Book Club Extra: Spore

Welcome to Book Club Extra, we’re currently reading Fifteen Doctors, 15 Stories.

This week we’re reading Spore by Alex Scarrow.

Please discuss below - no need to finish it first, discuss as you go along but please add spoiler tags for anything that could be considered a spoiler!

If you’ve previously read the book and want to join in the discussion, that’s great too!

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Just for fun, add your rating here:

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1 Like

I’ve read this one at least twice and I can’t remember anything about it…

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I’ve read this one many times. Still hope the companion comes back. Cover art is a bit weird though. (Could only find no-cover version; sorry)

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I thought this was was interesting and it kinda reminded me a bit of the Kotturuh, where you have a set being deciding the worth of other species and if they have the right to continue living. Only instead of deciding on its lifespan, they just exterminate peoples they don’t think are intelligent enough. The Doctor is immune as Time Lords have already beaten this once and is able to present himself as a stand in for humanity, answering the question for them. I found Chan interesting and I wish they had done more with her or brought her back.

2 Likes

It’s ok. Just a very basic story, was hoping for a bit more for 8.

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I think Chan is author-owned actually.

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That’s a shame, but makes sense. Hopefully they might something else and bring them back.

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Or hope someone spins her off. Also an option.

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Spore was just okay for me. I had trouble feeling the Eighth Doctor’s voice, which didn’t help. The story was too straightforward to be particularly interesting, the “antagonist” if you will had no personality, and IMO just nothing really to sink one’s teeth into.

(at least that’s what I thought of in 2023)

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‘I was at the opera,’ the Doctor explained, ‘when my phone went off’

Love this little reference to the TV Movie! (Grace was also at the opera in the beginning of the film)

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Eh it’s fine. Not really much going on. I liked the atmosphere it created but feels a little too long for its plot? Kinda weird criticism but that’s just how it felt

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My thoughts in 2023:

Spore was just okay for me. I had trouble feeling the Eighth Doctor’s voice, which didn’t help. The story was too straightforward to be particularly interesting, the “antagonist” if you will had no personality, and IMO just nothing really to sink one’s teeth into.

3 Likes