Doctor Who: Apollo 23 by Justin Richards

Doctor Who: Apollo 23 Reviews

• 
  Branwen Sedai *of the Brown Ajah*

  "You're either very brilliant or completely mad," she told the Doctor.
  
  "Both, actually. But veering toward the brilliant."
  
  An astronaut appears in a burger restaurant in a mall. A lady and her dog appear on the moon. What do these two extraordinary events have in common? Incidentally, a lot. On a secret base housed in the dark side of the moon, there is a group of researchers who have no idea they are being targeted by a hostile alien force. And it's up to the Doctor and Amy to save the day before the whole of Earth is invaded.
  
  I basically have just come to adore anything that Justin Richards writes in terms of his Doctor Who stories. Not only are they really well written, thought provoking, and just downright interesting and engaging storylines, but there is a deep-seated love and knowledge of the characters that really shines through his work. Everyone is completely true to character, so much so that while reading this it often felt like I was watching an episode of the series! I really enjoyed this story especially because it was action packed and also a bit creepy, which I loved.
• 
  Lauren Stoolfire

  I've gotten pretty lucky with my experience with the Doctor Who tie-in novels and Apollo 23 is no exception. It's a fun adventure featuring the Doctor and Amy and Richards author did a good job of capturing the spirit of the characters. Plus, it was cool to see a story that's partially set in the U.S.
• 
  Nemo ☠️ (pagesandprozac)

  this is the first of the eleventh doctor's stories in the Nu Who Adventures, and fittingly it's also the first book i've read this year.
  
  the eleventh doctor is my least favourite of the modern Doctors, but i don't dislike him, and most of the things that annoyed me the most about him and his era - moffat's writing (although he vastly improved in twelve's era), a lot of the Doctor's general irritating mannerisms and just whole... *gestures* self (sorry, Matt Smith), aren't really an issue in prose. so that's good?
  
  amy's also pretty good fun. again, not my favourite companion, she's a bit run-of-the-mill, but i still like her.
  
  story was pretty solid, nothing incredible but very twisty and enjoyable. i'm looking forward to the rest of eleven's books - especially when rory turns up!
• 
  Kerry

  And so my first read for 2012 ends up being a Doctor Who novel.
  
  I saw this on a stand at the library last week and grabbed it just as I was about to leave. It sat on the shelf with the other library books and I forgot about. I saw it there yesterday and thought I'd pick it up.
  
  It's been a hard couple of weeks for me, with my 7 year old with ADHD at home for the summer holidays and my CFS dragging me down. I don't think I could read anything complicated if I tried. I'm slowly rereading Susan Dexter's
  The Ring of Allaire, which I'm enjoying, but it's usually only a few pages or a short chapter at a time.
  
  Therefore a Doctor Who novel, the first for the 11th Doctor, which I knew was aimed at family audiences, seemed a perfect option.
  
  This is, indeed the first novel for the 11th Doctor, and I suspect that very little (or possibly none) of Matt Smith's interpretation of the role had been seen by the author at the time he was writing. He does his best, and there are moments where the Doctor does seem something like the Doctor, but he just doesn't quite get it right. I don't blame him for this - I've had 2 full seasons and 2 Christmas specials of Matt Smith's Doctor and love him inside and out (which is why I grabbed this when I saw it in the first place).
  
  The thing that jarred was mainly his portrayal of the Doctor self-consciously telling jokes and having them fall flat. Maybe that was an idea that fell by the wayside as the 11th Doctor developed, but it doesn't feel right now. Otherwise, both the Doctor and Amy felt kind of generic. But as I said, I don't think the author can really be blamed for that.
  
  As for the story, it was a fun read. Not earth-shattering or mind-boggling, but that wasn't what I was looking for. The idea of the poor people dying of asphyxiation in the park as it linked to the moon, combined with the astronaut appearing in the shopping mall trailing moon dust made for a great start. A solid, enjoyable story followed, leaving me glad of my impulse borrow from the library.
  
