7.5/10
I have to respect what Gary Russell had to do with this book; after all, he had no visual cue, no script, and a very tight deadline. And "The Novel of the Film", even more than the movie itself, a flash back to the days of Terrance Dicks novelizations.
The story is, of course, quite familiar to all of us by now -- and I'm surprised that it's as similar to the script as it is. There are a few minor differences, some explanations that we weren't given on screen, and a few more references to the original series [and a few to the New Adventures]
There isn't much about the style of the book either, it's clearly intended for younger readers. This means that it doesn't take very long at all to read, especially since we know the entire story [and much of the dialog] already. The book, since it loses the wonderful direction of the movie, and instead is entirely pulled from the script. There are a few more explanations than the movie, but the basic flaws of the plot come out a little bit more when you read it.
I admit, this isn't the direction I hope that the BBC Books new fiction line take, as I'd like the books to be directed towards adult fans and readers, as opposed to younger readers. But the reason why I enjoy Doctor Who fiction to start with were those Terrance Dicks novelizations, and this book is undoubtably in that tradition, just as it should be. There's room for children's Doctor Who fiction, as long as there's still room for adult fiction as well.