This was slow going.
As our fourth multi-doctor story this marathon (and technically our third Christmas story), I’m starting to feel the marathon fatigue somewhat. But there’s only more to come with the other/timeless child/fugitive Doctor.
The Other only appears for two paragraphs towards the last few chapters and the reference is so vague that it could mean anything or nothing. Which is my preference honestly. I strongly believe that the Doctor's past should forever remain a mystery. I mean, it's called Doctor Who after all.

That said, vague allusions and metaphors seem to be all that this book has going for it.

The plot is actually very simple, the Doctor and Ace become trapped inside a dreamscape; inception style. Which should be right up my alley. I love surrealism and character studies, and I'll admit that there are some cool ideas featured here, but it takes so long just to get to the bloody point!

In the beginning we're treated to some neat visuals and set ups, ideas that could have been their own adventures in their own right, but these are swept aside almost as soon as they are introduced and then we're off to the next new thing. It's not until the Doctor enters the dreamscape himself does the story pick up and that's nearly halfway through the book.

All this is to say that the first half of the story is very disjointed and as a whole the book doesn't really gel together. There's also just the general problem with tone that I tend to take issue with with most New Adventures. Unpleasantness for the sake of seeming more mature than it really is, that leaves me cold. In the author's defense it's better handled here than in other books and most of it is reversed by the end, but I still don't like it.

Also did we, the audience, really need know that Ace has a foot fetish?

What rescues the book is the character development. Both Ace and the Doctor receive tons of it and it's a refreshing change of pace, that sadly only emerges during the last quarter of the novel. But if you have the patience to wade through the gobbledygook to get there, you'll be rewarded with a pretty satisfying ending..... so long as you ignore the fact that the New Adventures will go on to undermine this new found development later, but oh well.

Finally, Saul the sentient church is such a lovely character that I would adore seeing in the show proper.