Book info

• Title Doctor Who: The Taking of Chelsea 426
• Author David Llewellyn
• Year 2009
• Genre Science Fiction

The Chelsea Flower Show - hardly the most exciting or dangerous event in the calendar, or so the Doctor thinks. But this is Chelsea 426, a city-sized future colony floating on the clouds of Saturn, and the flowers are much more than they seem. As the Doctor investigates, he becomes more and more worried. Why is shopkeeper Mr Pemberton acting so strangely? And what is Professor Wilberforce's terrible secret? They are close to finding the answers when a familiar foe arrives, and the stakes suddenly get much higher. The Sontarans have plans of their own, and they're not here to arrange flowers...

Thoughts

I really enjoyed this Doctor Who story, something about it felt really in keeping with the TV show and I could just picture it all remarkably well in my mind. The Doctor is companionless still, but lands on a planet where there is some kind of plot afoot - this time involving the Sontarans who we know well from the TV series. A couple of plucky kids help where they can, and I love the bit where there’s an ominous way of knowing someone has been possessed - in this case a particular phrase. It gives you chills.

Rating: 4 / 5