a question of vital importance...

[adelaidesean]

At mondyboy's instigation, I recently re-read Terrance Dick's Target novelisation of The Destiny of the Daleks . I enjoyed it, too, and was reminded of how much I loved them as a kid. Given I'm moving more and more in that direction, creatively, why not read more? So I asked myself--leading to my question for you, dear friends, or at least the sad old Who fans* among you:

Which Target novelisation should I read next?

I asked this question on Facebook and was guided in the direction of The Time Warrior. It's tempting, but I remain open to suggestion...

* Like me.

Comments

[dalekboy.livejournal.com]

Actually, I have a fondness for Ark in Space, the writing at times is way more graphic than anything they could have done on screen.

Or, possibly, Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks, as it's a cool alternate universe version of that story.

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah. I remember loving ARK. And TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN too. Maybe I should dig them both out.

I've never even heard of the second one you mention, there. Guess I'm not as sad a fan as I thought!

[dalekboy.livejournal.com]

It's the novelisation of Dead Planet, so I'd be surprised if you hadn't read it.

But just in case, it was written by David Whitaker as a stand alone, being one of the original three DW novelisations, (the other two being Zarbi and Crusaders, all published by Frederick Muller Ltd. before Target later took over the imprint) so it has a completely different intro to how Ian Chesterton ended up on board the TARDIS.

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

Ah! Right, I did know of it but had forgotten the original title. Have it here somewhere, I think.

Maybe I should read The Zarbi. That was the first I ever owned.

So many choices!

[dalekboy.livejournal.com]

I think Zarbi was my first, too.

I've been recently considering working my way through them again, too.

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

I love that mind of yours. :-)

I've been listening to the audio discs you gave me ages ago (and some others I bought too) and it's really got me interested in doing more than just watching the DVDs.

One day I might even move onto some of the radio plays...

[cassiphone.livejournal.com]

The Highlanders & The Mythmakers (both more fun than listening to the audio versions - neither story exists as TV). Also the Doctor Who & An Exciting Adventure with the Daleks - the very first one - is a classic!

I also remember really enjoying the early Tom Bakers as novelisations - Robot, Ark in Space, etc.

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

Just listened to the surviving audio of The Highlanders and agree that it could need a boost. Thanks for the tip!

[medge42.livejournal.com]

Twin Dilemma. So much better than the televised version, and Eric Saward had obviously just read Hitchhikers prior to writing the novelisation.

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

Cool! I think I have that one but have never read it. Perhaps its time has come!

[benpayne.livejournal.com]

I also loved the novelisation of Doctor Who and the Daleks by David Whitaker. I seem to remember rereading The Dalek Invasion of Earth novelisation a lot as a child too. I think that was a Terrence Dicks one.

I seem to remember some of the second doctor's stories read well too, perhaps because I'd never seen them.

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

As well as TOMB OF THE CYBERMEN, I used to really like the Abominable Snowmen stories, so we're definitealy on the same wavelength there.

[dalekboy.livejournal.com]

I also loved the two Great Intelligence novels. They're great stories and when you're a kid the ideas are even more potent. 'Hang on, the yetis are Robots?!'

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

Was it destroyed at the end of the second story? (Perhaps I should read the bool to find out.) It's too great a name not to bring it back, I reckon.

[ashamel.livejournal.com]

There was a theory going round that the Great Intelligence was also Fenric, but that was mere fan tidying.

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

I also note in its Wikipedia entry that the New Adventures link it to Yog-Sothoth. Bizarre!

[dalekboy.livejournal.com]

It wasn't destroyed.

There was a third Yeti story done as a fan production called Downtime. While the production has some serious issues (the Yeti look like little kid Yetis) the book (one of the Virgin Missing Adventures) I remember as being reasonable, and I like the basic concept - the Great Intelligence is starting to use the World Wide Web to come through into our world.

[murasaki-1966.livejournal.com]

Jane Austen versus the Doctor

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

Is that a real thing or are you messing with me? :-)

[murasaki-1966.livejournal.com]

It's been a long day, and yes I'm messing with you. Sorry. But that's one Dr Who novelisation I'd read like a shot.

Personal favourite when I was a kid was the novelisation of The Crusades.

[ashamel.livejournal.com]

I'm sad and old, but the only one that really differentiates itself through the mists of time is K9 and Company, which was very cool.

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

I don't have that one. Will track it down. Thanks!

[fred-mouse.livejournal.com]

are these books you already own, or are you acquiring them from somewhere?

(I have the birthday invitation for an obsessive Dr Who FanChild sitting on the fridge, and it occurs to me that ze would enjoy these greatly...)

[seanwilliams.livejournal.com]

I still have the 90-odd I collected as a kid, so that's where I'm sourcing the books from. Some of them are quite tatty...and full of delightful memories.

[fred-mouse.livejournal.com]

thanks for letting me know. I might have to go exploring online to see whether they can be sourced from my lounge room.

a question of vital importance ...

[(Anonymous)]

Why not take a step into the unknown and give The Power of the Daleks and The Evil of the Daleks a go. These two books were written close to the end of Target's publishing run when they allowed the books more scope, so they were longer and could use more words to tell the tale. I've been meaning to read John Peel's two volume adaptation of The Daleks' Masterplan. For once, an epic Doctor Who story gets the epic treatment in print format (something denied The War Games which a full length adaptation).
I am reliably informed Victor Pemberton's Fury from the Deep and ben Aaronvich's Remembrance of the Daleks are an excellent adaptations. Basically because Victor and Ben were the original script writers and were able to add extra substance to their novelisations. I also suspect that many of the dud Who stories, the ones that didn't work on the small screen, might work better on the printed page. That suggests reading of novelisations of any of the Colin Baker era stories would be the way to go.

best,

Jeff