Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road

Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #181

by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson

“I’ve been waiting, all this time, for my life to begin. Maybe it’s time to stop waiting. Maybe it’s time to start living.”

Chance. Misfortune. Coincidence. These are the weapons of choice for the Doctor’s latest enemies. And those enemies are very, very hungry…

For Ruby Sunday, this Christmas Eve is a birthday she’ll never forget. It’s the day she joins the Doctor onboard a Goblin ship. The day she learns of dangers from beyond the universe. The day her life really begins… or, perhaps, the day it ends.

The Target novelisation of the first full adventure featuring the Fifteenth Doctor, played by Ncuti Gatwa, and the introduction of his new best friend, Ruby Sunday played by Millie Gibson. Russell T Davies’ original script has been novelised by up-and-coming literary talent Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson.

Genres: Doctor Who, Audiobook, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Media Tie In, Time Travel, Fiction

143 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 16, 2024

About the author

Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson is a Sunday Times Bestselling author of fantasy fiction, and the inaugural winner of the Future World's Prize in 2020. Her forthcoming novel, Gutterwitch, sold to Penguin Random House after an intense eight way auction. In the UK, the book sold to Bloomsbury after a nine way auction. Esmie's first novel was nominated for Best British and Irish Book at the Tik Tok Book Awards.

Raised between London and Sydney, Esmie is an author of Nigerian, Jamaican, and British-Australian heritage. Her work primarily focuses on people who live at the intersection of identities, whether in our world, or others. She holds a BA in English Literature and Classical Studies from the University of Exeter.

Reviews

[Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this so much, I didn’t know it was possible to love the episode more than I already do

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the 25th of December 2023 Doctor Who returned to BBC1 and arrived at Disney+, after years of New Year specials.
Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor meets his companion Ruby Sunday. This story is a first meeting between the two and is somewhat magical and chaotic. The Doctor takes on Goblins and their King, the tv episode has a brilliant music interlude which cracked up my daughter and me.
This talented writer has to bring the story as created for tv by Russel T Davies to readers. And I must say that she does a great job showing the Doctor through the eyes of Ruby Sunday and it works very well. I personally love this New Doctor and hé is well described and this young writer has done a satisfactory job.
This is of course a great read for Who fans but worth enjoyed by people who wonder about the character.
A great Christmas tale.

[Alejo Alvarez || babblewithale · Rating 4 out of 5]

{ 4.5 Stars ✨ } ~ { Sci-fi/Fantasy 📚 }

🔊 CALLING OUT TO ALL WHOVIANS & WHOVIANS TO BE 🔊

Here’s a little, mini review 😊

I’ve honestly always been scared of consuming Doctor Who content outside of the TV show. (With all of the lore embedded in the comics, audio dramas, novels, etc.—and having people debate whether or not any of this was cannon to the actual series… it was a lot, y’all 😭)

BUT! I absolutely loved this book 🤩

As it’s literally just the novelisation of the most recent episode, I loved how we got a little more insight into the thoughts of Ruby and the Doctor during their adventure and as they fought these little goblin menaces 🧌; and, considering how long we still have to wait until Series 14 comes out 🫠, this was a well-needed filler for the lack of Doctor Who content in my life right now 🥲 (if anything, I’m now probably getting roped into [as I learn the language of ropes 😏] the world of Doctor Who novels, cannon or not 😋)

