This novel is an interesting quiet affair that is often overlooked. It follows the loud bombastic action of the last books that have millions of plot twists and clever moments.
So when the editor of a range changes, you can expect a change in tone. And this one gives that change of atmosphere that the EDAs desperately needed.

It's probably the most simple book I have ever read. I've even heard it described as 'an exercise in minimalism'. And to be honest, it's hard to imagine this book being complex and full of twists. It's extremely traditional and focuses more on the characters rather than plot.
So basically, the mining village of Middletown is in strife as a its tin mine closes down. A strange crack has appeared across the moors. A strange man called Nepath wants to reopen the mines. Some characters from the another town have come to investigate the crack.
And then a strange man walks in from the mist.

The Doctor here is not the Doctor we know. He's lost all his memory and is dark, brooding. He has no idea what is going on and has to solve what is happening as fast as he can before more are killed or possessed.
The other characters are pretty good. Nepath is a scary villain. The military characters are fun. The 'Victorian Gentlemen' are written so well that it's shocking when they die. Stobbold, who become the companion, is a great character. Only problem with him is that when his daughter dies, he displays no emotion whatsoever. The setting here is well-realised and menacing. I can visualise it in my head.

The Burning is an interesting concept. It's like a consciousness that lives in fire. It's never really explained, but it wants to take over the world and control everyone. It's very well realised through Nepath and the constant motif of fire.

My only issues are Stobbold's lack of emotion, the unexplained Burning and the fact that the last 50 pages are a bit hard to understand.

So yeah, The Burning is a great book that I definitely recommend. It's one of my favourite EDAs and I'm sure it will become one of yours!
8.5/10 rounded up to 9/10.

This is Doctor Who.

Forget The Day of the Doctor and other anniversary stories that are buried in continuity. This is how you celebrate a milestone.
Basically, all previous continuity is forgotten about except for that the Doctor has traveled. We don't even know which Doctor it is, which I think is extremely liberating.
The Infinity Doctors is like a mixture between The Deadly Assassin and The Three Doctors. We get a quiet beginning, showing us the beginnings of an intricate plot. At first, I didn't know what was going on, but the relevance is made clear later in the story. We're shown a Gallifreyan society that is the most interesting interpretation yet, and clearly the best. We learn about time on Gallifrey, about rank and law. It's really refreshing to be told this, and makes sense in relation to the plot.
The Doctor here is a quiet man reminiscent of the Eighth Doctor. He is vulnerable, grieving for his dead wife. He has an affair with one of his students, and then ends up killing her when he has to in order to save the universe. He is so lost as what to do when all hell breaks loose. This is by far my favourite interpretation of our favourite hero.
There's also a peace conference on Gallifrey between the Sontarans and the Rutans that is being mediated by the Doctor. While it's not really important to the plot, it gets it going and gives us some nice scenes. We learn about the war and the complexities of it.
Parts One and Two are like a political drama with terrorism being the main focus, but then Part Three takes the most daring turn and we go into the realm of fantasy, Omega's world. The scenes there are amazing, and really make you think about what the essence of Doctor Who is.
It's one of the greatest Doctor Who stories ever. 10/10. A fitting celebration of 35 years in time and space.

This is Doctor Who.

First time I watched The Ghost Monument...well, I hated it. I thought the plot was loose and it didn't build up to a genuine climax.
Maybe it has to do with Matthew Purchase's amazing artwork for this story, but I slowly turned my opinion around. I now view it as sort of a 'curator's egg', a funny little story that exists and doesn't do much besides that.
Basically, I now love it.
I believe we need to get more aliens planets and ignore Earth for a bit, and now we have. We get a really cool journey on a planet called Desolation.
Angstrom and Epzo are cool characters. They don't really do much, but they're played well by Shaun Dooley and Susan Lynch, so that doesn't bother me.
Visuals are amazing, really excellent. They're the best the show has ever had.
My only problems are show-don't-tell, the Stenza references and I wish there was more of a climax. But to be honest, I think this story is pretty good.
Originally 5/10
6.5/10 rounded up to 7/10

Before Resolution aired, I was considering writing a fun review, similar to a screenplay on a fictional Chibnall coming up with the series and the new Daleks.
But the time for that has past.
What a terrible, terrible, terrible story.
Oh my actual god, I HATED IT!

