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Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #124
Doctor Who: The Rescue
Having left Susan on Earth, the Doctor, Ian and Barbara land the TARDIS on the planet Dido in the year 2493. There they discover two humans, Bennett and Vicki, trapped in their spaceship, the only crew to survive death at the hands of the hostile Didonians.
But the Doctor is baffled: the Didonians are a peaceful nation. What has happened to change them? Why have they murdered the crew of the spaceship? Why, apart from the mysterious Koquillion, are they strangely absent?
The Doctor must find the answers - and quickly. For a rescue ship is on its way from Earth intent on revenge and time is running out for the planet...
But the Doctor is baffled: the Didonians are a peaceful nation. What has happened to change them? Why have they murdered the crew of the spaceship? Why, apart from the mysterious Koquillion, are they strangely absent?
The Doctor must find the answers - and quickly. For a rescue ship is on its way from Earth intent on revenge and time is running out for the planet...
139 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
3 people are currently reading
221 people want to read
About the author
Ian Marter
26 books20 followersIan Don Marter was born at Alcock Hospital in Keresley, near Coventry, on the 28th of October 1944. His father, Donald Herbert, was an RAF sergeant and electrician by trade, and his mother was Helen, nee Donaldson.
He was, among other things, a teacher and a milkman.
He became an actor after graduating from Oxford University, and appeared in Repertory and West End productions and on television. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic. He was best known for playing Harry Sullivan in the BBC Television series Doctor Who from 1974 to 1975, alongside Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen. He had already appeared in the show as Lieutenant John Andrews in the Jon Pertwee serial Carnival of Monsters. He had numerous TV roles including appearances in Crown Court and Bergerac (Return of the Ice Maiden, 1985, opposite Louise Jameson).
Marter got into writing the novelisations following a dinner conversation. He went on to adapt 9 scripts over ten years. He started with The Ark in Space, the TV version of which he'd actually appeared in as companion Harry Sullivan. In the end he adapted more serials than he appeared in (7 appearances, 9 novelisations), and wrote one of the Companions series, telling of the post-Doctor adventures of Harry in Harry Sullivan's War. Shortly before his death he was discussing, with series editor Nigel Robinson, the possibility of adapting his unused movie script Doctor Who Meets Scratchman (co-written with Tom Baker) into a novel.
He was, among other things, a teacher and a milkman.
He became an actor after graduating from Oxford University, and appeared in Repertory and West End productions and on television. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic. He was best known for playing Harry Sullivan in the BBC Television series Doctor Who from 1974 to 1975, alongside Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen. He had already appeared in the show as Lieutenant John Andrews in the Jon Pertwee serial Carnival of Monsters. He had numerous TV roles including appearances in Crown Court and Bergerac (Return of the Ice Maiden, 1985, opposite Louise Jameson).
Marter got into writing the novelisations following a dinner conversation. He went on to adapt 9 scripts over ten years. He started with The Ark in Space, the TV version of which he'd actually appeared in as companion Harry Sullivan. In the end he adapted more serials than he appeared in (7 appearances, 9 novelisations), and wrote one of the Companions series, telling of the post-Doctor adventures of Harry in Harry Sullivan's War. Shortly before his death he was discussing, with series editor Nigel Robinson, the possibility of adapting his unused movie script Doctor Who Meets Scratchman (co-written with Tom Baker) into a novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
August 4, 2018
I’m really enjoying reading these novelisations in televised story order.
As not only the contrast between the different authors take on this era of the show is fascinating, having to adapt the different episode count into the standard 140 page Target length gives this story a more fleshed out character piece.
The Rescue is a fun two part serial that sees Vicki’s introduction to the TARDIS. There’s also an interesting mystery on the planet Dido for the First Doctor to solve.
Marter has the freedom to expand on the setting and adds a real sense of menace to the location. He’s perfectly descriptive style makes for a brilliant read!
As not only the contrast between the different authors take on this era of the show is fascinating, having to adapt the different episode count into the standard 140 page Target length gives this story a more fleshed out character piece.
The Rescue is a fun two part serial that sees Vicki’s introduction to the TARDIS. There’s also an interesting mystery on the planet Dido for the First Doctor to solve.
Marter has the freedom to expand on the setting and adds a real sense of menace to the location. He’s perfectly descriptive style makes for a brilliant read!
