Let’s see here. Going to be starting Timewyrm: Exodus, Dragon’s Claw (the second Fourth Doctor DWM comics collection) and Doctor Who: Origins either today or tomorrow.
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Started Dying in the Sun. The common theme I’m finding in this span of pre-Jamie Two, Ben, and Polly stories is that they are just fun and this one is no different. It’s not setting the world on fire (ironically considering the title) but I have just had a stupid grin on my face every single page of the 30 I’ve read so far. Also a shoutout to one of the best opening lines of any Doctor Who novel: “It was the City of Angels and the angels were screaming.”
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It was a delightful change of pacing from The Dimension Riders. Kate Orman really have a way with words, with wonderful poetic descriptions. The story is really engaging and I love the shifts in both time and locations - she really gets the format of a show based on time travel. And all our three main characters are showed off from their best sides while being severely challenged.
I can’t really think of any faults or negatives about it. It is definitely one of my favourite VNAs I’ve read so far 
I am very much looking forward for more of her work.
Which of her books would you recommend?
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If you’re looking for one of her less lore-heavy books, Blue Box as a PDA is probably her least involved. Vampire Science is EDA #2 so not much lore to go off. SLEEPY is fairly lore-light, I suppose - most of its links are fairly subtle or you don’t need to know.
I’m very, very biased but I think all her books are worth reading! I can’t lie I’m a firm ‘rad’ and ‘frock’ on both debates, which is kind of(?) where Orman stands (though she doesn’t shy away from violence, though it’s usually psychological or without a gun).
You’ve basically summed up all her books in your review. I could literally go on for hours about her work; I need the Black Archive to accept novel analysis submissions, because I’d be submitting any of Orman’s work as quick as a flash! Orman’s VNA work is basically always important to the lore (even SLEEPY) so it’s difficult to describe without spoiling, but I will say that she never fails to give a scene/concept/etc. the gravity, (in)humanity, emotion it needs. Along with Cornell, Parkin, Aaronovitch (most of the time haha - and later Rose, Blum, Halliday, to name a few), Doctor Who in the 90s begins to become something real and genuinely thoughtful on a consistent level. I don’t think the motif throughout all their works of magic and science interacting is at all a coincidence; their work is magic forcing itself into a series stereotyped as ‘dry’ science fiction!
Without a doubt though, her greatest achievement, in all her books, is her dissection of the TARDIS team. In all her books, she loves to humanise the main team, challenging and sympathising with them. Basically every book she’ll do after TLHH, even Blue Box (albeit retrospectively) looks to unpack the team. Nobody is spared the emotional grinder!
My ranking of her books
So Vile a Sin
The Room with No Doors
The Year of Intelligent Tigers
Return of the Living Dad
SLEEPY
Blue Box
Unnatural History
Set Piece
Seeing I
Vampire Science
The Left-Handed Hummingbird
(I’ve not included Walking to Babylon/Fallen Gods as I’ve not read them yet)
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I’ve only read this one and Vampire Science, that you’ve ranked them lowest is a really good sign 
Something to look forward to After finishing The Monsters Inside I’ve gone straight into "Conundrum’ - 2 chapters in and it seems like it could be another strong entry in the VNAs.
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It’s another of my faves! Great lead-in into No Future too. It’s about around the alternative history cycle (well, from Birthright/Iceberg on) that the VNAs get ‘good’, in my opinion
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Yeah there has been a general increase in quality around that point. Before that it fluctuated a bit more with narrative cohesion, though there were absolute gems before that point as well (Nightshade and Love and War for instance )
Though I’m not sure I like the switch of TARDIS in Blood Heat 
and a (semi) functional chameleon circuit is just plain wrong 
Oh, and I would read such a Black Archive in a heartbeat!
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Finished the “First Reel” of this last night and my statement stands: I am having so much fun with this adventure! I fear it may begin to outstay its welcome as I get deeper in but that’s a problem for deeper in the book. The characters are interesting and the plot unfolds at a good pace. I heard this was one of the “lesser” PDAs and unless this book absolutely falls apart, I don’t understand how! It’s not setting the literary world on fire but boy is it just a really light, fun, cozy, “trad” read and, again unless it falls apart in the end, may well join such things as The Auntie Matter, The Curse of Peladon, The Unicorn and the Wasp, and The Kingmaker as comfort stories for me
EDIT: … Well that fell apart in record time. I am a strong adherent to the rule of “don’t drop the book after the 60 page mark” but Polly held a massive idiot ball and I will not be party to one of my favorite companion’s character assassination (a lot of emotion but I digress.)
Took a break from my re-read of Dune to read Timewyrm: Exodus for the book club. I’m liking it so far!
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@Lungbarrow I can see why “Conundrum” is one of your favourite VNAs! It was absolutely brilliant
The slow build-up to the reveal of the Land of Fiction was really well done, you kind of figure it out roughly 4 chapters in, so when it was firmly stated it was a punch the air moment. I watched the Mind Robber in Tales of the TARDIS 3 or 4 days ago, just perfect coincidental timing . Also that is the best use of breaking the fourth wall that I’ve seen done in a long time.
It made me really excited to read No Future!
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Read “Something At the Door” from Tales of Terror last night which is a genuinely creepy short story and then have some cross over with “What Are You Listening To” as I’m listening to the audiobook of “The Roundheads” and just really enjoying how fun the expanded Season 4 is with it’s expanded universe additions.
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Curerntly reading Fear of the Dark and Timewyrm: Genesis. Just got to chapter 6 of the former and chapter 3 of the latter. So far, so good! Interested to see what pops up in Genesis that makes people not like it…
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When you’re done with Timewyrm: Genesys, we have a whole topic about that in our book club, add your opinions there 
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Please, come join the Genesys discussion in the Book Club! We’d like to hear your opinions on the novel, as it tends to divide opinions!
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Star Wars: New Jedi Order: Destiny’s Way by Walter Jon Williams
Right now I’m reading Alien: Sea of Sorrow but my last Doctor Who read was Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen, I was actually surprised by how Douglas Adams it read but then found out that it’s pretty much because it’s one of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy books with a Doctor Who lick of paint.
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I just finished the VNA “No Future”.
That epilogue is the most wholesome situation to happen up till this point in the VNA series 
On to “Winner takes all” for the Book Club
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Just got done with the VNA First Frontier a couple days ago, I enjoyed it! The setting is really fun. I managed to spoil myself that The Master is in this one by accidentally stumbling across it on the wiki, but that didn’t ruin anything it all it actually made it more fun to try and spot which character was secretly the Master. Didn’t take me long to figure out it was Kreer.
I’m already nearly halfway through St Anthony’s Fire now, I’m really enjoying that one. I can’t confidently say this for this book since I haven’t finished it yet but I think Mark Gatiss’s VNAs are better than most of his TV episodes, Nightshade definitely was.
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