Salt of the Earth by Trudi Canavan

A third Doctor story! With companion Jo Grant. Jon Pertwee’s Doctor and Jo Grant are a part of one of my favourite eras of Who and so Salt of the Earth was magical. I thought it got the characters, and in their interactions with each other, of the Doctor and Jo spot on. It was interesting that some of the narrative came from a dog, called Smithy. Salt is basically causing people to blow away in the wind, removing what evidence there is at what is causing it. Which was a grim detail in this story.

‘Yes.’ The Doctor agreed. ‘And very strange and unpleasant statues at that.’ Shading her eyes, Jo saw that he was right. The man’s mouth was open, frozen in the middle of a scream. The sheep, too, were twisted as if caught in a moment of torment.
Salt of the Earth by Trudi Canavan

A Handful of Stardust by Jake Arnott

The Bog Warrior by Cecilia Ahern

This was similar to Cinderella in its themes. I thought the tenth Doctor was poorly written. In The Bog Warrior the Doctor lands on the planet Cashel, where he is more of an observer as events unfold.

The Loneliness of The Long-Distance Time Traveller by Joanne Harris

‘It was the most perfect English village that the Doctor had ever seen. Rows of cottages, some of them thatched: a lane that was bridal with apple-trees. Every garden was in bloom: tulips, daffodils, wallflowers filled the warm air with their scent. A cat sat curled on a nearby wall. Washing hung on a clothes-line. In the distance, church bells rang a joyful carillon.’
The Loneliness of The Long-Distance Time Traveller by Joanne Harris

A Third Doctor story! This story takes place before he will regenerate. I haven’t seen Jon Pertwee’s final story, so I was a little confused at how it was possible to stave off regenerating for the amount of time that he does. I wouldn’t say it was spoilers. There is a sense of the setting The Loneliness of The Long-Distance Time being a kind of dream world. A very good story.

The Anti-Hero by Stella Duffy

The Anti-Hero was a decent story, set in Alexandra, with the Muses and with good interactions between Patrick Troughton’s character and those of his companions Jamie and Zoe. It unravelled in its last few chapters.