Doctor Who's 60th anniversary celebrated with new series of novels

With the show's diamond anniversary taking place this November, the books are set to be released on 26th October.

BBC Books is yet to reveal the titles for each of the books but we do know the eras that will be covered, as well as vague plot points as revealed in the synopses.

They will be penned by authors who will be known to Whovians, like Jacqueline Rayner and Dave Rudden, while there will also be stories from Natasha Suri, Kalynn Bayron, Nikita Gill and Mark Griffiths.

The books include 1960s by Jacqueline Rayner, with a synopsis that reads: "It's Christmas, 1963, when six-year-old Gerald starts playing a new game: 'Daleks'. It's a game full of dangers and daring and terrible, mutated monsters. Gerald's parents think it's harmless at first.

"But then things start getting out of hand, as Gerald insists there are yetis in the basement, and Cybermen invading London. Desperate for help, what Gerald's family really need, right now, is a Doctor."

• Pre-order the '60s Doctor Who novel by Jacqueline Rayner

1970s by Natasha Suri will focus on London in 1978 where tensions are high. The synopsis reads: "Seema and her family are struggling, but she has learnt to keep her head down, not create trouble. That is until she and her two friends, Terrence and Inderjit, decide to join an anti-National Front protest in the East End.

"And when trouble does inevitably find them, the friends are saved by the appearance of a mysterious, seemingly broken-down bus. But inside this bus it is like nothing any of them have ever seen. It is a journey through the most wonderful landscapes, where visions of hopes and dreams envelope the lost group.

"Who - or what - is this strange place? The tall, grumpy man with white hair might know the answers, but then he seems just as scared as they are ..."

• Pre-order the '70s Doctor Who novel by Natasha Suri

1980s by Mark Griffiths reads: "In a sprawling, run-down housing estate in south London, a man returning from a night out in the West End finds himself pursued by a strange hooded figure. So naturally when the Doctor and Romana arrive in the TARDIS the next day, they find themselves in the middle of a crime scene.

"But when child genius Matthew Pickles - inventor of a hugely popular handheld videogame - arrives to help them crack the case, they discover there is more to this than meets the eye. Someone has been messing with technology that's not of this Earth, blurring the lines between human... and cyber. And it looks like they're out for revenge.

"In a world on the brink of gadgets and gismos and dangerous tech, the pair must uncover the killer, before they strike again."

• Pre-order the '80s Doctor Who novel by Mark Griffiths

The noughties novel will be written by Dave Rudden and will be set in Dublin in 1994, when the Doctor and Donna arrive at a tiny nightclub known as Headlong.

"Headlong is famous for precisely one thing - holding the karaoke night where four young women came together to make the biggest girl band of the '90s: the Honeybloods.

"Donna has convinced the Doctor to visit their first ever concert (she reckons she could have been a Honeyblood if the timelines were different) - and he has begrudgingly agreed. Naturally the band is kidnapped by a deadly pack of siren-like creatures who feed off human adulation, usually harvested by taking the form of cultural icons.

"With Dublin and the world to save, Donna may get her chance to perform on the world's biggest stage..."

• Pre-order the '90s Doctor Who novel by Dave Rudden

The 2000s book is written by Kalynn Bayron and follows the Doctor and Rose as they stumble across 13-year-old Lily, who they both agree needs their help.

The synopsis for the novel reads: "Lily thinks there are monsters in the closet, hiding under the bed. And that they've taken her mother and brother - who went missing months ago.

"When asked about the monster, Lily can only say it's made of immense light and power. Rose and the Doctor must find out who and what the creature is, and where it's taken Lily's family.

"It is a search that will take them from the Cardiff Rift right back to the childhood of Lily's grandmother, and another disappearance all those years ago..."

• Pre-order the '00s Doctor Who novel by Kalynn Bayron

The most recent will be the 2010s by Nikita Gill. Described as "a poem of tragedy and beauty", it features one of the Doctor's most terrifying foes.

"The Weeping Angels are an ancient race of terrible power," the synopsis reads. "With the ability to propel their victims backwards in time, their true form is a mystery - they turn to stone on sight. So they wander the universe, cursed never to see one another.

"But they see everything else: the whole course of time and space - even the journey of their deadliest enemy, the Doctor.

"In this extraordinary, epic poem, the Weeping Angels sing the story of the years they've battled the Doctor, and everything in between, as - like a Greek Chorus - they tell the world with their tragic tale."

• Pre-order the '10s Doctor Who book by Nikita Gill

Read more:

• Doctor Who director confirms monster's return for 60th anniversary
• Doctor Who revamps classic black and white episodes for 60th anniversary

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