Author: Cecelia Ahern
First Publication: 2014
Source: Netgalley
From Amazon: Arriving on the planet Cashel, the Tenth Doctor witnesses a strange masked ball. To guarantee peace, Prince Zircon has to choose a bride from the Bog People - dead men and women who have been resurrected as slaves. Or as warriors. But Zircon is in love with the enslaved Princess Ash, whose parents were deposed and executed by the current Queen. As usual, the Doctor has walked right into trouble, and it's up to him to sort it out.
Adapting fairy tales, especially in the Steven Moffat era, as Doctor Who stories is not an unknown concept. In many ways, Moffat has played around with fairy tales during the Matt Smith era. What determines the quality of it is the way the author handles the characters.
I enjoyed the previous "Time Trip" I read. In "Into the Nowhere" author Jenny Colgan nailed the characterization and dialog of the Doctor and Clara. Here we see the Doctor teamed up with various beings from the planet Cashel. Unfortunately for me, the story seemed to be going through the paces with a lack of real suspense. And the characterization seemed to miss the mark. The mystery of the Queen's power was the most interesting part of the story but it was not enough to excite me about reading the story. I finished it because it was short. If it had been a full length novel, I probably would have stopped reading it.
I would recommend skipping this one.