Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time: 12th Doctor Novelisation

Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #161

by Paul Cornell

Mark Gatiss reads the brand new novelisation of the Twelfth Doctor’s dramatic final adventure. Still reeling from his encounter with the Cybermen, the First Doctor stumbles through the bitter Antarctic wind, resisting the approaching regeneration with all his strength. But as he fights his way through the snowdrifts, he comes across the familiar shape of a blue police box, and a mysterious figure who introduces himself as the Doctor…

Thrown together at their most vulnerable moments, the two Doctors must discover why the snowflakes are suspended in the sky, why a First World War Captain has been lifted from his time stream moments before his death, and who is the mysterious Glass Woman who knows their true name. The Doctor is reunited with Bill, but is she all she seems? And can he hold out against the coming regeneration? Running time: 3 hours 20 mins approx.

? BBC Worldwide 2018
© BBC Worldwide 2018

Novelisation copyright © Paul Cornell 2018
Original script copyright © Steven Moffat 2018

Cover illustration by Anthony Dry

BBC logo © BBC 1996
Doctor Who logo © BBC 2014

For BBC Worldwide:
Reading produced by Neil Gardner
Recorded at Ladbroke Audio Ltd
Sound design by David Darlington
Executive producer: Michael Stevens
TARDIS sound effect composed by Brian Hodgson

For BBC Books:
Editorial Director: Albert DePetrillo
Project Editor: Steve Cole
Cover design: Two Associates
Cover illustration: Anthony Dry

Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time first published by BBC Books in 2018

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

1 pages, Audio CD

First published April 5, 2018

About the author

Paul Cornell is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy prose, comics and television. He's been Hugo Award-nominated for all three media, and has won the BSFA Award for his short fiction, and the Eagle Award for his comics. He's the writer of Saucer Country for Vertigo, Demon Knights for DC, and has written for the Doctor Who TV series. His new urban fantasy novel is London Falling, out from Tor on December 6th.

via Wikipedia @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cor...

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the Thirteenth Doctor’s arrival the weekend, I just had a real urge to read Twelve’s swan song beforehand.

I’ve always liked this original televised episode. Capaldi and Moffat were originally intending to leave at the end of Series 10, so the fact that they managed to add in an extra episode for the Christmas Special by having The Doctor refusing to regenerate is such a simple but effective way for him to have one more adventure.

This is a pretty straightforward novelisations of the story, any multi-Doctor story is always fun and this made for a pleasant read.
I really liked how Cornell was able to make it so simply clear in which incarnation of the Doctor he was talking about.
There’s lots of nice nuggets in here aswell, various references to the other Doctors was very welcomed.

The regeneration scene was perfect, teasing the reader that the next incarnation would be a male again as The Doctor is stuck-in-a-rut Timelord made me smile.
I’m a big fan of Capaldi’s Doctor, but the show has always been about change. I’m excited to see what Jodie brings to the role and hopefully her first adventure will also get the Target novelisation treatment!

[Matthew Kresal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back in the 1970s and into the 1980s, the only way fans of Doctor Who often could encounter an older story was by reading it. The Target novelizations, slim books often running little more than 150 pages, was the cornerstone of the show's merchandise. These days, of course, that isn't the case with a multitude of watching options to chose from including DVDs and streaming platforms. That hasn't stopped such demand for new Target style novelizations of twenty-first-century episodes which BBC Books debuted a set of earlier this year. Among them was the most recently aired episode, the 2017 Christmas Special Twice Upon A Time, written by a stalwart making one last comeback: Paul Cornell.

Cornell (whose Doctor Who credits include episodes such as Father's Day and Human Nature/Family Of Blood alongside original creations such as Saucer Country) was a natural choice to novelize this final outing of the Twelfth Doctor. Twice Upon A Time is, after all, perhaps more of a character piece disguised as a sci-fi runaround. Cornell, in both his Who prose and TV scripts, had shown himself a particular practitioner of more character-centric storytelling and he excels at bringing that sensibility to the novelizing the Christmas special.

Where Cornell and the novelization shines is in its characters. Elements of that are down, of course, to the original Steven Moffat script for it but it's what Cornell does with it that counts here. The novelization builds on what was onscreen last December, finding moments during and around dialogue. Some of which are quite cheeky fan references such as what was on the VHS tape that Mark Gatiss' First World War Captain holds up in the TARDIS and some laugh out loud moments regarding the backstory of a few of the UK celebrities that the Peter Capaldi Doctor calls his earlier self. On the topic of the First Doctor, Cornell also finds some explanation for the characterization some found over the top for that Doctor including teasing his future self and being exasperated by events. There's even room for the fates of the Twelfth Doctor's companions. All of which helps make this fun reading for a fan, especially someone who enjoyed the special.

