Best Doctor Who books and audiobooks: Target books and Audible adventures for each Doctor

There's so much that's been revealed already which is making our inner-nerd squeal, like Indira Varma's part as the mysterious Duchess, Neil Patrick Harris's role as an undisclosed villain, and the fact Yasmin Finney's character Rose is indeed Donna Noble's daughter.

So, to get you prepped and ready for what's sure to be a fantastic Russell T Davies return, we thought you might like to do a bit of extra reading.

Whether you're completely new to Who, or old enough to remember the Voord, you can immerse yourself in the magical world of the Doctor, the TARDIS and the monsters with one of these top books.

We've listed a novel or audiobook for each Doctor as well as a few guides to help patch up your background knowledge. And, before you start quoting wibbly wobbly timey wimey clauses at us, we're sticking to the most simple order of the Doctors: so One to Thirteen, and only then followed by John Hurt's War Doctor and Jo Martin's Fugitive Doctor.

Now, off you go into space and time with these spectacular reads.

Best Doctor Who books and audiobooks at a glance:

• First Doctor | Doctor Who and The Crusaders, £12.99
• Second Doctor | Doctor Who and The Abominable Snowmen, £9.19
• Third Doctor | Doctor Who: The Last of the Gaderene, £14.99
• Fourth Doctor | Doctor Who: Scratchman, £8.99
• Fifth Doctor | Doctor Who: The Five Doctors, £20.83
• Sixth Doctor | Doctor Who: Revelation of the Daleks, £7.99
• Seventh Doctor | Doctor Who: Human Nature, £12.99
• Eighth Doctor | The Eighth Doctor: The Time War Series, from £33.15
• Ninth Doctor | Rose, £9.99
• Tenth Doctor | Doctor Who: The Sting of the Zygons, £15.99
• Eleventh Doctor | Doctor Who: Tales of Trenzalore, £10.33
• Twelfth Doctor | Doctor Who: The Eaters of Light, £7.99
• Thirteenth Doctor | Doctor Who: At Childhood’s End, £12.99
• War Doctor | Doctor Who: Engines of War, £14.99
• Fugitive Doctor | Doctor Who Origins: The Fugitive Doctor, £14.99
• Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time Lords, £13.15
• Doctor Who: A Short History of Everyone, £18.05

Best Doctor Who books and audiobooks to try in 2023

First Doctor | Doctor Who and The Crusaders

First, to give you a little history of Target Books. In 1973, Target Books began publishing novelisations of almost every Doctor Who serial since 1963. By 1989, when the TV series was first cancelled, there were only a few notable exceptions that weren't made into book form. In 2012, the BBC then began reissuing these classic paperbacks which led to a new range of novelisations, centred around the modern series, being produced in 2018.

Now back to the First Doctor, who in 1965 embarked on an adventure entitled Doctor Who and The Crusaders. In it, he and his companions land in the Holy Land in the 12th century, slap bang in the middle of the third Crusade. While the Doctor and Vicky befriend Richard the Lionheart, Ian and Barbara are drawn into great danger by the cruel warlord El Akir. But can any of them make it through the dangers of the English court?

Buy Doctor Who and The Crusaders for £12.99 at Waterstones

Listen to Doctor Who and The Crusaders for free at Audible

Second Doctor | Doctor Who and The Abominable Snowmen

When the Doctor, Jamie and Victoria land at the Det-Sen Monastery they expect a warm welcome, instead they're greeted by frightened monks, yetis and the first ever appearance of the elusive Great Intelligence.

Another classic tale in Target form, Doctor Who and The Abominable Snowmen is based on a 1967 Patrick Troughton story set in the Himalayas. It's also one of the TV episodes which is now mostly missing from the BBC Archives, meaning this book is one of the only full versions of it.

