The Target Book: A History of the Target Doctor Who Books

by David J. Howe, Terrance Dicks (Foreword)

From 1973 until 1994, the Target Doctor Who paperbacks were a mainstay of the publishing world. From humble beginnings, they grew into a list running to 156 individual titles and selling over 13 million copies world-wide.


This is the story of Target Books. Noted researcher and historian David J Howe chronicles the origins of the imprint, speaking to all the major players in its development, from editors to art directors, managing directors to artists and authors, and charts the books' critical reception as well as the fortunes and failings of the many publishing houses involved in their production.

Profusely illustrated with all the covers, plus rare and unseen sketches and unused concepts and ideas, The Target Book is the definitive guide to a range of books which shaped the reading habits of a generation.

Introduction by writer Terrance Dicks.

Genres: Doctor Who, Nonfiction

169 pages, Paperback

First published September 13, 2007

Reviews

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and informative book covering the publishing of novelizations of the Doctor Who televised stories. I learned a lot about what went into acquiring and maintaining licensing for the stories. There also some fascinating behind the scenes information about what it took to get the book out. A lovely read.

[Michael Rudzki · Rating 5 out of 5]

While Doctor Who had been on the air in the UK since 1963, it wasn't until the early 1980s when PBS began airing episodes in the US, at least in San Antonio where I lived. My friend Henry said I needed to watch it, and so I tuned in. Our local PBS station was playing the episodes each night, and I happened to catch the first episode of Nightmare of Eden.

It was awful.

But Henry said, "Just keep watching." I did, and here I am forty years later reviewing this superb book.

For those of us in the US, the broadcasts of stories featuring the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, were about the only Doctor Who we could get, until those of us who were hooked discovered the Target Books novelizations. Target had been commissioning authors to adapt each serial to novel form for about ten years, and this was the only way most of us could discover the Doctor's earlier incarnations and adventures.

I was very lucky that someone sold a huge lot of them to the used bookstore at which I worked. I scooped them all up, and then pored over each one, soaking in the prior twenty years of the Doctor's adventures. The cover art was our only visual glimpse of the story within, and those artists excelled at creating exciting and beautiful art to draw us in.

If you were like me, then this fabulous history of the books is a must read. David J. Howe, a long-time chronicler of the history of Doctor Who, has written the definitive history of the authors, artists, and publishers who created such memorable books. Absolutely essential!

[Steve Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of the 156 Doctor Who Target novels (1973-94).

The novelisations of the original Doctor Who stories are as full of nostalgia as the episodes themselves. Most have beautifully illustrated covers and contain generally fast-paced tellings of the original stories.

The best part of this book are the all colour illustrations, including all the covers being beautifully represented. Although the telling of the Target story is interesting, it's all too clear that the text here is gathered from various pieces originally published in Doctor Who Magazine. It can feel at times a bit disjointed and pasted together. Also, I'm not sure I want to read not particularly well-written fanboy quotes from fanzines about the merits and annoyances of the various novels.

I don't want to be too down on this book however as it gathers a lot of information on these books in one place and I think it'll be a reference book that I'll often return to. All authors and illustrators get their mention.

Oh I wish...I wish I hadn't have given away (many years ago) my almost complete set of books to a charity shop during a house move. Aaah!

[P.J. MacNamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those of us Dr Who fans who experienced the golden age (1971-1977 in my humble opinion,) first hand, treasuring the Target imprint books above all else in the long years before VHS came along, this is simply the best factual Dr Who book ever published. There is something magical about those first 20 or 30 Target books and the times that spawned them that can never be repeated. I can still remember the first few Target books I managed to get, in the order I got them, and which shops I got them from. It was about 45 years ago. I have a huge Dr Who collection now, but nothing will ever take Target's place in my heart. If you weren't there this is just another good book to add to your collection. If you were, it's pure gold.

[Tom Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I luckily managed to find one Deluxe edition of the book.

The History of the Target Books is a perfect book if you love the Target Books. It basically covers the history of the range, facts, prototype covers, releases, different editions and so on. It's also a beautifully presented book.

I don't usually review non-fiction books but this I recommend to any Doctor Who fan and especially to any Target fans.

There are many editions of this book. The 2007 Softcover, two deluxe editions (White and Blue) and a 2016 Hardback in the same style of the softcover. A lovely read.