  I've request the next few 11th Doctor novels from the library and I plan (within borrowing limits) to keep them around for when a light read is required. I'll also be interested to see if the characterisation of both the Doctor and Amy improve as they become more familiar to the authors. (Also, bring on Rory as a charcter in the novels, because I totally love him.)
• 
  Kevin

  Being a Doctor Who fanboy, I enjoyed this book.
  
  I had no problem staying in the story when there were aspects to the plot like mind-control, secret moon bases, and even balloon-like alien creatures known as Talerians. All fine and dandy.
  
  What always gets to me in these stories, though, are the little things. An alien race files away things using a filing system built around our alphabet and numbering system...? They speak to each other in our language...? Meh. I know it's fiction and purely entertainment, but it still seems to bug me no matter how many of these books I read. Ah well.
  
  It was nice that this series takes place (somewhat) in the United States. I can't wait for the next television series to start up with the Doctor in America, as well.
• 
  Mary Jo

  This was a really interesting book! I'm a big fan of the Doctor Who tie-in novels and this one did not dissapoint. I chose it because of the title, as I'm a huge NASA geek and I love reading about the Apollo program. This was an intriguing story involving a base on the moon and a mystery for the Doctor to solve. I won't give away the full story, it's a great one to read. Justin Richards captures the Eleventh Doctor's voice just as well as he did for the Tenth, so well that I could hear Matt Smith's voice in my head delivering the Doctor's lines. Definitely a must read if you are enjoying the new series of Doctor Who!
• 
  Al

  I've never read a Doctor Who novel before, but I picked this up on a lark. I worried that it would read like some adolescent fan fiction. But instead I was wonderfully surprised. It reminded me of the 1950s and 60s pulp sci-fi that I consumed as an adolescent.
  
  It's quite full of the humor (should I say "humour"?) of the new Who. Take this description of the first time we see the moon base: "The whole thing looked like it had been made out of enormous egg boxes for some children's school project." Not a bad description of the special effects during the Tom Baker years.
• 
  B.M.B. Johnson

  Started with a good idea, but quickly devolved into standard fare. Good, but more for fans of licensed works.
• 
  Jenna (Falling Letters)

  Originally posted 25 October 2010 on
  Falling Letters.
  
  ***
  
  Normally I don't purchase these kind of things: novelizations of movies, books based on television shows, etc. But I may have a tiny obsession with DW and there is such a long wait between July and the lone Christmas episode and then finally another season in April and I had a Chapters gift card and it was only $12 and I thought I would just buy one to see what it's like. The Doctor Who novels are not just book versions of the television series; they're original stories. DW is a big franchise, I suppose, comprised of three television series, audio dramas and novels that are all part of the official canon (I believe that's how it works). So choosing to read one of these isn't stretching the fandom tooo far...;P
  
  There isn't too much to say about this book. I enjoyed it, but that's because I'm a fan and it was fun reading a story, hearing my favourite characters again. I especially liked this one because it was a 'space base' kind of story and I love those stories. Would you enjoy this if you aren't already a DW fan? Probably not. But if you are, and you're looking for more DW, I'd recommend giving this a shot.
• 
  Meagan

  I really enjoyed this book. It was different as the aliens were basically the human's who just happened to be under control of the aliens. The Alien's were unique and I was glad that they didn't show up until the end other wise it probably would've ruined the story. I liked that the Doctor wasn't really sure that his plan would work, the plan he had about combining all of the stored minds in the water system did really seem that it wouldn't work. At least that was voiced otehr wise I would've been a little annoyed. The book fit in the series with Amy and Eleven and shows just how much Amy depends, respects and have faith in the Doctor after such a short 'time' of knowing him. [Even though she's known him since she was seven.:] Unlike the other book that I read with Amy & Eleven this didn't have any refrences to where this would fit into the time line. But this book was really good and had a nice story line that fit perfectly into the book form. You weren't really sure what was going on until later which was interesting because the first part of the book I didn't know how alien's or what the story would continue into. But it was a nice read.
• 
  Nicholas Whyte