Buy Doctor Who and The Abominable Snowmen for £9.19 at WH Smith

Listen to Doctor Who and The Abominable Snowmen for free at Audible

Third Doctor | Doctor Who: The Last of the Gaderene

The Last of the Gaderene is an original story written by Mark Gatiss, who's Doctor Who credits include playing four different characters across the series and writing stand-out episodes like The Unquiet Dead, The Crimson Horror, and Night Terrors. In 2000, he produced this story about Jon Pertwee's third Doctor and Jo, who uncover a sinister plot to colonise Earth in the midst of an idyllic country village.

Buy Doctor Who: The Last of the Gaderene for £14.99 at Waterstones

Listen to Doctor Who: The Last of the Gaderene for free at Audible

Fourth Doctor | Doctor Who: Scratchman

Tom Baker actually came up with the plot of Scratchman over 40 years ago, when starring as the Fourth Doctor. But the book didn't actually get written and published until 2019. The story follows the Doctor, Harry and Sarah Jane Smith as they arrive at a remote Scottish island and come across hideous scarecrows, who are terrifying the local population. Soon they find out that the Scratchman is coming...

Buy Doctor Who: Scratchman for £8.99 at Waterstones

Listen to Doctor Who: Scratchman for free at Audible

Fifth Doctor | Doctor Who: The Five Doctors

You can now read or listen to one of classic Doctor Who's most beloved stories, The Five Doctors. Originally airing in 1983, this episode celebrated 20 years of the show by bringing back companions, villains and, of course, Doctors from the past two decades. Despite Tom Baker not appearing in it except in a few clips, and the First Doctor being played by Richard Hurndall (as William Hartnell had sadly died), this episode is an unstoppable force of nature, with twists, drama, and plenty of "cosmic angst". Both the episode and the book were written by Terrance Dicks and we would really recommend the audio version read by famous impressionist Jon Culshaw.

Buy Doctor Who: The Five Doctors for £20.83 at Amazon

Listen to Doctor Who: The Five Doctors for free at Audible

Sixth Doctor | Doctor Who: Revelation of the Daleks

The Sixth Doctor and Peri land on the planet Necros where they discover Daleks performing sick experiments on humans in the catacombs. As they try to stop it, the pair stumble into a deadly trap concocted by the most evil of all beings, Davros. This classic story first came out in 1985 and is one of the most chilling Dalek stories to date.

Buy Doctor Who: Revelation of the Daleks for £7.99 at Waterstones

Listen to Doctor Who: Revelation of the Daleks for free at Audible

Seventh Doctor | Doctor Who: Human Nature

Fans of the modern series might recognise the name, and indeed the plot, of this one. That's because Human Nature was first written in 1995 by Paul Cornell, who was then asked to repurpose it for the series by Russel T Davies. Like in the David Tennant episode, the story is set in the days before the First World War and the mysterious Dr John Smith has taken a position as a school master. The Doctor's companion, Bernice Summerfield, is staying in a village nearby when suddenly an alien attack descends and the Doctor is not there to help.

Buy Doctor Who: Human Nature for £12.99 at Waterstones

Listen to Doctor Who: Human Nature for free at Audible

Eighth Doctor | The Eighth Doctor: The Time War Series

Travel back to the deepest darkest days of The Time War with this audio drama starring Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor. In the first of this three-part series, The Doctor and his companion, Sheena, land the TARDIS on the glamorous luxury space-liner Theseus for a holiday, but soon realise that sinister events are taking place on board. These plays are produced by Big Finish, which has made hundreds of other audio dramas around the Doctor.

Buy The Eighth Doctor: The Time War Series from £33.15 at Amazon

Ninth Doctor | Rose

We couldn't leave this out, could we? The new generation of Target Books began in 2018 with showrunner Russel T Davies writing up a novelised version of his first episode, Rose. The story, of course, follows Rose, a shop worker whose life is changed forever when a man grabs her hand and says just one word: "Run!" From there, her world descends into chaos with shop window dummies, evil wheelie bins and plastic boyfriends coming after her, and who exactly is the mysterious Doctor?

