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Doctor Who: New Series Adventures #2
Doctor Who: The Monsters Inside
The TARDIS takes the Doctor and Rose to a destination in deep space - Justicia, a prison camp stretched over seven planets, where Earth colonies deal with their criminals. While Rose finds herself locked up in a teenage borstal, the Doctor is trapped in a scientific labour camp. Each is determined to find the other, and soon both Rose and the Doctor are risking life and limb to escape in their distinctive styles. But their dangerous plans are complicated by some old enemies. Are these creatures fellow prisoners as they claim, or staging a takeover for their own sinister purposes?
Featuring the Ninth Doctor and Rose as played by Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper in the hit Doctor Who series from BBC Television
Featuring the Ninth Doctor and Rose as played by Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper in the hit Doctor Who series from BBC Television
253 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Stephen Cole
213 books140 followersSee also: Steve Cole.
Stephen Cole (born 1971) is an English author of children's books and science fiction. He was also in charge of BBC Worldwide's merchandising of the BBC Television series Doctor Who between 1997 and 1999: this was a role which found him deciding on which stories should be released on video, commissioning and editing a range of fiction and non-fiction titles, producing audiobooks and acting as executive producer on the Big Finish Productions range of Doctor Who audio dramas.
Stephen Cole (born 1971) is an English author of children's books and science fiction. He was also in charge of BBC Worldwide's merchandising of the BBC Television series Doctor Who between 1997 and 1999: this was a role which found him deciding on which stories should be released on video, commissioning and editing a range of fiction and non-fiction titles, producing audiobooks and acting as executive producer on the Big Finish Productions range of Doctor Who audio dramas.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews
September 1, 2018
Rose Tyler is the light of my life and if you don’t like her then I don’t trust you and you’re definitely Rassilon
January 26, 2014
This was a delightful little book. Set as Rose's first trip to an alien planet, the Doctor and Rose are separated for almost all of the story... but that only makes it all the better. Firstly, because they spend the whole thing trying to get back to each other, and their devotion and loyalty and belief in the other is wonderfully done. Also, because Rose really shines in this book, as a very strong-willed, determined woman who basically kicks ass and gets her way back to the Doctor herself.
Absolutely adored this, without a doubt. It was also great to see...
Absolutely adored this, without a doubt. It was also great to see...
September 7, 2021
This is one of three books that launched the New Series Adventures with The Doctor as the show came back to our screens in 2005.
I first read this story along with the other two upon release 12 years ago, I had since thought it was the weakest of the trio.
Surprisingly I enjoyed it more on a re-read and inevitably compering with the others.
I also feel the monsters in this story have always worked better as an idea in print rather than visually on TV. This story really adds an extra menace to them.
I first read this story along with the other two upon release 12 years ago, I had since thought it was the weakest of the trio.
Surprisingly I enjoyed it more on a re-read and inevitably compering with the others.
I also feel the monsters in this story have always worked better as an idea in print rather than visually on TV. This story really adds an extra menace to them.
July 8, 2011
Sometimes, a girl needs a good old-fashioned escapist time. Some people buy romance novels; I buy Doctor Who novels. And you know what? I wouldn't mind re-reading this one, so there.
July 17, 2024
2.5/5 This is the fourth DW book with Rose and the Ninth Doctor that I've read, and while I quite enjoyed the rest of them, this one didn't quite hook me :S The narration style and quality wasn't my favourite, and even though I think the premise was really promising, I also think the social criticism got derailed quite a lot by the alien menace of the story, which is a shame :S Some spoilers in the points below!
+1 The initial premise of a human-made planetary system serving as a series of concentration/labour camps and prisons for the criminals of the Galaxy, both human and alien, was very promising, and there was some social criticism related to that in the story. The system is corrupted, primarily based on money and people in high ranks gaining power (no surprises there). People are mistreated, tortured and exploited in the labour camps, which also include several science experiment projects using the detainees as test subjects and problem-solvers. Those deemed criminals (it seems that often unjustly or for minor offenses) are sent to long prison terms, with abusive wardens and minimally decent living conditions. There is also some criticism of speciesism and racism/xenophobia in the way the system segregates humans and aliens in different complexes, and seems to mainly exploit the latter for their science projects.
-1 All this background called for way more social criticism than we finally ended up getting, though. Mid-story, the social criticism content that was coming via the Doctor and Rose against this human-made penitentiary system is suddenly basically put on hold indefinitely as the alien antagonists - Slitheen and other Raxacoricofallapatorian families - turn out to be impersonating more than one high rank officer in the complex. From this point, I felt like the Slitheen aliens (the main antagonists are actually not from the Slitheen family, but I'm going to use it this way to avoid saying 'Raxacoricofallapatorians' xD) became the only antagonists in the tale, effectively seeming to shift the blame to them and pretty much forgetting about the *human*-made complex full of freaking labour camps and prison mistreatment :S
The fact that most of the human workers and leaders mentioned are either Slitheen posing as them (these are also the most evil and morally wrong), or described as more greymoral and/or becoming allies of the Doctor and Rose (even though more than one continues to be complicit in the system) doesn't really help matters in this case. The end also reminded me of Kerblam! in this way - The aliens are fully defeated and these greymoral humans who became allies of the Doctor suddenly find themselves in charge of matters and decide to make the system better. Which could sound good and like a very Whovian ending, but it's not fully clear which subjective criteria they are going to implement and if they're actually making the complex less of an authoritarian, capitalist, exploitative torture detainment site and more of a humane set of prisons for those who do deserve a prison sentence. The freaking existence of labour camps are also not really addressed at this point, and the Doctor and Rose seem to only insist on them freeing those detained aliens and human inmates who have helped in the cause against the Slitheen :S.
The fact that the social critique was so suddenly shifted to the bad alien menace of the Slitheen against the not-so-bad-after-all humans does whitewash and diminish the actual problematic issues the story was dealing with in the first place, I think.
+1 I quite liked how Rose was depicted in the tale. She is well characterized and very proactive, as usual. She spends most of the book on her own and becomes a Doctor-figure at one point with a companion of her own, a low-rank male warden from the prison they sent her to. There is also some female bonding and Bechdel going on, with Rose making friends with her fellow cell inmate, Riz, and also developing alliances and tenous friendly dynamics with scientist warden Flowers and other fellow female inmates.
+-1 However, I felt like the Doctor was more 2D and less interesting to read about in this tale. I quite like the Ninth Doctor, but I don't think he was as fleshed out in this tale as he could have been, even though he has his fair share of social criticism (while it lasts, at least :S), techno babble and action.
-1 Even though I think Rose is well depicted and there are a fair number of female characters in this book, the treatment of the rest of the female characters is sorely lacking in some respects. The descriptions of each and every one of the women in this book scream of 'male writer syndrome' and are full of problematic and pretty sexist clichés - The narrator keeps evaluating their physical appearance in a way that's unsolicited, cringy and a double standard compared to most male characters, and more than one woman, be she a high-ranking officer, a scientist, an inmate or a warden, or even an alien, are helpfully described as being 'fat', 'plain', 'old', 'short', 'jealous of prettier women', or 'with more testosterone than the thin male warden they're comparing her to'. This soured my experience of the book quite a lot.
-1 There are also some problematic jokes having to do with implementing 'mixed-sex cells' with male and female inmates in the teenager prison Rose is sent to, clearly drawing on the sexual assault possibilities :S However, most inmates also choose to behave like prom is coming and making lists of which inmates are hot?? Female inmates also seem to prefer obsessing over handsome male wardens rather than feel miffed about their generally horrible treatment - coincidentally, these are the most humane and sympathetic of the complex, compared to the b*tchy female wardens :S . It's worth mentioning that the evil Slitheen were actually hoping that the 'mixed-sex cells' would lead to the inmates reproducing and giving them more labourers for their exploitative purposes (aka sexual assault in more than one case, and women as incubators, yay :S).
-1 In the same line of thought, scientist warden Flowers, who works in the alien labour camp the Doctor is trapped in and who becomes her companion of sorts in this tale, is depicted as 'plain', nearing early middle age and 'overweight', and thus, horribly insecure, forever jealous of prettier women and desperately 'needing some exercise', and the Doctor himself puts it because she can't keep up with him when running (wow). She's also pragmatic in the moral sense and doesn't really care about exploiting other people if that means her career is going well, but even so all that is brushed aside pretty quickly, and she ends the story with even more control in the complex (after all, the baddie was her female superior who was actually an Slitheen in disguise, not the complicit underlings). But instead of actually making the system better like they claim they want to do, she starts making a list of 'hot male inmates sentenced for minor offenses' so that they can be their personal assistants. WTF. Feminism this is not.