Something else which makes the novelization intriguing is the material deleted from the TV version it reinstates. There are no great big dramatic twists or eliminated scenes as such and, yet, the book is full of extended sequences. There's how the Captain ended up in his predicament for example as well as an expanded sequence on Villengard with the two Doctors dealing with a swarm of creatures. Indeed, what Cornell most restores are character moments and pieces of dialogue between the two versions of the same Time Lord which further highlight the scenes of these two old men seeming to rage against the dying of the light and wondering if they should continue. These are perhaps the biggest highlights of the book though none of them make earth-shattering changes to the special as aired.

What Cornell highlights most of all is one theme from Moffat's script: Hope. It runs throughout from the Captain's escape from death and Bill trying to make her Doctor believe she's returned. It's also in the interactions between the two Doctors, sometimes touching moments of trying to convince one another to carry on despite the battles they've fought. That despite everything, there's always the chance to do something better and that the inevitable change the future brings isn't to be feared but embraced. It's an important message from Cornell as he walks away from writing for the series that has left such a mark on his life and career.

It is that perhaps which helps make the novelization of Twice Upon A Time such a delightful read. Watching the special is one thing but reading Cornell's expansion of it, from its extended sequences to new flashes of characterization, allows one a different experience of the same story. It is also a chance to see a Who writer bid farewell to the program not with sadness but with hope and excitement for what lies ahead. One that also includes, perhaps, a memory of days spent reading the original Target books?

[jana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm really suprised to give this five stars, since I honestly didn't even like the episode as a whole too much. It was okay, and some moments are very dear to me, but over all it wasn't very impressive to me. This book though?? Brilliant !!!!
Paul Cornell said you know what this episode needs? Mentions of River. Direct and Indirect ones. Many. and i personally ATE !! IT !! UP !!! 100% agree. it was such a special treat to stumble upon new parts of twelve and river, a real gift <33
Apart from that, I loved the mention of Barbara, Ben & Polly and all the other minor mentions that shows that Paul Cornell really GETS doctor who and also the specific doctors. It's like eleven said: my friends have always been the best of me.
this made me feel so !!!!!!!!! while reading, especially with the last scenes??? One and Twelve talking about Regenerations and dying and not wanting to change but then both coming to the conclusion that they will once again subject themselves to change and actively choose that too!!
What made me the most emotional was the ending, the way Twelve ends his 'era' with a little hope, but mostly afraid and unwilling to change even if he does let himself regenerate, but then Thirteen is here, and she's a woman, and they're like Change !! It does Happen !!! :)) and it's soo hopeful !! just chef's kiss. brilliantly done. Also that last sentence? amazing ending.
Paul Cornell really gets the whole show and i'm SO glad, i loved his writing style as well!!

[Adam Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this was a decent novelisation of the 2017 christmas special which stands up as a good example of the novelisation form which Cornell has taken to like a duck to water. I would heartily recommend this as it had stuff in it that didn't appear in the episode but also adds little extra bits to the narrative that add a little bit extra to the whole thing.

[Bree Hatfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Was he a good man? That was the question he had asked himself. He had decided that he was just a man. And yet… And yet, to be faced with an earlier self, a self that had first decided to be more than just a man, to be a hero, and one who somehow went about that with some dignity too, well here was perspective. A bit too much bloody perspective.”
—
“He felt suddenly weak. He had to lean on the old police box to keep upright: the strain of remaining himself. In all his years of life in this incarnation, he had finally learned some lessons about human life that his other selfs had not. He had enjoyed, for decades, the dream of a normal existence. He had had love, long-lived love — he still wore his wedding ring. This time, if he allowed the regeneration to happen, he wouldn’t just be sacrificing some iconic hero, he would be losing a life. He would be losing it anyway, so why not… Why not simply… Yes, he had made up his mind.”
—
“The sound of hope came to a terrible place, in what had been a terrible day. It came twice, it sang to itself. With a wheezing, groaning sound, two police boxes appeared side-by-side on the battlefield.”

4.5 stars. These novelizations continue to impress me. Granted, I’ve only read two, but they were fantastic. This one gives essential context and provides an internal monologue for the Doctor which I thought only enhanced the themes and gravity of the story.

You really get a feel for the Doctor’s history in this book, in a way that wasn’t emphasized in the special. The 12th Doctor reflects on his life from the point when he was the 1st Doctor onward, and we see a natural progression between the two. Events are mentioned and reminisced upon, like the events of The Waters of Mars and the Time War, which make the Doctor think about who he is, what he will be, and what he has become. Both incarnations are confronted with the reality of who they will be, and they both learn from each other.

