This was a great joy to read. Though the set up is very different from the show upon which it is based, the story really does reflect the way several time lines converge and separate to cover the whole of the story. What's more Moffat has proven himself to be capable of a great deal of humor, creative ideas (where have those been the in the past few years?), and to be the Whovian I've missed since he became show runner (that this book was influenced by the books and audios of the so called Wilderness Years is obvious).

I also really liked the narrative structure and how he manages to convey different Doctors without giving away the prize of the story. The ending left me grinning and really looking forward to October.

Why do we have to wait until October?! >Whine ( )

Steven Moffat should absolutely consider novelizing more of his episodes if the BBC decides to do more of these. This book brilliantly expands on all the best parts of the episodes while filling in gaps that weren't able to be filled in in the episode itself. There are so many unexpected elements of this book that I don't wanna go into any detail about them for fear of ruining the fun. Needless to say, if you loved the episode, you'll love the book. And the best part is that it's still a surprising book even if you've seen the episode one hundred times. It begins with an adaptation of the 8th Doctor mini-episode, Night of the Doctor, and that's everything you'd ever hoped it would be, and continues from there, more or less following the sequence of events as they happened in the episode, while adding lots of new details here and there as appropriate. There are many, many little moments that Moffat sprinkles throughout this adaptation that really adds to the magic of the episode, especially towards the end when the multiple incarnations of the Doctor come together to save Gallifrey.

Moffat plays with point of view a lot in this book and uses the fact that it's a multi-Doctor story to his advantage when it comes to exploring the Doctor's thoughts in regards to the action happening around him. There's a chapter, about midway through the book, where the 10th Doctor, 11th Doctor, and War Doctor are being transported to the London Tower and the chapter really goes into how it feels for the Doctor to be experiencing the same events, over and over again, throughout these three incarnations. This exploration comes to a head in a later chapter that covers the events inside the prison cell where the multiple incarnations of the Doctor confront themselves over how many children were on Gallifrey when it was destroyed. It's a beautiful moment in the show that's made even more beautiful by the way Moffat uses the prose to explore the thoughts and feelings of each of these three Doctors and how it feels to know what's about to happen and having to feel the pain of the realization over and over again. My words don't do the beauty of the chapter justice.

Like many of Moffat's best episodes, this adaptation of The Day of the Doctor features many timey-wimey elements, least of which being the fact that the chapters aren't at all in the correct order (the first chapter of the book is actually Chapter 8, and they continue to be out of order for the remainder of the book). There's a reason for all of this, of course, but it still feels very Moffat-y. The action jumps around from scene to scene and features lots of added scenes and asides to flesh out the book, and it's all narrated by a rather surprising narrator. At the end of the day, if you liked the episode, you'll love the novel even more. It's Moffat at his best. ( )

Really fun and well written novelization of this 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who (and the mini-episode "The Night of the Doctor" that preceded it on-line). Being about time travel, the chapters are presented out of order. Pay particularly close attention to chapter 9, it's important. ( )

Absolutely excellent novelisation of the original episode. Moffat expands imaginatively on his original script, as well as playing fast and loose with our expectations of what a novelisation could be. In some respects, it actually manages to improve on the original episode (in particular, the last couple of chapters), and is an even better celebration of 50 (well, now 55) years of my favourite TV programme.

Wonderful. ( )

This is the novelization of the 50th anniversary special of Doctor Who, broadcast on 23 November 2013. The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors come face-to-face with their past in the form of the War Doctor, the one who fought the Time War, the one whose final decision may threaten the entire universe. Along the way, there are Elizabethan Zygon shenanigans, modern-day alien invasions, and heaping helpings of humour and personality conflicts by having more than one of the Doctor in the same room.

I had so much fun reading this and tore through it in about an hour. Having seen the episode, but many years ago, I found all the memories come flooding back. The story is structured in an ingenious way and I’m sure Steven had tremendous fun putting it together. There was a great deal of hooting with laughter at the page, yelling “Whaaaat” and tearing up at the line about “Great men are forged in fire. It is the privilege of lesser men to fuel the flame.” So basically just like watching the episode, except different.

The only reason this isn't five stars is there were some goofy proofreading errors, such as extra or missing words.

I borrowed this from the library, because I think it important to encourage my library to buy more Doctor Who novels, but I’m definitely going to have to get my own copy of this one. Highly recommended. ( )