Doctor Who novels, as with Star Trek, Star Wars, and other books based in on-screen sci-fi universes, tend to be very hit or miss depending on both the era, author, or other factors. As far as that goes, this book is very... okay. I don't typically know what to expect with Justin Richards' line of Doctor Who novels because both the writing and story tend to be in one direction or the other.

Going into this book with the description, I pretty much expected a Doctor Who-style retelling of Treasure Island, and while it starts off that way, it goes in its own direction pretty quickly which abandons the similarities early on. Regrettably, this means the exclusion of Doctor Who's version of a steam-powered Pigaloo Tribe in outer space is a missed opportunity. At least it's fun to imagine.

Speaking of steam-powered, the themes of the book seem to mix pirates, space, and steampunk in a way that works surprisingly well. I wish there was a little more depth to the story and more of a chance to explore the planet of Starfall before the claustrophobic second half. Typically I find the tenth Doctor funny, but he was written to be more annoying than usual in this one, and he takes his time figuring out the obvious. The ultimate solution to the Resurrection Casket will feel very familiar from an episode, but it's interesting to see a character who appears in the show at a much later point be so similar to the idea written in this book first. Still a creepy idea, and I still love it.

Aside from a few typos involving the character names and characters overusing the phrase "No prizes for guessing-", it was easy to look past these issues just for the sake of a fun story. Overall, it's not as good as some of Richards' other work, such as The Clockwise Man, but it's an enjoyable space pirate adventure with steampunk elements, and not much more than that. It is what it is, and if that's your thing, it's worth a go. ( )

Best one yet. ( )

These BBC books are a true delight for any Whovian who reads them. Among the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler stories released, this is probably one of the bests. Richards did a great job creating the story and I was captivated from the beginning till the end. Great DW book! ( )

The Doctor and Rose have landed on the planet Starfall, which is in the middle of a “zeg” — a zone where most technology doesn’t work, leading people to develop steam-powered machinery. This is a problem because the Tardis doesn’t run on steam. So how do they get off the planet? Perhaps by hitching a ride on an expedition to find the lost treasure of Hamlek Glint, including the legendary “Resurrection Casket”.

I read this as an abridged audiobook about 10 years ago, and when I read the print version I may as well have been reading it for the first time, for all I remembered of it (which was to say nothing). So obviously this isn’t a particularly memorable book, which is a shame because David Tennant and pirates are a great combination. It does its job, which is to provide quick entertainment, but it’s not my favourite Doctor Who novel. ( )

"Read" as an audiobook. This is my favorite Doctor Who book so far. I love Kevin especially, and David Tennant does a great job as the reader on this audiobook. ( )