By David Fisher

BBC Books, out 14 July

The Doctor and Romana’s search for the Fourth segment of the all-powerful Key to Time leads them to the planet Tara.

An unusual addition to the Target Books series of Doctor Who novelisations insofar as it already exists in the collection, albeit in a different form. Prolific Target author Terrance Dicks wrote the original novelisation in 1980, based on David Fisher’s 1978, Season 16 serial. As adaptations go, it was workmanlike and fulfilled the brief, but added little beyond the scripts. Fast forward to  2012 and original writer David Fisher penned an audiobook version of the story, which is now a Target book.

Truth be told, if you already own the audio version, narrated by John Leeson, there’s little value in adding a paperback to your collection, unless you’re a completist and/or value the original author’s take. This version does at least take the opportunity to add some context to why Tara has the need for androids, and we spend more time in the heads of the characters.

One of the talking points of the televised story is the rather poorly-conceived Taran Woodbeast, described here in the prologue as a Rhino-Bear. Eight feet tall and with “…paws four times the size of Romana’s hands. It was her worse nightmare made flesh.” One wonders if this was Fisher’s original intention or if he’s overcompensating for what we actually got. Dicks’ description is more accurately that of a mixture of bear, ape and boar.

Verdict: An alternate take on Doctor Who’s 70s riff on The Prisoner of Zenda. Its purchase will depend on how complete you want your Target collection to be. 7/10

Nick Joy

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