http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2154103.html

Hurrah! Another Liz Shaw story, as the Dctor, newly freed by the Time Lords, takes her and Jo for a spin. Liz being Liz, she asks to see the Tunguska Event; the Tardis being the Tardis, they arrive instead a few years later in St Petersburg just in time to get embroiled in the assassination of Rasputin (to which I have a mild family connection). As usual, McIntee's historical research is superb and detailed, without crowding out the regular characters; I'd have liked more banter between Liz and Jo, but I enjoyed what we got, Liz as the more serious cerebral type occasionally wrong-footed by Jo's stronger practicality; and the ethical dilemma of non-interference with history is brought home to the Doctor rather brutally at the end. Rather more (implied) sex and (explicit) violence than most Who books, but rather difficult to write a book on this topic without it.

I'm trying to think of any other "pure historical" Third Doctor story, and coming up blank, which is actually a little surprising. ( )