As The Doctor arrives on a human colony of Saturn in time for the flower show, he soon notices that the local shopkeepers are acting oddly.
What secrets do the flowers hold and why do they seem familiar to him?

I really enjoyed this Tenth Doctor story.
The colony setting is really interesting and along with the introduction of the young teenager characters who help explain what life is on Saturn is a great way to set the scene.
The mystery lasts long enough to keep the reader guessing.

The Sontarans are used to great effect and their reason for being there is perfectly explained.
The second half of the novel is really action packed with plenty of battles.

It’s a fun faced paced adventure with plenty of nods to The Doctor’s past, with mentions of previous encounters in Seville and medieval England being my favourite Easter Egg.29 s Ty2 2

Reading "Taking of 426" is drinking a cola. You pop the top and slightly hesitate as you remember hearing not-so-great things about how drinking cola is bad for you and gets worse and worser over time the more you do and do it. Yet, for whatever reason, when you sip the would-be contraband you find the sluice of sticky sweet suds is suddenly refreshing. Your sip becomes a gulp and as you finish. And, as you finish, you offer yourself a promise: No more colas... Well, at least not until the next Chelsea 426 Flower Show. [[[Simply put, while 426 is not among the best Doctor novels, it was an entertaining flight of whimsy. 426 easily delights as a "beach read" or "brain bubble bath".]]] Llewelyn captured the Sontaran spirit of single minded attempt to pursue war while layering just enough anti-war tutelage from the Doctor to make you wonder if those crazy potato heads may one day find peace enthralling. Naaaah. The Rutans were interesting, however they lacked breadth in backstory or depth of portrayal within the plot.6 s Shawn DealAuthor 9 books17

Really 3 1/2 stars this was an entertaining romp. The new aliens were good and having the sontarans in any story is also very good. The capturing of the 10th doctors voice was incredibly well realized in this particular story. sci-fi time-travel4 s Dale Russell413 7

Once again, the Doctor is traveling alone. And, as is his wont, his eccentricities take him across the universe to strange and interesting venues and this one may be one of the strangest. Human colony Chelsea 426 - floating above the billowing clouds of the gas-giant Saturn is hosting an "Interplanetary Flower Festival"...which...in and of itself is fairly strange as the only plant life known in the Sol system is on Earth...soooo..."Interplanetary" has a whole new meaning. But, as it is with the Doctor, what starts off as a fun jaunt is soon revealed to be so much more. And...what's that smell of ammonia in the air?

David Llewellyn gives us his second venture into the Who Universe - the first being a great Torchwood Tie-In novel - with this his first adventure of the Doctor. Set during David Tennant's reign as the 10th Doctor and following the events of the loss of Donna. Llewellyn hits many of the regular beats of the both the series and Tennant's unique portrayal of the erstwhile lead while injecting a little bit of his own writing and characterization into the story that makes this an interestingly different kind of Doctor story. One place where he really hits it out of the park is with the atmosphere that he carries throughout the book. Giant Flowers...Sontarans...enclosed cities floating above giant planets. These have the feel of the BBC's productions of the Doctor from the 60s and 70s mashed-up with a Doctor of the new millennium. The reader can easily visualize the pieces that make up the main story line and it feels stepping into a Tom Baker Who set.

Fun and fairly quick read.adventure continuing-series humor ...more1 Megan1,621 203

I thought that the tenth Doctor was well represented in this novel, I could certainly picture David Tennant saying and doing most of the things in the book very easily which made the story very enjoyable.

The story reminded me, in a way, of the Waters of Mars episode except these alien takeovers were more subtle and you really had to pay attention to notice they were different.

I enjoyed the Sontarans part, the one fight scene was especially fun to imagine. The ending was predictable, yet I still laughed at it.

All in all, a very good installment in the DW series and one I'd recommend.april-2018 borrow-or-need-to-buy doctor-who ...more1 Corgi Clouds6

It’s a great doctor who story! I love the Carstairs, they fit really nicely with the doctor’s character. Speaking of which, he’s written the 10th doctor. I think besides one interaction in the book, he’s his character, which I to see. The story was interesting and I love the Sontarans. The ending of the book was nice, if maybe a little rushed. My first Doctor WHO book I’ve read, won’t be the last! 1 Finn172 2

A Tenth Doctor adventure and my first Doctor Who novel to boot.

It has everything, from Sontarans to Rutans to space colonies, and of course the Doctor conveniently being in the right place at the right time. It reads and feels an actual episode.1 Michael1,257 128

Listening to The Taking of Chelsea 426 on audio, I couldn't help but miss the "good old days" of the Target novels or the Virgin New Adventures series. It's not I dis the BBC books, but I keep finding they pale a bit in comparison as tie-in novels.

Of course, I also have to remind myself the Virgin novels were written during the bleak time when we didn't have new Doctor Who on our screens on a regular basis.

Chelsea 426 is your basic base under siege story from the Troughton era told as a story for the tenth Doctor. But instead of facing just one alien threat, this time the Doctor must fend off two--in this case it's the Sonatarans (I'm not ruining anything here since they're on the cover) and their old enemies, the Rutans.

Saturn's Chelsea 426 is readying for their flower show in the hopes of boosting the local economy. But the flower show could prove to be part of a bigger plot from the Rutans. Seems that once upon a time the Sontarans planned to use Earth as breeding colony. The Rutans caught wind of this and created a plant whose spores would take over their hosts and make them agents for the Rutans. When the Sontarans abandoned this plan, the Rutans left the plants in place and they began to take over human hosts instead.

