Broadway Paperbacks has recently released several Doctor Who novels following the Eleventh Doctor. One of these new books is Doctor Who: Plague of the Cybermen by Justin Richards.

The Doctor visits a village called Klimtenburg in the 19th century. The villagers are getting sick from what they believe is the plague but, in actuality, is radiation poisoning. Intrigued by this anachronistic radiation poisoning and the mysterious Plague Warriors that strike fear in the villagers, the Doctor cannot help but investigate further.

In several ways, this book reads more like a classic Doctor Who adventure than a new Who episode. Many of the classic adventures would last several episodes, which allowed for mysteries to slowly unravel, whereas the new show tends to have single episode or two-part adventures. Television these days needs to be much more fast paced to keep audiences attention. Luckily, books have the luxury of being able to take their time for things to develop. Richards tells a wonderful tale that is perfectly suited to be read. Sure, it would make a great episode; however, parts would need to be cut in order to streamline the plot, and things would be lost in the adaptation. I did also appreciate the return of the Cybermen hibernation chambers. I remember them so vividly from “Tomb of the Cybermen” and have wanted to see more of them.

It is worth noting that Richards certainly knows how to write for the Doctor. The dialogue is sharp, funny, and reminds us why the Doctor is so great. I would be interested to see what he could do with the opportunity to write an episode of the show.

Doctor Who: Plague of the Cybermen is now available for sale on Amazon.com.