This is the end (at least, for three decades) for Sarah Jane Smith as a regular character in Doctor Who. There is only one really bad one out of these eight, and it is the one which is not based on a televised story.

( 8) Doctor Who and the Planet of Evil, by Terrance Dicks )
( 9) Doctor Who and the Pyramids of Mars, by Terrance Dicks )
( 10) Doctor Who and the Android Invasion, by Terrance Dicks )
( 11) Doctor Who and the Brain of Morbius, by Terrance Dicks )
( 12) Doctor Who and the Seeds of Doom, by Philip Hinchcliffe )
( 13) Doctor Who - The Pescatons, by Victor Pemberton )
( 14) Doctor Who and the Masque of Mandragora, by Philip Hinchcliffe )
( 15) Doctor Who and the Hand of Fear, by Terrance Dicks )

What struck me almost for the first time as I read these books is that this is the period when the basic format of the show as we now know it was first tried - a single, female, companion, who has a life of her own (remember that Sarah first met the Doctor while impersonating her own aunt, and her journalistic career is mentioned in both The Android Invasion and The Seeds of Doom), and the Tardis travelling from adventure to adventure, without any real fixed base for the Doctor (the last proper UNIT story is just before this sequence, and the first proper Gallifrey story immediately after). Previous companions were either a larger ensemble (with minor male exceptions - Steven in The Massacre, Jamie in a few episodes but no complete story) or part of UNIT. Sarah Jane Smith (followed by Leela, Romana, Peri, Mel and Ace) is the first real predecessor of Rose, Martha and Donna. And unlike a lot of others, the printed page does her justice - perhaps because so many of her books were written by Terrance Dicks, who after all invented the character as script editor. All decent enough reads (apart from the Pescatons).

I'm fairly steaming through these; at my reading speed, I can basically get through half a Who book on each leg of my commute. (I'm not working tomorrow or Monday, though, so you will be spared for the next few days.)

( 33) Doctor Who - Marco Polo: Lucarotti's best novelisation )
( 34) Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus: Uneven but a decent effort )

I've already read Doctor Who - The Aztecs, so next up is Doctor Who - The Sensorites. Next week.