-1 There are also some unfortunate racist touches here and there - The sole female character described as Asian is said to be stereotipically 'petite and delicate, but with a comically low voice' (wat), and the few black and dark-skinned characters are described as 'swarthy', and who even uses that anymore to describe poc, it sounds so cringy??
+-1 There is some greymorality going on, both among the humans in charge of the penitentiary complex and among the Slitheen, which I do appreciate, even though that also becomes a bit problematic when complicit underlings in the system are not really held accountable in the story :S Or that the most sympathetic and humane wardens in the story turn out to be male, which kinda promotes more the archetype of the b*tchy (they're called this in the book more than once) woman in charge :S Rose is initially bullied and attacked by a pack of female inmates (fully stereotyped as big, burly and rough) who give her a very hard time, but in the end they kind of apologize for it when Rose becomes a hero figure of the prison with her uncovering the Slitheen (she shouldn't have to prove herself in this way to be respected, though). And the actual Slitheen in this book are more greymoral and become tenous allies of the Doctor in most of the story, as they are also against the other Raxacoricofallapatorian family who serves as the main antagonists of the tale. There are also two female Slitheen in the tale with proactive roles.
-1 And to conclude this, the Slitheen are not my fave Whovian alien at all, I actually quite dislike them. Apart from the juvenile 'farts and belches' shenanigans (which I'm not a fan of) and the horrible prosthetics, the rampant fatphobia in their characterization is the main reason for this. The book ends up basically demonizing all fat people because they might be monsters in disguise, and I find that deeply disturbing :S Rose and other characters have to be careful of any fat person in power they encounter because an Slitheen might be lurking inside, ready to chase and kill them, and it's actually a huge plot twist when one of them turns out to be in the body of a *gasp* slim woman.
When I started reading this book, I linked the title, The Monsters Inside to another Whovian critique of how humans can often be the actual monsters rather than the monstrous aliens we're supposed to be thinking about. Especially with the background of a dystopian human complex full of concentration camps and prison mistreatment. But we actually got a very literal meaning of the title, with the murderous, power-hungry Slitheen hiding inside the humans in power and becoming the actual baddies of the tale. Which was pretty disappointing, but ah well.
+1 The initial premise of a human-made planetary system serving as a series of concentration/labour camps and prisons for the criminals of the Galaxy, both human and alien, was very promising, and there was some social criticism related to that in the story. The system is corrupted, primarily based on money and people in high ranks gaining power (no surprises there). People are mistreated, tortured and exploited in the labour camps, which also include several science experiment projects using the detainees as test subjects and problem-solvers. Those deemed criminals (it seems that often unjustly or for minor offenses) are sent to long prison terms, with abusive wardens and minimally decent living conditions. There is also some criticism of speciesism and racism/xenophobia in the way the system segregates humans and aliens in different complexes, and seems to mainly exploit the latter for their science projects.
-1 All this background called for way more social criticism than we finally ended up getting, though. Mid-story, the social criticism content that was coming via the Doctor and Rose against this human-made penitentiary system is suddenly basically put on hold indefinitely as the alien antagonists - Slitheen and other Raxacoricofallapatorian families - turn out to be impersonating more than one high rank officer in the complex. From this point, I felt like the Slitheen aliens (the main antagonists are actually not from the Slitheen family, but I'm going to use it this way to avoid saying 'Raxacoricofallapatorians' xD) became the only antagonists in the tale, effectively seeming to shift the blame to them and pretty much forgetting about the *human*-made complex full of freaking labour camps and prison mistreatment :S
The fact that most of the human workers and leaders mentioned are either Slitheen posing as them (these are also the most evil and morally wrong), or described as more greymoral and/or becoming allies of the Doctor and Rose (even though more than one continues to be complicit in the system) doesn't really help matters in this case. The end also reminded me of Kerblam! in this way - The aliens are fully defeated and these greymoral humans who became allies of the Doctor suddenly find themselves in charge of matters and decide to make the system better. Which could sound good and like a very Whovian ending, but it's not fully clear which subjective criteria they are going to implement and if they're actually making the complex less of an authoritarian, capitalist, exploitative torture detainment site and more of a humane set of prisons for those who do deserve a prison sentence. The freaking existence of labour camps are also not really addressed at this point, and the Doctor and Rose seem to only insist on them freeing those detained aliens and human inmates who have helped in the cause against the Slitheen :S.
The fact that the social critique was so suddenly shifted to the bad alien menace of the Slitheen against the not-so-bad-after-all humans does whitewash and diminish the actual problematic issues the story was dealing with in the first place, I think.
+1 I quite liked how Rose was depicted in the tale. She is well characterized and very proactive, as usual. She spends most of the book on her own and becomes a Doctor-figure at one point with a companion of her own, a low-rank male warden from the prison they sent her to. There is also some female bonding and Bechdel going on, with Rose making friends with her fellow cell inmate, Riz, and also developing alliances and tenous friendly dynamics with scientist warden Flowers and other fellow female inmates.
+-1 However, I felt like the Doctor was more 2D and less interesting to read about in this tale. I quite like the Ninth Doctor, but I don't think he was as fleshed out in this tale as he could have been, even though he has his fair share of social criticism (while it lasts, at least :S), techno babble and action.
-1 Even though I think Rose is well depicted and there are a fair number of female characters in this book, the treatment of the rest of the female characters is sorely lacking in some respects. The descriptions of each and every one of the women in this book scream of 'male writer syndrome' and are full of problematic and pretty sexist clichés - The narrator keeps evaluating their physical appearance in a way that's unsolicited, cringy and a double standard compared to most male characters, and more than one woman, be she a high-ranking officer, a scientist, an inmate or a warden, or even an alien, are helpfully described as being 'fat', 'plain', 'old', 'short', 'jealous of prettier women', or 'with more testosterone than the thin male warden they're comparing her to'. This soured my experience of the book quite a lot.
-1 There are also some problematic jokes having to do with implementing 'mixed-sex cells' with male and female inmates in the teenager prison Rose is sent to, clearly drawing on the sexual assault possibilities :S However, most inmates also choose to behave like prom is coming and making lists of which inmates are hot?? Female inmates also seem to prefer obsessing over handsome male wardens rather than feel miffed about their generally horrible treatment - coincidentally, these are the most humane and sympathetic of the complex, compared to the b*tchy female wardens :S . It's worth mentioning that the evil Slitheen were actually hoping that the 'mixed-sex cells' would lead to the inmates reproducing and giving them more labourers for their exploitative purposes (aka sexual assault in more than one case, and women as incubators, yay :S).
-1 In the same line of thought, scientist warden Flowers, who works in the alien labour camp the Doctor is trapped in and who becomes her companion of sorts in this tale, is depicted as 'plain', nearing early middle age and 'overweight', and thus, horribly insecure, forever jealous of prettier women and desperately 'needing some exercise', and the Doctor himself puts it because she can't keep up with him when running (wow). She's also pragmatic in the moral sense and doesn't really care about exploiting other people if that means her career is going well, but even so all that is brushed aside pretty quickly, and she ends the story with even more control in the complex (after all, the baddie was her female superior who was actually an Slitheen in disguise, not the complicit underlings). But instead of actually making the system better like they claim they want to do, she starts making a list of 'hot male inmates sentenced for minor offenses' so that they can be their personal assistants. WTF. Feminism this is not.
-1 There are also some unfortunate racist touches here and there - The sole female character described as Asian is said to be stereotipically 'petite and delicate, but with a comically low voice' (wat), and the few black and dark-skinned characters are described as 'swarthy', and who even uses that anymore to describe poc, it sounds so cringy??
+-1 There is some greymorality going on, both among the humans in charge of the penitentiary complex and among the Slitheen, which I do appreciate, even though that also becomes a bit problematic when complicit underlings in the system are not really held accountable in the story :S Or that the most sympathetic and humane wardens in the story turn out to be male, which kinda promotes more the archetype of the b*tchy (they're called this in the book more than once) woman in charge :S Rose is initially bullied and attacked by a pack of female inmates (fully stereotyped as big, burly and rough) who give her a very hard time, but in the end they kind of apologize for it when Rose becomes a hero figure of the prison with her uncovering the Slitheen (she shouldn't have to prove herself in this way to be respected, though). And the actual Slitheen in this book are more greymoral and become tenous allies of the Doctor in most of the story, as they are also against the other Raxacoricofallapatorian family who serves as the main antagonists of the tale. There are also two female Slitheen in the tale with proactive roles.
