What do you think?
Rate this book
Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #89
Doctor Who: Inferno
Inferno is the name of a top-secret drilling project to penetrate the Earth's crust and release a major new energy source.
A crisis develops when a noxious liquid leaks out as drilling progresses — the green poison has a grotesquely debilitating effect on human beings.
As the Earth's plight worsens, the Doctor is trapped in a parallel world, unable to rescue the planet and its inhabitants from the destructive force of Inferno...
A crisis develops when a noxious liquid leaks out as drilling progresses — the green poison has a grotesquely debilitating effect on human beings.
As the Earth's plight worsens, the Doctor is trapped in a parallel world, unable to rescue the planet and its inhabitants from the destructive force of Inferno...
128 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1984
7 people are currently reading
340 people want to read
About the author
Terrance Dicks
281 books220 followersTerrance Dicks was an English author, screenwriter, script editor, and producer best known for his extensive contributions to Doctor Who. Serving as the show's script editor from 1968 to 1974, he helped shape many core elements of the series, including the concept of regeneration, the development of the Time Lords, and the naming of the Doctor’s home planet, Gallifrey. His tenure coincided with major thematic expansions, and he worked closely with producer Barry Letts to bring a socially aware tone to the show. Dicks later wrote several Doctor Who serials, including Robot, Horror of Fang Rock, and The Five Doctors, the 20th-anniversary special.
In parallel with his television work, Dicks became one of the most prolific writers of Doctor Who novelisations for Target Books, authoring over 60 titles and serving as the de facto editor of the range. These adaptations introduced a generation of young readers to the franchise. Beyond Doctor Who, he also wrote original novels, including children’s horror and adventure series such as The Baker Street Irregulars, Star Quest, and The Adventures of Goliath.
Dicks also worked on other television programmes including The Avengers, Moonbase 3, and various BBC literary adaptations. His later work included audio dramas and novels tied to Doctor Who. Widely respected for his clarity, imagination, and dedication to storytelling, he remained a central figure in Doctor Who fandom until his death in 2019, leaving behind a vast legacy in television and children's literature.
In parallel with his television work, Dicks became one of the most prolific writers of Doctor Who novelisations for Target Books, authoring over 60 titles and serving as the de facto editor of the range. These adaptations introduced a generation of young readers to the franchise. Beyond Doctor Who, he also wrote original novels, including children’s horror and adventure series such as The Baker Street Irregulars, Star Quest, and The Adventures of Goliath.
Dicks also worked on other television programmes including The Avengers, Moonbase 3, and various BBC literary adaptations. His later work included audio dramas and novels tied to Doctor Who. Widely respected for his clarity, imagination, and dedication to storytelling, he remained a central figure in Doctor Who fandom until his death in 2019, leaving behind a vast legacy in television and children's literature.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
April 17, 2019
I’ve always been a fan of parallel world stories, especially when it concerns characters you already know and love.
The final serial of Jon Pertwee‘s first series is wonderfully novelised by Dicks, condensing the 7 part story to the usual Target page count whilst not losing any of the action and threat must be applauded.
I liked that the Doctor surmised that this alternative dimension that he’d found himself in must have changed around the Second World War, as it’s now a fascist republic.
With this era predominantly set on Earth, it gave the show the opportunity to really put the world in peril with this storyline.
The final serial of Jon Pertwee‘s first series is wonderfully novelised by Dicks, condensing the 7 part story to the usual Target page count whilst not losing any of the action and threat must be applauded.
I liked that the Doctor surmised that this alternative dimension that he’d found himself in must have changed around the Second World War, as it’s now a fascist republic.
With this era predominantly set on Earth, it gave the show the opportunity to really put the world in peril with this storyline.
October 6, 2021
This is a novelization of the fourth adventure from the seventh season of Doctor Who, which was broadcast in May and June of 1970. It was the concluding serial for the season, and the third Doctor was accompanied for the last time by UNIT scientist Liz Shaw. Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Sergeant Benton were on hand, too. Terrance Dicks' adaptation was based on the original teleplay of Don Houghton, and Target gave the book one of the more unfortunate of their covers. The story was one of the longest serials, running for seven episodes, and Dicks did a good job of condensing it into the requisite Target length while keeping all of the plot points and good characterization. It's one of the most interesting stories from the time, an alternate worlds story where evil versions of the familiar characters abound in an England that's a totalitarian state. Drilling into the Earth's core to harvest the energy has released a weird slime that turns people into savage monsters, and The Doctor is thrown into an alternate world when the TARDIS malfunctions when he is investigating. He escapes and saves the day, of course... Dicks did a fine job of writing the opposing versions of the same characters.
