Yep, I've read Doctor Who books, back-to-back. I think that makes me pretty hardcore about it, I guess. 
 Of course, it's really just an excuse (this time) for me to read a novel by one of my favorite SF authors (Who am I kidding? He isn't one of anything, he is my absolute favorite) who just so happened to write a Dr Who story. 
 Now, the last one I read, after thinking more about it, really got a generous rating from me, I really didn't like it very much. If I were to go back and rate it now, I would probably give it two stars. 
 But, I don't have a Tardis, I can't go back in time. The review stands. 
 The only reason I bring it up is because this one is waaaay better than the previous one. Despite that fact that early portions of the novel don't involve the Doctor at all. Since this is a throwback to one of the early Doctors (#3, I think) I can honestly say that I'm only vaguely familiar with the characters at all. 
 But around all that, Alastair Reynolds has written a very compelling story. One that I think, at least, works even if you don't understand anything about The Doctor. 
 The Master, the Doctor's nemesis, is up to something creepy from behind his super-max prison cell. Meanwhile, at sea, atmospheric anomalies have been destroying oil rigs, and eyewitnesses are describing things that don't make any sense. 
 It's up the Doctor to figure out what's happening, and prevent the end of the world. 
 Pretty standard fare, but executed very well. This one still suffers from the Doctor being either absent, or passive, for most of the novel. What makes it work so well for me is that the portions where there is no doctor, especially the portions of the story that center around Eddie, the daughter of the great oil tycoon, are much more interesting to me that the Doctor's are. 
 The Master is pretty intriguing to me too. I've only really watched the more recent incarnations of the Doctor, and have only seen the Master on a few occasions on the show. In this novel at least, he's way more brilliant than the doctor is. Which makes things very interesting. I like that he has an adversary that is better at all the things that make the Doctor great. And reading the two of them have a conversation is pretty great. I like seeing the good doctor getting out-doctored. 
 I'd go so far as to say that if the book had been solely about her, and it was retold so she could have center stage, it probably would have been even better. 
 As it stands though, The Doctor, Jo, and Eddie (don't let the name fool you, it's a girl) share POV's for most of the book. There may be a few others in there, but nowhere near as many as in the last one I read. Which is also interesting because the previous Dr. Who book, despite being only a little over 200 pages long, had 8 or 9 POV characters. 
 This one though, this one feels like a novel. Eddie show real growth as a character. It's got real SF wonderment in those pages, and nefarious aliens that are truly alien. 
 Good stuff all around, a decent SF book whether you're a Who fan or not, and a pretty good story if you are one. 
 I think I might give a shot at some Dr Who fan fic. Why not?