Who else is excited for Ncuti’s era?! ✋🥳
~~~
Book Vibes ~~~> Song Vibes
“The Goblin Song” by Murray Gold (y’all knew I had to include this just for this song 😆)

↺ ᴿᴱᴾᴱᴬᵀ ‖ ᴾᴬᵁˢᴱ ≫ ᴺᴱˣᵀ ˢᴼᴺᴳ
0:54 ───ㅇ───── 2:32

╔═*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*

✧*̥˚ “That’s the thing about family, about the people we love. When they go somewhere you can’t follow, the whole world stops making sense. The entire universe becomes a stranger to you. And things which were normal before, like fairy lights in the hall, and music on the radio... well, they might as well have vanished. You don't even notice them. Life is meant to be shared and some souls are meant to find each other. To share life with one another” *̥˚ ✧

*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*═╝

[Jon Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly hews close to the TV story, but that’s a quiet triumph as Jikeimi-Pearson tells the story with what’s distinctively her own voice and with a novelist’s deft character touches. Her description of the Doctor dancing in the club from Ruby’s perspective is gorgeously done, capturing the visual impact of the transmitted scene, and I’m not sure any previous Target writer could have matched it. If the range can pick up authors of this generation and this calibre, there’s an exciting and different era to come with the Gatwa novelisations.

[S.E. Martens · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the stronger Target novelizations, for sure. I appreciated Jikiemi-Pearson's descriptive language, and the depth and sympathy she gave to the characters. Does a beautiful job fleshing out the episode and capturing the magic and whimsy that introduced the Fifteenth Doctor's era.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this tender novelization of a somewhat goofy episode by Jikiemi-Pearson. It added some much needed depth that didn’t quick hit the mark for me during my initial watch of the episode. I almost shed a tear at the end of the book.

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This episode converts SO well to book form! I enjoyed getting to consume this episode in a different format, as a target book this time. I’ve loved all the target books on the new Who episodes so far and it was another well narrated and executed story.

Narrated by Angela Wynter, who plays Cherry Sunday in the episode, I would thoroughly recommend the audiobook as it was well produced, with accompanying background sound effects and an easily enjoyable narration.

The new series is surely in a groundbreaking era and I look forward to what it is to come. Doctor Who has always been famed for being ahead of its time and it’s living up to that name. The energy of Ncuti’s Doctor brings a fun element and his relationship with Ruby finds its beginning in TCORR and I can’t wait for more from here.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This adaptation scores over the recent "Space Babies" novelization by simply being a more meaty story, giving Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson much more to work with, yet still managing to create a concise and compact read. You get the genius of Russell T Davies' original script, with some nice shifts in perspective that only a prose adaptation can offer. Well done.

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, quick read based on the 2023 Christmas special, which introduced us to Ruby Sunday and the adventures of the Fifteenth Doctor.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun write-up of the TV episode, although without the entertaining additions that have become a trademark of these new Target releases. It pushes the plot along very nicely, having fun with goblins.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's really rare that I give a book 2 stars - and even rarer I finish a book I'm not massively enjoying - but I really wanted to like this one more than I did!

I think, ultimately, the way it's written just isn't for me. The prose is quite formal and quite wordy in places - it's a well-written book in the sense that it's very correctly written, but I'm not sure that's really my style? There are some kinda odd choices of metaphors, and occasionally the editing seems to have missed that characters seem to run out of the kitchen two times in a row, or that the same word is used to describe something twice in the same sentence? I'm not sure I'm getting enough of a sense of the author's voice (and they're an award-winning author, so I'm suspecting this is only a problem for this book!) Perhaps that comes from essentially telling your version of someone else's story, and I think my issue possibly stems from the fact this episode doesn't really work for me on screen, either.

The book adds some lovely emotional bits that aren't in the TV version, as well as a few deleted scenes, and Jikiemi-Pearson's writing comes alive whenever she's describing the Doctor. The descriptions of him are so beautiful and powerful, but that sense of wonder for the character doesn't quite carry over into other areas for me. Ruby's thoughts aren't really her thoughts - they're things the prose would say anyway, but in italics? There's a formality to the way her emotions are conveyed as well; it's almost too written, and doesn't come across as spontaneous enough? I think, mainly, it just doesn't feel like she's a 19 year old in 2024.