-1 And to conclude this, the Slitheen are not my fave Whovian alien at all, I actually quite dislike them. Apart from the juvenile 'farts and belches' shenanigans (which I'm not a fan of) and the horrible prosthetics, the rampant fatphobia in their characterization is the main reason for this. The book ends up basically demonizing all fat people because they might be monsters in disguise, and I find that deeply disturbing :S Rose and other characters have to be careful of any fat person in power they encounter because an Slitheen might be lurking inside, ready to chase and kill them, and it's actually a huge plot twist when one of them turns out to be in the body of a *gasp* slim woman.
When I started reading this book, I linked the title, The Monsters Inside to another Whovian critique of how humans can often be the actual monsters rather than the monstrous aliens we're supposed to be thinking about. Especially with the background of a dystopian human complex full of concentration camps and prison mistreatment. But we actually got a very literal meaning of the title, with the murderous, power-hungry Slitheen hiding inside the humans in power and becoming the actual baddies of the tale. Which was pretty disappointing, but ah well.
August 9, 2010
My very first Doctor Who book, one of the five I've bought while I was in London. I started on it while I was in the tube on my way back to the hotel and boy it was a good read.
I admit that I started on this book with some doubts. The back cover gave away some hints of the Rose and Doctor being separated throughout most of the book and old enemies showing up as well, which didn't appeal to me. Yes, I still bought it and read it as the first book and... it was amazing. The characters were perfectly kept in character, but more important than that, the writing style read like a train. Perhaps because it's written for children, though at the same time that could mean a book is too dull to read.
But it was exciting, with moments of joy and laughter as well as terrifying moments that made you want to read on and on.
... In short, I finished this book in a day. I couldn't stop reading it. I read it on the tube, I read it while waiting in line to check in at the airport, I read it at the airport, while I was on the plane and I finished it back in Holland while on the train from Schiphol to Amersfoort.
I loved it. And that's all I feel like saying about this book. I'm not going to tear it apart and show what made it good, because that would just ruin this wonderful experience. I can't wait to continue with the next Doctor Who novel.
I admit that I started on this book with some doubts. The back cover gave away some hints of the Rose and Doctor being separated throughout most of the book and old enemies showing up as well, which didn't appeal to me. Yes, I still bought it and read it as the first book and... it was amazing. The characters were perfectly kept in character, but more important than that, the writing style read like a train. Perhaps because it's written for children, though at the same time that could mean a book is too dull to read.
But it was exciting, with moments of joy and laughter as well as terrifying moments that made you want to read on and on.
... In short, I finished this book in a day. I couldn't stop reading it. I read it on the tube, I read it while waiting in line to check in at the airport, I read it at the airport, while I was on the plane and I finished it back in Holland while on the train from Schiphol to Amersfoort.
I loved it. And that's all I feel like saying about this book. I'm not going to tear it apart and show what made it good, because that would just ruin this wonderful experience. I can't wait to continue with the next Doctor Who novel.
January 13, 2019
A brilliant, brilliant Doctor Who book. There were a number of things I really liked about this novel and I’ll go through some of them for you. The first thing is the characters. Cole managed to cram in quite a lot of characters and somehow made them quite interesting and likeable. He perfectly characterises the ninth doctor (who is my third favourite doctor) and Rose and even though I’m not a fan of her, she was okay in this book and actually gets a lot to do.
If you know your Doctor Who books then you’ll probably know that the Slitheen are in it and here they are really well written. I’ve always been a fan of the Slitheen ever since I first saw them in 2005 and it was a joy to experience a new story with those farting aliens again. They are faced with another -een creature but I won’t spoil what that similar Slitheen creature is. There are some great moments with those two factions of Aliens that really help the story to move a long at a brilliant pace.
I also really liked the setting of the prison which they were on as at times, there were a couple of moments that felt quite claustrophobic and tight. While it isn’t really that atmospheric, the setting itself was a really neat idea from Cole as it helped a lot when it came to the world building of the book. I really liked the huge scale of the book as I think it could’ve done with a bit more expansion and that could’ve made it even better and a bit more interesting. I guess that shows I didn’t want the book to end!
Overall this book was a joyful experience and one that I highly recommend, especially if you’re a fan of the Slitheen and Series 1!
If you know your Doctor Who books then you’ll probably know that the Slitheen are in it and here they are really well written. I’ve always been a fan of the Slitheen ever since I first saw them in 2005 and it was a joy to experience a new story with those farting aliens again. They are faced with another -een creature but I won’t spoil what that similar Slitheen creature is. There are some great moments with those two factions of Aliens that really help the story to move a long at a brilliant pace.
I also really liked the setting of the prison which they were on as at times, there were a couple of moments that felt quite claustrophobic and tight. While it isn’t really that atmospheric, the setting itself was a really neat idea from Cole as it helped a lot when it came to the world building of the book. I really liked the huge scale of the book as I think it could’ve done with a bit more expansion and that could’ve made it even better and a bit more interesting. I guess that shows I didn’t want the book to end!
Overall this book was a joyful experience and one that I highly recommend, especially if you’re a fan of the Slitheen and Series 1!
March 30, 2014
I truly wanted to enjoy this novel. The opening 30ish pages are exciting and intriguing, the writing style is very smooth, and Mr. Cole has an excellent grasp of the 9th Doctor & Rose. But no matter how hard people try, no one has yet come close to writing a truly excellent Slitheen story. They are the "Doctor Who" monsters that irritate me the most, and they are particularly irritating & annoying in this novel. I can't say I was any more fond of the Rose-in-jail plot line: prison cliches & teenage angst meets "Orange is the New Black". Stephen Cole has lacquered a very slick coating over a story I could barely muster enough interest to follow to the final page...and that's a great pity.
July 31, 2021
Not badly written, except for the massive body-shaming, but Slitheen and other Raxacoricofallapatorians just aren't my thing. They're my least favourite DW aliens.
Also this is way bloodier than the usual DW stuff. I mean, people die in DW all the time. But usually they do it... Well, either cleanly or off camera. Not here. A lot of gore.
Also this is way bloodier than the usual DW stuff. I mean, people die in DW all the time. But usually they do it... Well, either cleanly or off camera. Not here. A lot of gore.
May 2, 2021
The TARDIS takes the Doctor and Rose to a destination in deep space Justicia, a prison camp stretched over seven planets, where Earth colonies deal with their criminals. While Rose finds herself locked up in a teenage borstal, the Doctor is trapped in a scientific labour camp. Each is determined to find the other, and soon both Rose and the Doctor are risking life and limb to escape in their distinctive styles.
Now this was a step up from the last book, the Doctor and Rose feel more alike to there TV counter parts so i could quickly fall into the story then the slow fall i had with the first book. As for the story, well I believe that the novels should do what they can't do and show on the bbc at 7pm, they should push the boundaries and be brutal and cruel and graphic, and this is, i wouldn't say it's scary to read but the slashing of claws and dismemberment of human arms is here. The Slitheen are back with 2 of there 500 years in the future cousins as well with another Raxacoricofallapatorius tribe the Blathereen family, also i feel that I am one of a few people who actually enjoy the Slitheen even if they are silly, there cool aliens. This story has ties to the first season episode, "Aliens of London" which i would reccomend watching to get some of the references, for that's as much as i can say without spoilers. The concepts here are interesting and Rose and the Doctor are split up and us there own skills to come back together, scientific genius vs teenage rebellion. I loved this story, for me the only thing that lets it down is the ending, it doesn't seem to keep the momentum and slowly chugs along like it's going up hill till it ends, so for that i take off half a star, but still a 4.5 so not had, definitely another reccomend for all Nine fans!
4.5/5 Stars GoodReads ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
95/100 Slitheen burps 💨
Now this was a step up from the last book, the Doctor and Rose feel more alike to there TV counter parts so i could quickly fall into the story then the slow fall i had with the first book. As for the story, well I believe that the novels should do what they can't do and show on the bbc at 7pm, they should push the boundaries and be brutal and cruel and graphic, and this is, i wouldn't say it's scary to read but the slashing of claws and dismemberment of human arms is here. The Slitheen are back with 2 of there 500 years in the future cousins as well with another Raxacoricofallapatorius tribe the Blathereen family, also i feel that I am one of a few people who actually enjoy the Slitheen even if they are silly, there cool aliens. This story has ties to the first season episode, "Aliens of London" which i would reccomend watching to get some of the references, for that's as much as i can say without spoilers. The concepts here are interesting and Rose and the Doctor are split up and us there own skills to come back together, scientific genius vs teenage rebellion. I loved this story, for me the only thing that lets it down is the ending, it doesn't seem to keep the momentum and slowly chugs along like it's going up hill till it ends, so for that i take off half a star, but still a 4.5 so not had, definitely another reccomend for all Nine fans!
