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Big Finish Short Trips #20
Doctor Who Short Trips: Destination Prague
It is believed that there are magnetic energies whose lines intersect in Prague at several spots. Astronomical, astrological, numerological, and magnetic forces have all played a role in building the citybut how will they influence its future? This is the city rich in history, and full of potentialhow will it adapt over the centuries to come? Will it have a glamorous rebirth or wallow in a dystopic nightmare? And what will be the role of the old superstitions in the new world? For the Doctor and his companions, the answers to these questions are only just the start of further mysteries.
309 pages, Hardcover
First published May 28, 2007
4 people are currently reading
165 people want to read
About the author
Steven Savile
247 books250 followersSteven Savile (born October 12, 1969, in Newcastle, England) is a British fantasy, horror and thriller writer, and editor living in Sala, Sweden.
Under the Ronan Frost penname (inspired by the hero of his bestselling novel, Silver) he has also written the action thriller White Peak, and as Matt Langley was a finalist for the People's Book Prize.
Under the Ronan Frost penname (inspired by the hero of his bestselling novel, Silver) he has also written the action thriller White Peak, and as Matt Langley was a finalist for the People's Book Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 7, 2018
My first thought when I stumbled across this somewhat obscure little collection of Doctor Who stories was "Why Prague? Why not London or Skaro or Galllifrey or Hob's End?" I was attracted by the inclusion of some of my favorite genre writers like Brian Keene, Lucy Snyder and Gary Braunbeck, Tim Waggoner, Mary Robinette Kowal, Chris Roberson, etc.-- people that you never usually think of as Who authors. I thought they all captured the flavor of the early series quite well. It's a somewhat uneven collection overall, with a couple of really bad stories and a couple of gems and most that are just enjoyable entertainments. The stories encompass the first eight iterations of the character, most with their appropriate companions. Overall, I enjoyed it very much.... but I still wonder, why Prague?
December 18, 2010
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1598457.html
A collection of short stories featuring the first eight Doctors, all set in Prague. Like some of the other Short Trips collections I found the clunkers more memorable than the better stories - there's a dire First Doctor / Ian tale, for instance - but I'll also note that the stories I found best tended to be those by authors I had already heard of, though not usually as Doctor Who writers: Stephen Dedman, Heath DeCandido, Mary Robinette Kowal, Gary Braunbeck and Lucy Snyder, and a couple of others. I think I'll start going through the Short trips anthologies more systematically when I have exhausted my in-house stocks, but I can see that the series had its weaknesses as well as its strengths.
A collection of short stories featuring the first eight Doctors, all set in Prague. Like some of the other Short Trips collections I found the clunkers more memorable than the better stories - there's a dire First Doctor / Ian tale, for instance - but I'll also note that the stories I found best tended to be those by authors I had already heard of, though not usually as Doctor Who writers: Stephen Dedman, Heath DeCandido, Mary Robinette Kowal, Gary Braunbeck and Lucy Snyder, and a couple of others. I think I'll start going through the Short trips anthologies more systematically when I have exhausted my in-house stocks, but I can see that the series had its weaknesses as well as its strengths.
March 9, 2021
Maybe three or four good stories in all, with the rest being something you'd find in a World Distributors annual.
July 24, 2015
Short Trips: Destination Prague is a Doctor Who short story anthology featuring the popular character Doctor Who in his many incarnations. This book focuses on the first eight versions of the mysterious multi-dimensional space traveler. Most of these tales are written by non Doctor Who veterans like Brian Keene who tried his hand at the Doctor for the first time. While I am not a Whovian of the Doctor Who fandom, I did feel like Brian did well in his short story called The Dogs of War. Even though I wasn't familiar with the Fourth Doctor, I felt like Brian did a great job of capturing the voice of The Doctor as a whole. There wasn't a single time I thought to myself that I was missing something because I hadn't seen a particular episode. While it was goofy at times, I did find myself enjoying it and yearning for Brian to continue on with the plot.
This particular story opens up on a version of Prague that was taken over by intelligent canines. At one point the Globe Corporation wanted to utilize the canine breed for war. So through the power of science they created a way for dogs to become capable soldiers. This included giving them the power of speech, standing on their hind legs, and opposable thumbs! Eventually mankind dooms themselves into the dark age and the new race of super canines rise to power. The 4th Doctor and his companions stumbled upon this a few centuries later, in which they finds themselves outnumbered and out matched by these new inheritors of Prague! All seems lost for the Doctor but what they don't know is that he has a secret card up his sleeve!
Overall this particular Doctor story isn't meant to be taken too seriously. (Like most of the Doctor Who tales on television.) One interesting note is the inclusion of the Globe Corporation which appears in Brian's The Lost Level and Last of the Albatwitches. I enjoyed seeing this reference very much, since I am a huge fan of the Labyrinth Mythology. It is nice to see Brian Keene working on more mainstream titles. While I enjoy his original work more, I would gladly give Short Trips: Destination Prague a four out of five stars. The Dogs of War was definitely a highlight for me and I would gladly read another Doctor Who story from Brian if he was to ever write one again.
This particular story opens up on a version of Prague that was taken over by intelligent canines. At one point the Globe Corporation wanted to utilize the canine breed for war. So through the power of science they created a way for dogs to become capable soldiers. This included giving them the power of speech, standing on their hind legs, and opposable thumbs! Eventually mankind dooms themselves into the dark age and the new race of super canines rise to power. The 4th Doctor and his companions stumbled upon this a few centuries later, in which they finds themselves outnumbered and out matched by these new inheritors of Prague! All seems lost for the Doctor but what they don't know is that he has a secret card up his sleeve!
