Jim Mortimore

From a 2022 vantage point, it's hard to talk about any of the New Adventures solely as novels; they instead become stand-ins for philosophising on the series as a whole. So allow me to kowtow to this tradition.

F/SF

Basically, this book boils down to Leela takes a very long sea voyage. She and the Doctor are investigating mysterious events on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Other events occur in the book but it is mostly about Leela who also lassos a whale and rides it and fights pirates while scandalizing her Victorian companions.
re-read 1/11/2024.

Muddled action, inconsistent characterization, unmotivated actions, shaky descriptions and questionable writing all around.

There's an interesting core in here, but it's a mess.