4.5/5 Stars GoodReads ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
95/100 Slitheen burps 💨
January 3, 2021
My first Doctor Who read after a long period of time. My first Ninth Doctor's book as well. I love the way the author keeps the character of Nine so sassy and amazing! I enjoyed this book. It is racy and adventurous. I'm not a big fan of slitheens but it was enjoyable! Totally loved it.
September 30, 2015
It's time for Rose to finally have an adventure on a planet other than earth and the Doctor is just the Gallifreyan to take her. When the Doctor and Rose land on Justicia (yes, that's really what Cole named it) Rose is entranced by a beautiful flower growing in the desolate landscape. Before they can contemplate the stark beauty for any length of time, they come across humans building replicas of the Great Pyramids in Egypt, complete with overseers who have vicious whips. It's not long before the Doctor and Rose are noticed and despite fighting to get back to the TARDIS are captured and taken to different prisons. The Doctor and Rose had the misfortune to land on a penal colony without permission and that carries a hefty sentence. Rose and The Doctor immediately begin to work on a way to reunite but it's not long before they realise that something is not right with the prison. The sound of copious farts and belches and a bright blue light hint that the prison may not be in human control after all.
As you can see from the cover, The Monsters Inside is an adventure story staring the 9th Doctor and his companion Rose. You're going to have be patient with me while I fanpoodle for a moment because I simply loved The Monsters Inside, despite the fact that the antagonists were the puerile and disgusting Raxacoricofallapatorian (try saying that three times quickly). It easily could have been an episode of NuWho because Cole managed to capture the personalities of the Doctor and Rose perfectly. Every time the Doctor gave one his larger than life smiles or snarked, I pictured Eccleston. Rose is characterised as plucky, brave and smart.
For much of the story, Rose and The Doctor are separated so the book changes POV several times. As much as I love seeing The Doctor and Rose together, the separation highlighted their closeness because the both of them were so desperate to get back to each other no matter what. Rose didn't sit around like a helpless damsel waiting for the Doctor to find her ans she never doubted they would be reunited. The Doctor's absence gave Rose the chance to step into the roll expert as she led some her fellow prisoners and a guard out of danger. Rose even proved that she has been listening to all of the technical jargon she has learned in her travels with The Doctor as she explained the mechanics of the situation to her fellow prisoners.
While being alone worked well for Rose, it didn't work quite as well for The Doctor. Fans of the series know that the companions serve as a foil for the Doctor. Because The Doctor was separated from Rose, we were treated to his inner monologue. That took away some of the mystery for me. As a viewer, we are meant to know the Doctor is up to something but we aren't really supposed to know what exactly. That said, I do believe the revelation of the Doctors thoughts was thoroughly tempered by the great characterisation.
The 9th Doctor can easily be described as the PTSD angry Doctor. He will do what he has to do but he is always looking for the redemption of those he faces. In the case of (channeling River Song and warning, "spoilers") the Blathereen, though they plan to kill millions, and breed humans as a captive workforce, The Doctor is willing to allow them to live. It's only when they insist on their murderous plans that The Doctor is forced to act. He begs them to stop and finally warns them to stop but in the end, when the Blathereen are not persuaded, the annihilation is near total.
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As you can see from the cover, The Monsters Inside is an adventure story staring the 9th Doctor and his companion Rose. You're going to have be patient with me while I fanpoodle for a moment because I simply loved The Monsters Inside, despite the fact that the antagonists were the puerile and disgusting Raxacoricofallapatorian (try saying that three times quickly). It easily could have been an episode of NuWho because Cole managed to capture the personalities of the Doctor and Rose perfectly. Every time the Doctor gave one his larger than life smiles or snarked, I pictured Eccleston. Rose is characterised as plucky, brave and smart.
For much of the story, Rose and The Doctor are separated so the book changes POV several times. As much as I love seeing The Doctor and Rose together, the separation highlighted their closeness because the both of them were so desperate to get back to each other no matter what. Rose didn't sit around like a helpless damsel waiting for the Doctor to find her ans she never doubted they would be reunited. The Doctor's absence gave Rose the chance to step into the roll expert as she led some her fellow prisoners and a guard out of danger. Rose even proved that she has been listening to all of the technical jargon she has learned in her travels with The Doctor as she explained the mechanics of the situation to her fellow prisoners.
While being alone worked well for Rose, it didn't work quite as well for The Doctor. Fans of the series know that the companions serve as a foil for the Doctor. Because The Doctor was separated from Rose, we were treated to his inner monologue. That took away some of the mystery for me. As a viewer, we are meant to know the Doctor is up to something but we aren't really supposed to know what exactly. That said, I do believe the revelation of the Doctors thoughts was thoroughly tempered by the great characterisation.
The 9th Doctor can easily be described as the PTSD angry Doctor. He will do what he has to do but he is always looking for the redemption of those he faces. In the case of (channeling River Song and warning, "spoilers") the Blathereen, though they plan to kill millions, and breed humans as a captive workforce, The Doctor is willing to allow them to live. It's only when they insist on their murderous plans that The Doctor is forced to act. He begs them to stop and finally warns them to stop but in the end, when the Blathereen are not persuaded, the annihilation is near total.
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August 7, 2020
A while back, a friend of mine told me she had a couple of Doctor Who books she wasn't going to read anymore. When I was at her place, I took a couple of them with me, one of them being The Monsters Inside, but in Dutch ("De Verborgen Monsters"). It featured Rose Tyler and the Ninth Doctor, so I was really enthousiastic about it because Nine was my first Doctor, and Rose is one of my favourite companions.
The Monsters Inside tells the story of how Nine and Rose are being arrested for trespassing on a planet. They are each brought to a different prison, and they're trying their best to get back to each other. But then they find out that there are creatures trying to infiltrate the prison planets, and they must do their best to stop them.
I'm going to say it right away: I was disappointed. The first Doctor Who book that I didn't give a positive rating. And I am so sad about it, because I love both Nine and Rose; but I just couldn't care about this book. And the majority of it was the main villain of this story.
It really made me dislike the book, and made me not want to finish it. Even though I wanted to find out how they were going to get back together again, and how they were going to defeat these creatures. But eventually, I just decided to give up, so I closed the book at page 230. I do plan on skimming through the rest of the book to find out what happens, but I'm not going to read the rest.
I loved Rose, I loved the Doctor; I also liked Flowers and Dennel, but other than that I couldn't feel anything for any of the characters, and I just didn't care whether they lived or died.
Then there was also the fact that it was written in Dutch. It is my native language, but it's certainly not my favourite language, especially not to read in. I've said it in probably every review of a Dutch book on my blog; but it's so childish. And - this is a little pet peeve of mine - every 'you' in the original book was translated into the formal you in Dutch (we have the informal 'jij/jou/jouw' and the formal 'u/uw') and I don't know but I find that a bit annoying. Sorry not sorry.
In the end, I didn't like The Monsters Inside which saddens me. I'll be picking up another Doctor Who book soon, another one I got from my friend, also written by Stephen Cole but this time it's in English. So yeah, I can't really recommend this book to people, unless you really want to read all the Doctor Who books out there.
My opinion on this book in one gif:
The Monsters Inside tells the story of how Nine and Rose are being arrested for trespassing on a planet. They are each brought to a different prison, and they're trying their best to get back to each other. But then they find out that there are creatures trying to infiltrate the prison planets, and they must do their best to stop them.
I'm going to say it right away: I was disappointed. The first Doctor Who book that I didn't give a positive rating. And I am so sad about it, because I love both Nine and Rose; but I just couldn't care about this book. And the majority of it was the main villain of this story.
It really made me dislike the book, and made me not want to finish it. Even though I wanted to find out how they were going to get back together again, and how they were going to defeat these creatures. But eventually, I just decided to give up, so I closed the book at page 230. I do plan on skimming through the rest of the book to find out what happens, but I'm not going to read the rest.
I loved Rose, I loved the Doctor; I also liked Flowers and Dennel, but other than that I couldn't feel anything for any of the characters, and I just didn't care whether they lived or died.
Then there was also the fact that it was written in Dutch. It is my native language, but it's certainly not my favourite language, especially not to read in. I've said it in probably every review of a Dutch book on my blog; but it's so childish. And - this is a little pet peeve of mine - every 'you' in the original book was translated into the formal you in Dutch (we have the informal 'jij/jou/jouw' and the formal 'u/uw') and I don't know but I find that a bit annoying. Sorry not sorry.
In the end, I didn't like The Monsters Inside which saddens me. I'll be picking up another Doctor Who book soon, another one I got from my friend, also written by Stephen Cole but this time it's in English. So yeah, I can't really recommend this book to people, unless you really want to read all the Doctor Who books out there.
