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Doctor Who: 2 New Adventures #1
Doctor Who: Heart of Stone / Death Riders
This is an action-packed original fiction for younger Doctor Who fans, starring the Eleventh Doctor with his companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams. These double-fronted books each contain two fast-paced, fun-filled adventures.
"Heart of Stone": A monster made from moon rock is attacking an Earth farm in Heart of Stone. Everything it touches turns to stone - even people. Can the Doctor, Amy and Rory find out what the creature wants before it's too late?
"Death Riders": The Galactic Fair has arrived on the mining planet of Stanalan and the Death Ride roller coaster is really drawing in the crowds. But there's something sinister going on behind all the fun of the fair. Join the Doctor, Amy and Rory as they investigate...
"Heart of Stone": A monster made from moon rock is attacking an Earth farm in Heart of Stone. Everything it touches turns to stone - even people. Can the Doctor, Amy and Rory find out what the creature wants before it's too late?
"Death Riders": The Galactic Fair has arrived on the mining planet of Stanalan and the Death Ride roller coaster is really drawing in the crowds. But there's something sinister going on behind all the fun of the fair. Join the Doctor, Amy and Rory as they investigate...
400 pages, Paperback
First published February 3, 2011
4 people are currently reading
161 people want to read
About the author
Justin Richards
330 books241 followersJustin 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.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 15, 2011
HEART OF STONE
Really not the best story written at all and whilst I've read worse Doctor Who novels I have read many more that are of a higher standard than this one. Being part of a 2in1 omnibus, at 200 pages long and being aimed at children I really didn't expect too much from this book. But there are alot of childrens books out there that are just as appealing to adults. Okay I didn't really expect the next "Harry Potter" but this was just lazy writting. The plot must have taken all of two minutes to concieve and then I think the writter just went where the story took him rather than developing some plotlines before hand, which resulted in a couple of plot holes and continuity errors throughout the book. The story did finally get going about 30 pages from the end and started to get a little interesting even. But then the climax to the story was so flat that it ruined the small part of this book I did quite like. Okay the book was so short I didn't really expect an indepth and insightful ending, but the writter adopted a case of Deus Ex Machina for the ending of this book, which again required very little thought and foresight on the writters part. As for the characters, well there were a couple of chapters that had some very good dialogue with the Doctor where it was quite easy to imagine the characters from the TV show in the scenario. But for the most parts The Doctor, Amy and Rory seemed largely unrelated to their TV counterparts. As for the throwaway charcaters that don't appear in the show but are in this book purely to set the storyline. Well they are just that, throwaway. One dimensional cardboard cut out characters with no personalities, I couldn't even remember their names an hour after finishing the book. To sumarise a quick read to fill a few hours but that's about it.
DEATH RIDERS
This book was alot better than the other in this omnibus. Which granted isn't really saying much. But for a story of under 200 pages long this one was very well written unlike the lazy sloppy writting of "Heart Of Stone". The throwaway characters in this book actually had something of a personality about them. Or atleast one of them did and even had a half decent back story. The three main characters were pretty spot on in respect of the personality traits of the charcaters in the TV show, so atleast the author watched a few episodes of Doctor Who before penning this, which it would seem is not always the case when reading a Who novel (or atleast that's the impresssion I get sometimes). Like the other story in this book this one took a while to get going. But rather than being boring and mundane it was actually setting the story up nicely this time. Some of the plot was far fetched but you get accustomed to suspending belief when reading or watching Doctor Who. It's not that the scenarios that the characters found themsleves in were unbelivable, it's just that some of the artistic licence applied to some of the aspects of these scenarios was a little sketchy. Especially when it came to the aspect of safety concerning a roller coaster ride that features quite heavily in this book. But I suppose in terms of the storyline certain elements had to be overlooked and also as this book is so short and aimed at children I could see why the author wouldn't want to bulk the book out with all that red tape. The book is a very quick read because as I've already said it is less than 200 pages long, but also has short chapters, large font and big spaces to bulk it out a little more. The main twist in the book was very predicatble, but again being a story for children I suppose the plot couldn't be too complex. There were a high number of spelling and grammar mistakes in the book though, which annoyed me slightly. But on the whole this was a nice quick enjoyable read and in my opinion deserves an extra star just for using the phrase "What Would The Doctor Do". I'm glad I read this story after I read the very poor excuse of a story that the other story in this omnibus was. I give this story 3.5 stars and just because I'm feeling genourous I give "Heart Of Stone" 2 stars. So as a whole I've awarded the book 3 stars.