December 31, 2013
Like regeneration, with Target books you never know what you are going to get. For an adaptation of a televised story, this has to be one of the best. The five stars is based when compared to other Doctor Who books. Terrance Dicks has done an outstanding job of adapting this story.
The plot is two fold, an attempt to retrieve a special gas from the Earth's crust and a parallel Earth doing the same thing. The drilling may not seem that important, only that it is being ran by someone who would have been taken off any project ages ago. Once the green slim shows up, then things get bad.
This is unique as it was the first time the Doctor on TV visited a parallel Earth. In the context of this story it works great, because you see the actions on both Earth's and what happens. Also, it allows us to see the life other characters would have had.
Terrance Dicks has done a splendid job of getting the story across on paper. He takes the opportunity to add little flourishes that enhance a strong story to begin with. At no time did you feel that he was pressed for space on writing the story.
The only letdown, no good bye for Liz Shaw as this was her last televised story. However, in the novels, there are still two more with her.
The plot is two fold, an attempt to retrieve a special gas from the Earth's crust and a parallel Earth doing the same thing. The drilling may not seem that important, only that it is being ran by someone who would have been taken off any project ages ago. Once the green slim shows up, then things get bad.
This is unique as it was the first time the Doctor on TV visited a parallel Earth. In the context of this story it works great, because you see the actions on both Earth's and what happens. Also, it allows us to see the life other characters would have had.
Terrance Dicks has done a splendid job of getting the story across on paper. He takes the opportunity to add little flourishes that enhance a strong story to begin with. At no time did you feel that he was pressed for space on writing the story.
The only letdown, no good bye for Liz Shaw as this was her last televised story. However, in the novels, there are still two more with her.
July 1, 2020
This book read far too much like a transcript than a novelisation. There are far too many scenes filled with talking heads which function only to drag the story down. That could have been solved with less dialogue, and more action-based descriptions. An internal monologue wouldn’t have gone amiss either.
Besides the laziness of this adaption, Inferno is one of my favourite Doctor Who stories through its use of tension, the fresh challenges that the Doctor must face and mash-up of some brilliant themes and ideas to create this masterpiece of a story.
Without the actors, sets, and camera work, much of the brilliance of inferno is lost in its adaption. Instead, we are left with shallow descriptions and some marvellous dialogue which doesn’t work as well in this format.
None the less, I’m grateful to have the pleasure to read one of my favourite stories in a different format.
Besides the laziness of this adaption, Inferno is one of my favourite Doctor Who stories through its use of tension, the fresh challenges that the Doctor must face and mash-up of some brilliant themes and ideas to create this masterpiece of a story.
Without the actors, sets, and camera work, much of the brilliance of inferno is lost in its adaption. Instead, we are left with shallow descriptions and some marvellous dialogue which doesn’t work as well in this format.
None the less, I’m grateful to have the pleasure to read one of my favourite stories in a different format.
August 4, 2018
Enjoyable enough to read with my son, but I think the TV episode version is a bit more brisk and to the point. And oh man does Terrance Dicks love his adverbs. I'm not an adverb hater, but wow... she said astonishedly (ha).
September 2, 2021
Terrance❤️❤️💦
June 29, 2011
Produced at the time when Target novelizations of Doctor Who stories were limited by their page count, "Infero" captures the essential story that takes place across seven episodes but still feels a bit lacking.
Terrance Dicks' retelling of the classic serial is faithful and straightforward. But in a story that feature a parallel universe with parallel versions of several regular characters, a bit more background might have been nice. Again, Dicks is limited by a page count. It'd be fascinating to see what he could do with the story now. (Dicks does a nice job of fleshing out the background and history in several of his earlier Pertwee era novels, "The Auton Invasion" and "Day of the Daleks")
This time around, I listened to the BBC audio book release of "Inferno," which is up to the usual high standards set for this line. Caroline John acquits herself fairly well as a reader, though she still falls into the second tier of readers for the line. The novel helped me pound out a couple of longer runs on warm afternoons and for that, I'm grateful. But in many ways hearing the story of "Inferno" only made me want to dust off the DVD copy of the serial and watch it again.