My opinion on this book in one gif:
October 29, 2013
Perfect. If you love the show how could you not enjoy this book! Awesome plot, great characters, the Doctor's character is written prefectly! I don't have one bad thing to say about this book, I thought it was truly excellent! I couldn't put it down!
SPOILERS!
I loved everything about the prison aspect and the Slitheen are pretty much my favorite aliens!
While some people might not like that Rose and the Doctor are apart for most of the book, I loved it since I'm a huge Rose fan and love to see her on her own.
PLUS the scene in which the Doctor gives Rose secret coded messages to convince the wardens that she is a genius was one of THE best Doctor\Rose moments!
SPOILERS!
I loved everything about the prison aspect and the Slitheen are pretty much my favorite aliens!
While some people might not like that Rose and the Doctor are apart for most of the book, I loved it since I'm a huge Rose fan and love to see her on her own.
PLUS the scene in which the Doctor gives Rose secret coded messages to convince the wardens that she is a genius was one of THE best Doctor\Rose moments!
May 2, 2021
Welp, toss another 9th doctor book onto the pile. This having been my 5th of his books, i have to say, i was not very impressed with this one either sadly. I'm waiting for a REALLY good book of Ecchelston's run to pop up, but sadly, it just isn't seeming to happen. (the only book i haven't read yet is Stealer of dreams)
There's three big problems with this book. First of all, they break up 9 and rose nearly immediately so the two have their own side adventures not really to do their own thing. i know this happens frequently in doc stories, but it gets a little tiresome.
Second, it's a prison break story. i really don't like stories where the main characters are prisoners. This isn't a fault of the author, just a preference.
Third, the villains are Slitheens, which, one can say, are one of the worst races in doctor who. They're not scary or intimidating. They're gross and stupid.
The story itself was written fine and the characters all acted as they should which good, but i just found myself not caring about the story itself. The side characters were bland and melded together. There were a few of rose's fellow prisoners that i honestly couldn't tell apart, and one of the guards who ended up being super important later i forgot his name so when he came back i was like "who was that again?"
Without spoilers, i'll say, i didn't like the last 2 pages of the book as i felt it was stupid and unnecessary.
The story was....serviceable? But i definitely wouldn't read it again. In fact, I ended up selling it to half price books 3 hours after finishing it.
This book is the epitome of a 2.5 and honestly, the only reason i'm giving it a 3 instead of a 2 is because it read fast and 9th had some good quips and one liners.
Big fat meh. 2.5/5 rounded up to a 3.
There's three big problems with this book. First of all, they break up 9 and rose nearly immediately so the two have their own side adventures not really to do their own thing. i know this happens frequently in doc stories, but it gets a little tiresome.
Second, it's a prison break story. i really don't like stories where the main characters are prisoners. This isn't a fault of the author, just a preference.
Third, the villains are Slitheens, which, one can say, are one of the worst races in doctor who. They're not scary or intimidating. They're gross and stupid.
The story itself was written fine and the characters all acted as they should which good, but i just found myself not caring about the story itself. The side characters were bland and melded together. There were a few of rose's fellow prisoners that i honestly couldn't tell apart, and one of the guards who ended up being super important later i forgot his name so when he came back i was like "who was that again?"
Without spoilers, i'll say, i didn't like the last 2 pages of the book as i felt it was stupid and unnecessary.
The story was....serviceable? But i definitely wouldn't read it again. In fact, I ended up selling it to half price books 3 hours after finishing it.
This book is the epitome of a 2.5 and honestly, the only reason i'm giving it a 3 instead of a 2 is because it read fast and 9th had some good quips and one liners.
Big fat meh. 2.5/5 rounded up to a 3.
August 6, 2017
So you know Aliens of London/World War Three? Weren't the Slitheen great?
What do you mean no? Okay but how about we set it in an alien prison so it allows us to have more violence and sexual threat? Wouldn't that be great?
The one thing in the books favour is that it does capture the early TARDIS crew of the new era reasonably well (although Rose does descend into teenage stereotypes some times). However it does nothing new, interesting or even vaguely pleasant. For completists or Raxicoricofallipitorian fans only
What do you mean no? Okay but how about we set it in an alien prison so it allows us to have more violence and sexual threat? Wouldn't that be great?
The one thing in the books favour is that it does capture the early TARDIS crew of the new era reasonably well (although Rose does descend into teenage stereotypes some times). However it does nothing new, interesting or even vaguely pleasant. For completists or Raxicoricofallipitorian fans only
May 7, 2016
I actually quite enjoyed this book more than the first one. The problem with the first book was that they pulled away too much from the story line at the beginning and the characters did not feel like they were believable.
In this book however, the story almost immediately threw you into the plot, as the Doctor and Rose were captured quickly after setting foot upon Justicia. They were separated which I enjoyed because it gave me time to evaluate the strengths of the two of them on their own. This book actually helped me find a new appreciation for Rose. Her character in the book is much better than the TV show version. While on her own, Rose demonstrated that she is also capable and strong willed. Not only did she exceed my expectations, but I think of her as a better companion now.
I liked how they reintroduced the Slitheen family from Raxacoricofallapatorius once again. I also enjoyed that they were not the actual enemies in this book, but rather the Blathereen family. This allowed me to see that the Slitheen family continued on and as a result, became better in character.
I really enjoyed the aspect that the Slitheen family helped the Doctor and basically saved the lives of everyone on Justicia. I also liked how the people in the brostal aided the Doctor and retaliated against the Raxacoricofallapatorians. It showed that Rose could encourage and inspire others to fight for their freedom.
Because it is a book, they loosened the reigns a bit in this one. They added some grousem scenes which you would never see on the show, and even added some swears! I enjoy being able to see this side of Doctor Who which makes the experience all the better.
The lack of 5 stars came into play at the end of the book. The author spent almost all of the book building up to the big retaliation. By the end, he kind of disappointed me by wrapping it up in the last 40 pages. I felt like the fact that they were running on a short time limit at the end of the book cheapened the ending further because they had used that exact same ending in the first book.
Overall, this Doctor Who book is the reason why reading the books as well as watching the show is a good idea. You can see new sides of characters and species.
I would recommend this book to any Whovian out there. Enjoy!
In this book however, the story almost immediately threw you into the plot, as the Doctor and Rose were captured quickly after setting foot upon Justicia. They were separated which I enjoyed because it gave me time to evaluate the strengths of the two of them on their own. This book actually helped me find a new appreciation for Rose. Her character in the book is much better than the TV show version. While on her own, Rose demonstrated that she is also capable and strong willed. Not only did she exceed my expectations, but I think of her as a better companion now.
I liked how they reintroduced the Slitheen family from Raxacoricofallapatorius once again. I also enjoyed that they were not the actual enemies in this book, but rather the Blathereen family. This allowed me to see that the Slitheen family continued on and as a result, became better in character.
I really enjoyed the aspect that the Slitheen family helped the Doctor and basically saved the lives of everyone on Justicia. I also liked how the people in the brostal aided the Doctor and retaliated against the Raxacoricofallapatorians. It showed that Rose could encourage and inspire others to fight for their freedom.
Because it is a book, they loosened the reigns a bit in this one. They added some grousem scenes which you would never see on the show, and even added some swears! I enjoy being able to see this side of Doctor Who which makes the experience all the better.
The lack of 5 stars came into play at the end of the book. The author spent almost all of the book building up to the big retaliation. By the end, he kind of disappointed me by wrapping it up in the last 40 pages. I felt like the fact that they were running on a short time limit at the end of the book cheapened the ending further because they had used that exact same ending in the first book.
Overall, this Doctor Who book is the reason why reading the books as well as watching the show is a good idea. You can see new sides of characters and species.
I would recommend this book to any Whovian out there. Enjoy!
February 17, 2022
Original rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Re-read rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Original read: 2011
Re-read read: 2022
I loved this one back in 2011, and 11 years later I still love it. I remembered the plot and when characters were introduced or a certain part happened I got excited over it. I enjoyed the ride with this book. Of the first three 9th Doctor books this is hands down my favorite.
Audiobook note: Overall, I think Camille did a good job as a narrator. She doesn't really have a good voice for the 9th Doctor, but she totally nailed Rose. The voices she uses for the Slitheen and Blathereen were so annoying. It took me out of the moment every time.
Original review:
Stephen Cole decides to take Rose for her first trip to an 'alien' planet (Remember series 1 of Doctor Who? Did Rose ever go off Earth... Nope). This trip winds Rose and the Doctor up in prison. They are not held in prison together! Rose is put in juvi and the Doctor is held in a science unit where he uses his mind for his time. Both try to find each other from their respective cells while battling the prison from the inside.
