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Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #57
Doctor Who and the Space War
The year is 2540, and two powers loom large in the Galaxy - Earth and Draconia. After years of peace, their spaceships are now being mysteriously attacked and cargoes rifled. Each suspects the other and full-scale war seems unavoidable. The Doctor, accused of being a Draconian spy, is thrown into prison. And only when the MASTER appears on the scene do things really begin to move....
144 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1976
3 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
About the author
Malcolm Hulke
46 books23 followersMalcolm Hulke was a British science fiction writer best known for his tenure as a writer on the popular series Doctor Who. He is credited with writing eight stories for Doctor Who, mostly featuring the Third Doctor as played by Jon Pertwee. With Terrance Dicks, he wrote the final serial of Patrick Troughton's run as the Doctor, the epic ten-part story "The War Games." Hulke may be best known for writing "The Silurians," the story that created the titular race that is still featured in Doctor Who. Hulke's stories were well-known for writing characters that were not black and white in terms of morality: there was never a clear good guy vs. bad guy bent to his story.
Hulke joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1945 and worked briefly as a typist in the party's headquarters. He left the party in 1951, objecting to the Soviet Union's hostility to Yugoslavia and its line on the Korean War, but soon rejoined, and appears to have remained a member of the party, on until the early 1960s. His politics remained firmly on the left, and this was reflected in his writings, which often explored anti-authoritarian, environmental, and humanist themes.
In addition to his television writing, Hulke wrote the novelizations of seven television Doctor Who stories, each of which had written for the screen. He died at the age of fifty-four, shortly before his novelization of "The War Games" would be published.
Hulke joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1945 and worked briefly as a typist in the party's headquarters. He left the party in 1951, objecting to the Soviet Union's hostility to Yugoslavia and its line on the Korean War, but soon rejoined, and appears to have remained a member of the party, on until the early 1960s. His politics remained firmly on the left, and this was reflected in his writings, which often explored anti-authoritarian, environmental, and humanist themes.
In addition to his television writing, Hulke wrote the novelizations of seven television Doctor Who stories, each of which had written for the screen. He died at the age of fifty-four, shortly before his novelization of "The War Games" would be published.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
July 24, 2019
‘Frontier in Space’ is the type of story that I only navigate towards when watching the series in order, mainly due to its placement in Season 10.
The most interesting aspect of Hulke’s novelisation is the references to past adventures then deciding to omit the cliffhanger that leads into the next story.
It would have been a great way to advertise the next novel that was published only a month later...
I enjoyed the mentions of the Drashigs from the previous story throughout this book, but it was the scenes with The Master that really stood out.
Especially the references to his imprisonment in The Sea Devils.
Pertwee 6 parters are generally improved with the condensed page count helping the story to flow quicker, even though this is one of Hulke’s weaker entries it’s still an enjoyable alternative to the televised episodes.
The most interesting aspect of Hulke’s novelisation is the references to past adventures then deciding to omit the cliffhanger that leads into the next story.
It would have been a great way to advertise the next novel that was published only a month later...
I enjoyed the mentions of the Drashigs from the previous story throughout this book, but it was the scenes with The Master that really stood out.
Especially the references to his imprisonment in The Sea Devils.
Pertwee 6 parters are generally improved with the condensed page count helping the story to flow quicker, even though this is one of Hulke’s weaker entries it’s still an enjoyable alternative to the televised episodes.
December 8, 2021
This is a novelization of the third serial of the tenth season of Doctor Who, originally broadcast in six segments in February and March of 1973. The Doctor is in his third regeneration and is ably accompanied by UNIT operative Jo Grant. Malcolm Hulke adapted his own teleplay for the book, making a few good changes that helped speed up the story, and providing a different, non-cliffhanger ending. It's a pretty complex story, set in the 26th century, in which (spoilers!) the Daleks employ Ogron mercenaries and The Doctor's old rival and nemesis The Master to cause a war between Earth and the Draconians so they can move in and take over. There's quite a bit of action and spy vs. spy type measures, and Jo proves herself to be more strong-willed and stalwart than was previously seen. Fun stuff; it was nice to see Three loose in space & time.
March 17, 2024
3.5 Stars for Doctor Who and the Space War (audiobook) by Malcolm Hulke read by Geoffrey Beevers.
It was fun jumping back into the classic Doctor Who universe.
It was fun jumping back into the classic Doctor Who universe.
