Doctor Who: Ten Days of Christmas by Stephen Cole and others * * * *

Doctor Who: 10 Days of Christmas is a festive anthology of short Doctor Who stories, all set around Christmas in one way or another. I listened to this as an audiobook, which comes in at around six hours, making it an easy, compact listen. The kind of thing you can dip into over a few evenings in December without any commitment stress.

The structure is straightforward. Ten short stories, quick to establish their premise and quick to resolve it. That pacing works well in audio form. None of the stories overstay their welcome, and there is a nice variety of settings. Alien planets, spaceships, strange workplaces, including one story centred around a Christmas factory. On paper, that variety sounds ideal, and in terms of pure Doctor Who flavour, it largely works.

The problem is the Christmas element itself. While every story technically includes Christmas, the level of integration varies wildly. In some cases, Christmas is central to the mood and the events. In others, it barely exists beyond a passing line or some decorations in the background. There is more than one story where the festive aspect feels almost cosmetic. Someone mentions that it is Christmas. There are lights or ornaments. And that is it.

Because of this, the collection did not feel as Christmassy as I had hoped. Not even close. If you are picking this up to fill the emotional gap left by the absence of a Doctor Who Christmas special, this will not quite do that job. One or two stories come close, leaning into the seasonal atmosphere. The rest feel like regular Doctor Who short stories that just happen to take place in December.

One structural choice also stood out, and not in a good way. The first story ends abruptly, without any real sense of closure. When listening on audio, with no visual cues, this is genuinely confusing. It simply stops, and the next story begins. Only at the very end of the audiobook does it become clear that the final story is actually a continuation of the first. Structurally, this makes little sense. It would have been far clearer, and more satisfying, to present that story as a single complete piece. As it is, the framing feels unnecessary and oddly disruptive.

That said, the stories themselves are mostly solid. The writing is competent, the ideas are playful, and the variety keeps things moving. Even when the Christmas element is thin, the Doctor Who tone is recognisable and enjoyable. As a light seasonal listen, it works. Just not as a deeply festive one.

I would recommend Doctor Who: 10 Days of Christmas with tempered expectations. It is a decent collection of short Doctor Who stories, easy to listen to and generally entertaining. Just do not go in expecting a strong Christmas atmosphere throughout. Think Doctor Who first, Christmas second. Or sometimes, barely at all.