In this book, Paul Cornell focuses on the personal reflections of the Doctor and why he won’t regenerate. His internal monologue gives us valuable and important musing about why he wants to die (“This time, if he allowed the regeneration to happen, he wouldn’t just be sacrificing some iconic hero, he would be losing a life.”) — we get to know exactly how he feels and why he feels the way he does. This gives further context to the ending, and that’s context really bolsters the emotional and thematic climax of his whole arc.

One detail this book puts an emphasis on is his history with River and how he found true, real love in his 12th incarnation. This was something that wasn’t emphasized much at all in the special, but it was truly perfect because it fits right in with his final season and his character arc as a whole. It also makes the moment where his wedding ring falls off after he regenerates all the more impactful.

This book is a fantastic companion to the special. The special has a deeper emphasis on the fallout of war and its effect on people, which thematically closes the Doctor’s arc about facing his past and going home; but the book provides context to how he feels about this incarnation of his life. Both are vastly important, and both thrive in the medium which they are portrayed in. Much like the Day of the Doctor novelization, this one is for those who loved the special and want more context for the story and character arc.

The novelization also doesn’t focus much on the 1st Doctor’s arc. In the special, he went through a specific arc where he learned that meddling with time is small ways to save lives is worth it. This is something he struggled with throughout his run, and to have him finally come to that conclusion definitively was perfect. This novel covers that, of course, but doesn’t give it the time I think it deserves.

[Alex Sarll]

The foreseeable future of Who looks void both of Christmas specials and great stories generally, mired as it is in the wet Tuesday fug of Chibnall. So what better time to revisit the last example to date of both? It's a story that does benefit from a second run-through once you already know there's no villain, no evil plan, just people trying their best, despite everything, to be kind. Cornell does a little tidying around the edges, a few fancy riffs; I loved the Terrance Dicks homage in the first paragraph even more than I would have when Dicks was still with us, but was less keen on his reconciling Bill's two afterlives, because my word there was something beautiful about a writer who'd been accused of playing the 'kill your gays' card finding a move that let the same queer girl live forever, twice over. And obviously it's still spoiled right at its emotional peak by the worst companion ever vomiting back into the Doctor's memory. But that aside, it's Moffat's last TV Who circling back to his first, and deciding that there's somewhere to go beyond "Just this once, everybody lives" - every time, always, everybody lives. The perfect place for any head writer to leave a show all about saving people.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another really enjoyable read. Cornell's approach was slightly different to RTDs in that he seems to have made an effort to make it a homage (as opposed to a pastiche) of an old-school Target novelisation. It feels like it might - with the odd difference here and there - have been written by Terrance Dicks on a good day, which is as big a compliment as I can give it really.

One small quibble is the repetitive joke about justifying name calling by name-dropping a celebrity and their meeting with the Doctor. I know that's a purely personal thing and it is so minor I almost feel guilty for mentioning it. But I've done it now.

So, ignore my quibble and give this a read.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It doesn't quite reach the giddy heights of the recent Moffat and Davies novelizations, but Paul Cornell is taking a different approach. This is a loving tribute to the style of Target novelization supremo Terrance Dicks -- a beautiful pastiche of his style at his height. Clear, spare prose that contains a surprising multitude of layers, this is a book that really takes me back to my childhood.

[Trinity F · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Doctor, I let you go."

Pride Month 2019 - Reading Challange - Book 3

I have to say out of all of the Doctor Who Target Collection books, this is my favourite. I did enjoy Doctor Who: Rose, but it wasn't really anything extremely special. I really did not enjoy Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor, for many different reasons.

However, I really did enjoy reading Twice Upon A Time. It really was a true reflection of the original episode. The writing was beautifully done and the characters sounded like themselves, and, unlike The Day of the Doctor, I didn't find myself cringing every couple of sentences because of terrible phrasing. While it was a very short book, nothing was left our or skipped over. The pacing was well done and the story made sense in writing.

It was a beautiful tribute to a beautiful episode, and I completely recommend it to any Doctor Who fans.

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. My least favorite that I’ve read unfortunately but it’s still a four star read because it was so much fun and I love Bill and the Twelfth Doctor. Throw in the First Doctor into the mix and of course it’s an entertaining read. This was an interesting experience reading this collection of books and I had a blast. Now all I wanna do is binge watch Doctor Who.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the end approaches, the Twelfth Doctor is reluctant to regenerate, feeling that he now lacks the will to save the universe time and time again. But a chance encounter with his former self and old friends may help him change his mind.

Cornell sticks to the script, but allows room to explore the Doctor's thoughts and feelings about his impending change. A good adaptation of the episode.

