By Paul Smith Wonderful Books, out now A comprehensive guide to the novelisations of broadcast Doctor Who The simplest version of this review is that it does exactly what it […]
By Paul Smith
Wonderful Books, out now
A comprehensive guide to the novelisations of broadcast Doctor Who
The simplest version of this review is that it does exactly what it says on the cover – it deals with every single novelisation of Doctor Who stories that have been broadcast, from 1963’s An Unearthly Child to 2011’s The Lodger. (Don’t tell me you didn’t know The Lodger had been novelised!) It provides thumbnails of the different covers, the blurb on the back (and all subsequent revisions), release date, price, print run, word count (!), and chapter titles…
…and then gets into the fun stuff, bringing together a lot of information from different places, both in print and online, about the creation of the books. If you’ve collected these books from the start – and I know I’m not the only one who has – then chances are you’ll know most of this, but there are still interesting things to learn, or which you’ve not noticed. The information about the cover paintings – and their current location – is certainly fascinating and is one of the aspects that will be updated regularly.
Because that’s the clever (if insanely time-consuming for the author) bit about all this: Paul Smith has decided to release regular updates of this, which is the reason it’s been published as a downloadable PDF rather than a print book. BBC Audio are continuing their range of readings; BBC Books may reprint some more titles; who knows – the two Saward Dalek serials might finally get written up? Whatever happens, this invaluable guide will be there to let you know.
David J Howe’s The Target Book dealt with the history of the range; this book makes an excellent companion. It’s also free – although, understandably, the author asks for donations towards its cost – and can be downloaded from the link below (which includes links to the PayPal and Patreon pages).
As promised, a second edition has now been issued, which corrects certain inaccuracies from the first edition, adds in those books that weren’t around then – and provides a fascinating essay on the two different versions of Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks. It’s not often that something arises, particularly with regard to the Doctor Who books, that completely surprises me, but I’d never realised that the hardback and the paperback text are noticeably at odds (at a sub-edit level, primarily). If you’re a fan, you’re going to want to update your edition!
Verdict: An essential guide to the most important pieces of Doctor Who merchandise ever. 10/10
Paul Simpson
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