Written by Terrance Dicks
After the success of the first three Target novelisations, Target turned there attention to the very first third Doctor story, Spearhead From Space. The story itself really launched a brand new era of the show, so makes perfect adaption material for what would become the first in a long line of adaptions and novelisations. And it's brilliant: utterly inspiring material that really manages to captivate and excite. And while certainly, the story may not be told in an interesting way, or have some clever reveal, in 1974 that would have been perfectly acceptable. After all, no one had seen the story in 4 years, so therefore keeping the story as intact as possible was something that really had to be done. After all, these books were the only way to enjoy these stories in those days.
Put on trial by the Time Lords, and found guilty of interfering in the affairs of other worlds, the Doctor is exiled to Earth in the 20th century, his appearance once again changed. His arrival coincides with a meteorite shower. But these are no ordinary meteorites.
The Nestene Consciousness has began its first attempt to invade Earth using killer Autons and deadly window shop dummies. Only the Doctor and UNIT can stop the attack. But the Doctor is recovering in hospital, and his old friend the Brigadier doesn't even recognise him. Can the Doctor recover and win UNIT's trust before the invasion begins?
Now while the story is very similar to the TV version, there has been some dramatic liberties taken. There's the obvious removal of budget restrictions, but also the inclusion of the very end of The War Games. This is good, because it gives the story the added context it needed, as without that context, the story is still good, but a little confusing. Not many viewers were watching Doctor Who by the end of The War Games, so to have the added context to the novel makes a lot of things make sense. After all, by 1974, The Doctor's exile had been lifted and he was free to roam in time and space. So to add in this small detail gives the story the grounding it needs. As for the story, the pace is certainly improved, with the invasion more slowly built up towards. In the original, it does seem as if the invasion comes out of nowhere, so Dicks tightens everything up, making sure that it's a stronger story with plenty of added detail. For example, moments where we get to see inside the characters heads are welcome, because we get to see what they are thinking and what they think of a situation. This just enhances the characters, not detracting from the story or weighing it down, but actually giving it the finer details that couldn't be included in the TV episodes. The story itself, however, hasn't really been altered, just the finer beats of the story. And that's ok, because it's a brilliant story, wonderfully written by Robert Holmes. All the characters are fully fleged, even in the story, from the stern but kind Doctor Henderson, the cheeky chappy poacher Sam or the domineering Channing, all of them are really fleshed out, even before the prose gets it's hands on them. And as for our three leads, the Brigadier and The Doctor are best served by the prose, because we really get a chance to see how they properly react to a situation. Sadly Liz loses out, with her character oftern sidelined for large sections of the story. However, all the lead characters generally get moments to shine, especially for The Doctor where he escapes from the hospital, which Dicks makes even more humerous than in the original. Dicks takes the great story that Holmes wrote and enhances it even more.
Doctor Who And The Auton Invasion is a triumph for writing. It helped secure Target's range of novelisations for many, many years to come and it is a really ripping novel. It's a lovely way to spend a couple of hours and it makes for a really fun read, even in the days of instant downloads and DVD's.
TARDIS Rating - 9/10
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