平和条約中に起こった暗殺事件の謎を探るうちにドクターは少女達の哀しい真実と運命を知ることになる

感想

　ラストのロボット達とドクターのシークエンスは特に泣ける。

[Annie Lilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed that one! I felt like the characters were accurate to their tv selves and the story felt plucked right from season 3. Overall, one of the better Doctor Who stories I've read!

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever, intriguing. Really enjoyed this one.