Doctor Who: Shroud of Sorrow (Tommy Donbavand) Review

There were two Doctor Who books on my radar last year: Shroud of Sorrow, and Summer Falls and Other Stories. Fortunately, I was able to get them both.


Overview:
After an unfortunate mishap at an archaeological dig, the Doctor and Clara find themselves in Dallas, Texas, on November 23rd, 1963. Now, across the globe, people are seeing faces where they shouldn't be (in coffee stains, in windows, on patterns, ect.), and they're the faces of the dead. Now, the Doctor and Clara must find a way to stop this fearsome adversary, but can they save all of humanity from sorrow?


Review:
Shroud of Sorrow is a particularly interesting, because it's the only book (actual full length novel in print) that was released last year that featured Clara. I was excited to read the book, and was thankful that I was able to. The problem I had with the book: there were hundreds of typos.  Besides that, the book was good; I finished it within a day. It's a good book, but I've only been able to read it twice so far, but give me time. The book has a ton of references to past adventures, especially towards the end of the book. The book is pure Who, able to have a very serious adventure, and have something so completely ridiculous, but still have it work and still have it serious. The book has a few instances of humor, but a particular scene towards the end of the book had me in tears, and it wasn't one I was expecting. The book is one of the better Doctor Who books, and the writer (Tommy Donbavand), got the characters just right (unlike a certain Doctor Who comic that I picked up that had the Doctor and Clara way out of character), and made the book feel like a proper Doctor Who episode in book format. That good. This, however, is a book that I've only been able to read once and awhile, but it's still one of my favorite Doctor Who books that I've read.


Notes: This book also mentioned The Rose and Crown, and I find it odd, because it's not the only story that has. Paradox Lost (George Mann) would be another, Clara worked at The Rose and Crown in The Snowmen (Steven Moffat), and it appeared in the She Said, He Said (Steven Moffat) prequel (it was a sign in the background during the Doctor's part.). The last couple of times words have been scattered across space and time, things didn't usually end well....

Stars:
Four out of Five

Coming Soon:
Coming Soon from Tegan's Library:
'Pond Life' Doctor Who mini-web-series Review
'She Said, He Said' Prequel Review
'The Bells of Saint John Prequel Review
'Winner Takes All' (Jacqueline Rayner) Book Reivew

-Tegan