original and possibly the best
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The last new doctor who novel published by virgin before the BBC took over and restarted the range, this was the only one they did which featured the eighth doctor. And it's still, after all his appearances in subsequent novels, possibly the best portrayal of him on the printed page ever.
This book also strongly features bernice summerfield, long term companion from the virgin range, and that is simultaneously a strength and weakness. The former because it gives us a very effective introduction to the new doctor by showing him through the eyes of someone who knew the previous one so well, and the latter because the need to establish her as a lead character in her own right for her own series of books means the doctor vanishes from the story for far too long at a critical point.
The plot is an effective tale of the ice warriors invading modern day britain, and doesn't hold too many surprises. But the book is a decent read, especially as an introduction to a new prose doctor. Although be aware that the following bbc range of eighth doctor novels doesn't tie into this at all
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Mars Attacks!
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Virgins last Doctor Who novel (hence the high price) is also their only adventure to feature the 8th Doctor. Parkin gets a good handle on the character as performed by McGann in the US TV Movie, but the story is a very generic 'aliens invade Earth' romp. A few exciting scenes make this a reasonably enjoyable book, but its ultimately a big-budget Hollywood version of Doctor Who - short on brains, big on explosive action set-pieces. Pleasant, but a little underwhelming for a finale to a 61 book series.
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