Doctor Who - The Crawling Terror

Mysteries from WWII, giant insects, alien consciousness, and small towns in the English country side.

Sounds like an episode of Doctor Who to me.

Actually, The Crawling Terror by Mike Tucker will almost never be made into an actual episode because the CGI cost would be too high, however, with a good imagination Tucker's book is the next best thing or perhaps even better for book loving Whovians.


I was highly impressed with Tucker's offering.
First because he did such a beautiful job of structuring his plot and characters.
I mean, this was the first of the three Whovian novels I was given that actually describes the Doctor's new face. Furthermore, not content to leave his readers there, Tucker explores the changing nature of Clara and the Doctor's relationship now that 11 is gone. The delight Tucker seemed to take writing nuances into his story whether they were character traits, sarcastic quips, or plot points worthy of an episode made me feel that someone who respects Who was behind the novel (I have no idea and should probably go look up Tucker's background).

Secondly, Tucker presented an amazing story because, although I love stories set in England and especially ones that bring in WWII, I am equally against stories that future giant, mutant insects that take over towns. Somehow, despite my own crawling terror up and down my back (I really hate bugs) I was riveted throughout the story. It takes an excellent story to override my distaste for bugs and keep me wanting more so for that I salute you Tucker.

As far as the bones of this story go, I acknowledge my copy may end up slightly different after final edits but the flow, structure and pacing all felt comfortable. For those familiar with the show the surprises were in content not in jarring literary techniques. I think this contributed to my enjoyment of the book as Doctor Who, even in its most uncomfortable always seems to follow the same flow and core rules, it feels like a friend and that's how this book read.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

I received this book from NetGallery in exchange for my honest review. The opinions are my own.