I treated myself to a copy of Who-ology by Cavan Scott and Mark Wright as a post-Christmas treat in the sales (though unlike other books this is still attracting full price thanks to having been in the Sunday Times Best Seller list).

Was it just another anniversary year excuse to spend money or was it really rather good? Read on…

The authors

As you might have spotted I am a big fan of Cavan and Mark’s Big Finish works: the Forge stories (Project: xxxxx) are all very enjoyable and they have written other stories I have liked and reviewed both Doctor Who and Blake’s 7. With this in mind I was well disposed towards this before even getting it. When the book got shown on the BBC just after an episode of Doctor Who, Cavan reacted with genuine surprise and delight and this enjoyment shines through much of the work they produce – one of my favourite Destiny of the Doctor series was their Night of the Whisper.

So, I may be biased…

The book

This is nearly 400 pages of facts about the programme arranged in loose collections under broad themes then packed with detail. The layout allows for easy browsing and rather than overwhelm with detail there are many tables that break up the flow and make the book a lot more digestible.

I was reminded of a book I used to get for Christmas every year in the later 1960s / early 1970s – Pear’s Cyclopaedia a fact packet, well-edited book that was a delight to dip into for months to come and kept me quiet on Christmas Day as well. [As an aside I find Pear’s still exists and have bought the latest – joy!]

The only fault I can find is that of any paper product – it was released in May and baselined against Christmas 2012; a lot has happened since! Hopefully a follow-up for the 60^th!

If you haven’t got this and have some money spare over the holiday why not have a peak at this in your local story and pick up a copy? I recommend it.

Have you got a copy? Did you like it? Let me know