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Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #102
Doctor Who: The Time Monster
Outside the bounds of this world lives Kronos, the Chronivore - a mysterious creature that feeds on time itself. Posing as a Cambridge professor the Master intends to use Kronos in his evil quest for power. To stop him, the Doctor and Jo must journey back in time to Ancient Atlantis and to a terrifying confrontation within the Time Vortex itself. But can even the Doctor save himself from the awesome might of the Time Monster?
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
1 person is currently reading
229 people want to read
About the author
Terrance Dicks
326 books219 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.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
April 16, 2020
A pretty standad Third Doctor novelisation as the Time Lord alongside Jo and UNIT must stop The Masters latest outlandish plan.
Dicks manages to convey an overlong 6 part serial into a much more enjoyable quick read.
I always preferred the first half of this story set in the science research unit, both the supporting characters are well sketched out and the time experiments are easily explained.
A much more enjoyable way to appreciate this serial.
Dicks manages to convey an overlong 6 part serial into a much more enjoyable quick read.
I always preferred the first half of this story set in the science research unit, both the supporting characters are well sketched out and the time experiments are easily explained.
A much more enjoyable way to appreciate this serial.
August 11, 2021
This is a novelization of the fifth serial of the ninth season of Doctor Who, which starred The Doctor in his third incarnation, his companion Jo Grant, and their UNIT comrades, Sergeant Benton, Captain Mike Yates, and, of course, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. The show was first aired in May and June of 1972. The script was written by Robert Sloman, and the novel was written by Terrance Dicks, the premiere adapter of the series. The story features The Master, the Doctor's Moriarty, who has assumed the disguise of a physicist at a research center near Cambridge in order to conduct matter transmission and time experiments. It's one of the more complexly plotted stories, as the best of the back-and-forth time conflict episodes usually are. He is summoning Kronos, a chronovore who feeds on time, and the high priest of Atlantis is transported to the facility, where The Master uses him to summon the monster. The Master then travels back in time to Atlantis and The Doctor and Jo follow him, and a strange battle of the TARDISes (is that the correct plural form?) ensues, after which Jo saves The Doctor, and he soon returns the favor, saving her from the Minotaur in Atlantis. Meanwhile, much disruption of the time streams has occurred... An enraged Kronos is called back to Atlantis, which he destroys, and after another battle The Doctor and Jo emerge victorious and return to the present, but The Master, of course, escapes. It's a fun story, quite plainly- and well-written, and Dicks makes it easy to picture the action and creatures. It's interesting that no explanation is offered as to the seeming contradictions to earlier stories; it's the third or fourth time that the disappearance of Atlantis was addressed in the series, and each explanation was different.
June 28, 2013
Another pretty enjoyable romp, actually a little more streamlined than the original in some ways. The Master, mysterious, powerful beings, Atlantis, time travel, the entire universe at stake...strap in for a non-stop thrill ride! I'm having a lot of fun re-reading these novelisations, in case you didn't notice.
April 23, 2025
Based on a script by Robert Sloman and Barry Letts (uncrdited) this is number 102 in the Target catalogue. The cover is by Andrew Skilleter.
I find this a somewhat odd story. I love the idea of Chronivore and the Master using it to manipulate time with plans to take over the universe, but I find linking it to Atlantis an unnecessary complication. I would have preferred an Atlantis story as a straight myth/historical adventure like The Myth Makers.
That said, I do like this novelisition. It’s much better paced than the broadcast version. I find the Atlantean section in the TV version drags. When I got to it in the novel I was thinking he must have cut a lot out, but he hasn’t. It’s just condensed and the pace faster. All the story specific characters are exactly as I remember them from the TV version.
It’s a tad longer than most of the Targets at 151 pages, but it doesn’t feel long. Although the extra pages could be an artifact of font size and line spacing. I just did a random comparison with Invasion of the Dinosaurs and there are 2 less lines on every page of Time Monster.
Some of Dicks novelisations feel half hearted attempts, this isn’t one of those. The prose is clear and concise. The descriptions and action are engaging. The characters are developed with internalised thoughts. It enhances the TV version, while losing nothing from the TV version. I will happily read this again at some point.
I find this a somewhat odd story. I love the idea of Chronivore and the Master using it to manipulate time with plans to take over the universe, but I find linking it to Atlantis an unnecessary complication. I would have preferred an Atlantis story as a straight myth/historical adventure like The Myth Makers.
That said, I do like this novelisition. It’s much better paced than the broadcast version. I find the Atlantean section in the TV version drags. When I got to it in the novel I was thinking he must have cut a lot out, but he hasn’t. It’s just condensed and the pace faster. All the story specific characters are exactly as I remember them from the TV version.
It’s a tad longer than most of the Targets at 151 pages, but it doesn’t feel long. Although the extra pages could be an artifact of font size and line spacing. I just did a random comparison with Invasion of the Dinosaurs and there are 2 less lines on every page of Time Monster.
Some of Dicks novelisations feel half hearted attempts, this isn’t one of those. The prose is clear and concise. The descriptions and action are engaging. The characters are developed with internalised thoughts. It enhances the TV version, while losing nothing from the TV version. I will happily read this again at some point.
March 23, 2021
Another fun read this one. Nice to have UNIT again in this story, and having the Master back again is also good - as I do like all the interactions between the Doctor, Jo, the Master and the UNIT crew, they make for a mixture of tension, suspense, action and humour.
The one off characters that feature prominently are pretty good here too, Ruth Ingram puts me in mind somewhat of Liz Shaw, certainly happy to go head to head with both the Doctor and the Master, and with justification too.
The overall threat is an interesting one, with a good twist at the end, though the Master is a touch pantomime villain towards the end which doesn't reflect the strengths of the character.
Bit of a continuity issue here with Atlantis, compared to it's appearance in the Underwater Menace, I think this is one where we start seeing clear cut contradictions, compared to some greyness previously in the series, but can be seen as a strength that the show won't limit future storylines based on past ones :)
The one off characters that feature prominently are pretty good here too, Ruth Ingram puts me in mind somewhat of Liz Shaw, certainly happy to go head to head with both the Doctor and the Master, and with justification too.
The overall threat is an interesting one, with a good twist at the end, though the Master is a touch pantomime villain towards the end which doesn't reflect the strengths of the character.
Bit of a continuity issue here with Atlantis, compared to it's appearance in the Underwater Menace, I think this is one where we start seeing clear cut contradictions, compared to some greyness previously in the series, but can be seen as a strength that the show won't limit future storylines based on past ones :)
August 15, 2025
There's no doubt that The Time Monster, whether televised or novelized, is a very messy. Dicks can't fix that because the central problem of the serial is too many things going on, and the Targets' breakneck pace only exacerbates the situation. And yet... As wild and, frankly, stupid, as The Time Monster is, it's still a lot of fun and full of little nuggets important to the canon - the daisiest daisy, the non-technological technology, references to telepathic circuits, TARDISes inside TARDISes, chronovores - and bits I wouldn't want to part with - it's Benton's best story, for example, and Jo is particularly strong. Like, sure, we don't get Ingrid Pitt as the Atlantean Queen per se, but the Master's reveal is kept 'til later thanks to the lack of visuals. Dicks doesn't make very many changes at all, which lands this particular adaptation about in the middle. So if you like the episodes, you'll like the book. If you don't, you won't.
October 7, 2019
This was an enjoyable story for a few reasons, one of which was that it took place at a point in the story line when The Doctor could not travel through time safely himself. So, the sequence in which he could piggyback onto The Master's TARDIS signal in order to travel was clever.
That said, this wasn't one of the better Master stories, for the simple reason that he was acting like a brainless super-villain. Usually he was crazy and dangerous, but not stupid, and in this story he leaned toward the latter a bit too much.
Still, it was a fun books to read, and a good reminder of what the Third Doctor was like. Since the Jon Pertwee stories were my initial glimpse of the Doctor, it was a fun, nostalgic book to read.
That said, this wasn't one of the better Master stories, for the simple reason that he was acting like a brainless super-villain. Usually he was crazy and dangerous, but not stupid, and in this story he leaned toward the latter a bit too much.
Still, it was a fun books to read, and a good reminder of what the Third Doctor was like. Since the Jon Pertwee stories were my initial glimpse of the Doctor, it was a fun, nostalgic book to read.
May 24, 2023
Doctor Who : The Time Monster (1985) by Terrance Dicks is the novelisation of the fifth and final serial of the ninth season of Doctor Who and the 64th serial overall.
The Doctor and Jo head off to investigate an institute where time experiments are being performed by a mysterious professor who turns out to the Master. There is a time field and a crystal that the Master is after that may be used to attract a chronovore, which is a creature from outside time that feeds on time. The time crystals are somehow held in Atlantis. The Master and the Doctor then travel there.
Kronos, a time chronovore is eventually summoned, things go wrong and this is used to explain the destruction of Atlantis. It’s all pretty bonkers really.
The Time Monster isn’t a bad Doctor Who serial.
The Doctor and Jo head off to investigate an institute where time experiments are being performed by a mysterious professor who turns out to the Master. There is a time field and a crystal that the Master is after that may be used to attract a chronovore, which is a creature from outside time that feeds on time. The time crystals are somehow held in Atlantis. The Master and the Doctor then travel there.
Kronos, a time chronovore is eventually summoned, things go wrong and this is used to explain the destruction of Atlantis. It’s all pretty bonkers really.
The Time Monster isn’t a bad Doctor Who serial.
December 24, 2022
Full disclosure, I only read this so I could REread the Past Doctor Adventure “The Quantum Archangel” by Craig Hinton, a PDA I remember liking a lot but not really having the full context for. Mainly because I have never seen The Time Monster before.
But now, thanks to Targets, I kinda don’t have to! I felt like this was pretty standard Third Doctor/Master hijinks but I still dug the time I had with it. Definitely not as substantial feeling of an adaptation or additive to the original serial but fun enough all the same. I guess I now should just WATCH The Time Monster huh? Man, 2022 has been a real Third Doctor year, weirdly enough. I dig it.
But now, thanks to Targets, I kinda don’t have to! I felt like this was pretty standard Third Doctor/Master hijinks but I still dug the time I had with it. Definitely not as substantial feeling of an adaptation or additive to the original serial but fun enough all the same. I guess I now should just WATCH The Time Monster huh? Man, 2022 has been a real Third Doctor year, weirdly enough. I dig it.
November 4, 2021
A novelisation of a much underrated TV story for the Third Doctor and Jo from 1972.
On TV, many fans feel The Time Monster was a disappointment, although I'm not one of the ones who holds this view. This novelisation is excellent though. It expands on the content we saw on screen, with some great descriptions and fab dialogue. It compresses the six episodes into a fast, fun-to-read story and sees Terrance Dicks on good form. Recommended.
On TV, many fans feel The Time Monster was a disappointment, although I'm not one of the ones who holds this view. This novelisation is excellent though. It expands on the content we saw on screen, with some great descriptions and fab dialogue. It compresses the six episodes into a fast, fun-to-read story and sees Terrance Dicks on good form. Recommended.
March 6, 2022
5/10 - For fans only. This story is often overlooked and wasn't published until over a decade after airing on BBC1.
There's a reason for this, the plot is a bit of a mess, obsurd and feels hastily put together. Dicks does his best and if viewed as a fairly enjoyable romp with some old friends is passable.
The characterisation of Jo, the Doctor, the Master and the Unit ensemble saves the day, just don't dwell too much on the story!
There's a reason for this, the plot is a bit of a mess, obsurd and feels hastily put together. Dicks does his best and if viewed as a fairly enjoyable romp with some old friends is passable.
The characterisation of Jo, the Doctor, the Master and the Unit ensemble saves the day, just don't dwell too much on the story!
April 9, 2025
To be clear, and despite general fan opinion, I actually quite like the original serial; this was a genuinely wretched experience to me, but that was down to the quality of the novelisation rather than the story it was based off of. Does the bare minimum to qualify as a prose novel rather than a published script and generally made me feel quite depressed about the number of Terrance Dicks novelisations I have left to go on my quest to read all of them up until the end of the classic series.
June 9, 2023
One of the more forgettable stories of the Pertwee era, The Time Monster is probably most remembered for the "daisiest daisy" scene, Kronos' somewhat laughable costume, and the naked Benton ending.
Dicks brings a decent adaptation. The best parts of the story were the bits in Atlantis. The ending felt somewhat rushed.
Dicks brings a decent adaptation. The best parts of the story were the bits in Atlantis. The ending felt somewhat rushed.
June 2, 2024
This story benefits immensely from the increased page count of the mid-80s but it’s still a rather ordinary affair. The guest characters are given a fair amount of depth and backstory but the whole story feels lacking when we move away from the comfy UNIT setting.
September 24, 2018
A so-so novelisation - scoring by not being as tedious as the original overlong broadcast version. (I see it took me a long time to get round to finishing it... )
June 27, 2019
This and other Terrance Dicks books reviewed here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com...
May 13, 2023
Thank you for writing this book Terrance Dicks.
Thank you narrators for telling us this story!
Thank you narrators for telling us this story!
February 27, 2024
One good thing about The Time Monster is it establishes that the Master coming up with half-baked plans isn't necessarily something isolated to the Anthony Ainley version of the character.
This one regularly rounds out the bottom of many classic Who fan polls for the third Doctor's era -- and with good reason. And yet, for all its faults and foibles, there is actually a good story in here trying to get out.
It's a shame it never quite does.
In many ways, it feels like Barry Letts and Robert Sloman wanted to emulate the success of The Daemons a season before. So, why not hit some of the high points of that one again? The Master is on-hand with a plot to take over the world/universe and there's the deconstruction of human mythology -- in this case, it's greek mythology and the story of Atlantis and the Minotaur.
Honestly, it wouldn't shock me to some day learn that the script was also some kind of bet among friends to see how many times they could slip a certain word onscreen and the BBC censors wouldn't or couldn't object. (The acronym for the device used to push matter through time and summon Kronos).
There's even a bit of travel in the TARDIS for Jo, the potential for a time ran and more scenery chewing than you can shake a stick at.
So, how does that all add up when it comes to the novel?
Unfortunately, not very well. I recall picking this Target novel up and then it languishing on my shelf. I'd try to read it only to feel completely disconnected from the story and ignoring it for long periods of times. The same thing proves true of the audiobook, despite Jon Culshaw's attempts to liven it up with his performance and imitation of the various characters. I kept chugging for isolated scenes like "the daisiest daisy" and UNIT troops meeting up with various armies ripped through time to take them on. But, it felt like this one took a lot longer for me to get through the running time (literally and figuratively as I listened to this while running).
I can't help but wonder if Uncle Terrance wasn't a huge fan of this one either, given that this comes from the later Target period when he could have had more time to fill in details and deepen the characters -- something he does neither of here.
This one regularly rounds out the bottom of many classic Who fan polls for the third Doctor's era -- and with good reason. And yet, for all its faults and foibles, there is actually a good story in here trying to get out.
It's a shame it never quite does.
In many ways, it feels like Barry Letts and Robert Sloman wanted to emulate the success of The Daemons a season before. So, why not hit some of the high points of that one again? The Master is on-hand with a plot to take over the world/universe and there's the deconstruction of human mythology -- in this case, it's greek mythology and the story of Atlantis and the Minotaur.
Honestly, it wouldn't shock me to some day learn that the script was also some kind of bet among friends to see how many times they could slip a certain word onscreen and the BBC censors wouldn't or couldn't object. (The acronym for the device used to push matter through time and summon Kronos).
There's even a bit of travel in the TARDIS for Jo, the potential for a time ran and more scenery chewing than you can shake a stick at.
So, how does that all add up when it comes to the novel?
Unfortunately, not very well. I recall picking this Target novel up and then it languishing on my shelf. I'd try to read it only to feel completely disconnected from the story and ignoring it for long periods of times. The same thing proves true of the audiobook, despite Jon Culshaw's attempts to liven it up with his performance and imitation of the various characters. I kept chugging for isolated scenes like "the daisiest daisy" and UNIT troops meeting up with various armies ripped through time to take them on. But, it felt like this one took a lot longer for me to get through the running time (literally and figuratively as I listened to this while running).
I can't help but wonder if Uncle Terrance wasn't a huge fan of this one either, given that this comes from the later Target period when he could have had more time to fill in details and deepen the characters -- something he does neither of here.
Read
September 21, 2012
UNIT are called into monitor the initial trials of a device called TOMTIT - the Transmission Of Matter Through Interstitial Time - at the Newton Institute at Wootton. Created by the enigmatic Professor Thascales, TOMTIT's demonstration causes unexpected time anomalies. The Doctor soon discovers that TOMTIT is not all that it seems...
At the heart of TOMTIT is an ancient crystal, which the Master hopes to use to gain control over Kronos - a Chronovore which feeds on time itself. But the stone he holds is only part of the sacred crystal of Kronos - the main crystal is hidden...
The Doctor and the Master journey back in time to the lost city of Atlantis, where the battle for the control of Kronos intensifies... Can the Doctor prevent the Time Monster from being unleashed...?
Read
April 8, 2009http://nhw.livejournal.com/1037395.html#cutid5[return][return]A decent effort at conveying an over complex story; not spectacular, but OK. Tony has an interesting point about the Master's pseudonym.
January 9, 2010
Nice cosmic story that starts at an English research center and then bounces around through time and space as the Doctor and the Master both struggle to deal with Kronos the Time Monster.
A fun romp with some great moments between the two time lords.
A fun romp with some great moments between the two time lords.
February 25, 2010
A Doctor Who novelisation of the Pertwee story. A nice easy read in Dicks' normal fairly literal style. I used to read tonnes of these when I was young, and couldn't get my Doctor Who fix in any other way. Our local library had a good selection, but I don't remember this one.
January 29, 2011
Another 1980s Terrance Dicks novelization that shows his ability to produce a concise novelization that still manages to be packed full of useful embellishments and expanded ideas. It also helps that "The Time Monster" is at the heart of his own time as TV series script editor.
March 29, 2012
The Master meddles in time better than any other adversary faced by the Doctor. The downfall of Atlantis is explained in this fast-paced Terrance Dick's adventure that turns the notion of linear time inside out.
Read
October 9, 2009Doctor Who: The Time Monster (Doctor Who, No 102) by Terrance Dicks (1986)
May 3, 2016
read some time in 1994
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