Here you go @JohnnyRockets, the last batch of William Hartnell.
The Three Doctors by Terrance Dicks (Target Novelization - 1975) (Now this is actually a Third Doctor story that kicked off Season 10 starting in late 1972. However, as it does feature the first three Doctors, hence the title, I’m also obligated to stick it here. You can definitely wait until you reach it’s proper place to read it.) The Empire of Glass by Andy Lane (VMA - 1995) Galaxy Four by William Emms[1] (Target Novelization - 1986) The Myth Makers by Donald Cotton[2] (Target Novelization - 1985) Mission to the Unknown by John Peel (Target Novelization - 1989) (This is the first half of The Daleks’ Master Plan, a massive twelve-part story, and covers “Mission to the Unknown” and Episodes 1-6. On TV, “Mission to the Unknown” aired in between Galaxy 4 and The Myth Makers.) The Mutation of Time by John Peel (Target Novelization - 1989) (This is the first half of The Daleks’ Master Plan, a massive twelve-part story, and covers Episodes 7-12.) The Five Doctors by Terrance Dicks[3] (Target Novelization - 1983) (This was the 20th Anniversary Special that aired between Seasons 20 and 21, and is part of the Fifth Doctor’s era. However, it does feature Doctors 1-5, so it falls here for the First Doctor. As with the Three Doctors, you can definitely wait until you reach it’s proper place to read it.) The Massacre by John Lucarotti[4] (Target Novelization - 1987) (Due to several behind-the-scenes changes at the time this story was made, the final televised version bore little resemblance to the scripts that John Lucarotti had originally submitted. The novelisation is therefore an adaptation of his scripts than the televised serial rewritten by then script editor, Donald Tosh. William Hartnell’s double role as the Doctor and the Abbot of Amboise is a key centrepiece of the novella, whereas it was only suggested minimally on television.) Salvation by Steve Lyons (PDA - 1999) The Ark by Paul Erickson[5] (Target Novelization - 1987) The Celestial Toymaker by Gerry Davis and Alison Bingeman (Target Novelization - 1986)
The Gunfighters by Donald Cotton[6] (Target Novelization - 1986) Bunker Soldiers by Martin Day (PDA - 2001) The Savages by Ian Stuart Black[7] (Target Novelization - 1986) The Man in the Velvet Mask by Daniel O’Mahony (VMA - 1996) The War Machines by Ian Stuart Black[8] (Target Novelization - 1989) The Smugglers by Terrance Dicks (Target Novelization - 1988) Ten Little Aliens by Stephen Cole (PDA - 2002) Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet by Gerry Davis[9] (Target Novelization - 1976) Twice Upon a Time by Paul Cornell (Target Novelization - 2018) (This is a novelization of the 2017 Christmas Special which acted as the Twelfth Doctor’s regeneration story after an adventure with the Cybermen. However, I include it here because it heavily featured the First Doctor during his regeneration as well. You can wait until the Twelfth Doctor era to read this if you so desire.)
There you go, the whole of the First Doctor era in novel form. I’ll start on the Second and Third Doctor lists at some point but it’ll probably be a few days at least. That said, this should keep you occupied for a while at least. Good luck on your quest.
Sound good. Yeah, the Hartnell era (1963-1966) should take you a while. Eagerly looking forward to your thoughts on the various books. We do have a review feature on the guide if you want to write any, but only if you want to. The important thing is to have fun.
@JohnnyRockets “City at World’s End” is one of my absolute favourite First Doctor stories. So many amazing plot twists, one of which literally sent shivers down my spine. Fantastic
Agreed. However, I did feel obligated to include them. Especially as my timeline source specifically stated that Empire of Glass takes place immediately after Three Doctors, and not having read it, I didn’t know how much that might’ve been referenced.
