#31: The Mind of Evil by Terrance Dicks

The Doctor and Jo Grant try to foil The Master's latest plot, involving a prison riot, a nerve-gas missile, and a peace conference in Terrance Dicks' novelization of the Doctor Who episode The Mind of Evil.

This is the Jon Pertwee-era Doctor, who was stranded on Earth in the early 70s and working as an advisor to a military group.  Pertwee was a more can-do Doctor, and showcases his mastery of Venusian kung-fu in this outing.

Terrance Dicks is considered the definitive Doctor Who novelist, and I concur.  I read a lot of these as a teenager without ever having seen an episode of Doctor Who nor having much knowledge as to what it was.  When, as an adult, I moved to a city where Tom Baker-era Doctor Who was on the local PBS affiliate, it all came together, and the Baker era was a good time to catch up.

I had not read a Terrance Dicks novel in a very long time, but found a good audiobook version of this at the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana and enjoyed listening.

#24: Wetworld by Mark Michalowski

The Doctor and his companion Martha square off against a mind-controlling alien on a newly colonized planet, while some insensitive settlers and innocent natives get in the way, in Mark Michalowski's Wetworld, a Doctor Who story that features characters played by David Tennant and Freema Agyeman.

Fans of the Tennant era will like this story just fine, funny enough and mildly entertaining throughout.  Fairly low stakes, even with a massive nuclear bomb ticking away at the denouement. 

A good audiobook reading by Agyeman adds value.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.

#22: The Pirate Loop by Simon Guerrier

The Doctor and his companion Martha Jones decide to find out what happened to a luxury space liner that disappeared, only to quickly find themselves up against some dim-witted space pirates, in Simon Guerrier's The Pirate Loop, a Doctor Who adventure.

This story takes place during the David Tennant/Freema Agyeman era of the contemporary series, and it has a distinctly television-sized air. 

An experimental spaceship engine that, naturally, was used ill-advisedly makes up the rest of the slender plot. Fine for fans.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana and enjoyed the audiobook reading by Freema Agyeman.  

#32: The Last Dodo by Jacqueline Rayner

The Doctor and his companion Martha visit a space zoo with a hidden agenda in Jacqueline Rayner's Tenth Doctor adventure The Last Dodo.

Fans of the David Tennant era will find a good characterization of him in this breezy entry that has the scope and feel of a television episode.  This zoo is full of extinct animals from Earth, so naturally a few hungry prehistoric creatures get loose.  Secret cloning and diabolical motivations make the story only slightly more complex.

Fans of the Doctor Who show will find enough to enjoy, and a good audiobook reading by Freema Agyeman--who played Martha in the show--adds value.

I checked this out from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.

#31: Sting of the Zygons by Stephen Cole

In the 1900s, the Doctor and his companion Martha stave off an alien invasion of shape-shifters, rampaging giant monsters, and a conspiracy against the British government in Stephen Cole's Sting of the Zygons.

This Doctor Who novel features the character as played by David Tennant, but in the usual mind-bending Doctor Who logic, is a prequel to a storyline first introduced in the Tom Baker era, Terror of the Zygons.

The plot is very action-driven, and not much character-driven, so relies on the television show's fanbase for success.

I listened to a good audiobook reading by Reggie Yates, on loan from the Morrisson-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.

#22: The Resurrection Casket by Justin Richards

The Doctor and his companion Rose end up stranded in a section of space where technology doesn't work, and suddenly find themselves at odds with steam-driven robot buccaneers in search of a cosmic pirate treasure in Justin Richards' The Resurrection Casket, featuring characters from the long-running Doctor Who show.

If the idea of David Tennant's version of The Doctor battling robot pirates is very appealing to you, not much more needs to be said.  All other readers will find an amiable enough science fiction story with obvious allusions to Treasure Island.

I pick up a Doctor Who novel from time to time and find them by and large agreeable, even more so to fans.  I listened to this one on audiobook, with value added by David Tennant as the narrator.

I checked this out from the New Castle-Henry County Public Library and listened to the whole thing on a drive to Chicago.

#44: The King's Dragon by Una McCormack

The Doctor and companions Amy and Rory decide to visit a medieval-era utopian town for a rest; instead, naturally, they find the town in the thrall of a despotic king and under threat by an alien armada in Una McCormack's The King's Dragon, a contemporary Doctor Who story.

Fans of the current series, especially the Matt Smith era, will find a lot to enjoy in this breezy, but action-packed adventure which adds to the Doctor Who lore.  It has the right pacing and tone for a current episode in the series, with social and political overtones, fun interplay between characters, and of course a large, robotic dragon.

I enjoyed McCormack's take on Doctor Who and would look for more of her writing.

I bought this at a goodbye price at the BBC America booth at GenCon this summer and read it over a weekend.

#40: EarthWorld by Jacqueline Rayner

The Doctor and his companions Fitz and Anji visit a future colony which has built an amusement park called EarthWorld, a Disney-like attraction that has a humorously skewed version of Earth history;  but when a murderous trio take over behind the scenes it becomes anything but funny in Jacqueline Rayner's Doctor Who novel EarthWorld.

This adventure features the Eighth Doctor, an unusual figure in the lengthy history of the original television series as he appeared in just one television adventure at the end of the original Doctor Who series and bridged the long gap before the start of the contemporary series, the lead character in countless novels, comics, and audio plays during that time.  Even at that, the casual Doctor Who fan probably doesn't know a lot about him.

This novel, re-released as part of the 50th Anniversary of the program, is some thirty-odd novels (!) into his adventures, and sent me to the internet to learn more about his companions and some of the backstory talked about.  Enjoyable, but probably mostly for hardcore Doctor Who fans.

I bought this at GenCon in Indianapolis and enjoyed learning more about this character.

#14: Doctor Who: A History by Alan Kistler

I used to read Terrance Dicks Doctor Who paperbacks in the 70s without ever having seen the program, yet still enjoyed them; so I was pleased to find out, when I moved to Wisconsin in the late 80s, that Doctor Who was shown on PBS Sunday afternoons. 

The first I saw of the series was Tom Baker and The Keys of Time storyline, which was an awful good place to start.  I have been a fan ever since.

That made me eager to read Doctor Who: A History by Alan Kistler, a guy who is a bigger fan of Doctor Who than me.  This nonfiction account of the first 50 years of the program has a lot of interesting stories and sidebars for the more serious fans of the program, but is a good primer for new viewers.

I listened to this on audiobook, read by the author, and enjoyed it immensely.  Recommended for fans of the current and classic programs.

#14: The Clockwise Man by Justin Richards

The Doctor and his companion, Rose, travel to 1920s London to check out the British Exhibition, but almost immediately find themselves set upon by robots, aliens, and intelligent cats in Justin Richards' contemporary Doctor Who adventure The Clockwise Man.

As a teen I read a ton of Terrence Dicks' novels based on the long-running BBC sci-fi show Doctor Who, although I never got to see the program until I moved to Wisconsin as an adult and found it on PBS there (beginning when Tom Baker was the Doctor, a great place to start enjoying Doctor Who).

Obviously Dicks' novels, and this first of a new series, are for fans of the show, and as that it is quite enjoyable.  The story is brisk and breezy and compliments the television program.

I checked this out from the Farmland Public Library and read it quickly.  Recommended for fans.