The earlier seasons, particularly the Hartnell/Troughton monochrome years, tried to root explanations in science – or the closest thing to it – while the more recent series starring Peter Capaldi’s cantankerous incarnation asked us to suspend disbelief most of the time (In The Forest Of The Night, though underappreciated, defied basic science). Lately, Doctor Who has become more fantastical and magical (go back further and you’ll find numerous Eleventh Doctor adventures solved by love, singing and even womb-magic) so seasoned Who scribe Simon Guerrier and astronomer Dr Marek Kukula set themselves a mighty task of unpicking it all in their collaborative book, The Scientific Secrets Of Doctor Who. To sweeten the deal, The Scientific Secrets Of Doctor Who comes complete with fifteen bite-sized stories that bookend every science-packed chapter. These adventures are written by noted Who authors – Justin Richards, James Goss and Jonathan Morris are all present – and each Doctor gets his own ten-or-so pages to shine. However, the stories are lamentably short with most of them wrapping things up in a line or two but, overall, these little tales are a great addition to the book. A few highlights include Jenny T. Colgan’s rollicking Twelfth Doctor and Clara adventure, a superbly written Fourth Doctor/Sarah Jane Smith tale from the brilliant mind of George Mann, and a smart Ninth Doctor yarn by Jonathan Morris. Each story is there to act as the basis for the next science section but also to appeal to those who know everything Guerrier and Kukula have to say or to those for whom science simply isn’t their bag. The Scientific Secrets Of Doctor Who is constructed so that those who want the science can skip the stories and vice versa: it’s a winning set-up. The Scientific Secrets Of Doctor Who isn’t as broadly accessible as you would suspect and, as such, it may lose some readers early on. Similarly, if you’re not interested in science, it takes a little willpower to continue reading but some of the chapters are truly fascinating whilst the short stories, written by some of Doctor Who‘s best authors, work as short and sweet rewards. Simon Guerrier and Dr Marek Kukula’s The Scientific Secrets Of Doctor Who is probably the best non-fiction Who book you’ll pick up this year (the majority of them are skewed at younger readers), packed with relatively engaging science, fifteen fun shorts and a satisfying tone that respects the reader’s intelligence. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