The Monster of the Week in this novel is a monster that is introduced in series 1, the Siltheen (even though this bugs me that we can only call them Siltheen, see Worst Part). The Siltheen family reveals that this book takes place after the events of 'Aliens of London'/'World World Three'. This book also introduces a fellow family named Blatheen, who have since made an appearance in an episode of 'Sarah Jane Adventures'.
The characterization of Rose and the Doctor is great. I can definitely visualize both the Doctor and Rose acting the way they did in the novel as if it was an episode from the show.
It is a fun book. I kind of rolled my eyes at the ending, however.
(I usually don't post the Worst Part/Best Part but this review mentions it so here's the worst part below)
Worst part: It still bothers me that we have not found out what race the Siltheen and Blathereen are. As this book makes clear, Silteen and Balthereen are just their surnames. Yet... everyone refers to 'the Siltheen' as a race. Yes, I know it's a bit nitpicky.
Find more reviews at Books A to Z http://booksaz.wordpress.com
Re-read rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Original read: 2011
Re-read read: 2022
I loved this one back in 2011, and 11 years later I still love it. I remembered the plot and when characters were introduced or a certain part happened I got excited over it. I enjoyed the ride with this book. Of the first three 9th Doctor books this is hands down my favorite.
Audiobook note: Overall, I think Camille did a good job as a narrator. She doesn't really have a good voice for the 9th Doctor, but she totally nailed Rose. The voices she uses for the Slitheen and Blathereen were so annoying. It took me out of the moment every time.
Original review:
Stephen Cole decides to take Rose for her first trip to an 'alien' planet (Remember series 1 of Doctor Who? Did Rose ever go off Earth... Nope). This trip winds Rose and the Doctor up in prison. They are not held in prison together! Rose is put in juvi and the Doctor is held in a science unit where he uses his mind for his time. Both try to find each other from their respective cells while battling the prison from the inside.
The Monster of the Week in this novel is a monster that is introduced in series 1, the Siltheen (even though this bugs me that we can only call them Siltheen, see Worst Part). The Siltheen family reveals that this book takes place after the events of 'Aliens of London'/'World World Three'. This book also introduces a fellow family named Blatheen, who have since made an appearance in an episode of 'Sarah Jane Adventures'.
The characterization of Rose and the Doctor is great. I can definitely visualize both the Doctor and Rose acting the way they did in the novel as if it was an episode from the show.
It is a fun book. I kind of rolled my eyes at the ending, however.
(I usually don't post the Worst Part/Best Part but this review mentions it so here's the worst part below)
Worst part: It still bothers me that we have not found out what race the Siltheen and Blathereen are. As this book makes clear, Silteen and Balthereen are just their surnames. Yet... everyone refers to 'the Siltheen' as a race. Yes, I know it's a bit nitpicky.
Find more reviews at Books A to Z http://booksaz.wordpress.com
April 10, 2014
For some reason TARDIS had landed on a strange planet. Before the Doctor and Rose's trouble starts, they manage to see lots of people working on pyramids and overseers with whips. Four of those overseers separate Rose and the Doctor taking them to different parts of the system.
Soon, they both find out that they are prisoners in a seven-planet prison camp called Justicia. It is human 'ingenuity' who created this place and the humans in this book are self-righteous, despicable morons. Or so it seems at first. It is hard to read the things some of them say to themselves to justify whatever is going on in the prison.
The Doctor and Rose are not together for the most of the book because alien prisoners have separate prison. The book is missing the usual humour. The Doctor has a few quips when he starts his 'stay' on Justicia, but I was overwhelmed with the way humans justified what they were doing there. I wasn't enjoying the first part of the book.
The Doctor is his usual self. Most of the time he runs around and annoying villains, but I didn't have that feeling that this is his story. Maybe because the prison for humans is so horrible. It is not enough the humans treat aliens poorly. There just had to be a part of that place where humans treat other humans even worse.
The pace is fast and it is easy to breeze through the story, but the way it is written would work better as a film rather than a book. The whole book, especially the last part, consists of short cut-scenes featuring Rose and whoever she is with, then it cuts back to the Doctor and his companions, then the villains and whatever they are doing at that particular moment, then some of the wardens, then some of the prisoners and so on.
Soon, they both find out that they are prisoners in a seven-planet prison camp called Justicia. It is human 'ingenuity' who created this place and the humans in this book are self-righteous, despicable morons. Or so it seems at first. It is hard to read the things some of them say to themselves to justify whatever is going on in the prison.
The Doctor and Rose are not together for the most of the book because alien prisoners have separate prison. The book is missing the usual humour. The Doctor has a few quips when he starts his 'stay' on Justicia, but I was overwhelmed with the way humans justified what they were doing there. I wasn't enjoying the first part of the book.
The Doctor is his usual self. Most of the time he runs around and annoying villains, but I didn't have that feeling that this is his story. Maybe because the prison for humans is so horrible. It is not enough the humans treat aliens poorly. There just had to be a part of that place where humans treat other humans even worse.
The pace is fast and it is easy to breeze through the story, but the way it is written would work better as a film rather than a book. The whole book, especially the last part, consists of short cut-scenes featuring Rose and whoever she is with, then it cuts back to the Doctor and his companions, then the villains and whatever they are doing at that particular moment, then some of the wardens, then some of the prisoners and so on.
Read
October 21, 2007http://nhw.livejournal.com/761346.html[return][return]This isn't bad. I think Cole catches the Ninth Doctor/Rose banter very well. The monsters of the title are the Slitheen, from "The Aliens of London" and "World War Three" (the internal chronology suggests that this is set before "Boom Town"); their back-story as a species is filled out rather nicely, with some uncertainty as to whether they are allies or enemies. The last word of the title refers not to complex explorations of Inner Space, but to the interplanetary jail in which the Doctor and Rose end up. The descriptions of setting and incidental characters are good. Sadly the actual scientific bit of the plot (the local solar system being sneakily remodelled for sinister criminal purposes) makes no sense at all, but you can't have everything.
January 16, 2014
Rose gets to visit her first alien planet...and winds up in prison! The TARDIS lands on a planet that turns out to be part of a solar-system-wide penal colony for humanity's undesirables. Rose is dumped in with the regular inmates, only to discover that an old foe might be calling the shots. The Doctor is placed in the alien ward where he's put to work solving scientific puzzles for humanity under the direction of the well-meaning and complacent scientist/jailer Flowers.
This is a story with a break-neck pace and Rose especially gets put through her paces. Lots of fear, running, and saving of worlds. This is one of those adventures that would have broken the special-effects budget for the TV show, but is wonderfully realized on paper. Great read!
This is a story with a break-neck pace and Rose especially gets put through her paces. Lots of fear, running, and saving of worlds. This is one of those adventures that would have broken the special-effects budget for the TV show, but is wonderfully realized on paper. Great read!
March 9, 2013
A book based on the television series. When reading a book based on a series, you wonder going in if the author can capture the characters correctly. This author does in my eyes. I could picture the 9th Doctor with no problem and I thought the author did a great job with Rose. I wavered between 3 and 4 stars with this book. It was a decent story but there were parts that did drag. I could picture this being an episode but not a great episode. If you like Doctor Who and cannot get enough of it, this might be something you would enjoy.
November 4, 2014
Rose and the (ninth) Doctor inadvertently visit a prison planet and find themselves quickly incarcerated. In their own very different fashions, they must escape and find each other again, while familiar enemies lurk in the background. I enjoyed this one. It was clear the author was very familiar with the characters as portrayed on television, and it was fun to rejoin them for a new adventure. The Doctor is delightfully cheerful, regardless of the situation, and Rose's snarky comments are fun. If you're looking for a quick lark with Nine and Rose, this is worth picking up.
March 13, 2015
Rose's first trip to a different planet couldn't been better!
It was fast paced, exciting and we revisited old enemies. Especially great was the amount of imagination when it comes to world-building and alien design (i would love to see Nesshalop in the TV series). Due to the budgetary restrictions of the first DW seasons, the aliens look mostly humanoid, but in the books the authors can go really crazy!
It was fast paced, exciting and we revisited old enemies. Especially great was the amount of imagination when it comes to world-building and alien design (i would love to see Nesshalop in the TV series). Due to the budgetary restrictions of the first DW seasons, the aliens look mostly humanoid, but in the books the authors can go really crazy!
November 5, 2023
I enjoyed this Doctor Who story. I thought the premise was interesting and well-written. I really do not like when the Doctor and the companion he is traveling with are separated for most of the story and that was the case for this story although I do think it was handled pretty well. Usually, it is hard for me to take this particular DW villain seriously, but Mr. Cole managed to make them fairly menacing. All in all, a good story and it was nice to be with 9 and Rose again.