Along the way, there are some interesting moments in the story but it never quite solidifies into something more. Part of it could be limitations placed on the novel range by the on-going TV series. Or, as I keep reminding myself, these novels are written for younger fans whose exposure to Doctor Who is most ly the modern series and not the classic episodes.

That doesn't take away from the strength of the narration on this book. Reader Christopher Ryan does a solid impression of the David Tennant Doctor and his reading is, for the most part, spot-on.

audio-book doctor-who read-in-20121 Sara761 5

I enjoyed this book-- there wasn't anything wrong with it, but I can't say there was anything great about it either. I guess the Sontarans are amusing. I d the little glimpse of the Doctor's thoughts about taking on a new companion. The idea that the colony was meant to mimic 1950s England seemed a bit lazy. If I had the chance to write a Doctor Who novel I'd make up a truly alien or futuristic human society! doctor-who fiction1 Brittany104

I am so excited to have discovered these books! I have been mourning the loss of David Tennant as the Doctor and this is just what I needed. What a wonderful surprise! The author really captures David's take on the character and makes the story work. It's just watching an episode only you get to take your time with it(if you can!).1 Tammy1,226 32

The book was okay, but I'd rather watch an episode of Doctor Who than read about one -- in this case.sci-fi1 Shannon529 12

My least favourite so far. Nothing particularly against it but still...1 Itami76

Great book. Loved it. Can’t explain why.

But I’m gonna try.

Maybe it was because of the Sontarans. I just them. Not as those „haha funny potato villains“ but as an interesting alien species with their own power structures and way of thinking and stuff.

Maybe it was because I d the characters. The teenagers were not too annoying, they were right between cute and bitchy. The parents, the major, the mayor… Yes, we have a major AND a mayor and for half of the book stupid german me was „Damn it, can’t you decide how to type that title?“… yeah.

Maybe it was because I d the setting with the retro-looking settlement, the big flower show in the gardens, all the shiny starships arriving, the old-fashioned hotel… it felt a bit a place where you could spend a nice holiday at.

Maybe because the death count was very low (a few poor human soldiers) and the brutality was quite moderate. Definitely something appropriate for a tv episode.

Maybe because of the kinda clever theme of „people settle somewhere, then more new people come, but the „old new“ people don’t want more new people, so they stop being welcoming and spread evil rumors about the new people, and a very angry, very loud dude tells the „old new“ people to vote for him so he can get rid of all those dirty criminal new people… Jfc, they should’ve called the settlement „Acirema“ to make it even more obvious… But okay, this whole social pattern is pretty universal so… humans never change and history repeats itself is the message. Sad but true.

Maybe because the tenth Doctor was very well written. He was cheerful, he was wary, he was asking the right questions, he was trying to rescue everyone, AND he was NOT the god- genius he is in most other stories (especially in the Moffat era… cough…). Let me explain: He does not figure out who the villain is, he is actually told who it is and he’s „Aaaah, I should’ve known!“ which was cute. Let me explain a bit more: There are situations where he does not know how to hack into a certain computer system and needs help AND a situation where he doesn’t know the names of starships and gets help again. THAT is how I my Doctor! Because if he were an all-knowing, perfect god there would be no point in him travelling at all. He travels to see new things, to learn new things, and here he does.

And last but not least, maybe it was because the very last sentence of the book made me gasp!

You can decide for yourself if you go and read the book! I’d recommend it!books whoniverse Beth1,407 54

I really enjoyed this - 4*

This series is very hit and miss and with the Sontarans on the front cover, I was convinced it was going to be on the 'miss' side of the series. I was surprised to how good this story actually was. I love the 10th Doctor which helps and Llewellyn captured his essence perfectly. The fact he was riding solo actually helped the story because there wasn't a companion lumping around and we were introduced to original characters, who had a starring role. The Sontarans aren't the most thrilling aliens and that's why I only gave this 4*.doctor-who Abi Collins97 4

That book was agreeable.

Ehehe I couldn’t help but make that joke. It was a fun adventure with similarly unlikable and able side characters. I d the use of the Rutan Host and the Sontarans. I also d the references to the doctor’s previous defeats of the Sontarans and that he was known to their leaders.

No shocking or unforeseen moments that really made this book spectacular, but it was reasonably fast paced and enjoyable throughout. Really more 3.5 than 3 stars. K632 3

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1???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????"??"?????????????????????????????????????????doctor-who doctor-who-10th-doctor Ansi Widya78

The nerd in me was screaming in excitement the entire time when reading this book.
What can I say, I love the Doctor. And to be honest, I love this book. I could imagine the characters well and it's one of Doctor Who's episode was playing in my head. Such a good story. Rhys Causon678 2

Interesting to finally see a chapter in the Sontaran/Rutan war, even if it seems a bit bizarre at the start.

A nice little story for the 10th Doctor, just another story where he attempting to actually be a tourist but still gets drawn into adventure but it’s nothing too outlandish this time. Kristina480 35

I love D. W books Susan Chacko63 22

It was alright. I think I only it because I the Doctor. The storyline wasn't that great. I'd say it's a one-time read. Or in my case, a one-time listen. science-fiction Ian1,034 3

This and other David Llewellyn books reviewed here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com...sci-fi S495 13

Enjoyed the setting and the characters, but the story felt a bit chaotic towards the end. Still good fun though!audiobook doctor-who in-english Teresa Johnson25

Well told story, captured the mannerisms of this doctor very well. Looking forward to others! Kimberly Souza457 17

A fun addition to my Doctor Who books.master-booklist K1,018 4

That last sentence though
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