Books: Doctor Who: In Wonderland by Paul Magrs (2024)

"The Doctor and his companions visit the dreaming spires of peaceful Oxford, hoping for a brief respite from their travels. But when Lewis Carroll appears at a garden party and their fellow guests transform into animals, they realize that everything is not as it seems. An unknown cosmic foe has trapped them in a twisted version of Alice’s Wonderland. Separated from the TARDIS and from each other, their only hope of escape lies in cryptic clues; teased by fan-favorite characters from Carroll’s classic tale." 

The next Puffin Book that has the Doctor crossing-over with public domain characters continues with In Wonderland. This is a Fifth Doctor adventure, set in the twentieth season of the Classic Series and begins shortly after the TV adventure Mawdryn Undead. It features companions Tegan, Nyssa, and recently joined Turlough (who is still working for the Black Guardian, who is using the young man in hopes of destroying the Doctor - long story). 

Paul Magrs once again brings his odd brand of humor and Lewis Carroll's peculiar style of fantasy for this short novel. There are a ton of Easter Eggs, but while other authors just seem to drop them in for the fans, Magrs are less evident, and thus more entertaining. Also, with the setting of this tale in the Fifth Doctor era, the whole idea is perfect for the very British Doctor and would’ve made a fun serial had there been more money, CGI, and setting a tale outside the norm of 1983 (the recent animated release of the 1966 classic serial The Celestial Toymaker on Bluray is a prime example of surrealism the show could never really afford to dabble in). 

Magrs also ties the tale nicely to the Black Guardian saga, and there is great sequence with an older Alice that seemed to me have a double meaning. Insomuch as the real Alice wanted to hide from the fame Lewis Carroll brought her and fans of Doctor Who that can no longer be objective about the 60 year old franchise.

The Puffin line up will continue next spring when the TARDIS crew encounters Frankenstein!