“It’s just a recap,” I said. “How can they even screw this up?” I said.

Yeah, I didn’t enjoy this novelization. In go the filler lines; out goes the character consistency. Thank you, Target, for replacing the atmospheric “English fog” with the generic “dark”. Thank you, Target, for plotsplaining that the Orb is the Sun. Furthermore, a deep, sardonic bow to you, Target, for dumbing Susan down to a level where she is bewildered by the fire-making process. [Although it could be argued that she was just THAT desperate to experiment with two ACTIVE elements at last.]

There are two things this publication did not fumble:
Number one: the characterization of Za is presented with greater nuance and insight.
Number two: there was a single new dialogue line that I actually liked—in Chapter 10, as they fling rocks at Kal. It goes as follows:

“Well done, Doctor,” whispered Barbara.
The Doctor gave her a self-satisfied smirk. “Child’s play, my dear. These people are just as susceptible to mass hysteria as the people of your own time.”

That’s all there is to say on the matter.