Deep in the gap between the stars, the TARDIS is damaged by a temporal mine. It’s not life-threatening, but the Tenth Doctor will need a while to repair the damage. But he’s not alone. The strangely familiar-looking Christina thinks the Doctor has arrived in her bed and breakfast, somewhere in Wales. In fact, the TARDIS seems to have enveloped Christina’s entire town – and something else is trapped inside with it. A violent, unnatural storm threatens them all and – unless it’s stopped – the entire universe. ( )

The Tenth Doctor and the TARDIS stumble upon a temporal mine and end up in a strange Welsh village with a woman--Christina--who is strangely familiar to him. This book had a wonderful Tenth Doctor voice. I could hear and see Tennant's Doctor while reading this. The answer to why Christina was so familiar to him and why the village was so strange was clever and the solution to the dangerous mystery seemed right for a Doctor Who tie-in. A fun read.

(Provided by publisher) ( )

3.5 stars

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The Tenth Doctor is my favourite so far, so this Time Trip with the Tenth Doctor should definitely be a success.

And it was indeed very enjoyable, it read like watching an episode. After the TARDIS hits the remnants of a temporal mine left-over from the Time War he finds himself in a strange village. But he never left the TARDIS, or did he?

I like these short Doctor Who stories and this was no exception. The story was quite nice and the writing too. I've actually gotten myself another book by Nick Harkaway after reading Keeping Up With The Joneses. ( )

See full review @ The Indigo Quill

I received a copy of this book exchange for an honest review.

For the next installment in the Doctor Who: Time Trips reviews, I chose Nick Harkaway’s, Keeping Up With The Joneses. For this Time Trip short story, we accompany my personal favorite, the tenth doctor on an exciting romp through the TARDIS (the doctor’s trusty time machine and space ship that is bigger on the inside). After hitting a temporal mine (a time machine trap) that shouldn’t exist anymore, the TARDIS gets damaged and systems start going haywire all over the place. Time starts moving differently in different parts of the ship and a Welsh village appears inside the TARDIS. Inside this village the doctor finds a very familiar looking woman and no shortage of danger and intrigue. The Doctor and his new companion must navigate dangers in both the mysterious village and the TARDIS to figure out how to fix the damage before the TARDIS is destroyed, taking a big chunk of the universe with it.

Out of all of the Doctor Who stories I have read, this one is easily my favorite. From the first page to the last it is chocked full of the whimsy, intrigue, mystery and fun that I have come to expect and love from Doctor Who. Maybe that is partly due to the inclusion of my favorite doctor, but the way he was written was absolutely flawless. The decision to include the banter the Doctor has with himself in his mind was perfect, and the execution was right on. From his hilarious paranoia to his childlike wonder and excitement, the Doctor’s personality and character could not have been written better. The story itself was very well-written and captivating, with its fair share of wibbly revelations and danger. The characters were all fleshed out perfectly, and the ending was brilliant. If any of the Doctor Who written material that I have read should be turned into an episode, I would choose for this one to be it.

For any fans of Doctor Who, Science fiction, comedy or light reading in general, I would absolutely recommend picking up a copy to enjoy. ( )

An entertainingly odd piece of fluff

When the TARDIS is attacked by a weapon left over from the Time War, the Doctor is left battling for survival, in a small hotel in a quiet Welsh town! To make matters worse, he is still within the TARDIS, as is the town itself!

This particular Time Trip starts fairly oddly and entirely frivolously, before getting odder and even more frivolous. With the Tenth Doctor at his silliest, Nick Harkaway has taken every opportunity to present us with demonstrations of his wit and humour, which like the Doctor's bonkers mood, is sustained far longer than it ever was in this particular incarnation's run on TV.
Which is where this story stumbles a little: this is undeniably the Tenth Doctor, but he sustains a level of intensly energetic absurdity that Tennant never did. If anything, it is far more akin to Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor at points than anything else. Thankfully though, things do manage to pull together somewhat towards the end and we do get a rapid, but effective denouement.

Overall, this was a strange read, not really feeling like a short novel, more like an extended story from one of the annuals, but it did manage to capture SOME of the essence of the series. Do not attempt to approach this with any sense that it is a serious piece of work or that it will add anything to the canon or history, but as a piece of light ephemera that will help you while away a couple of evenings. In that respect, this particular book was worth a read and probably worth the price of admission. ( )