Really not the best story written at all and whilst I've read worse Doctor Who novels I have read many more that are of a higher standard than this one. Being part of a 2in1 omnibus, at 200 pages long and being aimed at children I really didn't expect too much from this book. But there are alot of childrens books out there that are just as appealing to adults. Okay I didn't really expect the next "Harry Potter" but this was just lazy writting. The plot must have taken all of two minutes to concieve and then I think the writter just went where the story took him rather than developing some plotlines before hand, which resulted in a couple of plot holes and continuity errors throughout the book. The story did finally get going about 30 pages from the end and started to get a little interesting even. But then the climax to the story was so flat that it ruined the small part of this book I did quite like. Okay the book was so short I didn't really expect an indepth and insightful ending, but the writter adopted a case of Deus Ex Machina for the ending of this book, which again required very little thought and foresight on the writters part. As for the characters, well there were a couple of chapters that had some very good dialogue with the Doctor where it was quite easy to imagine the characters from the TV show in the scenario. But for the most parts The Doctor, Amy and Rory seemed largely unrelated to their TV counterparts. As for the throwaway charcaters that don't appear in the show but are in this book purely to set the storyline. Well they are just that, throwaway. One dimensional cardboard cut out characters with no personalities, I couldn't even remember their names an hour after finishing the book. To sumarise a quick read to fill a few hours but that's about it.
DEATH RIDERS
This book was alot better than the other in this omnibus. Which granted isn't really saying much. But for a story of under 200 pages long this one was very well written unlike the lazy sloppy writting of "Heart Of Stone". The throwaway characters in this book actually had something of a personality about them. Or atleast one of them did and even had a half decent back story. The three main characters were pretty spot on in respect of the personality traits of the charcaters in the TV show, so atleast the author watched a few episodes of Doctor Who before penning this, which it would seem is not always the case when reading a Who novel (or atleast that's the impresssion I get sometimes). Like the other story in this book this one took a while to get going. But rather than being boring and mundane it was actually setting the story up nicely this time. Some of the plot was far fetched but you get accustomed to suspending belief when reading or watching Doctor Who. It's not that the scenarios that the characters found themsleves in were unbelivable, it's just that some of the artistic licence applied to some of the aspects of these scenarios was a little sketchy. Especially when it came to the aspect of safety concerning a roller coaster ride that features quite heavily in this book. But I suppose in terms of the storyline certain elements had to be overlooked and also as this book is so short and aimed at children I could see why the author wouldn't want to bulk the book out with all that red tape. The book is a very quick read because as I've already said it is less than 200 pages long, but also has short chapters, large font and big spaces to bulk it out a little more. The main twist in the book was very predicatble, but again being a story for children I suppose the plot couldn't be too complex. There were a high number of spelling and grammar mistakes in the book though, which annoyed me slightly. But on the whole this was a nice quick enjoyable read and in my opinion deserves an extra star just for using the phrase "What Would The Doctor Do". I'm glad I read this story after I read the very poor excuse of a story that the other story in this omnibus was. I give this story 3.5 stars and just because I'm feeling genourous I give "Heart Of Stone" 2 stars. So as a whole I've awarded the book 3 stars.
January 20, 2016
Two 'Doctor Who' novellas in a single volume, by two stalwart gents of the 'Doctor Who' fiction range.
Justin Richards always delivers a solid tale, and 'Death Riders' is no exception. It features a marvelous concept: a travelling space fair constructing a roller coaster through the tunnels and shafts of a mining asteroid. However, something is stalking and killing those who venture into the tunnels and a plan is afoot to release a hostile alien force from captivity.
Trevor Baxendale is one of my absolute favourite 'Who' authors, specialising as he does in spine-chillers. 'Heart of Stone' is no exception, as a monster made of moon rock animated by an alien bacteria menaces a remote farm.
The novella length fits nicely with the pace of the current series and the story length and complexity are a good fit for the television programme. These are a much better fit than short stories, and more similar to the actual television show than most of the novel range. The characterisation of the regulars is spot on, with some stunningly effective 'Smithisms' in 'Heart of Stone'; I could literally hear Matt Smith speaking the lines.
Great fun, both of them. Very effective.
Justin Richards always delivers a solid tale, and 'Death Riders' is no exception. It features a marvelous concept: a travelling space fair constructing a roller coaster through the tunnels and shafts of a mining asteroid. However, something is stalking and killing those who venture into the tunnels and a plan is afoot to release a hostile alien force from captivity.
