Doctor Who: The Return of Robin Hood

Reading it was like watching a Tom Baker episode. Everything about it worked beautifully. The characters. The plot. The humour.Now officially in my list of top ten Doctor Who books.Absolutely loved it.

A genuine treat of a novel, absolutely worthy of both the DOCTOR WHO range and the Robin Hood stories I loved as a child. Magrs writes the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane, and Harry Sullivan confidently and with panache, and the latter's enthusiastic embrace of his new role as one of Robin's "Merrie Men" is a joy. The Sheriff of Nottingham and Sir Guy of Gisborne behave with all the dastardly gusto one would expect (I kept hearing Michael Wincott's gravel-choked voice as Gisborne -- thanks, Kevin Costner movie!) and there's a third key villain afoot who will thrill fans of the David Tennant era as well. Magrs deftly weaves all these elements together and delivers an epic crowd-pleaser of a tale. Loved this one to pieces!

Paul Magrs captures Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor perfectly, alongside companions Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan. When a police box materialises in Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood is eager to meet up again with his old friend, the Doctor, and companion Clara Oswald. What he doesn't expect to see is a man dressed in an over long scarf, sporting a sheepish grin and assisted by a bemused female and young man in a naval blazer. Twenty years have passed since the Doctor's previous trip to Sherwood and Robin is still at odds with the Sheriff of Nottingham and there is a dimensional witch thrown in for good measure, stirring up history.The book makes entertaining reading and the chapters are a manageable size, with some great cliff-hangers. The cover has Tom Baker stepping out of the TARDIS, with light reflecting arrows penetrating the closed door. Highly recommended to any Doctor Who fan.

Nice tie in to the original robots of sherwoodFunny at times and dark at times I’ll not give the plot away.I enjoyed it as a read and it didn’t take long

A wonderful piece of Magrs magic, Paul captures the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane & Harry so well I could hear their voices in my head as I read - I read this in one sitting over 3 hours as I simply could not put it down - highly recommend to any Doctor Who or Paul Magrs fan

There is a fine balance in writing a Doctor Who book, and for one aimed partly at a younger audience so much can go wrong. The writer can misrepresent the era with an earlier Doctor and companions losing theri 'feel'. No problems here: the Doctor and Sarah Jane are just right, but so is the more challenging Harry. Harry is a sort of lost companion, alongside Sarah for one season and then found to be unwanted, the tone for him here is so right, funny and heroic, bumbling at times but always great hearted. Harry, as one would expect, has childhood memories of Robin Hood and enjoys himself throughout. Harry teaching the merrie men a 'new' song is a hoot.Even though elements of later Who, including an enemy, are included, this book has the feel of its era including sci-fi elements in a historical setting but without swamping that setting. This still feels like there is plenty of Robin Hood style swashbuckling and secret planning, and a well formed plot (partly about a badly managed plot). A child servant is able to be a hero and The Merrie Men have just enough individuality to feel real.The Doctor is able to go be off scene for a while using the TARDIS which lead into the final denouement and remembering of events that took place when the Doctor visited the Crusaders in his first incarnation. This is also room for a history lesson in case we are tempted towards romanticising the return of the king.Finally there is an explanation of how the Doctor can have forgotten this adventure when he meets Robin in a later incarnation. And, in spite of gainsaying by some reviewers, of course the Doctor is also called Doctor Who.All in all a very good read for old fans and young ones and maybe for those who just want a good tale of derring do in Sherwood.

Thoroughly enjoyed the Doctor’s second adventure with Robin Hood (or first depending on how you look at it)! Has been a fantastic holiday read for me!Paul Magrs has perfectly captured the twinkle in the eyes of the 4th Doctor, along with Sarah Jane and Harry who jump off the page.It’s a delight to be back in Sherwood Forest, made me nostalgic about the epic tales read in childhood. A welcome return to Robin Hood and his many adventures for me as well as Doctor Who!Highly recommend, buy your copy now!