Terrance Dicks' retelling of the classic serial is faithful and straightforward. But in a story that feature a parallel universe with parallel versions of several regular characters, a bit more background might have been nice. Again, Dicks is limited by a page count. It'd be fascinating to see what he could do with the story now. (Dicks does a nice job of fleshing out the background and history in several of his earlier Pertwee era novels, "The Auton Invasion" and "Day of the Daleks")
This time around, I listened to the BBC audio book release of "Inferno," which is up to the usual high standards set for this line. Caroline John acquits herself fairly well as a reader, though she still falls into the second tier of readers for the line. The novel helped me pound out a couple of longer runs on warm afternoons and for that, I'm grateful. But in many ways hearing the story of "Inferno" only made me want to dust off the DVD copy of the serial and watch it again.
April 18, 2021
The novelization of Inferno is an interesting one as unlike other Third Doctor stories, this is one of four Third Doctor stories to be novelized after the end of the Fourth Doctor’s run and the confirmation of the junkings of episodes (the others were The Ambassadors of Death, The Mind of Evil, and The Time Monster), but all were done by the script editor of the era, Terrance Dicks. This book was released in 1984, fitting as that year saw the original television serial returned to the BBC Archives from Canada, though it would be a decade before it was released on home video. The novelization plays out less like the James Bond thriller of the televised version, but more like a mystery where the Doctor is playing detective against what is going on at the Inferno Project, which makes me wonder if that aspect of the story was what played into fan consensus until it was released to the public. There is this focus on Stahlman as a man of science and some backstory given to just what his background was. Less of the focus comes on Stahlman being a mad scientist, and more of a man driven by vision, making the mad scientist tendencies in the parallel Earth plot come to the forefront there. Dicks also makes some of the performance subtext of the parallel Earth version to become text, with a few added lines here and there about the characters and their motivations. It makes the bravery and cowardice parallels between the Brigadier and the Brigade Leader come right to the forefront especially in the adaptation of Episode 6. Dicks also has clearly perfected his writing style by this point, giving Inferno this easy read, however, that is a slight detriment when it comes to the conclusion. While the final episode of the story remained tense, this one almost jumps the shark in immediately revealing that there is a way to conclude the story. It means that the final episode feels incredibly rushed and the book ends almost unsatisfactory.
Overall, Inferno is an interesting way to experience a Doctor Who story which is regarded as a stone cold classic, even if it is one where the story itself is slightly let down in the adaptation. The audiobook also deserves a mention for Caroline John’s wonderful narration and the wonderful music score from Simon Power. 9/10.
March 10, 2021
I found this one a great read. Has some parallels to the Cave Monsters, with underground events causing issues, but is a stronger story for me.
The parallel Earth storyline is great, and a good chance to see characters in a different light, and I imagine would have been fun for the actors / actresses involved.
There is a lot of tension in the story, especially after the events on the parallel Earth, which make it into a real page turner.
Is interesting as well as no real clear antagonists to my mind in this one, more a clash of wills / motivations, along with abnormal events / reactions occurring due to drilling so deep.
The Doctor, Brigadier and Liz are great here, lots of good scenes together with both clashes and friendliness, ending in what I think is a really nice scene, that is a good way of finishing a season. It is a shame though that this was Liz's last story but without any farewell for her - I like Jo Grant as a companion, so no issues with the change of companions, just feel Liz was sold a bit short to not have an actual farewell scene.
The parallel Earth storyline is great, and a good chance to see characters in a different light, and I imagine would have been fun for the actors / actresses involved.
There is a lot of tension in the story, especially after the events on the parallel Earth, which make it into a real page turner.
Is interesting as well as no real clear antagonists to my mind in this one, more a clash of wills / motivations, along with abnormal events / reactions occurring due to drilling so deep.
The Doctor, Brigadier and Liz are great here, lots of good scenes together with both clashes and friendliness, ending in what I think is a really nice scene, that is a good way of finishing a season. It is a shame though that this was Liz's last story but without any farewell for her - I like Jo Grant as a companion, so no issues with the change of companions, just feel Liz was sold a bit short to not have an actual farewell scene.
February 13, 2025
Based on script by Don Houghton this is number 89 in the Target catalog. It has only had one Target and the cover art is by Nick Spender.