[Kristīne Vītola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who counts as human? Amatonormativity in the “Doctor Who: Twice Upon A Time” Novelization https://mikaylasrambles.wordpress.com...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

A story that should have been expanded on further, Twice Upon a Time's novelization neither exceeds nor matches the original tales emotions apart from a rather engagingly written regeneration scene.

[Lori S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read by Mark Gatiss, some of the narrative power of this story flattened a bit. However, I really enjoyed it and was glad the library had the audio up listen to right at the beginning of the year. Yay!

[Melinda Beatty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful novelization of a beautiful episode--well done to Paul Cornell for filling in all the gaps in the storyline!

[Tim Rideout · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb adaptation of a good Doctor Who story.

[Alain Lewis]

An appropriate ending for the twelfth Doctor as he decides if he’s to live or die. He does this though alongside the first Doctor, who faces a similar choice. As ever with the Target Books it’s a nice little hug of a book. A little rollercoaster of enjoyment. You normally know what will happen but you don’t always know exactly how.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3019186.html

Paul Cornell has done a lovely job of taking the Terrance Dicks style at his best (he's always been clear in his admiration) and applying the method to a 21st century script. He softens some of the edges of the First Doctor's characterisation which I found problematic on screen, adds quite a lot to the Bill back-story which means that it all makes sense, and embeds the whole story in mythos in a way that works much better on the page. Also the Twelfth Doctor's final monologue is much more clearly a memo to his future self.

[Duncan Steele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vapid retelling of something I've not actually seen, so it may be that the original production is actually as trite as this novelization.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

While Twice Upon a Time is a far more straightforward adaptation of its episode when compared to Moffat's adaptation of Day of the Doctor, it is no less enjoyable. Paul Cornell has always had a gift for strong prose, and that strong prose is very much on display in his adaptation of Twice Upon a Time. In a way, it feels like he, out of all the authors, is trying the hardest to replicate the classic style of the original Target novelizations. Honestly, though, it really works for this story, mainly because of the fact that it heavily features the First Doctor, who Paul Cornell writes beautifully for. The episode was heavily criticized for its depiction of the First Doctor (essentially, simplifying him into a bit of a caricature of who he actually was, playing up the more sexist aspects of his character and downplaying some of the softer aspects), and while Paul Cornell doesn't really shy away from what Moffat wrote in the script, he does contextualize it some as a result of the regeneration the First Doctor is fighting off for the entirety of the story. In general, Paul Cornell writes the First Doctor really beautifully, adding some lovely insights into his thoughts during the episode - in particular, there's a touching reference during the scene where Bill first appears where the First Doctor briefly thinks that the person the Testimony is offering the Doctor in return for the Captain is Susan, his granddaughter, and when it turns out to be Bill, he's briefly heartbroken. It's such a short moment, but so utterly powerful.

As for the actual meat of the story, it's mostly as you remember it playing out on screen. It's been reported that upwards of thirty minutes of footage was cut from the episode, and while some of it does reappear in the novelization, most of it remains lost to the sands of time. What is added in Cornell's adaptation really does help flesh out the story somewhat. While I really liked Twice Upon a Time as an epilogue for Peter Capaldi's run as the Doctor, I know a lot of people thought it was a rather anti-climactic way for a Doctor to bow out, given that there ended up being no real threat and the episode was far more an introspective look at Capaldi's run as a whole than a truly gripping adventure, and while the book doesn't fix that, I think that the very nature of the medium of novels ends up being a better medium for this story. Novels are often more introspective, and so this super introspective story ends up working really well on the page; possibly even better than it worked on TV.

Don't go into this adaptation of Twice Upon a Time expecting anything radically different from the televised episode. Don't expect it to be the fabled director's cut featuring all the deleted scenes. Go into it expecting to read essentially the same thing you saw on TV, but with some added insights from the characters (and expect to find out just what happened to Bill, Heather, and Nardole after The Doctor Falls; spoiler alert: Bill and Heather had a damn cute life together) and you'll have a very enjoyable time. Paul Cornell proves with Twice Upon a Time why he's such a beloved author in the Doctor Who universe. He has such a gift for perfectly capturing the voices of characters and embellishing the events in which he's telling that he makes every Doctor Who story he writes really come off the page. It's a much different beast to the adaptation of The Day of the Doctor, but no less enjoyable.

[Hobart · Rating 4 out of 5]

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---

He sent a wide-beam sonic pulse at exactly the right frequency all the way down that path between him and the tower, and was rewarded with a very satisfying series of detonations. The First Doctor skipped about at every fireball that burst into the sky. Finally, the smoke and flame died down. ‘There you go, all done.’

'There could have been one right underneath us!’