March 16, 2020
For Doctor Who fans of a certain age, the Target novelizations of Classic Who stories bring utter nostalgia., being from an age when they could be your only way to experience a story again. For anyone not from that era (including your current reviewer), they might seem a relic of a bygone age. Yet, some books hold up well, either through the writing in them or because of how they expand upon the original TV adventure. One that falls into both categories is Doctor Who and the Space War, adapted from the 1973 TV story Frontier in Space by its original author, Malcolm Hulke.
With books like The Cave Monsters behind him, Hulke had proven himself to be one of the better writers of the Target range. Reading The Space War (the last time Target would retitle one of the TV stories), it isn't hard to see why that reputation has persisted with his other adaptations. As with that earlier novelization, Hulke’s turning it into prose allows him to create what is a "writer's cut" version of his original TV story.
Frontier in Space was, on TV, one of the most fleshed-out pieces of world-building found in Classic Who and Hulke expands upon it even more here. Wonder just what happened during that war between Earth and Draconia mentioned throughout the story? Hulke explores some of that out here. Curious about the testy but undeniable friendship between the Earth President and military leader General Williams? Hulke explores that in some depth across the whole of the book, fleshing out what we saw on screen in the performances of Vera Fusek and Michael Hawkins. The worlds of both the Earth Empire and Draconia get further fleshing out, detailing some of the politics going on within their respective empires from the Earth Senate and the Peace Party to Draconian nobility. Elsewhere, minor characters, like the two cargo ship pilots we meet at the start of the story and hand over the Doctor and Jo, have their seemingly incomprehensible actions in the episode one cliffhanger explained away. Even the final scene with the Doctor and the Master, something that was rather underwhelming in how it was presented on TV, gets revisited here and is better for it.
Hulke is also able to fix some of the pacing issues with the story as well. Frontier in Space is a story that isn't fondly looked upon by many fans, and I have to confess that I've found a new appreciation for it upon revisiting it on DVD and now Blu-Ray after being similarly unimpressed on an early VHS viewing, something partly down to its being a six-parter and seen to flag in the middle third a bit. On the page, and with only 144 pages to play with, Hulke can streamline things a bit. Gone are sequences such as the inquiry at the Lunar Penal Colony in episode four or in the final installment where the Doctor has to make repairs to a spaceship as it's being pursued by an enemy spacecraft. Instead, Hulke goes about turning his script into an SF equivalent of the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice, albeit with the Master and Ogrons in the role of Blofeld and the various agents of SPECTRE. The result is a heck of a read, or listen if you go with the 2008 audiobook reading with a superb Geoffrey Beevers reading Hulke's prose.
Not that this is a perfect read, of course. Some of Hulke's additions seem silly or even frustrating, such as a frequent parting greeting where one wishes, "May you live a long life and may energy shine on you from a million suns," only for the other person to reply, "And may water, oxygen, and plutonium be found in abundance wherever you land." After a few of those, the whole exchange gets rather tedious, making one wonder if it was cut from the TV version for precisely that reason. Some of Hulke's changes to dialogue are clunky, such as Jo's whole "What cheek,'" speech in front of the Draconian Prince and his father the Emperor that goes on for an entire paragraph on page 102. Hulke also gives away the plot twist of certain baddies turning up partway through the novel as a throwaway gag, rather undermining their big reveal later on. In defense of the latter, they were put on the cover of the VHS release a couple of decades later, so Hulke doesn't commit that inexcusable a sin there. All of which does serve to undermine his work elsewhere in the book, however.
While it might not be on the level of The Cave Monsters, Hulke's work on The Space War still makes it an intriguing read. His "writer's cut" of Frontier in Space takes an underrated TV story and makes it shine, even with some of the mistakes he makes along the way. It's what viewers could have seen on TV in 1973, in an ideal world. And that makes it worth reading, all on its own.
With books like The Cave Monsters behind him, Hulke had proven himself to be one of the better writers of the Target range. Reading The Space War (the last time Target would retitle one of the TV stories), it isn't hard to see why that reputation has persisted with his other adaptations. As with that earlier novelization, Hulke’s turning it into prose allows him to create what is a "writer's cut" version of his original TV story.