Trevor Baxendale is one of my absolute favourite 'Who' authors, specialising as he does in spine-chillers. 'Heart of Stone' is no exception, as a monster made of moon rock animated by an alien bacteria menaces a remote farm.
The novella length fits nicely with the pace of the current series and the story length and complexity are a good fit for the television programme. These are a much better fit than short stories, and more similar to the actual television show than most of the novel range. The characterisation of the regulars is spot on, with some stunningly effective 'Smithisms' in 'Heart of Stone'; I could literally hear Matt Smith speaking the lines.
Great fun, both of them. Very effective.
December 10, 2012
This book came free with an issue of the Doctor Who kids magazine. I was expecting it to be totally dire. A kids book about an Evil carnvial and roller coaster! What were they thinking? But honestly it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected and parts of it were quite enjoyable. First of all it started with the death of someone which is good. Then Rory and the Doctor were written very well, they acted and sounded like Rory and the Doctor should. There was an intersting scifi setting, a mining colony that had been around for awhile. The "fair" aspect was actually downplayed. It did however all fall apart a little at the end, where there seemed to be some confusion over whether Amy and Rory were on a rollercoaster (the Death ride) or a train. Still it was good frivilous bed time reading. I don't think I'll be buying any of the Eleventh doctor books. But they're something I'd read if they were availble free from the library.
January 17, 2012
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1852596...
Another of the double Doctor Who books published earlier this year, two 200-page novels bolted together. Baxendale's Heart of Stone is set in an English farmhouse where things start turning to moon rock, and the Doctor has to put things right - reminded me of that much better YA novel where moon rock starts animating the exhibits in the New York Natural History Museum - can anyone remember its name and author? Death Riders is formula Richards rather than epic Richards, and has a somewhat confused plot of circus folk on an asteroid concealing a deep secret. The two books will be appreciated by younger readers, but otherwise will appeal only to completists like me.
Another of the double Doctor Who books published earlier this year, two 200-page novels bolted together. Baxendale's Heart of Stone is set in an English farmhouse where things start turning to moon rock, and the Doctor has to put things right - reminded me of that much better YA novel where moon rock starts animating the exhibits in the New York Natural History Museum - can anyone remember its name and author? Death Riders is formula Richards rather than epic Richards, and has a somewhat confused plot of circus folk on an asteroid concealing a deep secret. The two books will be appreciated by younger readers, but otherwise will appeal only to completists like me.
February 6, 2017
Nice light fun Doctor Who stories! Heart of Stone was a little predictable, but it was a good fun kind of predictable. Death Riders had a little more originality, and I quite enjoyed reading about the draxxon and ol' Perpetual Pete.
I may be a bit biased as a fan of the Eleventh Doctor, especially during his time with Amy and Rory, but getting to enjoy a couple more stories with them on a rainy day was a pleasurable experience.
I may be a bit biased as a fan of the Eleventh Doctor, especially during his time with Amy and Rory, but getting to enjoy a couple more stories with them on a rainy day was a pleasurable experience.
November 20, 2013
Remember, the two stars above mean "it was okay." Which it is, not much stronger than that, though.
One of those novellas, where two are published together as one, this one is a middle grade novel. Or maybe it’s just simple. A moon rock lands in a rural English farm, which becomes a destructive Rock Man. Doctor #11, Amy and Rory sort it out pretty quickly.
At this time, I am not going to read "Death Riders."
One of those novellas, where two are published together as one, this one is a middle grade novel. Or maybe it’s just simple. A moon rock lands in a rural English farm, which becomes a destructive Rock Man. Doctor #11, Amy and Rory sort it out pretty quickly.
At this time, I am not going to read "Death Riders."
January 28, 2014
A cute simpler Doctor Who read. These weren't nearly as in depth as the New Adventure novels but as a huge 11 fan I will read anything I can get my hands on ;) Really cute! If you love the 11th Doctor I'm pretty sure you'll love this even though the plot is easier to digest. :)
July 1, 2012
Much too childish for me to enjoy. And that's saying something, since I am easily amused.
March 24, 2013
Utter gash
January 4, 2013
Fairly good for the age range at which it's aimed, but a bit over-simplified for grown-ups.
January 27, 2016
Followed the TV series exactly so if you watched the TV series don't read the book.
August 3, 2013
i loved it. Portrays the doctor well
April 9, 2014
A very fun read, full of neat little ideas and lots of action. For anyone who enjoys Doctor Who, this is a good quick read.
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July 20, 2012Such a funny book, loved it.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews