Doctor Who, The Glamour Chronicles Book 1 - Royal Blood

I'm very picky when it comes to which Doctor Who books I buy and read.  I'm not a fan of all the Doctors, nor am I a fan of all of his companions.  But there are particular ones I especially like.

Donna Noble - I have every book and every audio book with her as the 10th Doctor's companion; she is by far my all-time favorite companion and always will be

Rory Williams - while I never liked Amy Pond, and I did learn to accept Matt Smith, it was Rory Williams, as one of the 11th Doctor's companions, that prompted me to buy the books with him in them

And then there's the 12th Doctor - Peter Capaldi.  While I can't stand Clara Oswald as a companion (and am thankful she is gone in the television show), I do love Peter Capaldi as the Doctor.  He's a breath of fresh air after three relatively young Doctors, and his fierce, cantankerous nature is somewhat reminiscent of the very 1st Doctor, William Hartnell.  He's enjoyable to watch, and he's just as enjoyable to read.

The Glamour Chronicles is a new trilogy of books with the 12th Doctor and his companion, Clara, and Royal Blood is the first of this three-part tale. Set on an unnamed planet in an unnamed galaxy, the Doctor and Clara find themselves in the city-state of Varuz, where the Duke is trying to protect it from being invaded by their enemies, while the Duchess and her conspirators are doing what they believe will help prevent war.

Enter the Doctor and Clara, who the Duke mistakenly believes is an Ambassador, and later, a Holy Man...

Then, enter Emfil, an alien collector searching for the mysterious Glamour, who the Duke mistakenly believes is also an Ambassador...

Then, enter Sir Lancelot and his knights, who are searching for the Holy Grail, and who the Duke mistakenly becomes enamored by and willingly bestows his own army of knights to aid this fabled quest...

Not everyone is who they seem to be, and not all of the good guys are as good as they appear (nor are all the bad guys as bad as they appear).  The Doctor knows Sir Lancelot is a fictional character, so who is he, really?  Clara knows the Duchess is conspiring behind the Duke's back to seek peace for her kingdom, but is there more to it than that?  The Doctor knows there is more behind these electric lights and laser swords and bejeweled trinkets that fill the city, but what is their purpose?

While the plot is teemed with war and traitors and conspiracies, it remains lighthearted with the usual banter so excellently written between the Doctor and Clara, and even the alien collector is fleshed out fully so as to make him interesting and fun to read.  As with most of the prior books I've read, it really felt like a good episode of the television show, and when I was finished, I was more than satisfied.

RATING:  10 glamorous trinkets out of 10 for keeping the feel of the show in the written word!