I can’t say this is a favourite story. It’s always seemed repetitive, which is the whole point. Terrence speeds things up in this book by cutting out the byplay between the characters in quite a few scenes. I rewatched the broadcast version a couple of weeks ago so the dialogue is fresh in my mind. While it shortens the scenes and speeds them up, I’m not entirely sure it’s an improvement. It lowers the characterisation. If I hadn’t just seen the broadcast version and was filling in the missing bits from memory I think I’d find the characters a bit flat and lifeless.
And Sir Keith Gold’s car accident scene is missing entirely. He recounts it to the Doctor in the hut after the fact, but we don’t get the actual seen with him in the car. It’s possible I only noticed this due to the recent death of Christopher Benjamin.
I don’t think this is a bad adaptation, but it’s not a spectacular one that I know I will read multiple times.
I can’t say this is a favourite story. It’s always seemed repetitive, which is the whole point. Terrence speeds things up in this book by cutting out the byplay between the characters in quite a few scenes. I rewatched the broadcast version a couple of weeks ago so the dialogue is fresh in my mind. While it shortens the scenes and speeds them up, I’m not entirely sure it’s an improvement. It lowers the characterisation. If I hadn’t just seen the broadcast version and was filling in the missing bits from memory I think I’d find the characters a bit flat and lifeless.
And Sir Keith Gold’s car accident scene is missing entirely. He recounts it to the Doctor in the hut after the fact, but we don’t get the actual seen with him in the car. It’s possible I only noticed this due to the recent death of Christopher Benjamin.
I don’t think this is a bad adaptation, but it’s not a spectacular one that I know I will read multiple times.
June 9, 2025
Terrence Dicks can always be counted on for a fast-paced Doctor Who adaptation, especially of stories from his era as script editor, and Inferno is a good example. You get all the incidents of a seven-part story, plus a little more, including speculation about the alternate world's history and moments where he gets into the characters' heads to better explain their motivations. If you can believe it, Professor Stahlmann is even more aggravating even if we understand his obstructionism better - because he gets more "screen time"! I thought Dicks would give fold in some reasoning for this being Liz's serial, but it's just not her story, unless we're thinking of alt-Liz who has more of an arc than our own ever did. Similarly, Dicks never calls the green werewolves "Primords" (only in the show's credits), missing a chance to use the term in the prose. Perhaps his instincts are right in both cases, but one really should look for additive opportunities when writing these things.
April 24, 2023
Doctor Who : Inferno (1984) by Terrance Dicks is the novelisation of the fourth and final serial of the seventh season of Doctor Who. It’s the 54th serial.
The Doctor, Liz and the Brigadier are tasked with observing a very deep drilling operation that is going to get endless energy from below the earth’s crust. It’s Liz’s last serial with the Doctor.
There are leaks of a mysterious liquid that turns people into monsters and the Doctor has to travel to a parallel universe where Britain is a fascist dictatorship.
It’s all pretty bonkers but is quite amusing.
The Doctor, Liz and the Brigadier are tasked with observing a very deep drilling operation that is going to get endless energy from below the earth’s crust. It’s Liz’s last serial with the Doctor.
There are leaks of a mysterious liquid that turns people into monsters and the Doctor has to travel to a parallel universe where Britain is a fascist dictatorship.
It’s all pretty bonkers but is quite amusing.
February 5, 2023
INFERNO – DOCTOR WHO, published 1984 from the script of 1970.
Fun to re-enter the world of the Third Doctor. The story lie plays on the uncertainly of “who’s in charge here?” with nobody seeming to have the final authority to confront the deluded self-imposed nutcase ‘brainy professor’, and shutdown this hell-bent drilling project.
Freaky parallel-universe alternative-reality thing that happens: earthquake, mutations, green-slimy-goo ….. ****
Fun to re-enter the world of the Third Doctor. The story lie plays on the uncertainly of “who’s in charge here?” with nobody seeming to have the final authority to confront the deluded self-imposed nutcase ‘brainy professor’, and shutdown this hell-bent drilling project.
Freaky parallel-universe alternative-reality thing that happens: earthquake, mutations, green-slimy-goo ….. ****
August 31, 2022
A few good bits doesn't change the fact that for the most part this is an utterly uninspiring adaptation. Perhaps I wouldn't care so much if Inferno wasn't my favourite Pertwee serial, but, well...Inferno is my favourite Pertwee serial, and this, featuring pages of transcribed script and perfunctory description, completely fails to do it justice.