July 15, 2016
Well that was a rather enjoyable way to pass my Friday night ;) a fabulous adventure with Nine and Rose!
Both characters were for most part written canon, I felt. I pictured the words being said by them. Mostly all of the book played out like a DW episode. So all in all, a pretty fantastic read.
Both characters were for most part written canon, I felt. I pictured the words being said by them. Mostly all of the book played out like a DW episode. So all in all, a pretty fantastic read.
October 17, 2022
When Doctor Who returned from its fifteen year hiatus in 2005, The BBC did not waste any time getting the former merchandising juggernaut back into full swing for a whole new generation of fans. Store shelves were flooded with toys, sticker packs, costumes, and even books, both for children and young adults. It wasn’t until about two years later (or so) when this started snowballing in America, but I thankfully had no issues getting some of this stuff imported here from the get-go as I worked at a bookstore and the supply chain had access to a lot of this. As I recall, these books were some of the first Doctor Who merchandise items I snagged back when I first got back into the show, and I devoured them almost immediately. I still have a lot of these, although I believe I stopped buying them at around the time of the Matt Smith tenure of the show. I appreciated the fact that they came in heavy hardcover jackets and were priced pretty well, and really should try to read more if I keep doing these.
As with any tie-in material, books can be good or bad depending on how seriously the producers take it, and these were generally treated pretty well. Most of this initial batch could have easily been scripts for the show itself, so I appreciated the consistency within the franchise. I’ve always had issues with Doctor Who books from the 90’s and 00’s going off on weird tangents that absolutely feel nothing like the show in any way, and while I know that is an unpopular opinion this is the hill that I will die on! This is largely the reason why I’m not a huge fan of the series of Big Finish stories that seek to continue stories from the Virgin New Adventures books, as I feel like the focus of those books was always to put Ace through undue hardship and generally be bleak for no reason. Then again, I was not in the UK in the 90s and had largely checked out on the series until I started buying DVDs in 2002 or so, so my opinion is fairly moot to most fans.
With this initial range of BBC Doctor Who New Series Adventures novels, admittedly some were a bit hit or miss, albeit in a way that still preserved the tone of this version of the show, which was somewhat hit or miss in season one. I previously revisited and reviewed the first book out of this line, The Clockwise Man, which was a book that I actually enjoyed based almost entirely on the setting alone (World War I is my jam). Even though I found the characterization of The Doctor somewhat off at times due to the book largely being written before the show even aired, I still loved it. In that case, I still remembered some of the plot going back into that book, but managed to almost entirely forget about this second one. When I started this one, I sat there wondering if I had somehow missed this one in the past, which I knew was not true. To me, this must show that I initially was not a huge fan of it or the story was just VERY unforgettable. Now the question is, is there a reason why I can’t remember The Monsters Inside?
The Monsters Inside by Stephen Cole is a good example of why some of these are kind of mid-tier. On the surface, this book actually has a pretty interesting plot and canonically is the very first time that Rose Tyler sets foot alien planet, making it somewhat important. However, the issues begin when one realizes that the story is largely a prison drama, or at least as close to a prison drama one can get when writing a book that is largely targeted towards a young reader market. I’m just not sure a story like this works for a kid’s book market, largely due to how prison culture is something kids should not read about. Coincidentally, I did notice that this book has a little bit of spicy language in it at times, which was kind of out of tone for this franchise. This occurs a few times when Rose Tyler refers to numerous people as “being a bitch”.
Not a ton really happens here, which is precisely why I likely found this book forgettable in the past. The story meanders a little bit and then all of a sudden we get the realization that that this, is in fact, a Raxacoricofallapatorians/Slitheen story. While I don’t mind the Slitheen, they are definitely one of the more polarizing additions to the Doctor Who rogues gallery from their creation all the way to today. Created for children due to the silly nature of their personalities and how they fart and burp all the time, some people absolutely adore them and others practically loathe them for obvious reasons. They are a bit more toned down in this story versus their numerous TV escapades which is actually fairly welcome, and makes them a bit more tolerable. I’m not sure I can really recommend this one, but if one needs a fix of the Ninth Doctor / Rose pairing this is as good a book as any to give the reader more content!
As with any tie-in material, books can be good or bad depending on how seriously the producers take it, and these were generally treated pretty well. Most of this initial batch could have easily been scripts for the show itself, so I appreciated the consistency within the franchise. I’ve always had issues with Doctor Who books from the 90’s and 00’s going off on weird tangents that absolutely feel nothing like the show in any way, and while I know that is an unpopular opinion this is the hill that I will die on! This is largely the reason why I’m not a huge fan of the series of Big Finish stories that seek to continue stories from the Virgin New Adventures books, as I feel like the focus of those books was always to put Ace through undue hardship and generally be bleak for no reason. Then again, I was not in the UK in the 90s and had largely checked out on the series until I started buying DVDs in 2002 or so, so my opinion is fairly moot to most fans.
With this initial range of BBC Doctor Who New Series Adventures novels, admittedly some were a bit hit or miss, albeit in a way that still preserved the tone of this version of the show, which was somewhat hit or miss in season one. I previously revisited and reviewed the first book out of this line, The Clockwise Man, which was a book that I actually enjoyed based almost entirely on the setting alone (World War I is my jam). Even though I found the characterization of The Doctor somewhat off at times due to the book largely being written before the show even aired, I still loved it. In that case, I still remembered some of the plot going back into that book, but managed to almost entirely forget about this second one. When I started this one, I sat there wondering if I had somehow missed this one in the past, which I knew was not true. To me, this must show that I initially was not a huge fan of it or the story was just VERY unforgettable. Now the question is, is there a reason why I can’t remember The Monsters Inside?
The Monsters Inside by Stephen Cole is a good example of why some of these are kind of mid-tier. On the surface, this book actually has a pretty interesting plot and canonically is the very first time that Rose Tyler sets foot alien planet, making it somewhat important. However, the issues begin when one realizes that the story is largely a prison drama, or at least as close to a prison drama one can get when writing a book that is largely targeted towards a young reader market. I’m just not sure a story like this works for a kid’s book market, largely due to how prison culture is something kids should not read about. Coincidentally, I did notice that this book has a little bit of spicy language in it at times, which was kind of out of tone for this franchise. This occurs a few times when Rose Tyler refers to numerous people as “being a bitch”.
Not a ton really happens here, which is precisely why I likely found this book forgettable in the past. The story meanders a little bit and then all of a sudden we get the realization that that this, is in fact, a Raxacoricofallapatorians/Slitheen story. While I don’t mind the Slitheen, they are definitely one of the more polarizing additions to the Doctor Who rogues gallery from their creation all the way to today. Created for children due to the silly nature of their personalities and how they fart and burp all the time, some people absolutely adore them and others practically loathe them for obvious reasons. They are a bit more toned down in this story versus their numerous TV escapades which is actually fairly welcome, and makes them a bit more tolerable. I’m not sure I can really recommend this one, but if one needs a fix of the Ninth Doctor / Rose pairing this is as good a book as any to give the reader more content!
September 17, 2023
The second New Series Adventure novel takes Rose to her first alien planets, and for that reason alone it is a significant milestone. That it then chooses to tackle privatised space prisons, with their entertainment, correctional, and abusive connotations, is a surprisingly meaty idea. At times it’s difficult to know who the book is written for, given how we are introduced to what the TARDIS actually is in the first few pages, suggesting a reader unacquainted with the programme but are also reading a book based around one of the monsters from episodes 4-5 of Series One. There are also darker references to suicide and assault, as well as fan-pleasing references to Meeps and the Kraals. This means it presumably is aimed at adults wanting more Who but also must be accessible to those who, like me, read these books for the first time close to their release. They’re an interesting set of books for this reason - and are very easy to read through in a short period, meaning that like the Target books these will have been responsible for young readers getting well into reading longer sci-fi, which is a net good.
As for The Monsters Inside itself, while the last third did lose me a little - especially the technobabble - for the most part, Cole does fulfil the point: to give you more adventures of the Doctor and companion you have seen and liked on screen. The Doctor and Rose indeed get to be suitably pally together (with one EastEnders extended reference proving the highlight). That said, the two are pretty much apart for most of the novel, meaning the chemistry you may have witnessed on screen doesn’t translate as readily here, with Rose instead getting her own subplot that shows her mettle away from the Doctor. Nevertheless, it feels very ‘2005’ in the array of guest supporting characters, riffing somewhat on the Platform One guests in ‘The End of the World’ and taking influence from the type of supporting characters you’d see in the show. This adds up to a strong premise about the exploitative elements of prison systems, even if in its execution it can veer from the darker ‘adult’ connotations to the more comedic as the Slitheen are wont to invite in (there are many, many references to flatulence). Cole keeps the Slitheen personable and threatening, though, and does not reduce them to mere comedic fodder; it is a great expansion of what is seen on screen and is rewarding to read alongside their TV appearances.
