This Book Of Doctor Who Poems Will Drown The Off-season Doldrums

Written by Cristian Stanic

Supanova 2018 – Melbourne and Gold Coast upcoming guest Peter Capaldi’s Doctor enters the fray for the final time on Christmas Day, but if you can’t wait until then for more action, perhaps a book of Doctor Who poetry will hold you over.

Now We Are Six Hundred is a book of Time Lord Verse, written by James Goss, a seasoned author, in the Doctor Whoniverse.

Audiobook fans may recall his work with Big Finish, where he’s written several Doctor Who audiodramas. As it turns out, he’s also a talented poet. Very talented. It’s not easy to rhyme words with monsters and planets and science jargle bits and bobs from the Whoniverse, but Goss makes it seem effortless. Did anybody else know that you could rhyme syzygy with singularity? We certainly didn’t. We didn’t even know syzygy was a word.

The relatively small book contains 50 poems, that cover all 50+ years of the show’s history. So if you were hesitant that the book would only focus on NuWho, allay your fears. In that regard, this is really a book for the hardcore Doctor Who fan. If you have never watched the classics, this book is not worth it. If you start marathoning now, though, you could probably read this book by 2025, so you better hurry up.

If you are a big fan, though, this book is a goldmine of references to the classics, even to the most obscure parts of the canon that many might have forgotten. Russell T. Davies’ illustrations are also incredibly charming. It’s a joy to see fifty years of sci-fi history rendered in his unique style. If you recognise that name, it’s because he was also Doctor Who’s showrunner from the beginning of the 2005 reboot to 2010. Turns out he’s a pretty good artist too, who knew? The drawings may be minimalistic, but there’s a heap of personality packed into each one of them. It’s clear that a lot of love and attention was poured into this book, and it shows on every page. If you’re a seasoned Doctor Who fan, you will like this book. If you’re a seasoned Doctor Who fan and you happen to write poetry, (small niche, we know) you will love this book.

Pic via Penguin Random House