March 15, 2025
A faithful rendition of one of my favourite Doctor Who stories. It's concerned with many familiar topics of the early 1970s - fuel security, environmental concerns - familiar to us now. This series of Doctor Who was set on earth (BBC budgetary constraints) but the producers of this story took a multiverse/parallel universe approach to adjusting the mileu in interesting ways.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 1, 2021
A very straightforward adaptation of a somewhat interesting TV script. With more time and pages Terrance Dicks could probably have created quite a nice novel but as it is the book feels rushed and less interesting than the TV show.
February 28, 2024
If it wasn’t for the mutants, who serve no real purpose in the story, this would be utterly perfect. Dicks retells a cracking yarn in a wonderful breakneck pace that isn’t afraid to stop for a moment to catch its breath. A hoot.
June 9, 2024
Great story, nice adaptation. Love reading these as light filler between real books. Finished reading while in a state of immense rage at about 2am. Not about the book though, which was pretty good and calmed my ire a little.
November 17, 2024
One of my favourite episodes - and the only 'classic' story to deal with alternate worlds, I'm sure (The Space Museum doesn't count!) and I'm happy that for once the novelisation makes some effort to come up to scratch.
January 22, 2021
2.5 stars. An enjoyable enough audio book for long distance travels.
December 8, 2024
Great adaptation of the TV story. Not sure it needed the hairy beast element TBH as the parallel universe, end of the world story lines were quite enough.
December 21, 2024
A good read short compared to the TV version but I really enjoyed it.
February 10, 2025
Rereading this in 2025 is very eerie.
March 15, 2017
A really wonderful audio book version of the classic serial Inferno, based off of Terrance Dicks' novelization. Gorgeous cover art of the Primord Bromley (taken from the paperback edition published by Target), the book is read by Caroline John, who portrayed the Doctor's companion in the serial, Liz. I confess that apart from once listening to an audio version of The Keep, so long ago I can't remember who read it or even when and where I obtained it or what became of it, this is my first audio book. I'm unused to the experience of someone reading it to me, but I like the voices Caroline John does, especially for stuffy Sir Keith, the energetic and flamboyant Third Doctor, and for the cantankerous Professor Stahlman. The added music and sound effects are also a wonderful plus! Definitely recommended if you're a Doctor Who fan.
Read
April 8, 2009http://nhw.livejournal.com/1032344.html?#cutid4[return][return]I'm glad to say that Doctor Who - Inferno, published in 1984, is one of Dicks' better novelisations. He has judiciously trimmed Don Houghton's original seven episodes (deleting its least attractive aspect, the sexist banter between Greg Sutton and Petra Williams) to make a good TV story an exciting book. The twist of the parallel world plotline makes the Third Doctor himself the viewpoint character for a substantial chunk, and this always brings out Dicks at his best.
July 22, 2008
The Third Doctor, trying to escape his exile on Earth ends up on an alternate earth where things have taken a turn for the fascist and there are some scary similarities between this Earth's Project Inferno and the one happening on his earth.
What if he can only save one Earth?
Decent adaption of the TV episode.
Bit sad as this is the last story to feature Liz Shaw and she doesn't get a real leaving scene. She's here now, next story, she's gone.
What if he can only save one Earth?
Decent adaption of the TV episode.
Bit sad as this is the last story to feature Liz Shaw and she doesn't get a real leaving scene. She's here now, next story, she's gone.
January 24, 2012
Novelization of the first Pertwee episode I remember seeing, although it may have not been my "actual" first, it's one that I enjoyed. The requirements of the novelizations slim down the story somewhat, but it seems to benefit from that, leaving out some of the extraneous in-fighting that filled the 7 episode story.
June 7, 2011
A prime example of how to skillfully condense seven intense 1970s episodes into an exciting, concise novelization, that doesn't lose any of the power, drama, or excitement of the original story. Terrance Dicks, firing on all cylinders...
November 21, 2008
Terrance Dicks wrote a lot of the novelizations of Doctor who. This is one of the better adaptions. I thought the writing was pretty fair for a Tv adaptation.
December 10, 2010
My least fav episode, but one of the best books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews