Warning: Some topics discussed may not be suitable for younger audiences.

It is always funny to me when reviewing a book; in my youth, my dyslexia always put a damper on any idea of enjoying books. I’d often find them a bore. With school mandated readings of things I’ve never been all that interested in giving good reason for my displeasure of literature. Age-appropriate books never felt enjoyable to my interests. Every teacher would drill “focus on this” and “this will do it” when talking about the likes of Roald Dahl and children going on fantastical fantasy adventures; I hate children, I always have. No one, not once, ever spoke about Doctor Who and the tremendously other-worldly sci-fi(-ish) adventures of the alien in a blue box.

I’d say about half of my life now has had Doctor Who in it, and I’ve never looked back upon it thinking ill of its existence. Of course, most of that love was formed by Russell T Davies’ magical revival of the show. However, that’s not (entirely) what I am here to talk about today. Over the past year, I’ve delved into the extended media surrounding the series from before (and since) the revival. This would include a deep-dive into the Big Finish Productions audio dramas, which has developed a love of some older companions and Doctors’ I’d never been around for when they first aired. Nonetheless, I’ve also decided to jump head-first into the novels of the series too.

The question with series like Who is, where to start? With Big Finish I did the brilliant thing of jumping in with the highly regarded January 2003 installment of the monthly series, Robert Shearman’s “Jubilee.” So the answer was sitting right there in front of me, “What was the most spoken about book in Who history?” Paul Cornell’s wonderful wilderness years novel in the Virgin New Adventures series, Human Nature. Unsurprisingly it is also a piece, much like Shearman’s “Jubilee,” of extended Doctor Who that was later adapted into the show. Specifically, it was adapted into the two-parter “Human Nature” & “Family of Blood.” Some things changed, but they more or less stayed the same.

The biggest difference involves the companion. Long before Martha would travel to the Moon, Benny was jet-setting with another Scottish Doctor on adventures through time and space. The other notable difference is the age the book is directed at. Coming in the wilderness years, between Classic and New-Who, the books were aimed at a slightly aging audience that was still entangled in the adventures of the Time-Lord. Now, I recently said that once you add sex and swearing into Who, you are effectively ripping my interest from the entire product; Which is true. I don’t need the 12th Doctor walking into a room saying someone is about as useless as a Marzipan sex-aid.

However, there is a balance that is struck between the Doctor’s approval of something being sexed-up, and the companion doing something in moderation away from him. I’ve yet to delve heavily into Benny because a majority of her companion work comes from books and later-on some Big Finish I’ve yet to touch. However, everything so far as I’ve read about her has exuded a proper Doctor Who companion, like Martha, Evelyn Smythe, and a bit like Rose. Much like Evelyn, she has a love of history as she’s an archaeologist. Unlike every New-Who companion, she’s from a far-future Class M planet under the Earth Empire. Of course, on-screen new series companions are all contemporary, and thus a bit domestic.

The most notable section I’m skirting around is the space market on Crex towards the beginning of the book, where Benny does the most alien of things to those in Great Britain: Walking up to strangers at a beer tent and sparking up a conversation with a group of people. However, the strange part for Who (on-screen) would be her statement about the Doctor’s disapproval of alcohol, while noting that in moderation it is fine. This is where, of course, you can see the more young-adult guidance rather than the show’s broad moral teachings. There isn’t a desire to talk-down to teens, with Benny’s journal entry acting as a biographical adventure novel for that older audience.

Even now, teens of the age Human Nature is aimed at are undeniably experimental, though beer is the least of the worries. This would be the least of things that the new moralistic BBC revival would rather weren’t featured in the show’s history. As one would assume, the far darker elements such as the description of Boudica’s revenge for what happens to her daughter and little Tim’s hanging would be something you’d never find the modern series tackling. The former is a particular moment that takes you aback, as the Doctor (now as John Smith) rather vindictively as history teachers do, speaks of the uncomfortable nature of Boudica being flogged and her daughters raped.

Hulton College, the public school for boys in 1914, shows that he can unease the students in his game of chess. All the players from the show’s incarnation are roughly the same, such as Hutchinson and Merryweather being the bullies they would later become in the show. Of course, not the only players of the game are similar. The now named aliens of similar descriptions get their alien forms as well. The Aubertides, rather than the obliquely named “Family of Blood.” Along with a greater description of their alien form and given name, they feature a larger drawn-out character development.

The most notable adjustment is the more comprehensive nature of their past and how they come out about their desires. It is arguably something left out of the show’s 45-minute runtime, but that’s the nature of the format and the revival. Much like the Mondasian Cybermen as introduced over 50-years ago, their desire is more one of a necessity for the species’ survival rather than the empire of conquests that the fascistic overturned dustbins desire. However, unlike the inhabitants of the 10th planet having their mangled form of altruism, the Aubertides do desire to set up their conquests once they can solve the problem of species extinction.

Unlike the show’s at times unclear desires for the Family of Blood, there is no mistaking why they seek this John Smith and his mundane pocket watch. The show makes them a consequence of happenstance, while the novel makes them the thing we were running away from in the first place. It is a noticeable difference, but one that makes far more sense than a monster of the week style of an enemy to face off with. Nonetheless, I do think the chase sequences of the novel do drag on at times. That is something, of course, that is subject to the moods and tastes of the reader, but over the course of the 250-sum pages escapes and chases do become a bit familiar.

I didn’t think I’d like the romance with Joan Redfern, and while I didn’t love them, I didn’t loath them either. It was more so a matter of fact I knew of coming into the book, with particular enjoyment coming from vividly imagining the 7th Doctor’s childish antics as he falls head-over-heels for Joan. Unlike the 10th Doctor’s bumbling Hugh Grant impression, the thought of Sylvester McCoy’s small five and a half foot stature clowning about in fields and at Joan’s house is a different style of charming. It is almost boyish infatuation for what seems like a first, or first in a long time, love.

Since reading Paul Cornell’s Human Nature I’ve dabbled with other bits of book-based Who, and other fiction for that matter. As a result, I’ve set myself up for some disappointments. Much like the show’s wavy line of quality dancing between the sometimes fantastic, mostly good, and on occasion dull, the books feature this wonderfully obscure line of quality that seemingly nothing else has. Starting with Human Nature is like starting with “Blink,” you are jumping in at a fantastic and brilliant point. However, it is the wrong one if you value perfect quality. If all you’re going to do is read one Doctor Who book, let it be Human Nature; it is not perfect by any means, but still Fantastic!

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Dr Who Human Nature By Paul Cornell

$4.43 - $22.79

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• A better exploration of the alien menace's goals than their TV counterparts.
• Darker themes that just straddle the line of acceptable.
• Benny's diary provides a biographical-style adventure when utilized.

Cons

• Chases and escapes almost becomes too common.
• Constance seems a bit Meek for her character.