‘Yeah, but it’s not the kind of mistake you have to live with.' That was the other thing about his centuries of additional experience, he was a little more willing to roll the dice. Or perhaps it was just at this point he didn’t give a damn. What the hell, his clothes were already ruined, might as well mess up the bodywork too. It wasn’t like he was planning to trade the old thing in.

Okay...if you want to read me ramble on a bit about the place of these Target novelizations of Doctor Who episodes to me as a young'un, you can see my post about Doctor Who: Christmas Invasion by Jenny T. Colgan, one of the other new releases in this old and cherished line. Which means we can just cut to the chase about this one, right?

Cornell was tasked with bringing the Twelfth Doctor's last Christmas Special to the page -- which includes the challenge of dealing with his regeneration in to the Thirteenth Doctor, which is no small feat. But we'll get to that in a bit. First, he's got to deal with the challenge of having two Doctors meet up -- and the extra fun of telling a story where two characters share the same name (and are sort of the same person, but not really), while not confusing the reader.

Cornell did a great job balancing the two Doctors, both going through some doubts about regenerating; while dealing with the question of Bill's identity and the soldier from World War I. One thing I appreciated more in the book than in the original episode was the Doctor's consternation when he realized that there wasn't actually a bad guy to fight for a change. Not sure what else to say, really.

Now, the regeneration? Wow. He nailed that one, and got me absolutely misty-eyed in the process. I could hear Capaldi very clearly as I read these pages -- the narrative added just the right amount of extra depth without taking away any of the original script/performance. It wasn't my favorite part of the episode, but it was my favorite part of the book -- he hit all the notes perfectly. The aside about the pears -- great, I loved that so much. And then -- a nice little bit with Thirteen, which has got to be so hard because we don't know anything about her, so even those few seconds of screen-time with her have to be tougher than usual to capture. These few paragraphs, incidentally, made Cornell "the first person to have written for all the Doctors" -- which is just cool.

In Twice Upon a Time Cornell has captured the letter and the spirit of the original episode, added some nice new bits and pieces for the fans and generally told a great story in a way that made you feel you hadn't watched it already. This is what these books should shoot for, and Cornell (no surprise to anyone who's read any of his previous fiction) hit his target.

[Chris Wing · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second of the four new series novelisations released earlier this month and I umm'd and ah'd over whether to give this 3 or 4 stars. Of course, I opted for the latter and here's why...

After the roller-coaster that was the novelisation of the 50th Anniversary special, this one comes across as the standard sort of Doctor Who novelisation of old. This is not really a bad thing, especially if you prefer them that way (and if you do, you'll hate Day of the Doctor).

It is a competant and solid yarn, straight forward and reliable in accordance to keeping to it's source material, but whilst that sounds like the sort of thing you'd put in a reference for an old employee who you don't have anything notable to mention, it really is a good thing.
Okay, so I didn't get the excitment that I got from 'Day...', but I wasn't really expecting it. It's the shortest of the releases (I think), and wanted to read it to really get wind of the 12th Doctor's first appearance in print (or is that the second...?).
Also, after erading the interview on the topic of the novelisations in the latest Doctor WHo Magazine, I wanted to see how the FIrst Doctor read. Paul Cornell, in said interview, states he was channelling Hartnell as he wrote, and I tried to do the same in the reading of it.
It was a partial success, but really, David Bradley's voice shone through more often than not as I remembered hearing the same lines from the episode itself. In the end, I gave up trying to shoehorn Hartnell in there and went with whatever came to mind. The First Doctor, in my mind's eye, therefore flickered between the two actors (and that wasn't quite as weird as you'd probably think!). My boy has asked if we can read The Five Doctors for his next bedtime story book; I wonder if the same will happen with Hartnell and Hurndall (the answer is probably yes)...

There are a fewbits here and there that added to the story and those were references to other adventures with the earlier/later/in-between Doctors. These were all rather charming, and even an intriguing reference to the First Doctor having met Susan's family. I can only imagine he means that he met them after he dropped her off at the end of The Five Doctors, as I can't think of any occasion where event appears or is referenced in any First Doctor media I've read or listen to in the intervening ears!
We also get images of the second, third and sixth Doctors on adventures that seem too amusing and cruel not to ever see in print! Maybe one day...

The only real niggle that I have, really, was that a number of moments that made me laugh on screen, didn't quite work on the printed page. Stands to reason, really, but it was a little shame that I didn't get the same enjoyment out of them as I did previously. However, in the show, I felt that the (12th) Doctor's final monologue was a little bit forced and felt out of place, chatting away to himself saying a big vocal goodbye speech to literally no-one, but the book points out (probably the point I missed on the show, an excuse to watch it again) how he is delivering this as a pep talk to the next guy about to step into his shoes. That worked for me.

