TWO more releases in the Doctor Who 2 in 1 series of books aimed at the eight to thirteen age group.

Firstly ‘Alien Adventures’ has ‘The Underwater War’ by Richard Dinnick and ‘Rain Of Terror’ by Mike Tucker.

‘The Underwater War’ starts on board the spaceship The Cosmic Rover which is in orbit around the planet Hydron. The waters on the planet hide a secret and trouble begins when a mysterious illness affects some of the crew.

The Doctor, along with Amy and Rory think that it’s just a simple survey mission, but the security chief and the ailing medical officer have a hidden agenda.

‘Rain Of Terror’ has voracious creatures raining from the sky onto the planet Xirranda. They begin to eat everything in their path and once all matter is consumed, they will move onto the next planet.

The Doctor and his companions use a variety of measures – including a train and a tee-shirt – to try and save the population.

‘Sightseeing In Space’ features ‘Terminal Of Despair’ by Steve Lyons and ‘The Web In Space’ by David Bailey.

In the first story, the TARDIS arrives at Spaceport Terminal 4000 where there are many passengers awaiting their flights. However, some have been there for months and thanks to the dog-like Desponds, they have little hope.

‘The Web In Space’ opens with the TARDIS answering a distress call. The ship Black Horizon is trapped in an asteroid field and is under attack from the Empire of Eternal Victory. The Doctor must stop the attack and save the Diamondweb Spider from extinction.

These stories are obviously aimed at a younger audience, as evidenced by an explanation about mixing primary colours and the concept of ballast. Plus, in ‘Rain Of Terror’ children have a prominent role.

‘Sightseeing In Space’ is a little more adult – but there is a cute robot.

All Who fans are catered for – there’s even a reference to Ace, the seventh Doctor’s companion.

The adventures crack along at a pace more in keeping with the TV stories, and in these ‘younger’ titles, the characterisations seem to be closer to the TV show.

They are easy to read (and will therefore stimulate youngsters to read more), and the pacing makes them more accessible to the audience they are aimed at rather than the ‘older’ novels that are regularly published.

Can’t wait for more!

Alien Adventures: ISBN 978-1-40590-767-5 Sightseeing In Space: ISBN 978-1-40590-768-2