  
  http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1443025.html
  
  Justin Richards has written more Doctor Who books than anyone except Terrance Dicks, and those I've read have included more hits than misses. However, this isn't one of his more memorable contributions to the quasi-canon; at first it seems like an Eleventh Doctor rehash of The Seeds of Death but in fact the resolution is much closer to The Faceless Ones. Lots of stuff thrown in here without quite gelling - quantum wormholes, aliens just happening to take over a secret moonbase, and worst of all Not Enough Amy. Still, the target age group will probably enjoy it.
• 
  Jennifer Walters

  I love Doctor Who and this book was entertaining. My only issue was that the author was writing about Houston, TX (which is where I grew up) and got it all wrong. The book describes it as being the heart of Texas, dry, hot, and desert like. The only thing correct in that statement is the hot part. For some reason, he thinks that we launch NASA rockets from Texas as well. It would have been nice if he had done just a little bit of research. A quick Google search could have fixed that little problem.
• 
  Amy Hawthorne

  This book was so cute and fun and I loved how Matt Smith's Doctor and Karen Gillan's Amy Pond were portrayed as they are in the show. Even when the storylines become prolonged on TV the books are the adventures that I want, with monsters and bad guys and good guys and a resolution at the end, that makes sense, not a sequel or a two part finale.
  As much as I enjoyed this read I have to give it 3 stars because these books are consistent in quality to me and I wouldn't give them all 4 or 5 stars, or re read them.
• 
  Daniel Kukwa

  A solid read, but more concerned with keeping a tight plot than letting loose & taking risks. A bit of a clincal read, spiced up by a strong command of the 11th Doctor & Amy. I think of it as a bit of a modern update of the 2nd Doctor story "The Moonbase"...without the pithy Cybermen.
• 
  Reija

  Amy Pond, Doctor and Moon and yet it was just a mess.
  
  "I've seen him working the last day. Never mind six impossible things before breakfast, he'll get through sixty and still have time to make the toast."
• 
  Ken

  The Eleventh Doctor debuts in print for this enjoyable adventure, which also sees the NSA’s having a slight redesign to coincide with the the new production team.
  
  An enjoyable moon based tale that has a nice classic series feel, whilst Richards perfectly captures this new TARDIS team.
• 
  Dale Russell

  The circle continues and the wheel turns once more. The Doctor has regenerated once more and continues his travels with a new companion --- The Girl Who Waited --- as Amelia Pond joins him in his adventures across time and space. Their new journeys have begun and have taken them across the universe to multiple times, past and future.
  
  APOLLO 23 takes the travelling companions to a not too distant future where the American Space Program has seen the end of the Apollo space program...or so the world at large believes. But space...and the moon in particular...are far from the desolate vastness of empty space and deserted airless rocks that seem to be the rule rather than the exception.
  
  It's to these environs that the Doctor and Amy find themselves...and...as with most locales that the Doctor visits, strange and mysterious events begin that will bring the Earth and its rocky satellite into opposition and bring a long-retired space program to life as the world's best hope.
  
  Justin Richards returns to the Doctor Who universe with the 37th new adventure in the BBC Books line of stories and the 1st of the Matt Smith incarnation of the ubiquitous problem solver of the universe.
  