Frontier in Space was, on TV, one of the most fleshed-out pieces of world-building found in Classic Who and Hulke expands upon it even more here. Wonder just what happened during that war between Earth and Draconia mentioned throughout the story? Hulke explores some of that out here. Curious about the testy but undeniable friendship between the Earth President and military leader General Williams? Hulke explores that in some depth across the whole of the book, fleshing out what we saw on screen in the performances of Vera Fusek and Michael Hawkins. The worlds of both the Earth Empire and Draconia get further fleshing out, detailing some of the politics going on within their respective empires from the Earth Senate and the Peace Party to Draconian nobility. Elsewhere, minor characters, like the two cargo ship pilots we meet at the start of the story and hand over the Doctor and Jo, have their seemingly incomprehensible actions in the episode one cliffhanger explained away. Even the final scene with the Doctor and the Master, something that was rather underwhelming in how it was presented on TV, gets revisited here and is better for it.
Hulke is also able to fix some of the pacing issues with the story as well. Frontier in Space is a story that isn't fondly looked upon by many fans, and I have to confess that I've found a new appreciation for it upon revisiting it on DVD and now Blu-Ray after being similarly unimpressed on an early VHS viewing, something partly down to its being a six-parter and seen to flag in the middle third a bit. On the page, and with only 144 pages to play with, Hulke can streamline things a bit. Gone are sequences such as the inquiry at the Lunar Penal Colony in episode four or in the final installment where the Doctor has to make repairs to a spaceship as it's being pursued by an enemy spacecraft. Instead, Hulke goes about turning his script into an SF equivalent of the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice, albeit with the Master and Ogrons in the role of Blofeld and the various agents of SPECTRE. The result is a heck of a read, or listen if you go with the 2008 audiobook reading with a superb Geoffrey Beevers reading Hulke's prose.
Not that this is a perfect read, of course. Some of Hulke's additions seem silly or even frustrating, such as a frequent parting greeting where one wishes, "May you live a long life and may energy shine on you from a million suns," only for the other person to reply, "And may water, oxygen, and plutonium be found in abundance wherever you land." After a few of those, the whole exchange gets rather tedious, making one wonder if it was cut from the TV version for precisely that reason. Some of Hulke's changes to dialogue are clunky, such as Jo's whole "What cheek,'" speech in front of the Draconian Prince and his father the Emperor that goes on for an entire paragraph on page 102. Hulke also gives away the plot twist of certain baddies turning up partway through the novel as a throwaway gag, rather undermining their big reveal later on. In defense of the latter, they were put on the cover of the VHS release a couple of decades later, so Hulke doesn't commit that inexcusable a sin there. All of which does serve to undermine his work elsewhere in the book, however.
While it might not be on the level of The Cave Monsters, Hulke's work on The Space War still makes it an intriguing read. His "writer's cut" of Frontier in Space takes an underrated TV story and makes it shine, even with some of the mistakes he makes along the way. It's what viewers could have seen on TV in 1973, in an ideal world. And that makes it worth reading, all on its own.
December 10, 2012
This is a Pertwee and Jo novel, unlike most of the Pertwee stories he's actually traveling in space into the future in this one. It's a great sci-fi story with war, diplomacy and intrigue. It's set several centuries in the future where Earth and Draconia have colonised the galaxy. The Earth has a female president who wants peace, and yet everything seems to be conspiring to get the two powers to go to war (in this case everything means The Master). It's a great story of deception and intrigue, and though Jo and the Doctor spend most of their time as prisoners as one group or the other there is still quite a lot of action and interesting political debate. I have to say this was one of my favourite of the Who novels, I'd really like to see the episode though I'm sure the aliens would loose something coming out of the BBC instead of my imagination.
May 13, 2025
Based on his script Frontier in Space this is one of the few novilisations which had a title change between screen and book. It’s number 57 in the Target catalogue. The only cover art it has is by Chris Achilleos.
This is a brilliant novelisation. I’d even go so far as to say I think it’s better than the TV version.
The characters are more fleshed out, even the minor ones. The crew of the cargo vessel right at the start are given motivations for sticking to their story even after the hypno-sound has worn off. And I loved the extra depth given to the President by having the locket with a young General Williams inside. There was also a more detailed explanation of how the first war came about.
But by adding this richness, other bits had to be cut back. The stint in prison with the escape plan and it’s consequences was pared back. When the Master turns up the Governor simply hands the Doctor over. The whole wrangling and blackmailing of the Governor by the Master to get the Doctor is missing.
While the moon prison section is cut back, there was a significant line added about the prison. The Doctor requests the President bring the political prisoners back to Earth before heading off to the Ogron planet.
When I started reading I was worried my favourite snippet might be missing as it’s essenetially irrelevant to the story. It’s the scene with the Master reading War of the Worlds. I’m very pleased that was included.
What I think this story really needs is an expansion, sadly Malcolm is dead. However I’m sure they could get someone who’d do it justice. This is a great novelisation, but so much story is skipped over to keep it down to the Target page range. I love the Draconians. I wish they’d bring them back in NuWho, but I want to see more of the Draconian court and planet and society than is in here. Similarly for the Ogrons, we get more back story of the species in here than in any other story, but there’s a lot of potential in them that has been glossed over I think. Then there is the whole Luna prison setup. The Doctor’s little sojourn there could have been an entire story in itself with more detail on the rivalry between the common criminals and the political prisoners, and how that interacts with the Governor. And why were members of the Peace party being sent to the moon since the President was pro-Peace. There’s a whole wealth of political backstory to explore there. Is the President truly as kindly as portrayed when you consider the security forces and political dissidents being exiled for life? Quite frankly this story could be a trilogy.
This is a brilliant novelisation. I’d even go so far as to say I think it’s better than the TV version.
The characters are more fleshed out, even the minor ones. The crew of the cargo vessel right at the start are given motivations for sticking to their story even after the hypno-sound has worn off. And I loved the extra depth given to the President by having the locket with a young General Williams inside. There was also a more detailed explanation of how the first war came about.
But by adding this richness, other bits had to be cut back. The stint in prison with the escape plan and it’s consequences was pared back. When the Master turns up the Governor simply hands the Doctor over. The whole wrangling and blackmailing of the Governor by the Master to get the Doctor is missing.
While the moon prison section is cut back, there was a significant line added about the prison. The Doctor requests the President bring the political prisoners back to Earth before heading off to the Ogron planet.
When I started reading I was worried my favourite snippet might be missing as it’s essenetially irrelevant to the story. It’s the scene with the Master reading War of the Worlds. I’m very pleased that was included.
What I think this story really needs is an expansion, sadly Malcolm is dead. However I’m sure they could get someone who’d do it justice. This is a great novelisation, but so much story is skipped over to keep it down to the Target page range. I love the Draconians. I wish they’d bring them back in NuWho, but I want to see more of the Draconian court and planet and society than is in here. Similarly for the Ogrons, we get more back story of the species in here than in any other story, but there’s a lot of potential in them that has been glossed over I think. Then there is the whole Luna prison setup. The Doctor’s little sojourn there could have been an entire story in itself with more detail on the rivalry between the common criminals and the political prisoners, and how that interacts with the Governor. And why were members of the Peace party being sent to the moon since the President was pro-Peace. There’s a whole wealth of political backstory to explore there. Is the President truly as kindly as portrayed when you consider the security forces and political dissidents being exiled for life? Quite frankly this story could be a trilogy.
April 12, 2022
Frontier in Space is a Malcolm Hulke story that people either love to bits or absolutely despise as a boring Pertwee six-parter. I am firmly in the former camp, though I acknowledge that the serial has quite a few issues, it is a brilliant exploration of colonialism through the lens of the future. In novelizing it the title change to Doctor Who and the Space War emphasizes the conflict between the humans and the Draconians which it is even clearer here to have been all a plot by the Master, the Daleks only appear in the final chapter with even less of a presence. Instead, there is a lot of worldbuilding on the planet of the Ogrons along with the lizard gods that they worship which eat them. The lizards on television was a really bad costume that was scaled down to the bare minimum, with the Daleks replacing them and beefing up that role in the plot which is no longer present in the novel. This helps the Ogrons work more than just dumb ape like servants which despite best intentions is a bad piece of coding, but here they are given a culture and religion, even if it is a little primitive. Cutting the Daleks back also means that there are actual character pieces that wouldn’t have been in the television serial. Much of the President of Earth is expanded on with lengthy scenes from her perspective and the political turmoil of warmongers. It is fascinating to read this in a post-9/11 world where warmongering is much worse than it was in the 1970s and the President here is trying to stop any conflict despite the Master’s machinations causing tensions to rise. There is a look into the opposition who want to go to war and that is essentially becoming the popular position on the Earth. The President is told she has to find a solution or become deposed and replaced with the opposition who will cause a genocide.
Overall, Doctor Who and the Space War takes a television story that is underrated and does an excellent job of tightening things and adding so much more character development and worldbuilding. Hulke’s writing style is politically charged and it somehow has aged to be more relevant of a story with time and comes highly recommended for Doctor Who fans. 9/10.
Overall, Doctor Who and the Space War takes a television story that is underrated and does an excellent job of tightening things and adding so much more character development and worldbuilding. Hulke’s writing style is politically charged and it somehow has aged to be more relevant of a story with time and comes highly recommended for Doctor Who fans. 9/10.
January 13, 2021
This wasn't the most exciting Doctor Who book at first, but the later parts of the story result in some interesting implications in the longer term beyond this individual story.
As is his way, the Doctor and Jo Grant sort of stumble upon the growing tensions of this time period's Earth empire coming to blows with the Draconians. Each side accuses the other of raiding their ships and committing other acts of piracy and it's not clear who is telling the truth. But the Doctor discovers that there is some trickery afoot as some sort of a hypnotic signal is being used to make crews see their worst fears while it's actually Orgons who are attacking the different ships of both factions.
The mystery of who is manipulating events to bring about a way is an intriguing one and the mastermind behind things is certainly a familiar foe of the Doctor. But how he and Jo will somehow convince both sides of the truth of their conflict despite the level of tensions is the true challenge.
And I appreciated the maneuvering they had to do in order to delay a possible space way between the two races. I forget what a different Doctor the Third Doctor was with his Venusian Karate and all that. He was certainly quite the action hero in his own right. And I love that Jo wasn't a pushover in this adventure. She's definitely one of the more capable companions to have traveled in the TARDIS.
But yeah, the pacing of the book is a little uneven and the first part takes forever to get through as it is a lot of arguing and saber-rattling. The second half becomes a lot more exciting, but the ultimate resolution to things is a bit of a side-step, which is par for the course for the likes of the Doctor.
As is his way, the Doctor and Jo Grant sort of stumble upon the growing tensions of this time period's Earth empire coming to blows with the Draconians. Each side accuses the other of raiding their ships and committing other acts of piracy and it's not clear who is telling the truth. But the Doctor discovers that there is some trickery afoot as some sort of a hypnotic signal is being used to make crews see their worst fears while it's actually Orgons who are attacking the different ships of both factions.
The mystery of who is manipulating events to bring about a way is an intriguing one and the mastermind behind things is certainly a familiar foe of the Doctor. But how he and Jo will somehow convince both sides of the truth of their conflict despite the level of tensions is the true challenge.
And I appreciated the maneuvering they had to do in order to delay a possible space way between the two races. I forget what a different Doctor the Third Doctor was with his Venusian Karate and all that. He was certainly quite the action hero in his own right. And I love that Jo wasn't a pushover in this adventure. She's definitely one of the more capable companions to have traveled in the TARDIS.
But yeah, the pacing of the book is a little uneven and the first part takes forever to get through as it is a lot of arguing and saber-rattling. The second half becomes a lot more exciting, but the ultimate resolution to things is a bit of a side-step, which is par for the course for the likes of the Doctor.
March 24, 2021
Quite a fascinating one this one I find, a bit of a space opera type story in some respects, and I like the way the threat keeps realistically escalating, initially the Ogrons with a potential unnamed boss behind them, then the Master revealed, then later revealed that both are working for the Daleks, the first time the Master and the Daleks work together.
Tinged by sadness in that this is the last of Roger Delgado's Master appearances due to his death soon afterwards, and certainly quite a gap between this and the next appearance of the Master. Also the last appearance on TV at least of the Ogrons, which is a shame, while in some ways they are potentially a problematic alien species, I find that they add a dimension to the Dalek stories, especially that despite their fanatically xenophobic approach, they will have allies as such that they don't plan on betraying.
The Doctor and Jo are a bit more of passengers of sorts in this story, being captured multiple times by differing factions, but have good scenes in amongst them nonetheless, even if lose a bit of agency.
This does provide the one off characters with a bit more agency than normal I think, and many of them are quite good in here, even if we only really get small peeks at some of these, and certainly a darker side to the human empire shown here.
All round quite a good read, and unfortunate that it misses the cliffhanger ending that the TV show did, to lead directly into the next story - also an unusual feature I think for Doctor Who, up until likes of Key to Time and Trial of a Timelord at least, with two stories so tightly linked.
Tinged by sadness in that this is the last of Roger Delgado's Master appearances due to his death soon afterwards, and certainly quite a gap between this and the next appearance of the Master. Also the last appearance on TV at least of the Ogrons, which is a shame, while in some ways they are potentially a problematic alien species, I find that they add a dimension to the Dalek stories, especially that despite their fanatically xenophobic approach, they will have allies as such that they don't plan on betraying.
The Doctor and Jo are a bit more of passengers of sorts in this story, being captured multiple times by differing factions, but have good scenes in amongst them nonetheless, even if lose a bit of agency.
This does provide the one off characters with a bit more agency than normal I think, and many of them are quite good in here, even if we only really get small peeks at some of these, and certainly a darker side to the human empire shown here.
All round quite a good read, and unfortunate that it misses the cliffhanger ending that the TV show did, to lead directly into the next story - also an unusual feature I think for Doctor Who, up until likes of Key to Time and Trial of a Timelord at least, with two stories so tightly linked.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2025
Despite the realpolitik, the striking appearance of the Draconians, and the last appearance of Roger Delgado as the Master before his untimely death, Frontier in Space is still a clunker - just a tedious series of captures and escapes for Jo and the Doctor, spending an inordinate amount of time in a variety of jail cells. It's like The Reign of Terror on speed. While Malcolm Hulke injects a lot of world building in his novelisation - retitled Doctor Who and The Space War - he can't save it, even after he removes one potentially redundant action beat and makes the final monster a more reasonable lizard. At the books' breakneck speed, the story's structure seems even more repetitive, and the galaxy has never felt so small (unless our heroes were in this time frame for months and it's never mentioned). Interestingly, Hulke provides a new ending so as to remove its cliffhanger for the book-reading public. Unfortunately, that doesn't match the start of the next novelisation, so it'll only be confusing. I like all the new details, but the story is just a dud.
May 31, 2023
Doctor Who and the Space War (1976) by Malcolm Hulke is the novelisation of the serial Frontier in Space which was the fourth serial of the tenth season of Doctor Who and the 67th serial overall.
The Doctor and Jo take the TARDIS and wind up in a spaceship. The spaceship is attaked by what the crew think are Draconians but are in fact Ogrons. The crew of two somehow think the Doctor and Jo are Draconians too. They then travel to Earth and meet Earth’s president. The Draconians think that the humans are raiding their cargo ships while the Earth thinks the Draconians are raiding theirs. Instead someone is trying to set up a war. It turns out the person trying to set up the war is The Master who is in league with the Orgon’s usual masters.
It doesn’t really work well but it’s OK. One for the people wanting to read or watch all of Doctor Who.
The Doctor and Jo take the TARDIS and wind up in a spaceship. The spaceship is attaked by what the crew think are Draconians but are in fact Ogrons. The crew of two somehow think the Doctor and Jo are Draconians too. They then travel to Earth and meet Earth’s president. The Draconians think that the humans are raiding their cargo ships while the Earth thinks the Draconians are raiding theirs. Instead someone is trying to set up a war. It turns out the person trying to set up the war is The Master who is in league with the Orgon’s usual masters.
It doesn’t really work well but it’s OK. One for the people wanting to read or watch all of Doctor Who.
October 2, 2018
“Doctor Who and the Space War” by Malcolm Hulke
A good Who story, with the Third Doctor and Jo Grant going “off Earth” several times in the story.
“Doctor Who, himself a Time Lord, ...” (p9)
“I've reversed the polarity...” (p29)
“... political prisoners...” (p70)
“Fear leads people into war.” - Doctor (p106)
“The thought of war always excites people.”
“People enter war always thinking that they will win, and that they personally will survive.” (p123)
A good Who story, with the Third Doctor and Jo Grant going “off Earth” several times in the story.
“Doctor Who, himself a Time Lord, ...” (p9)
“I've reversed the polarity...” (p29)
“... political prisoners...” (p70)
“Fear leads people into war.” - Doctor (p106)
“The thought of war always excites people.”
“People enter war always thinking that they will win, and that they personally will survive.” (p123)
May 4, 2025
Frontier in Space is a flawed story that I've nevertheless always had a big soft spot for, and here Hulke delivers a pacy novelisation that subtly changes the ending to give Roger Delgado's Master a bit of closure which is subtle but rather lovely.
March 10, 2019
Only because I always wanted to see more of the Draconians.
April 9, 2019
Bit disappointing. The story is rushed and the characters are stubborn to the point if being ridiculous.
June 29, 2019
This and other Malcolm Hulke books reviewed here: https://fsfh-book-review2.webnode.com...
January 27, 2021
The Doctor in the crossfire of tho galactic empires. Plus the Master. Plus the Daleks. What not to love? A good novelisation of a rather political classic Doctor Who story.
June 20, 2024
I really enjoyed this but I felt that it was the sort of novel that could have done with a few more pages just to flesh out some of the settings like the lunar prison or the Draconian homeworld.
December 13, 2025
Always enjoyable to read Classic Target Dr.Who book 📖
April 11, 2020
Excellent short novel set from the Target range set in the time of the 3rd Doctor and Jo Grant involving 2 long time nemeses.
August 23, 2025
I've always liked the tv orginal. The political story of causing a war of two species from their fear of each other is so brilliantly told. This story has always been more story and character focused and so can be dull to some people. I do agree 6 parts is long for that kind of story. But here it works perfectly. The ending is also much much better than the tv story considering how the master escapes etc, I won't spoil it but it's a nice scene considering it's the last time we see/read Roger Delgados master.
February 17, 2019
Werepenguin Productions Content Description:
Keywords: 3rd Doctor, The Master, Jo Grant, Space Travel- Future
Violence and Gore: minor realistic (blood from cuts, nosebleeds, split lips, bruises, etc.)
Profanity: PG Language
Sex and Nudity: None
https://www.werepenguinproductions.or...
Keywords: 3rd Doctor, The Master, Jo Grant, Space Travel- Future
Violence and Gore: minor realistic (blood from cuts, nosebleeds, split lips, bruises, etc.)
Profanity: PG Language
Sex and Nudity: None
https://www.werepenguinproductions.or...
October 5, 2014
If this book had been written by Terrance Dicks, I believe my rating for it would be lower then it is. Malcolm Hulke did a good job of bringing a flawed story a step above.
The plot of the story is that Earth and Draconian are reporting each other attacking their ships. This increases the tensions between the two empires closer to war. The Doctor and Jo arrive in the middle of this to discover the truth.
The good part of this is story is mostly the first half. while the Doctor and Jo are on board Earth cargo ship, we have scenes back on Earth between the Earth president and her advisory. These scenes are well written and give some insight to the time period Earth is in. It also shows the issues going on with politics. This might not sound exciting, but it is something you don't see much in the classic Doctor Who.
The problem with the story is the rest of it. The scope of this story should be bigger, but because this taken from the show, you have very few characters. If the events that were going on were indeed, you would have a lot more people involved. The aspect that is an issue is space is treated like it is within the same town.
Maybe not that close, but the travel between locations feels like it takes a few hours. In science fiction realty this story should be something takes place over a longer period of time, other than feeling like a couple of days.
Still Hulke still does a good job of giving some life to the characters and other areas he give some expansion upon them. This helps to lift the story, slightly, over the limitations of the plot.
Not too bad of story, though notable for introducing the Draconians. Also, the last appearance of the Master until the 4th Doctor. Too bad Delagado did not have a stronger exit.
The plot of the story is that Earth and Draconian are reporting each other attacking their ships. This increases the tensions between the two empires closer to war. The Doctor and Jo arrive in the middle of this to discover the truth.
The good part of this is story is mostly the first half. while the Doctor and Jo are on board Earth cargo ship, we have scenes back on Earth between the Earth president and her advisory. These scenes are well written and give some insight to the time period Earth is in. It also shows the issues going on with politics. This might not sound exciting, but it is something you don't see much in the classic Doctor Who.
The problem with the story is the rest of it. The scope of this story should be bigger, but because this taken from the show, you have very few characters. If the events that were going on were indeed, you would have a lot more people involved. The aspect that is an issue is space is treated like it is within the same town.
Maybe not that close, but the travel between locations feels like it takes a few hours. In science fiction realty this story should be something takes place over a longer period of time, other than feeling like a couple of days.
Still Hulke still does a good job of giving some life to the characters and other areas he give some expansion upon them. This helps to lift the story, slightly, over the limitations of the plot.
Not too bad of story, though notable for introducing the Draconians. Also, the last appearance of the Master until the 4th Doctor. Too bad Delagado did not have a stronger exit.
November 22, 2016
The greatest offering a novelization offers is hearing those details that would never work in a televised programme on a limited schedule.
Hearing inner thoughts, histories, and more levels of intrigue make a good story blossom into great. The Third Doctor is the adventurous one. An action hero in a gentleman's clothing. I can easily imagine him, only slightly adapted, into a Steampunk protagonist.
Also, one of the politically motivated stories of bluster and distrust creating the tension that only needs clear heads, and logic to find a peaceful solution amongst leaders and populace clamoring for war.
Even when the Master tries so very intensely to stir the hornet's nest, if only for his own amusement.
The Master is a character that needs more depth, even when he is already one of my favorite villians of all time. He is a mental match for the Doctor, and, many times, neutered by his own plots; nearly makes him comical. His motivations are too shallow.
This is Roger Delgado's last appearance as the Master.
Hearing inner thoughts, histories, and more levels of intrigue make a good story blossom into great. The Third Doctor is the adventurous one. An action hero in a gentleman's clothing. I can easily imagine him, only slightly adapted, into a Steampunk protagonist.
Also, one of the politically motivated stories of bluster and distrust creating the tension that only needs clear heads, and logic to find a peaceful solution amongst leaders and populace clamoring for war.
Even when the Master tries so very intensely to stir the hornet's nest, if only for his own amusement.
The Master is a character that needs more depth, even when he is already one of my favorite villians of all time. He is a mental match for the Doctor, and, many times, neutered by his own plots; nearly makes him comical. His motivations are too shallow.
This is Roger Delgado's last appearance as the Master.
March 10, 2025
It feels like one of Malcolm Hulke's lesser efforts in the "Doctor Who" prose universe. While not anywhere near as disappointing as "The War Games" novelization, there is a distinct lack of the glorious depth & expanded character development present in Hulke's other adaptations, such as "The Caves Monsters" and "The Doomsday Weapon". That said, there are extra layers to enjoy, and it deserves enormous kudos for streamlining an over-long six part story -- full of capture-escape-capture scenes -- into something far more concise & palatable. But there's a distinct feeling that Malcolm Hulke wasn't too keen on this story in general...and it bleeds into the book adaptation. Re-reading it more recently, in the wake of 2025 political events, it's actually far more resonant...so perhaps I'll push this up to 3.5 stars for its prescience.
March 7, 2015
When I was a kid and this would play on TV every few years, I'd forget how it ended and get really excited and then.... Planet of the Daleks. If you count the entire serial as part one it's the best cliffhanger in the entire run. One which doesn't pay off as they forgot it was a cliffhanger.
One would hope this got resolved in the novelization, but it actually gets worse. As the Doctor is not injured in the end and the opening pages of Planet make even less sense.
THAT SAID. This is Doctor Who doing epic space opera. And if you ignore what comes after it's among the best of the Pertwee era, and the novelization sticks pretty close to the novelization with just a few minor gloss overs to make it still fit into 150 pages.
One would hope this got resolved in the novelization, but it actually gets worse. As the Doctor is not injured in the end and the opening pages of Planet make even less sense.
THAT SAID. This is Doctor Who doing epic space opera. And if you ignore what comes after it's among the best of the Pertwee era, and the novelization sticks pretty close to the novelization with just a few minor gloss overs to make it still fit into 150 pages.
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April 8, 2009http://nhw.livejournal.com/1037395.html#cutid7[return][return]I was getting a bit worried about Malcolm Hulke after the disappointments of Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon and Doctor Who and the Sea Devils, but this was a welcome return to form; the slightly odd politics of the human and Draconian governments seem a bit less improbable on the page, and everyone is given decently believable motivations. The one slightly odd thing is that the ending just has the Master tidying up his desk, rather than shooting the Doctor. I suppose this was a quiet tribute to Roger Delgado.
September 29, 2009
A big, epic peace of space opera as the Doctor is stuck in the middle of a war between Earth and the Draconian Empire.
Who's attacking cargo ships? What's the Master up to? How'd the Doctor earn a title of Draconian nobility?
Cool aliens, lots of action and a big epic feel and a twist ending make this one of the better, later third Doctor novels from that period where he was able to leave earth and wander through space again.
Who's attacking cargo ships? What's the Master up to? How'd the Doctor earn a title of Draconian nobility?
Cool aliens, lots of action and a big epic feel and a twist ending make this one of the better, later third Doctor novels from that period where he was able to leave earth and wander through space again.
November 21, 2008
Malcolm Hulke always wrote books where the "other side" was not just portrayed as the "bad guys". HIs portrait of the Draconians motivations is very good and it is a good adaption of the Tv episode. Actually, in some ways it's a little better than the episode as some background is given which would really enhance the show.
April 23, 2012
Exciting first half of a longer adventure in which the Doctor's fortuitously accidental presence may help prevent an intergalactic war. One of the things I appreciate about Hulke's novelizations is his inclusion of background beyond the shooting script, including details of characters' inner motivations and histories.
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