So basically, we start with no titles. That really disappointed me. And then we have this info-dump about some war between Daleks and people of different nationalities with some really bad font. So basically, even after the Doctor has said that one Dalek is capable of destroying entire planets, the Dalek is destroyed by knights with axes. And then, instead of being burned, it is broken up into three pieces and split across the globe. I should mention here that none of the other pieces became relevant to the story. Even though we get that scene where the other Dalek pieces come to life, it is literally ignored.
Okay, so now we come to the underground Sheffield area. We get the two archaeologists who are literally the most boring characters. All they want is to be romantically involved with each other. So they dig up a Dalek mutant, which is still alive. We see it crawling on the wall. But then we get the scenes with the Dalek mutant controlling the woman. So Chibnall has now given the Daleks magic superpowers! Oooooh! And now they can talk!
We also get bogged down in this story about Ryan's Dad coming back. I don't mind the fact that Ryan is mad, he has a right. But the Doctor and Graham go COMPLETELY OUT OF CHARACTER and literally say that Aaron is a worthless human being who should die in a hole. My Doctor does not do that. They believe in redemption and hope. I understand that she may care about Ryan and disagree with what his Dad did, but it is not her battle to fight. So for the whole story, we get this half-bovvered tale about Ryan's poor Dad, who isn't even that much of a good character anyway.
Also, UNIT is dissolved due to monetary problems. Thanks Chibnall. We get a somewhat comedic scene that bashes the digital age and kids who were born in it. Thanks Chibnall.
The acting is no good anyway. No one (maybe except Bradley Walsh) was believable. Even Jodie. I was watching this with a friend who had not seen the 13th Doctor before, and she said that she didn't like Jodie, not because of her gender, but her acting, and I must say, this is her weakest acting in Doctor Who so far.
Aaaanyway, we then get the new redesigned Dalek and did I absolutely scream at the screen. That's not a Dalek. It looks like something that appears in a really low-budget fanfilm. It looked like a really skinny woman. I was so excited to see a new redesign of Dalek, but this one just looks dreadful! I'd rather have the 2005 ones back! Or even the 1960s ones! I just laughed after a while. It's what I should have expected.
We also get a really pointless scene with the Dalek fighting the army. There's literally no story reason why that should occur. No one called the authorities. No one saw the Dalek. So why should the army suddenly appear and fight it? Oh Chibnall!!!!!
And now, Daleks can be destroyed with microwaves! Yay!
The scene with the Dalek on Aarons's back and him almost getting sucked out of the TARDIS could have been a really nice character moment for Ryan. He could have sacrificed his life for his Dad. Or even better, the Dalek could have been on Ryan's back, and Aaron could have sacrificed himself to save Ryan. That would have been so good. But no. No.
The last potentially saving grace for this story would have been if Ryan or Yaz had left the TARDIS (not Graham!) I don't mind Ryan, even though he is written inconsistently, but I absolutely HATE Yaz. After rewatching a lot of Series 11, she really grated on me for being really bland and being written like a cardboard box.
I'd probably give this story a 1/10. I am still really tempted to go lower, but I'll be nice. That's saying something.
So, no Doctor Who until 2020. To be honest, I'm glad. This Series has given us some really terrible stuff, and Resolution is included in that. Oh well, I've recently gotten into the EDAs. That'll be my Doctor Who this year.


Appendix: For those sad that there'll be no Doctor Who this year, I should mention that I have a website on which I upload fanfiction with the Eighth Doctor + original companions. This year I will put up Series 5-7. So check out that if you want to.
theneweighthdoctoradventures.weebly.com