BASIC PLOT
Judoon troopers have been sent to catch the Invisible Assassin at Elvis the King Spaceport, forcing the Doctor into a strange alliance.

DOCTOR
Tenth.

COMPANIONS
None.

MATERIALISATION CIRCUIT
Pg 13 Aboard the Space Freighter Tintin, 2487.

PREPARATORY READING
None.

CONTINUITY REFERENCES
Pgs 27-28 "The reached a particular cafe with a terrace area that allowed diners to look out over the arrivals hall and loomed over a pair of Draconians" Frontier in Space.

Pg 29 "The Doctor nodded and pulled his psychic paper from his jacket pocket" The End of the World et al.

Pg 39 Reference to Kronkburgers (The Iron Legion and The End of the World).

Pg 46 Further reference to Kronkburgers.

Pg 116 "I love old railway stations. Never know what you're going to find in them. Blokes worshipping old books and fighting over water, giant robotic yeti." The Mysterious Planet (thanks to Mark Brown for spotting this one), The Web of Fear.

Pg 128 "It proved impervious to Nikki's lock-picking skills and immune to the Doctor's sonic device. 'Deadlock sealed.'" The sonic screwdriver first appeared in Fury from the Deep. Deadlock seals were first mentioned in Bad Wolf and were said to be impervious to the sonic screwdriver in School Reunion.

Pg 134 "If even clone races like the Sontarans could have distinct personalities, then alien races like the Khellian Horde, the Hath and the Judoon were bound to be more varied." The Sontarans first appeared in The Time Warrior. Khellians appeared in the Decide Your Destiny book, The Time Crocodile. The Hath appeared in The Doctor's Daughter.

Pg 136 "That Agatha Christie, she was brilliant!" The Unicorn and the Wasp.

Pg 158 "The Doctor thought the room was probably the size of a football pitch, about the same size as the swimming pool he'd once had in the TARDIS" The Invasion of Time.

Pg 198 "'Dads and daughters,' muttered the Doctor by way of a reply. 'Difficult relationship. Can be, anyway...'" The Doctor's Daughter.

Pg 239 "There out to be a little shop" New Earth.

OLD FRIENDS AND OLD ENEMIES
The Judoon first appeared in Smith and Jones.

NEW FRIENDS AND NEW ENEMIES
Nikki Jupiter, Judoon Commander Rok Ma, Jase Golightly, Conrad Jupiter, Derek Salter, Dantin, Corilli.

CONTINUITY COCK-UPS

1. Pg 18 Golightly can't remember the name of the journalist he's talking to, then it's given in the next sentence, then he gets it wrong.
2. Pgs 29/36/40 Moret has psychic training causing him to apprehend the Doctor but Golightly, who doesn't, ignores Moret and believes the Doctor. Which is just about the stupidest decision ever made in the history of middle management.
3. Pg 30 The Doctor's arms are being hold behind his back, but on page 36 he reaches out to shake hands.
4. Pg 67 "That gives us two days to gets results" Say what?
5. Pgs 198 "From her new hiding place, Nikki watched as various pairs of feet entered the room and took seats." Nikki's under the table in this scene. On the next page we're told: "Uncle grunted, as he processed the information. He was unable to take his eyes from the suitcase." Yet Nikki is still under the table, so how can she tell what Uncle is looking at?
6. Pg 199 "The alien looked back at him impassively" Oh and Nikki can also tell the Judoon's expression, despite - and I cannot stress this enough - being under the table.

PLUGGING THE HOLES [Fan-wank theorizing of how to fix continuity cock-ups]

1. Okay, it's actually the author changing authorial voice for one paragraph and then back again without telling us, but it's a) confusing b) supremely annoying and c) a perfect illustration of why Virgin told its authors never to do this.
2. It's middle management, what do you expect?
3. The Doctor's a slippery customer.
4. The Doctor is surprisingly nervous around the Judoon and it plays havoc with his syntax.
5. Nikki has a vivid imagination.
6. Unlike the author, apparently.

FEATURED ALIEN RACES
Pg 9 The Judoon.

Pg 27 A blue-skinned alien.

Pg 28 Draconians.

Pg 207 Small skittering creatures.

FEATURED LOCATIONS
Pg 7 Space Freighter Tintin.

Pg 16 Elvis the King Spaceport, New Memphis, 2487.

IN SUMMARY - Robert Smith?
Surprisingly, the Veronica Mars homage is actually quite fun, rather than extremely irritating, as you might imagine at first. Nikki Jupiter (see if you can spot the subtle allusion) has none of the biting wit or feisty independence of Veronica, but as yet another Doctor Who pseudo companion, she's passable enough. There's mileage in the Judoon Commander stomping around as well. The plot that surrounds these characters is less engaging, unless you're about 11, which is probably the target market anyway. However, Brake really needs to learn to present his scenes from only one character's POV at a time. It's irritating and confusing at the same time.