Project: Read Or Die - Chapter Two FOR SCIENCE!!

So, the next tome in my pile of trying desperately not to spend all my life staring vacantly at monitors is The Science Of Doctor Who by Paul Parsons.

Now, as for my particular motivation for getting this, that should be fairly self evident. I like Doctor. I like science (though I do prefer SCIENCE!! which is subtly different and tends to feature more robots). So obviously a book about both should be pretty good, right?

You were expecting me to say no then, weren't you?

Actually this book isn't bad at all. It's written in a fairly engaging style, and certainly doesn't descend into the sort of deathly dull dryness that is certainly possible for this sort of thing. Whilst being low on excruciating detail does perhaps limit the amount of information imparted, that really isn't the thrust of the book. Basically what we're doing here is using Doctor Who as a jumping off point to discuss various related scientific and technological advances. The book rattles through at a fair pace, providing a fairly broad sweep of topics, all of which may merit further investigation should they perk your particular interest.

It's nice to see that the book draws it's topics from the full range of Doctor Who, not just the new series. Of course, this may well have a lot to do with being published some time after series 1. The edition I got did contain a bonus chapter briefly discussing a couple of aspects from series 2, but not in great detail or depth. Perhaps this is for the best. Quite how Fear Her ever got made does defy rational explanation after all.

Since we're offered a fairly broad palette there's probably something in here to engage most people, either from the theories discussed or the references that engender them. As a book for a youngish fan this strikes me as a good present. Learning by stealth as it were. Though for the actually very young fans it's might be a bit much, but I'm really not the guy to ask. It's been more than a few years since I was a child after all.

I guess the only major drawback here is simply that the book is already starting to date a bit in places. There's no stopping progress after all. Time, science, and even Doctor Who itself marches inexorably forwards.

Still a fun and informative read, and certainly good value for the pittance I paid for it.