Doctor Who: Summer Falls by Amelia Williams (CD review).

The story of ‘Summer Falls’ is supposedly written by Amelia Pond or Williams in her new career as an author. This is a sort of spin-off from ‘Doctor Who’, inspired by the episode ‘The Bells Of St John’. Read by Clare Corbett, this is really written by multi-tasking James Goss.

 

When Kate moves to the village of Watchcombe, there is a lot to take in. She has a week left of the summer holidays, the house is in chaos and her mother is in permanent nap mode. As Kate struggles to make sense of her new life, she determines to make friends. When a strange cat wanders through her garden, Kate follows it next door and finds the temporary curator of the village museum. He’s a curious fellow but offers her afternoon tea and, as this is set in the 50s, we don’t have to worry about the nasty connotations of this. Kate also meets a boy who is the son of the local pharmacist but he’s not so good at being friends and when she acquires an odd painting in a charity shop and everything gets even weirder.

One day, Kate wakes to find a world of winter and the village deserted. She realises that it is up to her to bring the summer back but, with only a sulky boy and a mysterious cat to help her, where can she start?

This is a great story and all the ‘Doctor Who’ fans can delight in the side-on references but the story can be enjoyed without any knowledge of the Doctor. It’s a great spin-off and brings to mind classic Enid Blyton with a major twist. I wish I’d had more stories like this as a child.

Sue Davies

September 2013

(pub: Audio Go/BBC. 2 CDs 117 minute story. Price: CD: £ 6.62 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-47135-339-0. Download: £ 1.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-47135-340-6)

reader: Clare Corbett

check out website: www.audiogo.com/uk/doctor-who-summer-falls-amelia-williams-gid-1032093