I struggle with this too, it’s why I haven’t reviewed many of the audio series I absolutely adore because I feel like I ought to say more words than I often have the brain to be able to write
I looked through the list and realized these were the only First Doctor novels I’ve read:
Doctor Who and an Unearthly Child by Terrance Dicks (Target Novelization - 1981) Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks by David Whitaker (Target Novelization - 1964) The Aztecs by John Lucarotti (Target Novelization - 1984) The Sensorites by Nigel Robinson (Target Novelization - 1987) The Time Travellers by Simon Guerrier (PDA - 2005)
I enjoyed the four Target Novelizations. As someone who’s watched the respective TV stories, there wasn’t anything overly special about them. The Daleks was the most interesting as it’s the earliest and has the alternate opening on Barnes Common instead of recounting An Unearthly Child. There were little variations and details in An Unearthly Child and The Aztecs, but if I remember right, they follow the TV story closely. The Sensorites does too, but I found that I enjoyed the novel over the TV story.
The Time Travellers was my first Doctor Who novel (I’d already discovered the TV series). It does things with the main characters that are either impossible for the show to have done or were only lightly hinted at in the show. There are references to future stories, but I didn’t catch on my first reading and still enjoyed it fine. This is still one of my favorite Who novels period.
How goes it? I’ve never delved into any of the Telos novellas and, as I haven’t heard anything lately after your speeding speeding through those Target novelizations, just seeing how you’re doing. Your quest is kind of fascinating to me what with your not watching the actual TV episodes.
Yes, I have been speed reading a bit lately but have been slowed down a bit (in a good way!) because of a US holiday and a long weekend.
My wife and I are quite active outdoors in the summer, so that takes up some time for sure (again in a good way!), but I still managed to finish “Frayed”!
It was very good, but had two congruent stories happening, that were intertwined, one in a dream world and one in real life. It was very cool, but somewhat unsettling.
The Foxes (antagonists/monsters/aliens - depending on how you looked at it)[/spoiler], were super cool to me and I really enjoyed this book a lot throughout. [spoiler]The aliens swirled “together” from scraps of genetic material that was floating in the wind and became these huge werewolf-like monsters! Very cool!
Right now I’m about 1/4 through “Time and Relative”, and this one is a smidge boring so far, but I’m hoping it will pick up a bit soon!
You’re welcome. Glad you enjoyed the book. As I posted above[1], I’ve only read a tiny handful of First Doctor novels. I’m also in the US, so I totally get enjoying the nice weather and the long weekend. Unfortunately not every novel can be a winner.
Because fans (of any fandom) can’t abide a mystery, while at the same time wanting more mystery, everyone wants to be the one to explore the Doctor and Susan before the start of the show. Doctor Who started with An Unearthly Child and thus the Doctor and Susan were already on earth. Another factor in trying to highlight Susan in the novels and audios comes from how she was handled on screen. The first episode focused heavily on Susan, who was mysterious and didn’t quite fit in with the other kids her age. Unfortunately, bar a couple scenes (such as the one in the Sensorites where she remembers Gallifrey), she was written as an ordinary human teenager (granted, the Doctor being a Time Lord didn’t come til the end of the Troughton era) as well as the damsel-in-distress. Thus, there’s a paradox of sorts in novels, comics and audio where the authors need to stay true to the character as portrayed in the original source material, but also factor in needed character growth, capitalizing on the undeveloped potential of the character, as well as revelations about her true species as revealed later on in the series.
Possibly worth mentioning,the short story “Journey Out of Terror” from the Target Storybook takes place during The Chase, so that could be added there.
There are so many short stories. This timeline was novels only so I didn’t even consider any short stories, especially because I’d have had to open so many more tabs to see where each one was collected.
Okay, I just finished “Time and Relative” and as imagined, it did get better, and a lot “cooler” (pun intended if you have read it!).
It also filled in some really good bits about Susan and the Doctor and alluded to some of the future novels that I have already read, so all in all, pretty cool!
Tonight, I’ll start, “Doctor Who and the Invasion from Space”! - Actually, it appears to be a comic book of sorts… Should be a short one…
I don’t know much about Invasion from Space. The wiki classified it as a novel, but it is only 46 pages. As one of the earliest pieces of expanded media, it’s a historical curiosity if nothing else.