There's a real sense of sentimentality throughout the book, and Jikiemi-Pearson puts her own stamp on the story by talking about fairy tales, and Ruby's sense of waiting for her life to start. It's lovely that the book provides a little more depth on these things than the episode has time to. Unfortunately, the sentimentality - which I love in a Doctor Who - comes across as a bit too saccharine here, and it doesn't quite give me the same warm, cosy feeling that thankfully most other reviewers on Goodreads have found in it. I really wanted to feel that, but it didn't quite work for me.

There are some places when Jikiemi-Pearson really enhances a moment I didn't connect with before - especially when Ruby and the Doctor arrive back in her flat after leaving the Goblin ship. The moment where they run round switching off things that wouldn't have been on in the flat anyway is still kind of baffling to me, but it's worked into the prose slightly better than it is the episode. The way the action flows in the Goblin ship is a little clearer here, some of the gaps joined up. But it's tricky, in a plot that sets up an enemy that never have a conversation, and are deliberately unknowable and working from a whole new set of rules, it's hard to get a real sense of threat? And I think that's where the episode sort of falls down for me, and why, maybe, the novelisation can never quite bring what I really hoped to find in it. But ultimately, it's not the job of the novelisation to patch up things that were a miss for me in the episode, and that's not an expectation I can bring to it. I'm glad that others have connected with the stuff going on in this book a lot more!

[Joe Kessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novelizations are an interesting business. There's a long history of them in the Doctor Who franchise, and back in the days before home video recording and on-demand streaming, they originally served the purpose of making TV stories more accessible to anyone who missed the initial broadcast and/or wanted to revisit a certain episode any way that they could. In an era where the show is always available at a click, that's obviously less of a concern, and so such book treatments today are generally pitched as bonus content: a chance to explore a familiar plot at greater depth of detail, especially when it comes to internal characterization of thoughts and feelings that wouldn't have already appeared on-screen.

By that rubric, this title is a success. It helps that the adventure it's adapting is a fun one -- the 2023 Christmas special that was Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson's first full-time outing as the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday, respectively -- because adaptations also rest pretty heavily on the quality of the material they happen to be drawing from. But even beyond all that, we get more insight into these new friends at the start of their time together, with narration that emphasizes a neat story structure audiences might not have noticed while watching -- the beginning of this holiday romp is shown through Ruby's (and briefly a random police officer's) perspective, with the Doctor as an elusive dashing figure who swoops into her life to save the day against the uncanny menace of baby-stealing goblins, and it's only when she too vanishes in the final act that the action switches over to center on the Time Lord as a protagonist with his own interiority. (Contrast this with, for example, the introductory Ninth Doctor episode in 2005, where we have exactly zero scenes that situate us in his POV over Rose Tyler's. Or the Eleventh Doctor's debut in 2010, which splits the focal role between him and Amy Pond in roughly equal shares.)

Getting to see first Ruby and then Fifteen thinking and reacting to events strengthens them as characters, with author Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson plausibly fleshing out the concepts inherited from Russell T. Davies's original script. Of particular note would be the Doctor's reflection on his recently-discovered adoption and his companion's reaction to seeing him dance from across the club, which are each rendered rather beautifully here. The only thing we're really missing besides the acting is that delightful show-stopping goblin song, which unfortunately doesn't quite carry the same impact on paper. But overall, the project has me feeling satisfied and hopeful about this latest run of Whovian novelizations.

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[Mikes Dw Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't mind this TV story, it's abit off ridiculous fun. However reading this made me realise just how visual it is and it just doesn't translate well to the novel. I was really looking forward to this, getting into the characters heads, adding some extra background, maybe learning more about the aliens and have some of those extra scenes that had to be cut due to the budget, (like the goblin King chasing after the dr and ruby in her flat, Which is the only reason they chose that location for the scene that didn't end up being filmed).

But sadly this book falls into the "straight re-telling" kind. There's no real extra depth or more scenes and unless your a big fan I don't think you need to read this. I do think the author does an excellent job at setting up connections for our new companion doctor together. You get a real sense from both of them being lost and learning to have fun again. I did enjoy the inner character thoughts too. This did actually improve on two scenes that maybe didn't quite work on the tv story. First is the singing scene. Here instead of just signing randomly to get out of the ship, we see the dr working out what he needs to do and trying to come up with an idea and lyrics to escape. He even quickly tells ruby to help distract them while he learns which robe will set them free. It's not much but it makes the scene work alot better. And the next is when the dr is pulling the goblins to the chruch tower to kill the goblin king. In the tv story, he just does it. Here the author gives us enough inner thoughts of the dr to see why did it. He's angry brcause of Ruby being taken and all the children Carla never Fosterd. He has a choice to make, save ruby but then they could fly away and effect more babies. Plus his smart gloves are rapidly losing power. So he does the ultimate thing he can do, and kills the goblin king.

The story does sadly still have a massive problem. If he killed them in the past they wouldn't even be there in the future to mess with ruby so it's all kind of pointless. Sadly we just have to ignore that, sometimes writer's do try and explain it and here we have to accept it, which like the tv story is rather lazy. We get told information about how they can surf time but not really an understanding. I feel this something the book also could off explored.

But overall its a fun story that's maybe slightly batter than the tv story. But it doesn't really count as a target book for me.

[Bree Hatfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Through the bodies on the dance floor, through the dry ice that drifted across the room like smoke, through the flashing lights and the intermittent darkness, the glint of an eye in the flashing light, the corner of a smile — a man, dancing. His form seemed to reflect and absorb the blue and purple lights of the club like a galaxy lived on his skin, like he was a galaxy. Ruby could see electric blue undertones in his buzz cut, like the sheen of a raven’s feather as he turned round and round, arms in the air, as though daring the stars to dance with him too and possibly succeeding.”

“Ruby didn’t think about what she did next. She just knew she had to find him. Grabbing her jacket off the back of a chair, she pulled it on over her jumper, gave Karla a kiss on the cheek, and ran out. Sometimes extraordinary things bump against ordinary lives and change them, she thought as she ran down the stairs, Karla’s shouts fading into the distance. I have to find out if this is one of those extraordinary things or else I’ll be thinking about it for the rest of my life, always asking, what if? And I refuse to let that happen!”

This was a pretty typical novelization in that it retold the events of the TV special as they happened with very little added material. But the difference between this one and Wild Blue Yonder, for example, is that Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson is a master at adding characterization through internal dialogue. For most of this book we are wholly inside Ruby’s head, and we get her thought processes and context for her actions. We also see the world and the Doctor through her eyes. It’s a more personal perspective that the special doesn’t have as much of.

Jikiemi-Pearson is also a very good prose writer. This book felt very natural as a novel and her writing added so much to the atmosphere and vibe of the story.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A warm, somewhat effusive retelling of the Fifteenth Doctor's first adventure at the controls of the TARDIS. The author follows the storyline faithfully, adding here and there to the screenplay with an additional observation or restoration of a deleted scene.

Like the original broadcast, the book is a light marshmallowy affair that is devoted more to character development than a complex plot. With the exception of the Goblins - the villians of the piece - the Doctor and Mrs Flood, Jikiemi-Pearson adds history and context to each of the characters, leaving the reader feeling familiar and comfortable in their presence. Those less well served remain enigmatic and slightly two dimensional. We learn that the Goblins are probably part of the aftermath of the Toymaker and Mrs Flood remains the mystery seen on screen.

The Doctor is given motivation and reacts to the pressures of the situation but - fortunately - the author does not fall into the trap of revealing his inner workings.

