Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

British myth and legend has perhaps no finer example of powerful saga and hope than it does with the story of King Arthur and the Knights of Camelot; a fiction maybe, one certainly embellished and given an overall arc by Sir Thomas Mallory as he languished in prison with his days apparently numbered, but one that has stirred an immense wealth of material since, and been one of the causes of British resistance to outside forces since.

Like Drake’s Drum and the tales of Robin Hood, King Arthur is a symbol of restoration and hope, of warnings against invasion and evil, of not following a noble pursuit, and one that combines all the elements of a saga which today would capture the imagination in the same way as almost any character written…with exception maybe of The Doctor.

The tales of the man from Gallifrey are myths told round campfires on alien planets, the exploits of one will send hope across the universe, and in all incarnations that hope is magnified, but The Doctor is nothing without his companions, and like King Arthur it is the friendships forged which aid in the fight against tyranny, fear, and magic, wherever it may be found.

The Doctor though has been often alluded to as another within the court of Camelot, and it with humour and fortune that long time Doctor Who writer Jacqueline Raynor sets her sights on crossing the lives of Merlin and the man in the blue box in the delightfully explored Doctor Who novel, Legends Of Camelot. 

Jaqueline Raynor is no stranger to the historical premise, mythic or otherwise, and her audio plays for Big Finish, including the superb The Marian Conspiracy, the excellent The Doomwood Curse, and 100 BC, and in Legends Of Camelot, the Doctor and Donna Noble are transported to a time of chivalry, of British legend, and the lottery of solving the puzzle that will lead them home.

Doctor Who has long established its credentials when it comes to placing The Doctor in an historical setting, and this is highlighted with great joy and playfulness inside a world of myth and magic, and whilst not everything is at seems, the journey is one in which Jaqueline Raynor excels.

Mindful of the source of the collected tales, Legends Of Camelot is an enjoyable romp of imagination, a novel that appeals to all ages of fans and told with a witty persuasive style.

The man…the legend…the myth, but The Doctor is always on hand to search out the truth.

Ian D. Hall