This Doctor Who novel was first published in 1995, back during the wilderness years when the television show had been canceled and the franchise was only continuing through such works on paper. These days it's more famous for having been adapted into a pair of David Tennant episodes for the revived series in 2007, and like most modern fans, I'm discovering the original book after having already watched the story play out on screen. From that vantage point there are few surprises in the plot beats, but it's still an enjoyable tale of the sci-fi hero losing his memories and falling in love.

There's a lot that I like in both renditions of this adventure, and some things I prefer in one over the other. I feel that the villains are better-drawn and more threatening on TV (despite producing less gore and a lower body count), and that Tennant's Tenth Doctor makes for a more convincing romantic figure. On the other hand, the Seventh incarnation of this character is a better fit for the manipulation at the heart of the narrative, which makes the eventual distinction between his human and Time Lord selves considerably more striking. I also appreciate that paperback companion Bernice Summerfield can disguise herself as the amnesiac Doctor's niece, whereas the episodes somewhat problematically force her replacement Martha Jones to take up work as a maid.

Still, I wouldn't say that either version of events is the superior, definitive take, even though it sort of strains credulity to accept both as having happened in the Doctor's personal chronology. But hey -- it wouldn't be Doctor Who if there was some simple way of determining what's canonical.

An admission: I never got into the New Adventures. I read the early ones (but had stopped watching Doctor Who before Sylvester McCoy's time so) I didn't really 'get' them.

I bought this one on eBay after seeing Human Nature/Family of Blood on TV. So I read this book through the filter of its televised version. I thought it stacked up pretty well. The mechanics of the Doctor's humanity were different and there was no Martha. In her place was Benny. Having never come across her before (and having now watched all the Seventh Doctor's adventures) it was hard not to simply think of her as Ace with a different name.

The only issue I had with the book was the Doctor's motivation for becoming human in the first place. Did he have any motivation, other than a hope that he might learn something? It seemed a lot of effort for little reward.

The Doctor Who novel that was recently adapted as 'Human Nature/Family of Blood.' It's available free online [http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/ebooks/human_nature/index.shtml]—very convenient. I was unfamiliar with both the Doctor (Seven) and the Companion (Bernice Summerfield) the novel is about, and to be honest I'm really mostly invested in Ten (although now also in Martha. Martha is amazingly awesome. *beams*) so this was really mostly intriguing in terms of what had/had not been changed between book and screen. The only other thing that really struck me was that the Doctor stated unequivocally that he's not capable of "small" love—"big" love for humanity, yes, but not romantic love. That's certainly something to ponder (especially since I don't think it's true).

Anyway, I suspect this is only interesting if you are really into Doctor Who right now. Which I am.

So much of 12, I realize was from Cornell. Love this novel, even though the ending sorta confused me.

This was an enjoyable read with a much better Human!Doctor than the TV show episode. I loved that the minor characters were fleshed out as much as possible and Bennie in particular was a very interesting companion. All in all, this was a good story with a lot more useful details implemented in the right places.