When I first got into Doctor Who novels, I spent most of Nine’s all-too-short run trying to get a feel for what I really thought of them. I think I was trying to compare them to the show a little too much and wasn’t just letting them be what they were. By the time I made it up to the Tenth Doctor novels, though, I was more settled and could appreciate them for what they were. The novels vary in quality and personal interest to me, much like the episodes, but a lot of them are great! Ten has the longest novel run of any new Who Doctor—let’s get into my favorites!
The Resurrection Casket
Can I just say, steampunk robot space pirates??? How can you possibly need more than that? The Doctor and Rose get stuck in the zeg, a zone that knocks out all electronic technology. In a waystation surrounded by the detritus of drifting spaceships, they join up with a crew of explorers looking for the lost treasure of a legendary pirate. Just top-shelf vibes from start to finish.
Wetworld
I enjoy a good colony-world story. The Doctor and Martha arrive at a struggling human settlement on the planet Sunday, where the colonists struggle against natural threats from the surrounding wetlands and something potentially unnatural lurking beneath the swamps. There’s some good creep factor and an intriguing mystery here, and Martha teams up with a surprising group of indigenous lifeforms.
The Doctor Trap
I really love this one. The Doctor gets caught up in a Most Dangerous Game-style hunt on a planet where everything is under the infinitely malleable control of a fabulously wealthy, brilliant narcissist. We get all manner of tricks and subterfuge, with the Doctor dodging killers and Donna stuck in a polite invisible prison. Creative and entertaining!
Shining Darkness
This novel sets up a neat world and conflict, on a distant planet where organic and machine intelligences live side by side. Donna is kidnapped by an anti-mechanical cult determined to wipe out all machine life, and to recover her, the Doctor joins a team of mechanicals and human allies fighting to stop them. An interesting exploration of prejudice that enjoys playing with its sci-fi implications, featuring great oneshot characters and cool parallel journeys for the Doctor and Donna stuck on opposite sides of the conflict.
Judgement of the Judoon
The Doctor investigates the seedy underbelly of a mob rivalry in a futuristic outer space film noir? Yes, please! If that’s not enough fun right there, his one-off companion stand-ins for this novel are a Judoon officer with all the subtlety of, well, a rhino in a china shop and a teen P.I. named Nikki Jupiter (and yes, the similarities to Veronica Mars absolutely have to be intentional!) This odd trio get up to all kinds of shenanigans amid perilous situations with a noirish flair.
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