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shaykelliher's review against another edition
1.5
The best thing about the original TV story is that it’s so tightly placed and closed off. There are mentions of the inhabitants of Dido (and we see them briefly in part 2) and we only hear of the rescue ship from Vicki and over the radio. The story is exceedingly simple, it’s a whodunnit with only one real suspect and yet it still works. Unfortunately Ian Marter feels the need to drag the whole thing out to an absolute slog, adding in so many unnecessary diversions which just grind everything to a halt.
Everything new with Ian, Barbara and Vicki is awfully dull. Also Marter’s characterisation of the Doctor in his final confrontation with Koquillion skews more towards Patrick Troughton than William Hartnell. The whole thing grates.
Everything new with Ian, Barbara and Vicki is awfully dull. Also Marter’s characterisation of the Doctor in his final confrontation with Koquillion skews more towards Patrick Troughton than William Hartnell. The whole thing grates.
gingerreader99's review against another edition
5.0
Short but sweet. Earned its 5th star with the twist of Bennett actually being the monster terrorising Vicki. Having not seen the actual episodes I was not expecting that at all. I also liked the introduction of Vicki which was great. Fantastic little story. I will have to go and watch the corresponding episodes now.
nwhyte's review against another edition
http://nhw.livejournal.com/763482.html[return][return]This is the novelisation of a rare two-part story, intended purely to introduce the first new companion to join the show since its beginning, Vicki - one of two survivors of a spaceship crash on an apparently hostile planet. I thought after watching it a few months ago that this was a plot which could manage a great deal of filling out of back-story; the Doctor's past relations with the natives of the planet, the story of what had actually happened to the human settlers. In fact Marter delivers much more than that. For once, the printed page is superior to the screen. The twenty-something Maureen O'Brien could never really pass as the young teenager that Vicki was meant to be; Marter is not restricted by the actor's appearance. The monsters of the planet were among the least compelling aspects of the original TV story; again Marter can just make them up and does indeed bring in at least one more. We get loads more banter between the Doctor and Ian, with Marter for once putting comic dialogue in rather than taking it out. And the entire story is topped and tailed by the rescue ship which is supposed to be coming for Vicki and her fellow-survivor, so that one feels that this planet is one that fits into a wider history.
simsbrarian's review
4.0
A really good retelling of the Classic Who story. The audiobook reader was great and it really helped flesh out the original story to have a bit more insight into each of the characters thoughts and actions.
The Doctor, Ian, and Barbara land in a strange cave on the planet Dido. The Doctor remembers the Dido natives as a completely peaceloving species; but it seems that one member of their race is holding two members of a crashed spaceship (the Astra 9) hostage nearby. Victoria and Bennet are the only survivors of their crashed ship and desperately await saving from The Seekers coming to rescue them. There is much of the usual running around and confusion and a bit of Scooby Doo style unmasking of the truth but it was a really interesting story to listen to in this format. I will be seeking out other Ian Marter retellings as it appears this was his final book before passing.
The Doctor, Ian, and Barbara land in a strange cave on the planet Dido. The Doctor remembers the Dido natives as a completely peaceloving species; but it seems that one member of their race is holding two members of a crashed spaceship (the Astra 9) hostage nearby. Victoria and Bennet are the only survivors of their crashed ship and desperately await saving from The Seekers coming to rescue them. There is much of the usual running around and confusion and a bit of Scooby Doo style unmasking of the truth but it was a really interesting story to listen to in this format. I will be seeking out other Ian Marter retellings as it appears this was his final book before passing.
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