Whoniverse: An Unofficial Planet-by-Planet Guide to the World of the Doctor, from Gallifrey to Skaro

by Lance Parkin

Doctor Who lovers, discover all there is to know about the travels of your favorite Time Lord, in all thirteen of his glorious incarnations. Fans will have their burning questions answered, What exactly is Trenzalore? Where did the Sontraans originate? Where was the Thousand-Day War fought? Where did the Doctor first meet the Quarks? Whoniverse answers all these questions and plenty more.
Die-hard fans will enjoy going planet-spotting in all the weird and wonderful galaxies that the good Doctor travels to and through. In the pages of this planet-by-planet guide, readers will

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Pop Culture, Time Travel, Fiction, Media Tie In

288 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2015

About the author

Lance Parkin is an author who has written professional Doctor Who fiction since the 1990s. He is one of the few authors to write for both the 1963 and 2005 version of the programme — though much of his fiction has actually been based on the 1996 iteration. Indeed, he was notably the first author to write original prose for the Eighth Doctor in The Dying Days. He was also the author chosen to deliver the nominal 35th anniversary story, The Infinity Doctors, and the final volume in the Eighth Doctor Adventures range, The Gallifrey Chronicles. More recently, he has written for the Tenth Doctor in The Eyeless.

He is further notable for his work with Big Finish Productions, where he is arguably most known for writing the Sixth Doctor adventure, Davros.

Outside of Doctor Who, he has written things like Warlords of Utopia and (with Mark Jones) Dark Matter, a guide to the author Philip Pullman.

Reviews

[Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book may be an unofficial guide, but it's a lot more dependable than some of the official BBC guides I've read over the last ten years. They cover not only all the planets and universes discussed in Classic Who, but they also cover worlds mentioned in the extended universe, Torchwood, Sarah Jane Adventures, and even the Australian show K-9! (I was particularly excited about that last one, as I'm the only person I know of in my personal life who has bothered to watch that one.) The guide even points out some of the most popular fan theories about briefly mentioned places or ideas, and isn't afraid to mention inconsistencies in the show's canon. It not only works as a good introduction to a show with 50+ years of facts to sort through, it also is a good reference for learning which audio or novel or comic series would be an interesting place for you to start. A must-read for any hard-core DW fan!

[Mouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff! Great coffee table book! Great for any Whovian Geek collection! Too bad most of it probably already obsolete already... Lol... things change so fast in the show! 🧐🧐

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a great overview of the planets of the Doctor Who universe! Very informative!

[Julie Ditton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This sumptuous coffee table book is a planet by planet reference book compiled from all Dr Who media through the years, including both series, novelizations, audio plays and comics. Each of these entries is marked with the source title ,Doctor regeneration number, authors, year and a media style icon. Unfortunately, the authors assumed that these icons were self evident and did not include a map legend. Most of them are obvious, but it took me a while before I realized that one was a comic strip talk balloon.

I am showing my age here, but I have been a Doctor fan since the mid 1970's when PBS first started airing these shows . This began with a steady diet of new content starting with Tom Baker's 4th Doctor. Since most of the media never made it across the pond, a lot of this information provided is out of my personal frame of reference. Younger Dr Who fans who have no or limited access to the original series have even less exposure to the source material.

This book is interesting in small doses that one keeps coming back to. If it had been a gift instead of a library book, I would have finished reading it and displayed it proudly.

[Jen (chekherjoy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My video review can be found here: https://youtu.be/iWzBUspLWZA

This is a pretty cool look at several planets, galaxies, and places in the Doctor Who universe. Stories across several mediums, including the TV show, spin-offs, books, comics and audio adventures. It tells the story of these places, but also how information about them unveiled themselves. My personal favorites were about Gallifrey, the Shadow Proclamation and libraries. I enjoyed the pictures, graphics, and overall layout. Each story that's mentioned has an icon that tells what form the media takes, but I couldn't find a key. It was a bit confusing trying to figure out. On the whole, I enjoyed this.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not an intense, encyclopedic reference on the scale of Lance Parkin's previous mangum opus, "AHistory", but that would be comparing apples to oranges. This work reminds me of the best of Peter Haining's books from the 1980s: a sumptuous coffee table book of art & images, combined with just the right breadth of infomration about the Whoniverse to keep fans of all ages engrossed and entertained. Something to dip in & out of, on & off, to your heart's content.

[Kristal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like for the most part. There was lot of information on planets I had no idea that were part of Doctor Who. It took me at least 25 pages to figure out the symbols used. Because, here in the U.S, we don't really have access to all of the past Who tv episodes, the books or comics, and the radio show.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great picture book for Doctor Who

[Beth Lequeuvre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should be the official Doctor Who encyclopedia.

[Alana · Rating 5 out of 5]

great background info.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book just reinforces my love of all things Dr. Who!

[Lucy Morningstar · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a brilliant book! Some superb artwork, informative descriptions of alien planets, some well known, others not so... and some nostalgia from the 60's and 70's thrown in for good measure, this is well worth twenty quid of any Who fans hard earned money. I loved this publication!