That the prose can talk about these darker themes as well as include lines like “up to their necks in dog doo”, though, does speak to how these novels may have been trying to straddle the legacy of the EDAs with the influx of younger readers that the rebooted show would have brought in. Sometimes these tones conflict a little. This doesn’t mean The Monsters Inside is bad at all - I thoroughly enjoyed it - but it’s also interesting as a document of how the novels would be playing to a bigger crowd than before (and sure enough, this novel is referenced in 'Boom Town'!).
As for The Monsters Inside itself, while the last third did lose me a little - especially the technobabble - for the most part, Cole does fulfil the point: to give you more adventures of the Doctor and companion you have seen and liked on screen. The Doctor and Rose indeed get to be suitably pally together (with one EastEnders extended reference proving the highlight). That said, the two are pretty much apart for most of the novel, meaning the chemistry you may have witnessed on screen doesn’t translate as readily here, with Rose instead getting her own subplot that shows her mettle away from the Doctor. Nevertheless, it feels very ‘2005’ in the array of guest supporting characters, riffing somewhat on the Platform One guests in ‘The End of the World’ and taking influence from the type of supporting characters you’d see in the show. This adds up to a strong premise about the exploitative elements of prison systems, even if in its execution it can veer from the darker ‘adult’ connotations to the more comedic as the Slitheen are wont to invite in (there are many, many references to flatulence). Cole keeps the Slitheen personable and threatening, though, and does not reduce them to mere comedic fodder; it is a great expansion of what is seen on screen and is rewarding to read alongside their TV appearances.
That the prose can talk about these darker themes as well as include lines like “up to their necks in dog doo”, though, does speak to how these novels may have been trying to straddle the legacy of the EDAs with the influx of younger readers that the rebooted show would have brought in. Sometimes these tones conflict a little. This doesn’t mean The Monsters Inside is bad at all - I thoroughly enjoyed it - but it’s also interesting as a document of how the novels would be playing to a bigger crowd than before (and sure enough, this novel is referenced in 'Boom Town'!).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2022
Picked up this book the other day for the first time in 14 years. I had honestly forgotten how good it was, and it was so nice to be reminded during my Whoniversary this year. Every year on 17 March, I celebrate by doing DW related things, and this year I surrounded myself with everything concerning my first Doctor -- the Ninth Doctor. I re-watched my series 1 for the millionth time, I listened to some of my Big Finish Ninth Doctor Adventures audio dramas, read some Ninth Doctor fanfic, and read this book again for the first time in so long that it felt like the first time, full stop.
First of all, the Ninth Doctor and Rose are written perfectly in this. Their characterizations are on point, their banter with each other is hearable as I read it, and their determination to reunite when they're separated for most of the book is so truthful to them that I wanted to reach through the pages and hug them.
Despite this being released at the same time the previous novel was written -- The Clockwise Man -- Cole obviously had more scripts available to him at the time of his writing, compared to Richards. Whereas it was impossible to place where Clockwise Man was happening in the time line (apart from obviously very early on), this book tells us of prior adventures, and the lack of Captain Jack gives us a good parameter. It's obviously after World War III (as the Doctor and Rose know who the Slitheen family from Raxacoricofallapatorious are and the Slitheens reference the downfall of their family over the course of the previous 500 years; this adventure, set in the penal system of Justicia, is temporally set in 2501), but before The Empty Child. I'd honestly place it before Dalek even, due to the lack of mention of Adam and the fallout from that. Because of this time line placement, we know and can expect certain character drives from both Nine and Rose. We know Rose will flirt with the pretty boys, but primarily be concerned with saving the world and looking after the Doctor, and we know that the Doctor will help the oppressed and do what is necessary...unless said people's plans pose a threat to Rose, in which case he gets very confrontational and becomes the embodiment of "The Oncoming Storm." And hey, Cole had both of them fit those characterizations to a T.
While the Slitheen (and, in this case, the Blathereen -- who later went on to reappear in a visual form in The Sarah Jane Adventures, btw) will never be my favorite villains, I did enjoy this take on them. It's a fun adventure that would have felt right at home in Classic Who, and that's always a positive, in my opinion.
First of all, the Ninth Doctor and Rose are written perfectly in this. Their characterizations are on point, their banter with each other is hearable as I read it, and their determination to reunite when they're separated for most of the book is so truthful to them that I wanted to reach through the pages and hug them.
Despite this being released at the same time the previous novel was written -- The Clockwise Man -- Cole obviously had more scripts available to him at the time of his writing, compared to Richards. Whereas it was impossible to place where Clockwise Man was happening in the time line (apart from obviously very early on), this book tells us of prior adventures, and the lack of Captain Jack gives us a good parameter. It's obviously after World War III (as the Doctor and Rose know who the Slitheen family from Raxacoricofallapatorious are and the Slitheens reference the downfall of their family over the course of the previous 500 years; this adventure, set in the penal system of Justicia, is temporally set in 2501), but before The Empty Child. I'd honestly place it before Dalek even, due to the lack of mention of Adam and the fallout from that. Because of this time line placement, we know and can expect certain character drives from both Nine and Rose. We know Rose will flirt with the pretty boys, but primarily be concerned with saving the world and looking after the Doctor, and we know that the Doctor will help the oppressed and do what is necessary...unless said people's plans pose a threat to Rose, in which case he gets very confrontational and becomes the embodiment of "The Oncoming Storm." And hey, Cole had both of them fit those characterizations to a T.
While the Slitheen (and, in this case, the Blathereen -- who later went on to reappear in a visual form in The Sarah Jane Adventures, btw) will never be my favorite villains, I did enjoy this take on them. It's a fun adventure that would have felt right at home in Classic Who, and that's always a positive, in my opinion.
March 7, 2024
🙏🏼61% = 177 points = Okay!
Stephen Cole immediately separates Rose and the Doctor at the start of the story, exploring the plot from two separate POVs through most of it while they try to find a way to reunite again. Along the way, we learn about the intricate prison system of Justicia in the year 2501, as well as the inmates incarcerated there and the people running the place.
After the initial set-up, the story slows down and doesn't develop the tension much, even if it builds a light mystery around the Slitheen and their true intentions. There are many characters, but they don't stand out much, and everything feels a bit disjointed. Many good action scenes keep the narrative flowing, particularly in the final third.
It's almost as if there is too much and nothing at all going on at the same time.
Stephen Cole describes the prisons of Justicia and its inmates briefly but vividly. It's a pity that he doesn't do more with the setting because, after the halfway point, it doesn't feel very lively any more. I also lose track of the world in the last third of the novel.
It's a bit hard to keep track of who's Slitheen and who's not at one point. The supporting characters lack defining features that would set them apart. It was cool to meet the Blathereen, and the book uses the fact that Raxacoricofallapatorians look the same but come from different families in conflict with each other very well. Even then, it wasn't exactly clear to me how all the techno stuff came into play.
The action-packed third act feels big and fast-paced, like a Nu Who episode, but the ending is perhaps a bit disappointing and feels like it needs a follow-up.
Stephen Cole immediately separates Rose and the Doctor at the start of the story, exploring the plot from two separate POVs through most of it while they try to find a way to reunite again. Along the way, we learn about the intricate prison system of Justicia in the year 2501, as well as the inmates incarcerated there and the people running the place.
After the initial set-up, the story slows down and doesn't develop the tension much, even if it builds a light mystery around the Slitheen and their true intentions. There are many characters, but they don't stand out much, and everything feels a bit disjointed. Many good action scenes keep the narrative flowing, particularly in the final third.
It's almost as if there is too much and nothing at all going on at the same time.
Stephen Cole describes the prisons of Justicia and its inmates briefly but vividly. It's a pity that he doesn't do more with the setting because, after the halfway point, it doesn't feel very lively any more. I also lose track of the world in the last third of the novel.
It's a bit hard to keep track of who's Slitheen and who's not at one point. The supporting characters lack defining features that would set them apart. It was cool to meet the Blathereen, and the book uses the fact that Raxacoricofallapatorians look the same but come from different families in conflict with each other very well. Even then, it wasn't exactly clear to me how all the techno stuff came into play.
The action-packed third act feels big and fast-paced, like a Nu Who episode, but the ending is perhaps a bit disappointing and feels like it needs a follow-up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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