This is another one that I picked up due to its Hugo nomination. I was actually really excited to dig into it. As a (self-disclosure) queer who digs time lords myself, I expected to find myself immersed in this text and looking forward to turning every single page. I really, really wanted to love this book. But, sadly, I don't. It's largely a collection of (very short) random personal stories about Doctor Who with no real apparent grouping or theme or thread through the book. Because of the length of the pieces and the continuous shift in voice and perspective, it seemed a bit scattered. There were a few of the essays that really entertained me, but overall I just didn't 'dig' it... ( )

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2306727.html

I've been a cheerleader for the series of books on Who produced by Mad Norwegian Press, but I did wonder if there was really room for an entire book on LGBTQ takes on the series. I fear my concerns were well founded; sure, the narrative of coming-out as non-straight is linked with their love of Who for an awful lot of people, and it's an important and emotionally freighted story for all concerned - and a lot of these stories are moving, empowering, cheering and sometimes appalling. But this seemed to me more a source of primary material for further research than a great set of pieces in itself, even though some of the authors are pretty significant people in the Whoniverse (Paul Magrs, David Llewellyn, Nigel Fairs, Gary Russell) or more widely in the genre (Amal El-Mohtar, Rachel Swirsky). John and Carole Barrowman contribute a foreword.

There is some very interesting stuff too - obviously it's rather difficult to miss the lesbian subtext in The Stones of Blood, but Julia Rios goes into it in convincing depth. (The only point she misses is that Christopher Isherwood dedicated Goodbye to Berlin to Beatrix Lehmann and her brother.) Naamen Gobert Tilahun provides the best analysis I have read of the role of Mickey in new Who (and there are several other chapters concentrating on particular characters). None of the pieces is actually bad, and that's a decent strike rate in itself. Still, I am not sure that this will go to the top of my Best Related Work ballot. ( )