Overall this particular Doctor story isn't meant to be taken too seriously. (Like most of the Doctor Who tales on television.) One interesting note is the inclusion of the Globe Corporation which appears in Brian's The Lost Level and Last of the Albatwitches. I enjoyed seeing this reference very much, since I am a huge fan of the Labyrinth Mythology. It is nice to see Brian Keene working on more mainstream titles. While I enjoy his original work more, I would gladly give Short Trips: Destination Prague a four out of five stars. The Dogs of War was definitely a highlight for me and I would gladly read another Doctor Who story from Brian if he was to ever write one again.
April 9, 2025
Prague.
It’s a city with a rich history. Something that the blurb of Destination Prague is at pains to point out. Which makes it if not an obvious place to set an anthology of Doctor Who short stories (pardon, Short Trips), than certainly an enticing one. Right?
Having read this anthology, it’s hard to say. All too often, authors seized upon similar or even the same idea again and again. Enough so that there is not one but at least four golem-centric tales scattered throughout this volume. Or, indeed, two tales featuring Patrick Troughton’s Doctor and Jamie that share enough creative DNA that their close placement together in the running order might understandably give the reader a sense of deja vu. In other cases, there’s stories that particularly well suit the Doctor/companion team-up with some feeling at best arbitrary appearances and at worst like box-ticking to make sure each of the first eight Doctors got at least one story in between the covers. For all of the history mentioned in the blurb, so little of it is touched upon and what is featured keeps getting regurgitated.
When Destination Prague works, however, it’s an utter joy to read. Spoilsport is an immensely fun story for the Pertwee Doctor and Jo Grant taking on a seemingly haunted museum. The standouts from this volume are from the middle with two stories in particular. James Swallow’s McGann Doctor and Charley tale, the beautifully done story Lady of the Snows, combines a solid science fiction concept with an emotional resonance that well suits that Doctor and companion duo. The highlight of the anthology might be from then-future Hugo and Nebula Award winner Mary Robinette Kowal with her tale Suspension and Disbelief that both suits Peter Davison’s Doctor while tying into both her own interests with Prague’s past and future. Together, these three tales alone make this volume worth.
A decent anthology with three standout stories. What this anthology might have been with a couple of less golem tales and a greater use of the titular city is anyone’s guess. A concept worth revisiting, perhaps, in another time and place.
It’s a city with a rich history. Something that the blurb of Destination Prague is at pains to point out. Which makes it if not an obvious place to set an anthology of Doctor Who short stories (pardon, Short Trips), than certainly an enticing one. Right?
Having read this anthology, it’s hard to say. All too often, authors seized upon similar or even the same idea again and again. Enough so that there is not one but at least four golem-centric tales scattered throughout this volume. Or, indeed, two tales featuring Patrick Troughton’s Doctor and Jamie that share enough creative DNA that their close placement together in the running order might understandably give the reader a sense of deja vu. In other cases, there’s stories that particularly well suit the Doctor/companion team-up with some feeling at best arbitrary appearances and at worst like box-ticking to make sure each of the first eight Doctors got at least one story in between the covers. For all of the history mentioned in the blurb, so little of it is touched upon and what is featured keeps getting regurgitated.
When Destination Prague works, however, it’s an utter joy to read. Spoilsport is an immensely fun story for the Pertwee Doctor and Jo Grant taking on a seemingly haunted museum. The standouts from this volume are from the middle with two stories in particular. James Swallow’s McGann Doctor and Charley tale, the beautifully done story Lady of the Snows, combines a solid science fiction concept with an emotional resonance that well suits that Doctor and companion duo. The highlight of the anthology might be from then-future Hugo and Nebula Award winner Mary Robinette Kowal with her tale Suspension and Disbelief that both suits Peter Davison’s Doctor while tying into both her own interests with Prague’s past and future. Together, these three tales alone make this volume worth.
A decent anthology with three standout stories. What this anthology might have been with a couple of less golem tales and a greater use of the titular city is anyone’s guess. A concept worth revisiting, perhaps, in another time and place.
December 10, 2025
Review by story…
Long Step Backwards: Fun little adventure. 4/5
Room for Improvement: The Doctor in a hospital drama, not sure why I never thought of it but it works really well. 4/5
The Time Eater: It’s fine, but the time travel didn’t work the way Doctor Who time travel usually works and it bothered me. 2.5/5
Spoilsport: Fine, doesn’t make any sense, but fine. 3/5
Midnight in the Cafe of the Black Madonna: An excellent story that does a great job of transitioning from the end of The Green Death. Fun adventure with a cool ending. 4/5
Long Step Backwards: Fun little adventure. 4/5
Room for Improvement: The Doctor in a hospital drama, not sure why I never thought of it but it works really well. 4/5
The Time Eater: It’s fine, but the time travel didn’t work the way Doctor Who time travel usually works and it bothered me. 2.5/5
Spoilsport: Fine, doesn’t make any sense, but fine. 3/5
Midnight in the Cafe of the Black Madonna: An excellent story that does a great job of transitioning from the end of The Green Death. Fun adventure with a cool ending. 4/5
May 20, 2017
Rated for the other fine writers who worked on this book.
July 15, 2015
Another mixed bag, a lot of atypical writing for Doctor Who fiction with hits and misses
April 25, 2010
Pretty enjoyable considering I have seen very little of the original Who.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews