Doctor Who: The Moon Cruise

by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, Caoilfhionn Dunne (Narrator)

Step right up for the most sensational cruise in the galaxy!

The TARDIS lands on board a luxury space liner owned by the interstellar shipping magnate, Marilyn Moon. The Moon Cruise offers its wealthy passengers up-close views of astounding cosmic wonders and the Doctor and Belinda are soon high rolling it on the top deck.

But there is a sinister side to life on board. What is the secret of the smiling, blonde-haired mannequins? What happens to the cruise ship workers when they go off shift? The Doctor soon learns that not all prisons come with bars on the windows, while Belinda faces one of the greatest cruelties in the universe – a zero-pay contract in retail and hospitality that can never be broken...

Genres: Doctor Who

Audiobook

First published November 13, 2025

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

[Paul Flint · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel starts on a starship, full of shops different aliens abound its many floors. Belinda and the Doctor are so well written its like your watching a TV episode. Marilyn Moon is quite the despicable character, they named the ship after her. At first glance it looks like the very height of luxury. Spa treatments relaxing places. But hidden beneath that beautiful wondrous veneer lie ominous secrets. Soon the Doctor and Belinda are involved in a scary reality. Things are not what they appear to be, and the truth turns out to be much darker. Beware the Mannequins......

[Finlay O'Riordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty typical NSA, so far as it provides a relatively enjoyable read but ultimately feels like a filler episode.

Some good points first, Jikiemi-Pearson clearly understands the Fifteenth Doctor and Belinda. She characterises them well, and I thought her original characters were strong too, particularly Jax and Vanessa.

However, the fact of the matter is, this story is nothing new. The greedy rich upper class thrives while feeding scraps to the working class, who ultimately overthrow them with a nudge from the Doctor. It's been done to death a thousand times before across the Doctor Who franchise. Yes, it was a relatively enjoyable book, but that doesn't mean it's anything original.

In the same vein, I like it when DW books reference other DW books, so the initial nod to "Spectral Scream" was welcome, but then it just kept getting referenced every other page to the point that I thought Gary Russell might have taken over writing this one.

There were also a few loose ends and inconsistencies. What was the point of the giant centipede? How could Belinda and the Doctor hear Monroe in the machine when it was supposedly soundproof? What were the mushrooms all about?

Speaking of that centipede, for a while, I thought we were in for an Auton story. The eyes seemed like a reference to the Nestene Consciousness, and the Marilyn mannequins? Definitely sounds like Autons until the wires come into play. Nothing wrong with an original villain, but since Ncuti faced practically no classic monsters outside of his finales, it would have been a nice surprise to just use the Autons here.

Overall, despite how critical I may sound, I did enjoy this book more than not, but I can't help not overlooking its sore points.

P.S. For those wondering if there is a Mrs Flood cameo here: No, there isn't.

[Alyx Payge · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty competent Doctor Who adventure. The Doctor and Belinda are well characterized, with even some of that friction between the two of them that the series forgot about still present.

The critiques of capitalism here are not unique and not exactly subtle but that's an unnecessarily high bar to hold a Doctor Who tie-in novel to. That it was here at all is appreciated, and written in a way that really enhanced the sense of the world being conveyed.

There were some moments that felt a little odd, like just kind of one-off encounters that didn't thematically resonate with the rest of the book and just seemed out of place. The Doctor and Jax and the river full of pirahnas for example, or Belinda fighting some kind of space centipede.

I'd have liked Jax and Vanessa to get more time together, but given the story being told it makes sense that they didn't. For me the book loses like half a point for only implying that Jax and Vanessa are lesbians, and for how quickly the tools of oppression are repatriated to become symbols of unity. It just doesn't feel like such an immediate turnaround is realistic.

Otherwise a really good Doctor Who story that I'm glad I spent time with.

[Lucy-May · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven’t read a Doctor Who story since February because I’ve felt a little disconnected from the show since the most recent series ended, but Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson did a really good job with this book & reminded me why I love the “Whoniverse” so much.

I loved Esmie’s versions of Fifteen & Belinda, with them both feeling very much like their on-screen counterparts (which is a feat considering this would have been written before Esmie saw Bel on-screen) & I really enjoyed the plot as well.

I picked up The Moon Cruise to celebrate Doctor Who’s 62nd birthday & I’m really glad that I did; I read the whole thing in one sitting & it’s left me with a big smile on my face after a really tough few days.

I hope Esmie writes for the Doctor some more because I think she’s exactly the kind of writer we need right now — I’d love to see what she’d do with an episode or two 💫

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times, this definitely feels like a pitch for a 45-minute episode that’s been stretched mostly successfully into a fairly short novel. But with that stretching comes a few scenes that don’t go anywhere and don’t really mesh thematically with the bulk of the story that are clearly there just to kill time the same way the padding in a six-part Third Doctor serial would do. However, it’s an immensely fun little adventure nonetheless; one that perfectly captures the dynamic of the Fifteenth Doctor and Belinda and nicely slots in alongside their televised adventures.

[Toby Sutton-Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gosh, I miss Fifteen and Belinda! A wonderful novel with an interesting premise, some good guest characters and excellent worldbuilding. The latter in particular I was expecting, given how good this is in Jikiemi-Pearson's non-Who work.

[Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliantly evil villain! The stockholders scene was spine tingling - predicting it would be Vanessa to join Marilyn on stage filled me with dread.
Belinda and the Doctor are characterised very well! With the doctor’s fur coat outfit needing a visual - I may draw it when I get home?

[Jennifer Baratta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note never take a cruise with the Doctor

Well the Tardis thinks Belinda needs a break. Unfortunately for Belinda she doesn't get a long break and trouble ensues.

[Kelsey Hayes · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a load of rubbish. Nothing to say about this book because it made absolutely no impact on my life 😂