All seven of the ‘Missing Adventures’ I reviewed during my time on TS have now been transferred over to here.
A world where magic is real; a Eurocentric nightmare world, with Vampires and multiple Byrons; Silurian-Sea Devil hybrids; and a meeting with Guy Fawkes.
Some great stories here.
‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’
‘Managra’
‘Millenial Rites’
‘The Eye of the Giant’
‘The Scales of Injustice’
‘The Plotters’
‘Burning Heart’
I read Managra a couple of years ago on my ‘read every Sarah Jane novel’ quest (which I mostly succeeded in!) And I agree with you totally, it’s definitely one of the better VMAs, and definitely one of the better books with Sarah in, mostly because it’s fun and not boring. Which is a low bar, and yet many DW novels manage to shimmy on under it 
I’m not very versed in the world of the novels at all but The Plotters is one I’ve always wanted to try because I love Vicki sooooo much and I’m forever a true historical defender. The less said about the writer the better though and that’s been part of my hesitancy, I don’t want to read too much of the review because I wouldn’t like to be spoiled but seeing how much you clearly liked it makes me want to give it a go too.
All those covers are giving me the nostalgia chills.
Also, they’re all brilliant books.
I remember having a conversation - on Twitter - with some of the writers who had worked on both the Missing Adventures and the Past Doctor Adventures.
Apparently Alistair Pearson and the cover artists on the MAs actually listened to the writers.
BlackSheep (Who did most of the Beeb books) did not.
Honestly, I’d love a return to the hand drawn style of the MAs.
Definitely agree with that, since one of the books I just finished reviewing was this mess.
Why I thought it would be a good idea to put myself through another John Peel novel after the dumpster fire that was ‘Genesys’, I’ll never know.
Yeaaaaa Evolution is… a book. I must say tbh most of the Sarah books are disappointing, but John Peel novels are generally usually not to my taste at all
Yeah, I totally understand that. Anytime I review a story featuring someone who has done or said some pretty horrible things, I always put a disclaimer up making it clear that I’m separating the art from the artist.
The way I look at it is;
But I completely understand being hesitant to read some of his books.
I believe you can split pure historicals into two categories:
The Comedies: where writers take a wrecking ball to historical accuracy and just have fun with it. That would be your ‘The Romans’ and ‘The Gunfighters’.
The Serious and Education: where historical accuracy is key. Those would be your ‘The Aztecs’ and ‘The Massacre’.
‘The Plotters’ definitely falls into the former category. It’s a comedy through and through, but works really well for it.
It is one of the more expensive MAs if you wanted to track it down on eBay, so be prepared for that one.
Love love love The Scales of Injustice. The way it fleshes out the UNIT chatacters and their surroudings while only staying within the context of season 7 and the preceding Troughton stories is phenomenal. That first season really has its own distinct feel, and the book gives it the epic finale it never had.
I also really liked The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and The Eye of the Giant, I don’t see them being talked about much, but they’re both very fun.
Didn’t care much about The Plotters, and I say this as a fan of Roberts’ writing style (his personal awfulness aside, of course).
And those are the ones I’ve read from this bunch so far. Nice job on the reviews!
Yeah, Evolution was… questionable, to say the least.
No, don’t worry, the orphans are fine with being horrifyingly genetically mutated
Tbh, “questionable” could describe any book with Peel’s name attatched to it.
Season 7 is my joint favourite run of classic who (alongside Season 22) so getting to have that big bombastic finale was absolutely magnificent.
Was also really nice to have some closure in regards to Liz’s story. One of my favourite companions, so I felt like she deserved that.
I think the main reason people don’t discuss these ones is because Christopher Bulis is a “meat and potatoes writer” - capable of creating several stories in a short amount of time, which are servicable and don’t usually push the boat out.
I’d say the major exception is my favourite 1st Doctor book of all time, which I also reviewed.
That one is incredibly glum and depressing, but one of the best things I have ever read. I’d actually call it my favourite 1st Doctor story full stop.
I think the reason I prefer ‘The Plotters’ over his Fourth Doctor books is because I genuinely cannot stand Dougie Adams style humour.
That book is much more in tune with something like ‘The Romans’, which really worked for me.
Thank you! Likes on the reviews are very much appreciated.
Yes, I am unashamedly aiming for those gloriouis reviewer badges! 
