so i accidentally bought a used copy of Human Nature last weekend and read it all on Tuesday. and the TV episodes are fresh in my mind too, so Immediate Reactions (spoiler warning):

• fascinating that in book!HN, the Doctor decides to become human for the hell of it, for emotional reasons. I’d assumed that it would be revealed eventually that of course he was doing it to hide from the Family (erm, I forget their species name in the book), but no, the Family was the one who turned him human. I do think the TV version works better as a premise—and the Doctor not explaining much and giving limited instructions works better if he was genuinely in a rush, rather than it being a personal choice. but still. huh.
• dear lord this book is much darker than the TV version. the whole school getting blown up and most of the students dying, the bullies literally killing Tim and him being brought back to life…..
• the one thing I liked better in the book was how it explored the Doctor-as-an-Ideal more—how anyone can be the Doctor. John Smith didn’t have to change back to embrace what the Doctor stood for—he chose to be the sort of hero the Doctor was himself, while he was still human. Tim learned that he can say no to being a soldier and there are other ways to do good — and literally became a doctor.
• I am fascinated by John Smith surviving briefly as a separate person from the Doctor. I liked it as a plot resolution—the villain trying to absorb the Doctor and instead being thwarted because he absorbed the mind of a human. weird that he then. dies(?) but there was something quite interesting there briefly, about humanity being his undoing. and the Doctor and John Smith getting to talk to each other. and it was definitely unexpected, given how nothing of the sort happens in TV!HN. (the mechanics of becoming human and the Doctor’s memories being stored separately also being different.)
• yes I did read this because I knew Romana would be mentioned. I’d heard that seeing a vision of her was what led the Doctor to realize the threat the Family posed—which is true! but I’d assumed that this vision was before the adventure, that this vision sparked his plan to thwart the Family by hiding as a human. so I was emotionally unprepared for it being John Smith having the vision. he didn’t even remember her, but seeing Romana executed was what convinced him to resist, to not give the Family what they wanted. y’all I’m feeling things 🥺