Doctor Who and the Horror of Fang Rock

Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #32

by Terrance Dicks

On a remote rocky island a few miles off the Channel coast stands the Fang Rock lighthouse. There have always been tales of the beast of Fang Rock, but when the Tardis lands here with Leela and the Doctor, the force they must deal with is more sinister and deadly than the mythical beast of the past.

It is the early 1900s, electricity is just coming into common usage, and the formless, gelatinous mass from the future must use the lighthouse generators to recharge its system. Nothing can stop this Rutan scout in its search and its experimentation on humans...

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Media Tie In, Time Travel, Novels

126 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1978

About the author

Terrance 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.

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the best Doctor Who serials of all time and a perfect example of Terrance Dicks creativity in a hurry.

The televised serial was a late replacement after a story featuring vampires was cancelled due to a forthcoming Dracula adaptation on the BBC.
Uncle Terrance still managed to include a few cheeky references in both the location and a character named Harker.
That script would eventually be rewritten for Baker's last series.

I'm so glad that we got this instead as it features three main elements that I practically enjoy.
• Base under seige.
• A Christie inspired murder mystery.
• Delving back into Britain's past.

A lighthouse is the perfect claustrophobic location especially when the death toll starts to rise, whilst the Edwardian setting showed the progress of technology with use of electricity conflicting with the old traditional ways.

Talking of Dicks rapid writing the novelisation was published just 6 months after this serial aired - whilst it's slightly obvious it actually benefits this one.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a novelization of the first serial from the fifteenth season of Doctor, which was broadcast in September of 1977. Terrance Dicks adapted his own teleplay for the book, which appeared just a few months later. The story stars the fourth Doctor and his feisty companion Leela of the Sevateem. It's one of my favorite Doctor adventures, set early in the twentieth century on Fang Rock, a small island off the English southern coast, home to a cramped and claustrophobic lighthouse in the wilds. There's a murder mystery and creepy happenings and an alien invasion and Leela's brown eyes turn blue and maritime mystery and shipwrecks and all manner of cool happenings... Dicks did an excellent job of capturing the menacing atmosphere in the printed version. It's a great little story, and you can read it in a single sitting, probably in about as much time as it would take to watch the episode. At the end, The Doctor recites from Gibson's The Balllad of Flannen Isle:
"Aye, though we hunted high and low,
And hunted everywhere,
Of the three men's fate we found no trace
Of any kind, in any place,
But a door ajar, and an untouched meal
And an overtoppled chair..."

Now, -that's- spooky!

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite Doctor Who stories. This is a nice novelization.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

For some odd reason, I never picked up a copy of "The Horror of Fang Rock" during my Target novel collecting days. Whether it's because the bookstores I frequented didn't have a copy or there were other books that got my hard-earned cash instead, I don't know.

So, I came to the audio version of the fourth Doctor and Leela adventures without any memories of the original on the printed page.

And I've got to admit, this one was pretty well done. Adapting his own script, Terrance Dicks creates a bit more backstory for some of his characters and gives the reader some context as to the social norms and assumptions of the day. These additions give a greater depth to how some of the characters interact over the course of the novel.

And while his adaptation of "Horror of Fang Rock," doesn't necessarily create a larger canvas for the story like "Day of the Daleks" or "The Auton Invasion," "Fang Rock" still feels a bit more substantial than others from this era that simply feel like Dicks is adapting the shooting script for the printed page.

The audio version of the story adds an extra layer of tension to the already tense story, thanks in large part to the performance of Louise Jameson. While the actress who brought Leela to life has been a fixture in the Big Finish range, this is her first Target novel reading. Based on the work she's done here, I hope it won't be her last. Jameson reads the story like we're gathered around a camp fire and she's sharing a scary tale with us. Jameson wisely doesn't try to offer her imitation of each actor from the original broadcast but instead creates her own performances for each of her characters. It goes without saying that her Leela is a highlight of this novel.

[Brett Fitzpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another masterful work by Terrance Dicks. This should be made into a stage play. The whole thing happens on a tiny, rocky outcrop in the ocean, but you are given a Chthonian glimpse of the horrors out there among the stars.

[Keiran Thegreat · Rating 5 out of 5]

An immensely enjoyable novelisation of one of the best classic Doctor Who stories. Loosely based on "Who Goes There?" (famously made into the John Carpenter film "The Thing") this story is very much an exciting and compelling horror. The Doctor and Leela are depicted with valour, humour and some great wit.
A wonderful story for any fan of science fiction, classic horror, or the Doctor Who television programme.

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the books that keeps the creepy atmosphere of the show and improves on weak spots in the script and effects budget.

The Doctor, Leela, a group of shipwrecked idle rich and the crew of a light house are trapped together by bad weather and then menaced by 'something' that lurks in the fog.

Features a monster that should have been used more on the TV show.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable. A very successful melding of the TV action with narration by Louise Jameson who plays Leela. I had forgotten what a different and more interesting companion Leela made (she is contrasted here with a swooning stereotype) and Tom Baker's Doctor is always a delight. The lighthouse in the fog makes a great setting.

[stormhawk · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fog-bound night, an isolated lighthouse, and a ship of fools are the perfect elements for a Gothic horror story. Add the Doctor and Leeks, and things are certainly bound to get exciting.

[Andy Ritchie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the scariest Doctor Who book I read (and I read an awful lot of them!)
There was just something about the lighthouse setting that really gave me the creeps.
Great times!

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!

[Ruchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Doctor is awesome!

[David Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Doctor Who and I love Terrence Dicks. I have read all the Target novelizations. I grew up reading them and will probably go out reading them.

[Jason Bleckly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another absolute classic read from Classic Who’s most prolific noveliser. Without double checking the details, I think this is the only story where none of the guest characters survive. Even Resurrection of the Daleks that made Tegan leave due to all the deaths had Lyton and his 2 henchmen survive. Yet this story; all 3 keepers, dead; everyone that survived the yacht wrecking, dead; the Rutan scout and the Rutan mothership, all dead. The Doctor and Leela are the only ones that survive.

I love this story with its gothic horror tone of being trapped with a monster. But it’s not just fight the monster, there’s the whole subplot of the boat people with their blackmail and greed machinations. They might have ended up killing each other if the Rutan had just left them too it.

The physical descriptions of Lord Palmerdale and Harker were a bit different to the actors playing them, but the actions and attitudes was the same as the TV version. I didn’t notice any major variations from the original storyline. This is my favourite type of novelisation. It sticks to the broadcast version and adds a little depth to the character motivations.

[Gareth · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite tales here, a nice spooky horror tale in a base under siege type setting. We finally get to meet the Rutans here, and though portrayed as not faring well in their war against the Sontarans, still show themselves to be a good and different adversary for the Sontarans, and an interesting new foe for the Doctor.
It is a bit of a bleak tale really, one of the few where everyone except the Doctor and the Companion dies, but that adds to the overall atmosphere of the story, and shows the stakes as such as well, and how dire a situation the Doctor and Leela are in.
The cast of one off characters are quite varied here, well fleshed out to help make the reader have sympathy for the majority of their fates, and get the reader to quite dislike one or two of them on the way as well.
Quite a slow, creepy build to begin with, but nicely builds towards the climax of the story, and overall a great read.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this one recently on kindle as part of "The Essential Terrance Dicks, Volume 2." This is one of my favorite Dr Who stories, and it was fun to read as opposed to watch. The show tends to come off as a bit campy, because the special effects are so bad. The novel does a much better job capturing the remote setting--a lighthouse in the early 1900s--that is engulfed in bizarre fog just as the TARDIS arrives. As you would expect, odd things start to happen, and the book makes you feel the isolation of the lighthouse. The book is practically scene for scene and line for line from the show, but you get a much better sense of how Terrance Dicks must have imagined this story when he was writing it.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doctor Who and the Horror of Fang Rock (1978) by Terrance Dicks is the novelisation of the first serial of the fifteenth season of Doctor Who.

The Doctor and Leela land on Fang Rock, an isolated outcrop that has a lighthouse. Shortly before they landed a mysterious light was seen by one of the lightkeepers streaking into the ocean.

It’s in the golden era of Tom Baker and despite being the first episode of a new seeason ties in quite well with The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

Leela’s eye color changes during the serial, she had been wearing brown contact lenses that were painful.

The book is quite a good read.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was from the "monster of the week" period of the Tom Baker Doctor Who stories, and the novelization stood up pretty well. My only disappointment was that the characters were a bit too stereotypical. I do like the fact that there is a real mystery left dangling at the end of the story, though, because the creature in this story wasn't the original monster.
I had forgotten about this race of aliens, and the long-running fight against one of the other alien species in the series, but that was good, too.

[Donald Mackenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can remember surprisingly clearly taking this book out of my local library when I was about ten years old, I came across a copy of it and for auld lang syne decided to read it. I was pleasantly surprised as despite being a novelisation of an episode of a kids TV program, it holds up very well. I may read another Doctor Who book ( of course it will have to be by Terrance Dicks as I thought these were the best written of this series.)

[Julian White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite its brevity this is one of the more enjoyable novelisations - even if we have one of the most clichéd shorthand descriptions of 'that mysterious traveller in Space and Time... ' (I don't remember when we last had that one!). It may be that the small cast and retricted location contribute to that enjoyment - or the speed with which the original script was put together as a replacement for the late-cancelled vampire story - but it works.

[Mikes Dw Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very straightforward retelling or glossy summary of the episode. Which sometimes can lose that spooky feel that tv story has, however its a very fun read. The Horror of fang rock is such a good story that it makes for an enjoyable book. I did enjoy the expansion and updated visuals (words), of the rutan and how it kills in this story, which is better than the tv episode. Overall its a great read if you like the orginal.

[Finlay O'Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most Whovians know this is one of those few stories where everyone other than the Doctor and his companion dies, so naturally there's a lot of fear and terror a novelisation for this story would have to live up to.

Thankfully, we have Terrance Dicks on the case for this one, and he manages to perfectly encapsulate that sense of unease, building it up throughout the story. I think his closing line sums it up pretty well: "There was no one left alive to hear them."

[Kyle Theobald · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a TV story, The Horror of Fang Rock is all about atmosphere, and as such I'm not sure that its strengths are entirely translated through Dicks's basic prose style, though a lot of that comes through from the dialogue and nature of the setting anyway. I do get the sense Dicks makes more of an effort here than with some of his other adaptations, perhaps because it was his own script.

[Ian Banks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in a hurry as a last-minute replacement, this is an absolute Who classic. Dicks takes the limitations of the situation and uses them beautifully, coming up with a bit of a locked room mystery that becomes an alien invasion story. The guest characters are memorable and location highly atmospheric.

[Mole Mann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written as a replacement for an earlier version of State of Decay, Horror of Fang Rock is a rather solid horror story. It also has one of the more bleak endings - with everyone but the Doctor and Leela dying at the end.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a bit hit or miss, to be honest, though by the end I was leaning to the more positive side. There are some very effective and atmospheric segments but also long stretches without dialogue, and less elaboration than Dicks sometimes does.

[Dodau · Rating 3 out of 5]

The scariest thing about this book is the rather stern look of the Dr on the cover. Another tale of the Dr and assistant, in this case Leela, being in the right spot at the right time.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lighthouse, a ship wreck, a ufo and an alien.
Love this story.

[Damon Habbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An okay read I do wonder why they don't hide more in the TARDIS sometimes, another blood thirsty story where no one survived except the Dr and Leela.

[Michael J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read as usual for Terence.