December 5, 2017
Short but sweet. Earned its 5th star with the twist of Bennett actually being the monster terrorising Vicki. Having not seen the actual episodes I was not expecting that at all. I also liked the introduction of Vicki which was great. Fantastic little story. I will have to go and watch the corresponding episodes now.
March 14, 2019
Brilliant adaptation of a short ( 2 parts) Hartnell story. Worth reading purely for the stunning descriptive passages.
June 2, 2016
This was a great retelling of the First Doctor serial 'The Rescue', except for one thing... the beginning and end! I don't know if the author was just in a bad mood or what, but although he did a great job retelling the main story, he bookended it with a lame side story that changed the entire tone of the episode!
The original story can be found here:
http://www.chakoteya.net/DoctorWho/2-...
spoiler alert
The gist of the ending of the original story is a happy one, with the Doctor basically telling everyone that everything will turn out just fine on the planet they just left.
The gist of the tacked on ending is that some other ship shows up just after they leave, and kills everyone! To hell with that! If you listen to this, just skip everything on the rescue ship.
The original story can be found here:
http://www.chakoteya.net/DoctorWho/2-...
spoiler alert
The gist of the ending of the original story is a happy one, with the Doctor basically telling everyone that everything will turn out just fine on the planet they just left.
The gist of the tacked on ending is that some other ship shows up just after they leave, and kills everyone! To hell with that! If you listen to this, just skip everything on the rescue ship.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2014
Lots of fun and we meet Vicki.
May 10, 2022
The fact that several First and Second Doctor serials weren’t adapted until the 1980s means that when they were adapted, some of the stories were approaching 20 years from original airing and generally repeat viewings hadn’t happened. There was also a high chance that the archive was missing these serials so authors may not have had visual references for drawing the story. The Rescue is one such novel where while the archival status was there, author Ian Marter was tasked with adapting a two episode serial in a full-length Target novel. The Rescue on television is a story that works because it is simple: the Doctor and company land on a planet where an orphaned girl is terrorized by an alien, there’s a twist, the Doctor saves the day and the orphan joins the TARDIS in its travels. That isn’t actually a lot and writer David Whitaker knew it, it served its purpose and entertained for less than an hour, not overstaying its welcome. This mean that Ian Marter had to ensure that the novelization doesn’t overstay its welcome and somehow he managed to do that while expanding things to work as a full length novel.
In becoming a full-length novel, The Rescue easily could have diverged from the television story with rearranging of events to drag things out, but Marter doesn’t do that. Instead of stretching events, new events of the novel are inserted in the narrative in a way that reflects a lot of the ways the world had changed from 1965’s original airing. Much of David Whitaker’s dialogue remains in tact, but here there is almost more of it just to ensure that the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and newcomer Vicki are all given some time to shine. The climax on television is just the Doctor facing off against Bennett and then escaping with Ian, Barbara, and Vicki in tow, while in the novel Ian, Barbara, and Vicki have their own plot trying to find the Doctor in parallel. The Doctor is also less of an action hero in the novel, with Bennett physically overpowering him, but the Doctor’s cunning gets to the bottom of why Bennett would murder the crew but not just kill Vicki. The sequences in the caves really create a bond between the three companions that wasn’t quite there in the original version, especially after Barbara kills Sandy the Sand Beast and Vicki forgives her after a quick conversation. While that happens in the novel, there is an undercurrent of tension which resolves when they are in the caves together and it lifts completely when Vicki joins the TARDIS.
Marter also does a brilliant trick in adding in extra worldbuilding about the futuristic setting, the planet Dido, and the people of Dido. The actual rescue ship have scenes which essentially bookend the novel, creating characters that are all complete Marter originals. They are essentially the 1980s idea of what an astronaut will be, with added patronization to the child Vicki, and condescension to the new member of the team which ends up being a lot of fun. There’s even a point where the TARDIS nearly crashes the ship and the novel ends with a report on the mysterious findings of wreckage and death on Dido. The people of Dido also don’t just appear right at the end of the story, but interact with the character much earlier, even if they are just observers. There is also an added danger of the planet entering a cycle that already kills off most of the population which rebuilds itself once the planet reaches a certain position in the galaxy. It’s why life evolved the way it did and while there isn’t really a scientific basis, it’s still a lot of fun for Marter to explore.
Overall, The Rescue adapts a little story perfectly into a novelization that expands a story without dragging it down in minutia. The characters are given more focus and the small cast allows so much insight into what makes them work and takes some of the lacking elements of the serial and brings them into an almost modernization. 10//10.
In becoming a full-length novel, The Rescue easily could have diverged from the television story with rearranging of events to drag things out, but Marter doesn’t do that. Instead of stretching events, new events of the novel are inserted in the narrative in a way that reflects a lot of the ways the world had changed from 1965’s original airing. Much of David Whitaker’s dialogue remains in tact, but here there is almost more of it just to ensure that the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and newcomer Vicki are all given some time to shine. The climax on television is just the Doctor facing off against Bennett and then escaping with Ian, Barbara, and Vicki in tow, while in the novel Ian, Barbara, and Vicki have their own plot trying to find the Doctor in parallel. The Doctor is also less of an action hero in the novel, with Bennett physically overpowering him, but the Doctor’s cunning gets to the bottom of why Bennett would murder the crew but not just kill Vicki. The sequences in the caves really create a bond between the three companions that wasn’t quite there in the original version, especially after Barbara kills Sandy the Sand Beast and Vicki forgives her after a quick conversation. While that happens in the novel, there is an undercurrent of tension which resolves when they are in the caves together and it lifts completely when Vicki joins the TARDIS.
Marter also does a brilliant trick in adding in extra worldbuilding about the futuristic setting, the planet Dido, and the people of Dido. The actual rescue ship have scenes which essentially bookend the novel, creating characters that are all complete Marter originals. They are essentially the 1980s idea of what an astronaut will be, with added patronization to the child Vicki, and condescension to the new member of the team which ends up being a lot of fun. There’s even a point where the TARDIS nearly crashes the ship and the novel ends with a report on the mysterious findings of wreckage and death on Dido. The people of Dido also don’t just appear right at the end of the story, but interact with the character much earlier, even if they are just observers. There is also an added danger of the planet entering a cycle that already kills off most of the population which rebuilds itself once the planet reaches a certain position in the galaxy. It’s why life evolved the way it did and while there isn’t really a scientific basis, it’s still a lot of fun for Marter to explore.
Overall, The Rescue adapts a little story perfectly into a novelization that expands a story without dragging it down in minutia. The characters are given more focus and the small cast allows so much insight into what makes them work and takes some of the lacking elements of the serial and brings them into an almost modernization. 10//10.
July 9, 2021
Most of Doctor Who Target books are adaptations of scripts from the original tv episodes. This book is based on a two episode story originally written by David Whitaker. The novel version was written by Ian Matter and features several additional sequences which expand on the televised episodes. The new material helps the pacing and flow of the story. Most of the new material is connecting scenes, but also expands the role of the natives of the planet Dido and gives us a view of the subterranean city of Dido. There are also some scenes on board the rescue ship Seeker, with the crew discussing the rescue of the Astra Nine crew.
These additions make for an improved version of the story. Ian Matter had a talent for making better versions of Doctor Who stories; which is unfortunate given that this was his last contribution to the Target line as Matter died shortly after completing his first draft of this book.
These additions make for an improved version of the story. Ian Matter had a talent for making better versions of Doctor Who stories; which is unfortunate given that this was his last contribution to the Target line as Matter died shortly after completing his first draft of this book.
April 20, 2020
I read this Doctor Who novelisation back the 80s. I saw the hardback edition on a newspaper stand at Romford Market. It was a William Hartnell Doctor story so it had a kiddie nostalgic attraction. It was also written from the two-part TV episodes by the late Ian Marter (Harry Sullivan companion)
It turned out to be the first story with 1960s companion Vicki. A crashed ship and an injured pilot named Bennett are waiting for a rescue ship to come for them on a remote planet named Dido. Viki is constantly told to be wary of a tall hideous looking fly like monster called Koquillion.
The Doctor, Ian and Barbara materialise in the Tardis. From this point, the intrigues of the foraging monster Koquillion becomes paramount in the story as the Doctor begins to fathom out things. I have since seen the TV production. I thought it was an enjoyable SciFi read.
It turned out to be the first story with 1960s companion Vicki. A crashed ship and an injured pilot named Bennett are waiting for a rescue ship to come for them on a remote planet named Dido. Viki is constantly told to be wary of a tall hideous looking fly like monster called Koquillion.
The Doctor, Ian and Barbara materialise in the Tardis. From this point, the intrigues of the foraging monster Koquillion becomes paramount in the story as the Doctor begins to fathom out things. I have since seen the TV production. I thought it was an enjoyable SciFi read.
December 9, 2024
No matter how good Ian Marter's prose is, it's hard to make a silk purse out of sow's ear, or in this case, the thin tale of Doctor Who (and) The Rescue into something worth reading. He almost manages it, mind you. Vicki's introduction was just a quick 2-episode turnaround with a Scooby-Doo villain. Marter expands upon it with mixed results. The bad? Doctor Who has a joke about "These corridors all look[ing] the same", and I just can't get interested in all the Tomb Raider stuff. I never really understand the geography of the mountain, the caves and the crash site, and the extended tunnel crawl is quite tedious. The good? Marter's dark streak makes this a more uncompromising story, in particular by setting new scenes on the rescue ship, which is manned by characters who are satirical of 80s American culture. Certainly helps raise The Rescue's cred.
January 20, 2021
A good novel this one, introducing the new companion Vicki, and visiting another alien planet with some interesting characteristics. Is a shame in some respects, seeing how nicely fleshed out the story is in this novel, to compare to Dalek Invasion of Earth, which while I really enjoyed, had similar page length despite the TV story being 3 times the length, and I can't help but wonder what Dalek Invasion of Earth would have been like if been able to be fleshed out to same degree.
Here at least we get to have a bit more tension, as scenes take longer as such, and get to see a bit more of people's thoughts as well.
Overall an interesting story with a couple of good twists to it, if something of a bleak ending to the novel at least, compared to the TV episodes.
Here at least we get to have a bit more tension, as scenes take longer as such, and get to see a bit more of people's thoughts as well.
Overall an interesting story with a couple of good twists to it, if something of a bleak ending to the novel at least, compared to the TV episodes.
December 15, 2025
‘The Rescue’ by Ian Marter is a Doctor Target book written in 1988. Ian Marter was well known to Doctor Who as playing the companion ‘Harry Sullivan’ and he wrote other Doctor Who Target Books. the Rescue is based on the eleventh Doctor Who television serial and the third in series two of the William Hartnell Era. It features the Doctor, his companions Ian and Barbara and introduces his new companion, Vicki.
The book form of ‘The Rescue’ is out of print so I listened to the audiobook narrated by Maureen O’Brien who played Vicki. It’s a good story, it sticks closely to the Television serial and comes in at a good length of time as a audiobook. This is a good book for a Doctor Who fan.
The book form of ‘The Rescue’ is out of print so I listened to the audiobook narrated by Maureen O’Brien who played Vicki. It’s a good story, it sticks closely to the Television serial and comes in at a good length of time as a audiobook. This is a good book for a Doctor Who fan.
January 11, 2023
Doctor Who : The Rescue (1987) by Ian Marter is the novelisation of the third serial of the second season of Doctor Who. Ian and Barbara are joined by Vicki who is picked up as a companion.
The Doctor, Ian and Barbara land on planet Dido. A planet full of 1990s songs. Or something like that. A spaceship has crashed there with Vicki and Bennett the only survivors of a crashed space craft. There is also a rescue mission going trying to pick them up.
There is a twist in the end. It’s OK as a story. But not a strong Doctor Who serial.
The Doctor, Ian and Barbara land on planet Dido. A planet full of 1990s songs. Or something like that. A spaceship has crashed there with Vicki and Bennett the only survivors of a crashed space craft. There is also a rescue mission going trying to pick them up.
There is a twist in the end. It’s OK as a story. But not a strong Doctor Who serial.
October 10, 2023
This was next in line on my Dr Who 60th anniversary marathon read-through of the Target novels. More fleshed out than most stories due to this being a two-part story, it was also written by Ian Marter, who started as Harry Sullivan, an original companion to the 4th doctor. He only appeared in a few stories, but later became one of the best writers for the Target line of novels. Most doctor who stories will get a 3 from me, but Ian’s tend to be exceptions. Next up for the Doctor, Ian, Barbara, and now Vicki (as well as myself) is The Romans, Target book 120.
May 17, 2024
Based on a script by David Whitaker this is number 124 in the Target catalogue. So far there has only been one target edition with the cover art by Tony Clark.
As with the pervious Ian Marter Doctor Who novelisations I’ve read he opens with a large excessively detailed description of scenery.
