‘The question is,’ Vastra continued. ‘How did the Doctor’s image come to be preserved on a dead man’s eye? It is a scientific impossibility.’

I am new to Matt Smith’s TV episodes of Doctor Who, and I have probably read more books and stories with his Doctor in, than I have watched episodes. So I haven’t seen The Crimson Horror, but the Paternoster Gang who feature, Vastra, Jenny and Strax, are not entirely new to me. I have read Silhouette, and watched Deep Breath, so am not sure which other stories they are in. I liked that the story was flipped and is told from the perspective of Jenny. It didn’t feel like your typical Who story because of that. There is a story at the start of The Crimson Horror, that doesn’t have a bearing on the actual story. I was thinking while reading it, is this it?

The Doctor appears as a Hulk like being. The non-consensual kiss between the Doctor and Jenny was weird and I have no idea why this is in the show. The Crimson Horror made the Doctor and Clara feel like they were the secondary characters. And they were not very interesting either. Clara feels very forgotten in the story. The villainess Mrs. Gillyflower I liked, and the story of her daughter, Ada was good (‘Do you not yet understand that there can be no place for such as you? That only perfection is good enough for myself and for Mr. Sweet?’) As for this ‘a vile, leech-like creature, the size of a puppy. A sickly, glowing red, it had a rudimentary face like an unformed body and protruding, black glassy eyes. It turned its horrible little head towards the Doctor and Clara – and gurgled!’ I think it needs to be seen to be believed.

contains affiliate links. Doesn’t cost you anything, helps me out if you click on ‘em. Thank you!