  With 60+ trips into the Whoniverse, Juston Richards has earned his Masters degree in all things Who and was arguably one of the obvious choices to kick off the adventures of the "11th" Doctor. With Matt's wonderfully eccentric and fun portrayal of the Doctor, a writer who isn't able to channel the character could leave the stories fairly bland on off the mark, but Richards gives readers both the Doctor and Amy on paper much as they are on TV. Tie that in with an adventure that feels like it came fresh from the screen and readers will enjoy the story. I know I did.
• 
  Linda

  Back in the '80s I was a real Doctor Who fan, gobbling up the books as fast as I could, which is odd because I'm not especially a science fiction fan. There's just something about that enigmatic Doctor Who..... I've read one since then that was just okay. I picked this one up at a used book sale. It brought back the magic of the old Doctor Who books for me. Even though the Doctor Who books come from someone's imagination, I enjoy reading about alien life forms and other planets, galaxies, but just the soft sort of stories like Doctor Who. Doctor Who cozies? This one takes place on the dark side of the moon where there's a secret base set up from earth. The Doctor (who is the 11th incarnation) and Amy land on earth just minutes after a spaceman walks across a busy shopping center. Other events include a man clutching his neck and dying there too. The Doctor sees dry gray dust on the astronaut's feet and deduces that it is moon dust so away they go to land on the dark side of the moon where the people there are having problems with their quantum something-or-other link to earth. Mostly because their minds are being taken over by aliens looking for a new body. I did wonder how the Doctor was going to get out of this one but he did. Of course.
• 
  Ryan McNie

  This was alright. It had a really promising start that just didn't really go anywhere very quickly or at all leaving the climax a little flat. Throw in some slightly out of character actions and pretty ridiculous alien designs and the promising four start start gets dragged down to at least three. I've kept it at three because of the cleverness of the plot as well as the Apollo nostalgia factor and some really eeries moments in the first half. Unfortunately, these strong moments early on just aren't enough so save the lackluster ending.
  
  The characterisation of the Doctor and Amy are sometimes fantastic, particularly in the second half. However, in the first I can't help but feel that this was originally written with the tenth doctor in mind. There are a few nuances that seem more fitting to Tennant's doctor than to Smith's. However, given that this would have been written before the release of the eleventh doctors debut series I think this can be forgiven.
  
  So, a pretty average read for a Doctor Who novel really all in all. Worth a read for fans but don't expect this one to blow your mind.
• 
  Wayland Smith

  From the early days of the Doctor and Amy, before Rory joined them, comes a tale of secret government projects, strange events, and aliens screwing around on Earth. Or, for the Doctor, Thursday.
  
  An astronaut appears in a mall. A woman and her dog end up dead on the moon. What the heck is going on? Well, it's Doctor Who, so, aliens, of course. Things go awry almost right off the bat as Amy and the TARDIS end up on the moon, and the Doctor on Earth. So, no ride, how does he get to the moon? Well, that's part of where the secret government project, and the book title come into play.
  
  It's a fun tie-in book, as many of the Doctor Who novels tend to be. They get Amy and the Doctor down pretty well.
  
  Recommended for my fellow Whovians.
• 
  K

  I loved to watch all the people’s reactions to the doctor, especially when discussing him while he was out of earshot. I love to see their point of view.
  I also loved the first astronaut scene and the doctor realizing that the gray substance was moon dust. I don’t know why that was so amusing to me but it was.
  
  
  And Oh goodness😂 someone wrote on his psychic paper. That was hilarious.
• 
  Tessa

  Etant devenue complètement accro à la série Doctor Who, je n’ai pas pu passer à côté de ce premier tome! J’avoue que je misais pas mal sur ce livre car je comptais dessus pour me faire patienter jusqu’aux prochains épisodes. Malheureusement, je ressors un peu déçue de cette lecture.
  
  Quoique un peu court, on retrouve quand même le même rythme que dans la série: aucune longueur, les actions s’enchainent et comme le dirait Jenny: on court très souvent.
  
  On retrouve aussi les petites remarques humoristiques du Docteur mais cela ne suffit pas, il me manque le jeu de l’acteur. J’avais beau m’imaginer les scènes, j’étais un peu frustrée de ne pas avoir vraiment les images, les mouvements de caméras, les mimiques des personnages. Le style d’écriture y est probablement pour quelque chose car même si j’ai su me représenter certaines scènes, le côté parfois trop simpliste de l’écriture nous empêche de réellement tout visualiser.
  
