Doctor Who: An Encyclopaedia of Companion Actors, really is what it says on the tin - it's a 300ish page book that has two or three page bios of the people generally considered "companions" in the great Doctor Who-niverse. Interspersed in these bios are interviews by Dana Fox giving us a little farther insight into the lives of these iconic and legendary people.

Although I started with Nine, I have watched a lot of the older doctors and left off somewhere in Eleven's run, so while a lot of the older actors/actresses are familiar to me, especially in the Three era, there's a lot here I didn't know!

For my personal thoughts, I wish there was less "I" in this encyclopedia, or that it was relegated to the introduction only. The author's personal thoughts and feelings were too intermingled at times for my own personal preferences when reading reference guides like this. I also wish there had been photographs, but that could be something in the actual publication and not the ARC - if it was mentioned somewhere that there were to be photographs, I missed it in my read. I also wish the format was a little more explanatory - while it's an encyclopedia of the ACTORS, I would have liked for the charts under their names to have more than just birth/death, first/last appearance mentioned -- like the names of all the characters they played, the associated doctors they were companions to, et cetera. I know my Doctors but years are something I can never remember!

Thank you to Pen & Sword/White Owl for granting my wish to read this, and to NetGalley for hosting!

A wonderful encyclopedia of Doctor Who through the ages. It features many memorable characters and includes an in-depth profile complete with photographs of all the characters. A perfect companion for all Doctor Who fans

Few Doctors can operate entirely alone and Doctor Who is no exception.
Right from the moment of the famous Timelord's very first outing in the Tardis back in 1963, he (or she) has always been accompanied by at least one, sometimes several human sidekicks. Some of the actors who have filled this role over the years such as Carole Ann Ford or Michael Craze remain largely unknown to all but the most dedicated Whovians even today. Some such as Bonnie Langford, Peter Purves or Billie Piper became famous in the wider world as their stint in the Tardis worked in conjunction with a few other roles (Langford was an ex-child star and dancer, Purves enjoyed a long run on Blue Peter while Piper had been a Nineties teenaged pop sensation). Others, such as Catherine Tate, Matt Lucas and Bradley Walsh were already household names when they joined the show anyway.. A potted history of the lives of all of them is included here.
This is clearly a book for fans written by a fan. Some of the biographies are accompanied by slightly gushing interviews with the actors themselves or people who knew them. Nothing bad is written about anyone: both John Barrowman and Noel Clarke escape entirely without criticism.
Ultimately, the book does its job reasonably well, but in some cases, a bit more detail would have been nice.

I've been a fan of Doctor Who since I was a child. Dad introduced me to it from a young age. I can remember sitting on the lounge room floor, leaning against his legs, hiding behind them when the scary daleks or cybermen appeared!
My brother didn't seem to be as interested in the show as I was.
The first Doctor I can recall seeing was Patrick Troughton's Doctor.
My favourite Doctor from what is now called the Classic series is Peter Davison (who I was lucky enough to meet back in 2014 at the ABC Shop in the Myer Centre Brisbane, Australia), followed a close second by Tom Baker.
I was so excited when the show was brought back in 2005 but sad that Christopher Eccleston only stayed for the one series.
David Tennant is my favourite Doctor from New Who, followed by Matt Smith. I loved that they bought David back as the 14th Doctor and really hope they do a spin off show with him and Catherine Tate as Donna.

Being in Australia, I wasn't aware of the extra Doctor Who content that was available in the UK during the Wilderness years. I've learned so much from this book about audio series and other recordings that I need to research.

I've loved reading about companions old and new, some I've never met because I stopped watching the show when Colin Baker became the Doctor. I just didn't like him at all, but I do plan to rectify that and catch up on the Doctors I have missed.

This is a must read for any Doctor Who fan, old and new, as it contains so many wonderful titbits and the interviews are fantastic.

Well done Dana, you can tell how much this show means to you.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for granting my wish to read a digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

I received this as an eGalley from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I came to this book as a relatively new fan of Doctor Who. Although new, I have become quickly enamored with the show and I have been eager to learn about it and its history as much as I can. This book truly is an encyclopedia of companions and the author, Dana Fox, has given quite a bit of thought about who belongs in this illustrious list. I got to learn more about Classic Who from biographies of each companion and discussion about what was happening with Doctor Who as it evolved and became an integral part of British culture. As the book explored the Modern Era (NuWho), I smiled with recognition as I got to learn more about the people behind the companions I am already familiar with and got something to look forward to for the Doctors I have yet to see.

I am someone who does not mind spoilers (sweetie) and, in fact, I appreciate having more rather than less information about what happens. That said, if you are someone who carefully avoids spoilers, be careful what you read in this book if you have some pockets of the Who-niverse left to explore as, naturally, discussion of the companions will reveal plot points.

The interviews throughout the book change it from a purely reference encyclopedia to a book that one can read from start to finish.

It is clear through out the book that Fox is an avid fan and this book reads like a fan letter to the show as well as the fandom as a whole. And one small detail that I really appreciated was the discussion of how to define science fiction as a genre.

One thing I would have like to have listed at the beginning of each entry (which lists: name including birth name of the actor, birth date, companion name, first appearance, last appearance, and date of passing, if applicable), would be the Doctors the companion accompanied.

This is a book I would want to buy in hard copy and have next to me as I watch and rewatch so I can reference the various actors as they appear on my screen.

Overall, a must-have for any serious fan of Doctor Who.

Thank you NetGalley for the ebook arc. This is a very detail description of every character on Dr. Who, going into describing their role, when they first appeared and their last appearance. Great for any Dr. Who fan

My husband huge Dr Who fan and he loved this book.
Absolutely ideal gift for any fan very informative well written and just brilliant even taught me about past Dr who companions