Buy Rose for £9.99 at Waterstones

Listen to Rose for free at Audible

Tenth Doctor | Doctor Who: Sting of the Zygons

In the hay day of David Tennant's Tenth Doctor, there were dozens of original stories and novels coming out of the works. In this one, the Doctor and Martha land in the Lake District in 1909 and come face to face with a giant scaly monster trampling through the countryside. If that wasn't dangerous enough, an old enemy emerges and suddenly the Doctor finds himself unable to tell friend from foe.

Buy Doctor Who: Sting of the Zygons for £15.99 at Waterstones

Listen to Doctor Who: Sting of the Zygons for free at Audible

Eleventh Doctor | Doctor Who: Tales of Trenzalore

One of the Eleventh Doctor's finest moments came in his final episode, The Time of the Doctor. In it, the Time Lord is forced to stay on the planet Trenzalore for hundreds of years in order to protect its people and its secrets. While in the show we only see small clips from that time, this book gives a full account of the years the Doctor sacrificed on the planet, and the enemies he faced. The novel features four short stories: Let It Snow, An Apple a Day, Strangers in the Outland, and The Dreaming, all centred on the siege of Trenzalore and the Doctor's bravery.

Buy Doctor Who: Tales of Trenzalore for £10.33 at Amazon

Listen to Doctor Who: Tales of Trenzalore for free at Audible

Twelfth Doctor | Doctor Who: The Eaters of Light

Another Target book on the season 10 episode Eaters of Light. The Doctor, Bill and Nardole head back to 2nd century Scotland to learn the fate of the 'lost' Ninth Legion of the Imperial Roman Army. While searching for the truth, the Doctor comes across a troop of Romans, angry Celts, and a deadly creature.

Buy Doctor Who: The Eaters of Light for £7.99 at Waterstones

Listen to Doctor Who: The Eaters of Light for free at Audible

Thirteenth Doctor | Doctor Who: At Childhood's End

At Childhood's End is an original novel written by Sophie Aldred, the actress who played fan-favourite Ace. In Aldred's first novel, Ace, now a reclusive millionaire known as Dorothy McShane, encounters the Thirteenth Doctor and her faithful fam while investigating a satellite. As the Doctor and her former companion are thrown together once again, old arguments and betrayals come out, as well as a malevolent plot.

Buy Doctor Who: At Childhood’s End for £12.99 at Waterstones

Listen to Doctor Who: At Childhood’s End for free at Audible

War Doctor | Doctor Who: Engines of War

Back to the Time War where the War Doctor (played by John Hurt in the 50th anniversary) leads a flotilla of TARDISes against the Daleks' fleet. During battle, he crashes onto the planet Moldox and finds an apocalyptic landscape patrolled by his enemies, but what are they planning?

Buy Doctor Who: Engines of War for £14.99 at Waterstones

Listen to Doctor Who: Engines of War for free at Audible

Fugitive Doctor | Doctor Who Origins: The Fugitive Doctor

Jo Martin's Fugitive Doctor was introduced in season 12 and really threw a spanner into the works when it came to Doctor Who canon. This confusion only deepened when, in Flux, we found out the time traveller was part of an organisation called Division. Luckily, this Doctor's mysterious past has now been fleshed out in the graphic novel, Origins. In it, Division has sent the Doctor to eliminate a threat to Gallifrey, but what secrets are the Time Lords hiding and can the Doctor survive her biggest threat yet?

Buy Doctor Who Origins: The Fugitive Doctor for £14.99 at Waterstones

Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time Lords

Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time Lords is the perfect introduction to the Doctor and his legendary species. Chronicling everything from their quiet beginnings to the devastating effects of the Time War, this guide will lift the veil on everything the Time Lords have done for, and to, the universe.

Buy Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time Lords for £13.15 at Amazon

Doctor Who: A Short History of Everyone

Want to learn about Doctor Who? This is where you start. Doing exactly what it says on the tin, this book tells you everything you need to know about the Doctor and his friends. Geronimo!

Buy Doctor Who: A Short History of Everyone for £18.05 at Amazon

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