The ending is rushed, but that's the same as seen on TV, but the descriptions of the final scenes lack the depth to be found in earlier chapetrs. It feels like there was a word count applied.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson’s novelization of “The Church on Ruby Road” offers a pretty standard retelling of the televised episode - faithful to the plot while adding a smattering of extra details and deleted scenes here and there. But where the book shines brightest is in Jikiemi-Pearson’s prose. She brings a real warmth to the novel, offering far more than a simple rewording of Davies’ original screenplay. Instead, this reads as though it were always written as a novel. Full of warmth and humanity, and perfectly capturing the voices of Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson.

While it may not reinvent the “Doctor Who” novelization wheel, “The Church on Ruby Road” is a delightful read from start to finish and a lovely way to tie over fans until the show returns in the spring.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruby Sunday's life is about to change completely. For she has met the Doctor and all the small things that have made her unlucky will be dealt with.

Jikiemi-Pearson captures the madness of Russell T. Davies' script and the novelisation does work well on its own. There is a formatting error at the end of Chapter Two on the Kindle edition where the title appears in the middle of the text. A point has been knocked off for this, since it is an expensive book for its length and should have been better proof read.

[Graham Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really enjoyable novelisation of a Doctor Who episode. I listened to this on audiobook and it was narrated by Angela Wynter, who plays Cherry Sunday, the grandmother is the show. It was well paced and Angela Wynter’s use of character voices really brought it alive.

I think any young Doctor Who fan would love this. It’s not too heavy and full of action. I felt the book was actually as good, if not better than the episode. It was a very faithful rendition of the show and cleverly got around the musical numbers in the episode. It was just pure fun.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/doctor-who-the-church-on-ruby-road-by-esmie-jikiemi-pearson/

It’s a breezy, enjoyable revisiting of the first full Fifteenth Doctor story, with a bit more background for Ruby, and sensibly not trying to reproduce the stunning visuals in printed form. She catches the voice of the new Doctor well, but we don’t find out much more about him, perhaps even less than usual for a Who novelisation; perhaps there are surprises in store.

[Kindle Addict · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great adaptation of the episode that’s bound to become one of my favourite!
There are only minor changes, probably because (I’m guessing) it was based on the script instead of the final episode (mostly around the Goblin song when the Doctor starts to sing)

A great way to revisit a favourite episode and a quick read, easy for kids as well.
I’m loving those adaptations that are being released in real time (or almost) for 14th & 15th. I hope they keep doing it for the next season!

[Alice Breiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book. Reading it and just thinking about the episode whilst doing so. I enjoyed getting to read a bit more of their thoughts and feelings rather than just everything that was going on.

For what it is, it’s a good book. But I couldn’t rate it high when it’s not really a novel, it’s more a written version of the TV show.

If you like Doctor Who, defo give it a read. It’s simple writing and a decent read.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

先にドラマを見ているせいもあったのかもしれないけれどもとても読みやすかった。忘れかけていたことやそういうことだったのかという情報補足、ドクターの心情など思い出すにもちょうどよかった。

でもなによりもすごく読みやすかったのが印象的。
またこの作家さんの書いたものを読んでみたいと思った。

📝: 眩しい光にルビーが顔を隠した瞬間をみたドクターがこの瞬間が後から思い出すたびにドクターにとっての辛い記憶となった的なことが書かれていたんだけど、それはゴブリンが赤ん坊のルビーをさらったため目の前のルビーを消されてしまった時のことなのかそれとも今後に関わるフラグなのかちょっと気になった。Mrs Floodもやっぱり謎。なぜ最初はそんなそぶり見せなかったのにターディスを知っていたのか....Mavityのままなのってやっぱりなんかの鍵なのかなぁ....

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time I've read an episode novelisation and I enjoyed this short book. It breaks scenes down well, and the authors clearly conveyed action and the images on the screen - it gives a good insight into those internal narratives you can't delve into in an episode.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I read this. I loved the episode and honestly didn't have a lot of hope for this novelisation but I loved this! Not to mention, Angela Wynter, the performer did an amazing job on the audiobook version as well.

[Eliza Clara Hemming · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming adaptation, close to the television episode but with some beautiful, lyrical prose.

[Mo · Rating 5 out of 5]

More of this

[Jus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still losing my mind over the 15th doctor resembling the 12th doctor.

[Cristina Cicivelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this novelization almost as much as I loved the episode! Esmie’s writing style just fits so perfectly with Doctor Who’s stories.

[Rob Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid adaption of the TV episode and as quick and enjoyable as its source.

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad novelisation. In fact, I think I liked it a little more than the episode, which felt too much like pantomime for me.