ANOTHER trio of novels aimed at the older Doctor Who fans sees the Doctor, Amy and Rory pitting their wits against aliens both good and bad.

Dead Of Winter begins with the TARDIS crashing in France in 1783. All three time-travellers have lost their memories and find themselves in a sanatorium there the director has rather unusual methods for curing his patients.

Why are the patients wheeled out to sit all day on a cold and misty beach – and then why do they start dancing?

It’s something that the Doctor, Amy and Rory, along with a little French girl called Maria, have to solve; as well as finding out who they actually are themselves.

Nobody goes into Swallow woods. People keep disappearing, and when the TARDIS arrives in the present day, it’s arrival coincides with the disappearance of two local girls.

The Way Through The Woods has our intrepid threesome trying to solve the mystery. This in part involves Rory going back 50 years and promptly losing his memory (again).

The answer lies at the centre of the woods – always assuming that it can be found.

Finally Hunter’s Moon takes us to Leisure Platform 9, where the Doctor looks up an old friend.

Before you know it, Rory has lost the TARDIS in a game of dice, Amy is made a slave and the only way to put things right is for The Doctor to persuade the biggest gangster around that he’s a cold-bloodied mercenary.

Then, they are all thrown together with a group of abducted humans, and a hunt begins.

But who is hunting who?

All three novels venture to the dark side and are the stuff of nightmares.

However, the characterisations of the three main characters are spot on. The Doctor’s mannerisms and humour lightens the mood and Amy is more confident and gung-ho as time goes on.

Rory also is becoming more comfortable with travelling through time and space and in parts of all three stories becomes a bit of an action hero.

Very easy to read as the action is non-stop, the Doctor’s adventures in print are every bit as good as on TV.

Published by BBC Books.

Dead Of Winter by James Goss: ISBN 978-1-849-90238-0.

The Way Through The Woods by Una McCormack: ISBN 978-1-849-90237-3.

Hunter’s Moon by Paul Finch: ISBN 978-1-849-90236-6.