When Doctor Who books returned with a vengeance, in conjunction with the revival of the series, they reaction to the first set of titles was very lukewarm. Aside from Winner Takes All and Only Human, most of the books seemed rather…unambitious.
It’s true that the writing style is less demanding than the previous series of BBC Books and Virgin Publishing’s New Adventure novels, but that shouldn’t hamper their appeal. The Harry Potter books are enjoyable, even though the writing style is very much a straightforward, all ages approach…and with the latter novels, certainly an adult length.
However, recent books featuring the 10th Doctor and Martha have demonstrated an increase in quality and complexity. The Last Dodo especially was enjoyable & exciting, featured a number of fascinating insights into the characters, and an ending with considerable poignancy. This has carried on into the latest books, and has made for a series of very satisfying reads.
Written by Paul Magrs
Sick Building (a good title, but how I wish they had kept the original: The Wicked Bungalow) has the most straightforward and simple writing style of the three books, but this only helps to accentuate the incredible strangeness of its setting. Where else but Doctor Who are you going to find a miracle house of the future, surrounded by a bubble, on a snowy wilderness planet, ruled over by an arrogant, self-obsessed genius in a war-to-the-death with the main household computer…constructed in the shape of a fireplace!
Meanwhile, supporting characters include sentient machines such as Barbara (a walking, talking vending machine with arms and legs), and Toaster (he’s a tanning bed). All the while, everyone (even the animals) trembles in mortal fear of the giant, moon-sized, planet devouring worm, on a non-stop approach. For this plot & situation alone, the book is worth reading. 
It benefits from concentrating mostly on the characters, and a rather bemused Doctor and Martha, but it’s the weakest book — the next two are actually more evocative in description and writing style. This is a shame, as author Paul Magrs is responsible for some fabulous BBC novels, such as The Scarlet Empress and Mad Dogs & Englishmen. I wouldn’t want to think he was holding back for some reason, since his novels & Big Finish audio plays have been highly acclaimed for their imagination and twisted brilliance, to say nothing of his most wonderful creation: the Time Lady Iris Wildthyme. A second crack at the new series novels might be in order…
7
Written by Mark Morris
Forever Autumn is a more straightforward story: a Halloween horror nightmare that builds and builds…with possessed men in evil clown costumes, an attack by cats (very X-Files), a creepy tree, and green mist surrounding a small, New England town. In short, nothing Stephen King and his ilk haven’t done before.
But Mark Morris concentrates far more on character and creepiness than Paul Magrs, and the result is a novel packed with supporting characters that are all interesting, especially the children. It can be difficult to render authentic pre-teens on the page, but Morris manages it extremely well. The benefit is that his superb depictions of the Doctor and Martha have many different types of people with whom they can interact…and makes their increasing desperation to save everyone from the forces of evil so much more authentic and exciting. For the most part, even the Americanisms sound authentic, with one or two exceptions.
Overall, Forever Autumn is less ambitious in plot than the rather twisted Sick Building, but it’s full of far more character depth and creepy atmosphere.
8
Written by Mark Michalowski
Wetworld is the best of the three books. If someone were to come up to the average Doctor Who fan and tell them they could write a story in a swamp, they would kindly point to the 4th Doctor turkey The Power of Kroll and warn them against trying again. Luckily, Mark Michalowski seems to like a challenge, and proves any naysayers wrong.
Reading Wetworld, one can smell the saltiness of the water, feel the oppressive humidity, and feel the squelch of muddy unstable ground. The characters have all been through considerable trauma, and are suspicious, tired, and cynical…but not to an extent that they could completely alienate the reader. They have realistic personalities, suffer realistic problems, and react to strangers in realistic ways.
It’s one of those novels where the Doctor’s actions have unfortunate consequences for his companion, and shows him operating on a mild level of desperation and anger that heightens not only his more ludicrous characteristics, but also his heroic tendencies. The voices of David Tennant and Freema Agyeman come across loud and clear while reading Wetworld, and the other characters benefit from being in the afterglow of such well realised regulars. It’s an overall richness, one that can be found in other Michaelowski Doctor Who novels such as Relative Dementias and Halflife.
The plot is also a nice combination of the banality of insular Earth colonies and over-the-top creepy crawlies…in this case, crazed sentient Otters who behave like dumb lemmings one moment, and over-caffeinated chipmunks the next moment. But it’s all in aid of the massive, fascinating creature to which they are enthralled. A creature with some considerable, inventive thought put into its construction and motivation.
Wetworld is a combination of the best qualities of Forever Autumn and Sick Building…and by far the most satisfying read out of all three books. That said, we’re talking about degrees here, and all three are worth the read.
But I’d save Wetworld for last…you’ll enjoy it more. 
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