[Scott Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A history of a book publishing line is, due to the nature of the business, not going to make for the most exciting of stories. However, the author does a good job of making this an interesting book. The author has clearly interviewed many of the people involved with Target and this feeds into some insights and personal views in the main text. There are also short biographies of all the authors and artists and, of course, plenty of cover and other art reproduced throughout, as well as an appendix containing all of the covers.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A full history of the Target books over the years, lovely to see all of the covers and the artwork that didn't make it, some gems like the Enemy of the World synopsis planned by David Whitaker and interesting enough, even if some of it wasn't of great interest to me.

[Nicholas Whyte]

"http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1284671.html[return][return]Telos have really come up with the goods this time. This is an exhaustive history of the twenty-one years of publication of the Target novelisations of the classic Doctor Who television stories, buttressed by interviews with the writers and illustrators (most of whom get featured in sidebars as well as appearing in the main text, many of the interviews having been conducted by Tim Neal), and also with the various editors responsible for the line in a bewildering dance of corporate ownership and managerial responsibilities across several changes of parent company. It is beautifully illustrated with the art from the various books. Appendices list all the Who-related Target books (including Junior Doctor Who, Companions, compilations, quizbooks, cookbooks, Discovers, etc) and also the ones that weren't published (including David Whitaker's original outline for Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World, written in the end by Ian Marter after Whitaker's death). Also, rather than trying to critique each novel anew, we get a report of fannish reviews at the time of publication (I was surprised to read of the negative reaction to Donald Cotton's superb Doctor Who and the Romans). Terrance Dicks supplies a typically Terrantial foreword. Well worth adding to your Whovian reference collection."

[Kevinjwoods · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good history of the Publisher Target Books and is worth getting simply for the pictures of the covers that are dotted throughout the book.
There is however some things missing most notable the entire problem with the Ian Marter version of The Enemy of the World is glossed over to such a degree that if you were not reading them at the time you would be unaware of it, the problem was that this was the first Doctor Who novel to include a swear word in this case B******, now this was a major thing at the time and considering that at that time they were still considered mostly for children should have been a major point to be mentioned in any history of the series. Missing also is a wide variety of little things that while not of great importance would have been ice to have been mentioned for example how did the first three William Hartnell novels come to be reissued with Tom Baker on the cover, or details of the changes from the original stories all of which would have been more interesting than reviews from fanzines of the novels, were there really no reviews in any mainstream media over the entire period?

Strangely for a book on a defunct range it needs an update to deal with the fact that in recent years a few of them have been republished, more and more have been read out as audiobooks and they have started to become collectibles themselves.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Target book range helped me enjoy reading as a kid and I still love them today. It's fascinating to read the ups and downs and background shenanigans behind the books.
My favourite bits are the stories behind the cover art and I love the images of alternate covers. The sketches of Alister Pearson's covers are particular highlights for me.
Really shocking were the snippets of reviews from various fanzines in the 70s and 80s. Who knew Doctor Who fans could be so bitchy?

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're a serious Who fan, like I am, this book is a must-have guide. But it's a very dry read, and even fans might not enjoy the book. i mean, it's a behind-the-scenes look into the publishing history of OTHER Doctor Who books; it's not exactly got mass appeal nor is it a fun read. But I will definitely put it to good use.

[Paul Doody · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Howe is without doubt the best writer of non-fiction about Doctor Who. Here he tells the inside story of the Target books range - the publishers of more than 150 novelisations of the tv series. Researched with David Howe's usual care, and full of illustrations of the covers of the books - truly a slice of our past. Brilliant.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike its Star Trek sibling, THIS book is a fantastic history of Target books' groudnbreaking Doctor Who novelizations. Beautifully designed, full colour artwork, and packed full of facts, interviews & interesting revelations...it's the be-all, end-all final word on Doctor Who's original foray into the publishing world.

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating and detailed look into the publishing word of the 80s and 90s. The book itself is a very eye catching presentation. I greatly enjoyed the quotes through the book showcasing the various descriptions of the TARDIS dematerializing and the descriptions of the Doctors. The illustrations and images are the real treasures of this book. This is a must for any Doctor Who fanatic.

[Reuben Herfindahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read for anyone who grew up reading Target books.

[Bob Furnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely the definitive book regarding the Doctor Who novels published by Target.

[Jefferson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, nostalgic history of the novelizations that were such a huge part of Doctor Who collecting and fandom in the 1980s. Made me wish I hadn't got rid of most of mine, I would love to re-read a few of them.