This was a 2 part story and Ian has added a few extra sections to the story. The first is a couple of scenes on board the rescue ship. I didn’t think these were particularly good. I think they should have stayed as voices from the radio rather than given a perspective. The second was the worm chase and related bit with Ian, Babara, and Vicki heading back to the TARDIS. I liked this addition, it made the escape much less abrupt than the TV version.
There were a couple of minor variations as well, such as the fight between the Doctor and Bennet. The book is longer and more intelligent than the TV version which is just straight fight scene.
It’s a good and faithful novelisation.
As with the pervious Ian Marter Doctor Who novelisations I’ve read he opens with a large excessively detailed description of scenery.
This was a 2 part story and Ian has added a few extra sections to the story. The first is a couple of scenes on board the rescue ship. I didn’t think these were particularly good. I think they should have stayed as voices from the radio rather than given a perspective. The second was the worm chase and related bit with Ian, Babara, and Vicki heading back to the TARDIS. I liked this addition, it made the escape much less abrupt than the TV version.
There were a couple of minor variations as well, such as the fight between the Doctor and Bennet. The book is longer and more intelligent than the TV version which is just straight fight scene.
It’s a good and faithful novelisation.
July 19, 2017
Decent plot, but felt a little padded with monster encounters. Also, the main twist is quite easy to guess. I didn't anticipate Barbara's big error, however, and the villain was fairly good. As for the novelization, it has its rough spots (particularly the beginning and end parts), but overall it's pretty well done. I do wish Marter hadn't thrown in some of those 80s references that I'm sure weren't in the original script, amusing as they were. (B)
April 8, 2023
This was Ian Marter’s last book in the Target range and it’s a doozy. He’s extended two episodes into a novel of about 130 pages and you hardly notice it. He only added a few extra scenes and filled the rest with description and exposition, making an okay story into something a lot deeper and more atmospheric.
November 17, 2023
It was great and violent like a usual Ian Marter, got a lot of questions from the tv story which the book had answers for, and it had a great description. Plus one of the best Doctor Who twists of all time.
March 25, 2025
Echoing what others have said; it tries to take a fairly short TV story to fill a 140 pages. Not a bad story per se but a much better tale on television.
Not bad by any means but don’t imagine re-reading.
Not bad by any means but don’t imagine re-reading.
August 26, 2017
It felt like a filler episode. Nothing extraordinary about it, but still fairly entertaining.
May 18, 2021
Really picked up as it went along, honestly, although damn does this have a way more depressing ending than the television version.
September 1, 2024
I have no memory of watching this serial, so I'm basically coming at it fresh. I found out later that this was only a two-parter, which makes sense since there's not a whole lot of story here. If anything, I found myself wanting to hear more about the other parts of the story, including the actual rescue part, the world, etc. But as a novelization, I thought it was totally enjoyable.
December 30, 2022
pdf - this ISBN seems to be for the harcover; the pdf has two differing ISBNs on cover and inside...
Back cover photo: 0 426203080
Inside: 0 426203097 136 pages
Goodreads has yet another ISBN listing for the mass market paperback: 0 426203089
I njoyed this rather more than I was epecting. The televised story is slight - a two-parter to introduce Vicki - short but ponderous. This novelisation, which was still being worked on when the author died and completed by the series editor Nigel Robinson, manages to lift the script into something more - and includes scenes on board the rescue ship.
Back cover photo: 0 426203080
Inside: 0 426203097 136 pages
Goodreads has yet another ISBN listing for the mass market paperback: 0 426203089
I njoyed this rather more than I was epecting. The televised story is slight - a two-parter to introduce Vicki - short but ponderous. This novelisation, which was still being worked on when the author died and completed by the series editor Nigel Robinson, manages to lift the script into something more - and includes scenes on board the rescue ship.
February 22, 2017
Few "Doctor Who" fans will ever claim the 1965 two-part TV version of this story as their favourite. However, its novelization is one of the finest in the Target range. Ian Marter's (sadly) final book is a masterclass in how to expand the simple story of a new companion's introduction into something dramatic, funny, powerful, and filled with tension & menace. A great deal of imagination and skill combine to make this richly expanded tale a worthy epitaph for the work of Ian Marter, who stands with Terrance Dicks and Malcolm Hulke as the aristocrats of "Doctor Who" novelizers.
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October 21, 2007http://nhw.livejournal.com/763482.html[return][return]This is the novelisation of a rare two-part story, intended purely to introduce the first new companion to join the show since its beginning, Vicki - one of two survivors of a spaceship crash on an apparently hostile planet. I thought after watching it a few months ago that this was a plot which could manage a great deal of filling out of back-story; the Doctor's past relations with the natives of the planet, the story of what had actually happened to the human settlers. In fact Marter delivers much more than that. For once, the printed page is superior to the screen. The twenty-something Maureen O'Brien could never really pass as the young teenager that Vicki was meant to be; Marter is not restricted by the actor's appearance. The monsters of the planet were among the least compelling aspects of the original TV story; again Marter can just make them up and does indeed bring in at least one more. We get loads more banter between the Doctor and Ian, with Marter for once putting comic dialogue in rather than taking it out. And the entire story is topped and tailed by the rescue ship which is supposed to be coming for Vicki and her fellow-survivor, so that one feels that this planet is one that fits into a wider history.
July 11, 2014
At first, I thought Ian Marter was going to lead us on nothing but a journey of extended and philosophical descriptions of the desert landscape of Dido, obviously intent on trying to stretch a two episode throwaway story into a whole book, and I started thinking as well that maybe he should have stuck to acting. But really, this book is a brilliant retelling of the serial, with added monsters, dangers, motivations, characterizations, and, yes, descriptions, that make reading this more worthwhile than watching the TV serial. Of course, this story introduces new companion Vicki, and she is a much fuller character in the book than she ever was on TV throughout her run. There is a lot here that reminds me of the 70s TV movie version of The Martian Chronicles, with the ghosts of the dead planet, a former thriving civilization, disregarded and defiled by human arrogance and greed. An interesting twist in the book, comes from the fact that the TARDIS may have somehow caused the original stream of events with its cross-materialization (maybe from the Doctor’s first visit?) at least that’s how I see it.
May 23, 2016
A really good retelling of the Classic Who story. The audiobook reader was great and it really helped flesh out the original story to have a bit more insight into each of the characters thoughts and actions.
The Doctor, Ian, and Barbara land in a strange cave on the planet Dido. The Doctor remembers the Dido natives as a completely peaceloving species; but it seems that one member of their race is holding two members of a crashed spaceship (the Astra 9) hostage nearby. Victoria and Bennet are the only survivors of their crashed ship and desperately await saving from The Seekers coming to rescue them. There is much of the usual running around and confusion and a bit of Scooby Doo style unmasking of the truth but it was a really interesting story to listen to in this format. I will be seeking out other Ian Marter retellings as it appears this was his final book before passing.
The Doctor, Ian, and Barbara land in a strange cave on the planet Dido. The Doctor remembers the Dido natives as a completely peaceloving species; but it seems that one member of their race is holding two members of a crashed spaceship (the Astra 9) hostage nearby. Victoria and Bennet are the only survivors of their crashed ship and desperately await saving from The Seekers coming to rescue them. There is much of the usual running around and confusion and a bit of Scooby Doo style unmasking of the truth but it was a really interesting story to listen to in this format. I will be seeking out other Ian Marter retellings as it appears this was his final book before passing.
February 9, 2009
A slightly 'Star Trek' feeling story, as the Tardis crew lands to help the survivors of a space ship crash and discover the natives of the planet may not be as friendly as originally thought.
Nice feeling of being trapped and surrounded on this alien world and I like how the first Doctor solved problems by just being smarter than everyone else.
Also the story that introduces Vikki as a Tardis companion.
Nice feeling of being trapped and surrounded on this alien world and I like how the first Doctor solved problems by just being smarter than everyone else.
Also the story that introduces Vikki as a Tardis companion.
February 12, 2011
The saddest Doctor Who story I've encountered so far ... plot hinges on man's inhumanity to man (and mysterious alien races). Also, in the dedication we learn that this is the last Doctor Who book by Ian Marter, who passed away after completing the manuscript.
Vicki joins the Tardis crew, so it's not a total tear-fest.
Vicki joins the Tardis crew, so it's not a total tear-fest.
March 20, 2013
OK. Probably worked better on screen where it was the introduction to Vicki in the aftermath of Susan's departure. Suffers from the Agatha Christie 'curse' in that the mystery disappears quite readily if you just check everyone's story properly at the start. That said, and like Christie, Marter's style is as much about the journey as the end result.
June 16, 2010
Ian Marter played companion Harry Sullivan in 1974-5 with Tom Baker. After leaving the show, he began writing novelisations, and this is one of his best, a short adventure fleshed out with wit and subtlety.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews