Doctor Who: Dark Horizons [Kindle Edition]

The latest in this seemingly occasional series of hardback 'guest author' Doctor Who books- from authors who are already famous for their non-Whovian novels- is a very welcome treat.

It isn't as much of a departure from the familiar as some of the other books have been- it's more or less on the same level as the BBC Books standard range, with possibly a slightly more adult leaning, but definitely accessible to younger teens. There's very mild horror, but nothing worse than you've seen in the TV series.

It's a nicely evocative windswept Viking story, not dwelling too much on the traditional 'horned helmets' images (yes, I know they didn't) and instead portraying a strong image of primitive isolated people struggling to survive in wild Northern landscapes. There's also a thick sense of humour running through things, for example in the brief addition of farm boy Henrik as a 'companion' in the conventional Who sense, one who is rather underwhelmed by the Doctor's un-seaworthy TARDIS.

The story overall doesn't break any particularly new ground- we've seen pretty much all the constituent parts of it in other Who stories- but it rattles along very nicely and entertainingly, with a couple of neat twists that keep you reading.

So while there's nothing revolutionary here, this is nevertheless an excellent addition to the 'slightly more grown up' side of the Who range.

The Doctor likes playing chess. But, how he's alone in the TARDIS, challenging himself to the occasional match is starting to get a little stilted. Time to find an opponent... Landing in the Outer Hebrides in the 12th century, our favourite Time Lord discovers much more than he bargained for - including rampaging vikings, a furious princess on her way to an arranged marriage, local villagers eating pre-cooked turtles, a backstory for the Lewis Chessmen, and an alien life-form which lives, breeds and kills through fire. This isn't going to be the quick stop-off the Doctor first imagined.

JT Colgan (in reality, top romantic comedy author, Jenny Colgan) has written what is one of the most exciting 11th Doctor adventures to date (and I told her so last night, via Twitter!) In Dark Horizons, she captures Matt Smith's portrayal of the Doctor perfectly, introduces us to some wonderful new characters (Henrik being a particular favourite), and even allows us a glimpse (from a distance) of a holidaying 4th Doctor, Sarah Jane and K9! Add to that quite possibly the most exciting TARDIS sequence you'll ever read (I won't say where it takes place - spoilers, and all that) and you've got a timey-wimey historical romp that will keep you gripped, page after page.

Very highly recommended!

An island people, viking marauders, a princess and a terrifying flame that comes out of the water. What more could you ask for from Dr Who?

The descriptions of the desolate island are beautiful without being too heavy. The pace goes along steadily without any slow patches.

The characters are believable and mostly likeable. I found that the princess Freydis was sometimes irritatingly petulant rather than feisty and strong willed.

This novel makes a nice addition to the canon.