The Doctor Who Information Network Myth Makers 13: From Gallifrey With Love A Collection of Short Stories

Editors	Scott Clarke and Richard Salter
Published	2003

Available to order through DWIN

• A Review by Henry Potts

A Review by Henry Potts 5/4/03

Myth Makers continues to prove that it is at the cutting-edge of Dr Who fan fiction, even of short Who fiction in general, am- or pro-. As strong as issue 12 was, issue 13 raises their game once again with a strong, eclectic mix from some of the best, up and coming, as well as established, Who writers.

The bastard son of The Book of the War and Short Trips and Side Steps, but better than both, the stories in Myth Makers respond to what is current in Dr Who, with a Faction Paradox story, a prelude to a forthcoming Telos novella, a story set in the Caught on Earth arc (or is that two?)... The stories aren't afraid to do something new, from a Dalek's first person narrative to an audacious reimagining of the Doctor and companion.

Mark Michalowski's Commune treads a fine line in handling what appears to be a seventh Doctor story, but is actually about something much more recent. Mark Stevens' Oktember is an odd, incomplete, but absorbing tale that puts the likes of Reckless Engineering and The Domino Effect to shame in its handling of a complex time plot.

The extract from Blue Box is... an extract from Blue Box, so rather pointless once you've read Blue Box. Lance Parkin's Mr Saldaamir, a Book of the War reject, is amusing enough, which like much of The Book of the War, poses as many questions as it answers.

Cameron Dixon's Falling in the Forest is a well-written short story with a twist ending featuring new Ace, a solid take on the character. John Anderson's Tomorrow World is, for me, the highlight of the issue with its manic version of Dr Who, both unrecognisable and dead on. Think Paul Magrs on acid re-writes Trading Futures: there are more ideas packed into these few pages than the last three 8DAs combined.

The 1-page Wonderland prelude is intriguing. Jonathan Dennis' She Doesn't Exist is a bitter-sweet, touching tale, not what we normally encounter with the Faction Paradox and all the more effective for that. Richard Salter's The Gateway is a short piece illustrating the eighth Doctor's dilemma during his period caught on Earth.

Geoffrey Wessel's Schicksal is a challenging and intriguing story told in the first person by a Dalek: a radical, but successful experiment. The longest piece and the final one is Graeme Burk's Costume Drama: a first Doctor and Steven story, but the story is not really about them. Costume Drama flows well as it sets up its core juxtaposition in what is practically a morality play. An unsettling piece in the issues it raises, particularly following on from Schicksal, on the nature of humanity.

In all, perhaps the best Who fiction (and certainly the best value for money) of 2003 to date. Buy it now.