So, it's these little touches which tips this book into the 4-star arena, in what otherwise would have been a well-written, but formulaic (although tried and tested) novelisation.

Fun stuff; I'd like to see more made.

[ValeryVal · Rating 5 out of 5]

"[He had decided upon something]. It was, in some ways, a continuation of a decision made before he had set out to confront the Cybermen. That decision had set him free to laugh again. It was a decision that meant he no longer had to bear the pain of hope”

"Twice Upon a Time" es una novelización escrita por Paul Cornell del especial de Navidad del mismo nombre del 12do Doctor. El libro está publicado por la editorial TARGET que saca novelas cortas (150-200 páginas) a partir de las historias de televisión. Este tipo de publicaciones eran muy importantes en la etapa de clásica de Doctor Who, años en los que era difícil acceder nuevamente a los episodios ya emitidos y para muchos fans era la única posibilidad de volver disfrutar las historias.

No obstante, gracias a la tecnología del siglo XXI todos nosotros tenemos la basta biblioteca de Doctor Who a un click de distancia por lo que muchos os estaréis preguntando si este libro vale la pena. La respuesta corta es sí. La respuesta larga solo tiene dos palabras: Paul Cornell. Este autor británico no solo es un buen narrador de Doctor Who, sino que es un buen escritor en general por lo que incluso antes de abrir el libro ya sabes que será una buena historia.

En general, esta novelización del capítulo no cuenta nada nuevo que no hayas visto en televisión, pero lo digno de mención está en las emociones y pensamientos que pasaban por las cabezas de los protagonistas. Una de mis escenas favoritas de Doctor Who (sin contar las escenas "importantes") ocurre en este episodio cuando el Doctor deduce por el uniforme del soldado que este pertenece a la Primera Guerra Mundial, a lo que el personaje de Mark Gatiss reponde "¿a qué te refieres con 'primera'?". Pues, por ejemplo, Paul Cornell es capaz de elevar este diálogo al brindarnos toda la desesperación que sufrió el soldado en esos meros segundos. Tened en cuenta que para él todo el infierno que estaban sufriendo valía la pena porque esta sería "la Guerra que acabaría con todas las guerras". Pero no, todas las muertes serían en vano puesto que esta solo sería "la primera".

En fin, no quiero haceros más spoilers ni arruinar vuestra experiencia con esta corta pero intensa obra. Libro realmente recomendado para todo fan de Doctor Who.

[Ezekiel Thorp · Rating 3 out of 5]

On TV, Twice Upon a Time was the Christmas special from 2017, and was significant for a number of reasons-it was the final appearance of Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor, as well as his companions Bill and Nardole, it featured the TV debut of David Bradley as the First Doctor (a role he had taken over from William Hartnell in a documentary and various audios), it marked the final Doctor Who contributions of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss and, more significantly, it featured the first appearance of the Doctor's first female incarnation, Jodie Whittaker, in the regeneration scene.

As you can tell from that very long list above, it certainly had a lot to live up to. Although many fans found the episode a disappointment, I've always thought it was a brilliant and very underrated episode. This novelisation was written by Paul Cornell, and published just four months after the TV version aired as part of the 2018 revival of Target books.

As with The Christmas Invasion (which I have also reviewed on this site), it's a simple but enjoyable different take on the TV story. There's less restored content (new information comes via an explanation of Bill's adventures post-The Doctor Falls, some banter between the Doctors about their Gallifreyan schoolteacher, and a reasoning for those horrid browser history jokes), but it's a great read and a good way to spend a couple of hours.

There's a beautiful simplicity to the prose evoking the Target books master Terrance Dicks, and the regeneration scene in particular really benefits from this stripped back approach ("He let the fire take him" is the perfect description for the Twelfth Doctor's final moments).

If there's a negative, it does sometimes read as if it were rush written, which it most likely was in order to get it on the shelves four months after broadcast. "709 episodes" from the opening chapter, taken straight from the TV story, sticks out as an example of this, when a prose alternative could have been "hundreds of adventures and several thousand pages ago".