  En soit, le thème de cet “épisode” est totalement dans la continuité de la série. On voyage sur la lune, on a affaire à des extraterrestres, on répare le déplacement quantique et on nous parle de sandwich. Normal. Mais encore une fois, il manque un petit quelque chose pour me faire réellement adhérer à l’histoire.
  
  Au final, je ne pense pas continuer la saga. Je crois que la frustration de ne pas avoir les images est trop grande et le style d’écriture ne permet pas complètement de visualiser les scènes. Du coup, ça ne me permet pas d’intégrer totalement l’histoire et surtout de retrouver mon Docteur préféré.
• 
  Claudia

  Apollo 23 is an Eleventh Doctor and Amy adventure.
  
  I really enjoyed it. It reminded me a lot of an Old School Who episode, sinister goings on at an isolated base, with the Doctor blundering in.
  
  The book has lots of really neat touches, like the Doctor's child-like glee at getting to ride in an Apollo spacecraft, and something which feels like the author using descriptive flannel turns out to be a vitally important detail.
  
  It catches the Doctor just right, I particularly like the line about "I've got a different ridiculous plan to defeat you". Amy is also nicely done, as are the rest of the characters. The creepy bits are suitably creepy, and the atmosphere (or lack thereof on the moon) is well rendered.
  
  Definitely worth reading.
• 
  Megan

  I listened to the audio version of this book. It was read by James Albrecht and I thought he did a great job. I loved all the different voices he did, though a few of them (some of the American ones) seemed a little off but still I like that each character had a distinct voice.
  
  The story itself was pretty interesting. I loved how, for the most part, the story took place on the moon. Amy and the Doctor seemed almost exactly as they are on TV, with a few things that seemed off for both of them. All in all, this was a good addition to the DW Novels and I'd recommend it to any Whovian.
• 
  Hilary

  Aliens, weird goings on, and the Doctor and Amy are smack in the middle of it. No surprises there, and plenty of escapades, technology puzzles and general brokenness for the Doctor to fix.
  
  The narrator does a good job of handling Matt Smith's speech patterns without the high speed drawback of MS himself, and does a decent Amy too. It was unfortunate he had so many American accents to do, because those weren't as strong, but honestly, I didn't care as long as I knew who was talking!
• 
  Numa Parrott

  I could barely finish it. No, it wasn't very good, although I did enjoy the reference to the classic episode "Frontier in Space."
  If you love the Doctor, you might be able to finish it like I did. Barely.
• 
  Terri

  The Dr. and Amy are at a food court when a man in a spacesuit just appears out of nowhere. Turns out the US has a top secret lunar project that is malfunctioning. But when they investigate there is more - much more to the story. Fun romp.
• 
  Kimberley doruyter

  i found it rather boring.
• 
  Matthew Kresal

  Though I've mainly encountered Justin Richards Doctor Who works through the Big Finish audios, he strikes me as the modern equivalent of Terrance Dicks. That is that he is an ever dependable writer who will give you a solid, if not exactly groundbreaking, story. Apollo 23, his 2010 novel which was also the first to feature Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor in prose, is just such an example. Reading the book, it felt like a slick updating of elements from the era of Third Doctor Jon Pertwee into a more modern story with a tale of a secret American moonbase with strange happenings. The references to stories from that era (and a Troughton era story which Apollo 23 owes a debt to) helped with that feeling as well. Indeed, I'm amazed in some ways the book got published given how much it pre-echoes The Impossible Astronaut/Day Of The Moon which opened the second Matt Smith season. At a little under 250 pages, it's also a fun, if undemanding, read as well that should delight any fan of the era. It's a good, solid piece of Doctor Who if not the most challenging.