Written by Trevor Baxendale
The most disappointing of the three novels; I was expecting much more. Baxendale has been responsible for many of the darker, moodier forays into the Doctor Who literary universe, particularly in novels such as Eater of Wasps and Fear of the Dark. But Wishing Well sees him writing on auto-pilot. The ingredients are all there, setting is perfect…what goes wrong?
The characters let the story down. Although the Doctor and Martha are handled well, the remaining supporting characters are all bland or - even worse - too soap-opera-ish for this kind of story. It’s as if Baxendale dropped our time travelers into a dullish episode of the British ladies detective show Rosemary & Thyme…and it does the novel no favours. Unless you’re into characters vamping it up about their personal lives. Usually, Doctor Who manages to subvert other genres exceedingly well, but not on this occasion. Wishing Well is a brief, inoffensive, yet underwhelming entry into the novels. It has a few creepy moments, but it’s simply too…ordinary.
5
Written by Simon Guerrier
Now THIS is more like it. Pirate space badgers! Yes, you read that correctly. What can you do with pirate space badgers as your primary characters?
Quite a bit, as it happens. You can mix them up into a story involving genetic experimentation, a time paradox, sticky sci-fi-foam walls, comedy aliens who think they’re in some sci-fi version of Miss Marple, and a central puzzle that makes for an interesting & exciting read. I can’t say much else about the novel, because it almost defies description…except to say it’s about as mad and insane a work of fiction as you can read, and STILL be successful Doctor Who. There is energy, drive and sparkling fun to be had in this twisted, epic story, and it’s probably the most imaginative 10th Doctor novel to date. Definitely worth picking up.
9
Written by James Swallow
The biggest surprise of this batch of novels. I’m not a fan of westerns, and the only reason Doctor Who’s previous outing in this genre (1966’s The Gunfighters) is palatable is due to its status as a sublime comedy. But Peacemaker offers a sci-fi twist on the usual western…and in doing so, results in one of the most satisfyingly traditional Doctor Who stories in quite some time.
The key success here are the villains: a pair of rouge war machines that actually pose a serious threat to both the Earth AND the Doctor…and such villains tend to raise not only the stakes of the story, but enhance the successful realization of the Doctor on the printed page. Although not quite the best novel of the bunch, it’s easily the one with the best characterizations of David Tennant and Freema Agyeman. The Doctor and Martha blaze off these pages - pages that offer exciting action, creepy moments, lots of fan-pleasing continuity (even a surprising flashback to the time war), and a gripping climax.
I wish most of the supporting characters weren’t such cliches or dull cardboard (seemingly taken from the extras company of Gunsmoke), but the overall novel offers a wonderful read, and it’s my personal favourite of the bunch…even though The Pirate Loop has the edge in terms of mad imagination. 
8.5