However, it's a great book and still comes highly recommended.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

感想

　リジェネレーションすることで死を誤魔化し、生きながらえていくタイムロード。そのたびにドクターは死の恐怖と向き合っているのだということは、ついつい失念しがちになる。タイムロードのリジェネレーションはその身体が老いた時、瞑想によって自らリジェネレーションに入っていく。もしくはリジェネレーションを拒み、自ら死を選ぶこともできる。リジェネレーションのエネルギーが尽きたとき、タイムロードはマトリクスに知識を残し、この世を去る。致命傷を負い、リジェネレーション・エネルギーを持ちながら、リジェネレーションのプロセスを無理やり押さえ込んでいると、死に追いつかれ死に至る。

 ドクターは生きるのに疲れ切っていて、死を選ぼうとしていた。戦場から永遠に抜け出せない不毛感、大切な人たちを次々と奪われ、失っていく悲しみ。そういったことに疲れ切っていて、全てを終わらせようとしていた。それを感じ取ったターディスが”時間”に深刻なダメージを与えるリスクを冒し、ドクターとはじめてのリジェネレーションを目前にしている1stドクターを遭遇させる。ターディスがドクターを失いたくなかったということなのだろう。ドクターがいなくなればターディスは一人ぼっちだ。

　一方、1stドクターがリジェネレーションを拒めば、歴史が変わるどころの騒ぎではすまされない。12thドクターは1stドクターがリジェネレーションを恐れていることを悟り、この先に延々と直面することになる未来を知ることから必死で守ろうとする。決して辛いだけの旅にはならない。素晴らしいこともこれから先たくさん待っているのだと優しく背中を押してやりたい気持ちでいっぱいだ。しかし1stドクターからすれば、いずれいきつく先が目の前にいる、身も心も傷つき生きることに疲れ切っている自分であり、しかも今の自分からは考えられないような時間のルールを曲げるような振る舞いもすることになるのだとすれば、ここでリジェネレーションしないことがやはり正しいことなのではないかと気持ちがゆらいでくる。死を目前にした二人のドクター。ドクターの心中を代弁するかのような存在がもう一人、二人の前に現れる。第一次世界大戦の戦場でドイツ兵と至近距離で打ち合う運命にあるアーサだ。アーサは死を覚悟していた。全てを諦めていた。ところが突然この事態に巻き込まれ、もしかしたら自分は助かる運命なのかもしれないという希望を持ってしまう。ひとたび希望を持ってしまったアーサを手違いでしたとまた元の死ぬ運命の場所に戻すことがいかに残酷なことであるかは、『覚悟はできていたはずなのに、助かるかもしれないという一縷の望みを抱いたせいで、今はすっかり怖くなってしまった』という正直な心の吐露からもわかる。どこか親近感を覚えるこの地球人をドクターがそのまま残酷な運命に突き放すことなどできるはずもない。

　そして、ドクターがアーサのために奇跡を起こしてみせる。テスティモニーの目をかいくぐり、戦場に一瞬の奇跡を起こす。皆が少しばかり相手の気持ちや立場を思いやる優しさを持ち、そこから生まれたクリスマスの奇跡。その奇跡をみた1stドクターはそれを選ぶことのできる強さと優しさをもつ存在に自分はこれからなっていくのだということを受け入れる。そして1stドクターは未来の自分を思いやる。どちらの選択をしたとしても自分は理解できるとシンパシーをみせる。

　死んだ人間の記憶をセーブ、知恵として蓄積していく人間が発明したテスティモニー。それはまるでタイムロードのマトリクスの仕組みのようで、ドクターはテスティモニー存在を嫌っていたが、ビルの記憶、ナードルの記憶、そしてクララ。ドクターの中に欠如していたクララの記憶が甦える。クララと過ごし���時間。この記憶の欠如がドクターの生を続けることへの不毛感を加速させていた。ドクターは自分が愛され、感謝され、そしていくばくかの人助けもできたことを思い出す。充実した時間を生き抜いたのだと。そして今自分が1stドクターと似たような不安を抱いているだけなのだと気がつく。

自分が自分である限り、この旅を続ける限り、そこには新しい何かがあり、希望がある。

 

”Doctor, I let you go."

[Tim Trewartha · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first heard that BBC Books were resurrecting the Target imprint to publish novelisations of episodes of the "new" series of Doctor Who, I went ape. I grew up reading Doctor Who novels and have terrific memories of that series, so this news just about made my year. They were also the first series of books I started collecting (along with Choose Your Own Adventures). So after I calmed down, I grabbed my credit card and got on the internet. I am pleased to report the 4 books arrived this week and for no real reason I decided to read 'Twice Upon a Time'.

Novelised by Who veteran Paul Cornell from a script by Steven Moffett, 'Twice Upon a Time' was the farewell adventure for the 12th Doctor (Peter Capaldi). I have to admit I found the episode disappointing, and that carries over to the novel. None of this is Cornell's fault, who does a good job writing a fairly straight forward novelization of the episode. It kind of reminded me of one of Terrance Dick's better Doctor Who novels, there's some expansion of the story, and we get to get inside the heads of both Doctors (the episode also sees a return of the original Doctor), both facing similar fears as they grapple with their forthcoming regenerations.

So this is a very easy read, I knocked it over in a day. A note on the cover, which is delightfully retro, harking back to the first few target releases published in the 70s. I hope they publish more. No, scratch that. I hope, eventually, they publish ALL "new" series episodes.

[Donna Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

The novelization of Steven Murray's final episode for 12, broadcast on Christmas Day 2017.
The Doctor is dying, but he's fighting it. The Tardis takes him to a snowy polar landscape where he encounters a grumpy old man in a little blue box. It's him! But it's the 12th version of him. Ah, did you think I meant the first Doctor? He's, "...the original, you might say." But he doesn't know he's "1" any more than the WW1 soldier who gets sucked from the battlefield to the Pole to be with them knows his World War is "1". And the landscape is frozen in more ways than one as snowflakes hang static, time standing still.
All three have been brought together by the mysterious glass beings of Testimony, who take them on board their spaceship and offer the Doctors freedom in exchange for sending the soldier to his ordained moment of death. They insist on the fault in the timeline being fixed.
This seems like the wrong outcome, so the Doctors resist. Old enemies and old friends are involved as Testimony try to convince the Doctors that this fix is needed. And all the time the little flame of regeneration is burning, insisting. Time to choose: life or death.

Cornell does a splendid job of fleshing out this story and writing convincingly from the viewpoints of both Doctors. The gentle humour of the script is respected and subtly augmented. For me, he did a great job of explaining just what Testimony is, and also deals extremely well with the Doctors ' anxieties concerning their individual regeneration. Sweet and touching.

[TheGeekProblem · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book so much!

I felt like the writer was so done with the plot of the episode and the way the Doctors were written and their dialogues. You could feel how tired he was explaining all of the decisions taken during the writing of the script that he didn’t agree on. It was hilarious!

I liked that the reasoning behind why Twelve didn’t want to change was clearer in the book. You can see his train of thought and in how much pain he is with his decision, I was tearing up every time he explained how tired he was. The First Doctor is also much more likeable in the novelization, I think he was done dirty in the episode, that Moffat really didn’t understand One’s personality, and you can finally enjoy him in the book.

If you watched the episode then the plot is not surprising, but the way it is told makes more sense, if you felt it had too many plot holes most of them are explained in the novel. Also, you get comments from Twelve how nothing makes sense but nothing in his life makes sense so it’s okay, and how he’s surprised by One’s misogynistic comments because he was never like that and he figures is just a façade. There’s also Bill’s point of view, which is delightful since she’s a great character and you get a sneak peak into what happened to her after she left with Heather.

All in all, it was a great read, the heart of Doctor Who reflected. Truly a wonderful read for the Holidays.

[Liam Farrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really did enjoy this! I picked this up because I really like the episode of this from the tv show and I thought that this was a really great novelisation of the episode. It added a lot to the story, delving deeper into the characters and telling us more about them. There was also a lot of different references to episodes and characters from the Doctor Who show that were so fun to geek out about! This book just reminded me why books are always better than the movie-they are more detailed. And this book was definitely a lot more detailed. Plus I just really love this story. I love all the characters, I love the plot, I love the way it is told and some chapters were just so heartwarming and so great to read, they really did put a smile on my face. The reason I ended giving this book a 3 star rating instead of 4 was just because this a very slow, atmospheric story. And slow atmospheric books are always quite hard for me to read because I get bored and just want more to happen. It’s different with movies and tv shows because there have it playing in front of me. So a few times each chapter, I just wanted to be happening. The more slower books I read, the better I will get so I do think I will reread this one in the future. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it. It has made me want to pick up more novelisations of episodes from the show!

[Adam James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Besides Steven Moffat, BBC Books could not have chosen a better author to pen the novelization of Twice Upon a Time, the swan song of the 12th Doctor.

Anyone who's followed Cornell's Doctor Who career knows that the original Target line of Doctor Who books were immensely influential to Cornell. And that influence is immediately clear in Twice Upon a Time.

There's a charm in Terrance Dicks's original simple and C.S. Lewis-esque prose in those early Target novelizations, and Cornell's approach is a loving homage to Terrance Dicks. That's not to say that Cornell dumbs down his style; the same author who created the mind-bending, brilliantly crafted narrative Timewyrm: Revelation shows similar brushstrokes in Twice Upon a Time.
Cornell's giddiness at the opportunity to sprinkle in references to minor Doctor Who mythos is abundantly clear as the POV jumps from Doctor to Doctor. As a result, Cornell's entire novelization is gleeful love letter to Doctor Who.

Now if only Paul Cornell put as much effort into fixing his teeth as he does writing these books...