“It’s just a recap,” I said. “How can they even screw this up?” I said.

Yeah, I didn’t enjoy this novelization. In go the filler lines; out goes the character consistency. Thank you, Target, for replacing the atmospheric “English fog” with the generic “dark”. Thank you, Target, for plotsplaining that the Orb is the Sun. Furthermore, a deep, sardonic bow to you, Target, for dumbing Susan down to a level where she is bewildered by the fire-making process. [Although it could be argued that she was just THAT desperate to experiment with two ACTIVE elements at last.]

There are two things this publication did not fumble:
Number one: the characterization of Za is presented with greater nuance and insight.
Number two: there was a single new dialogue line that I actually liked—in Chapter 10, as they fling rocks at Kal. It goes as follows:

“Well done, Doctor,” whispered Barbara.
The Doctor gave her a self-satisfied smirk. “Child’s play, my dear. These people are just as susceptible to mass hysteria as the people of your own time.”

That’s all there is to say on the matter.

6️⃣⏹️ = MIDDLING!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

“RETURN OF THE BAD KNIFE!”

This review is based on the unofficial audiobook reading of the 1981 Terrance Dicks novelisation, as read by Dwayne Bunney.

Dicks spends a good time in the early chapters to slightly flesh out the opening scenes of the first episode (such as giving the police officer at the beginning a few more scenes!). Once we move onto the Stone Age, the text does a pretty good job of making the tribespeople a bit more well-rounded and getting into their mindsets a bit better. This makes their political struggles a bit more enjoyable to follow, even if they are simple and needlessly convoluted.

Dicks juggles pretty nicely between the description of four TARDIS travellers learning to trust each other and the cavemen going about in their lives.

The knife trial is just as good here as in the televised version, and the big moment for the Doctor.

Of course, there's the same problem here as on TV: the constant back and forth between the heroes being captured and escaping. 

Dicks' writing is straightforward but vivid enough to bring the story to life, though some sequences follow the televised scenes a bit too closely, making them feel a bit clumsy. The story also follows the original scripts very closely, to the point of including the same weakness.

Dicks also manages to keep the tension better than the TV story did, especially during the chase sequence through the Forest of Fear, helped by the inclusion of a sabre tooth tiger.

Bunney's narration is decent. His voices for Ian and Barbara are okay, but his Doctor is a bit one-note. Bunney also brings Kal, Za, Hur, and the other cavemen to life very well.

I'm reading the Target novelisations alongside a rewatch of the classic series; and my reviews will be focused on the novelisations themselves more than the story.

The TV story is a great first episode introducing the characters/story arc leading into a distinctly average story that also is as much focused on introducing the Doctor, Ian, Barbara and Susan as in telling a compelling story by itself. Terrence Dicks' novelisation (which was written incredibly quickly; as this good was intended to cash in on the 20th anniversary of the show and an accompanying TV airing of the serial) is a good retelling of the story that was on TV and conveys the various rivalries and dramas present in the TV version more clearly; but it also doesn't expand on the version that aired on TV.

The actual writing itself is good (as you would expect from Dicks) and its clear why in a world before home video these books were very popular with readers; but in the world of today where the TV serial is easily available on DVD this is a novelisation that could be skipped.

(Taken from my Goodreads Review | Last Read: January 2022)

Originally published in October 1981 and written by Terrance Dicks, this is the novelization for the first serial/first four episodes of Doctor Who. It’s good, not terribly meaty in greatly expanding the story, but it’s very readable. It follows the TV episodes quite faithfully (though there are slight variations when read along the televised first episode) and for a young reader (especially one who’s never seen the actual episodes) it paints a good picture of the landscapes and surroundings, expanding them past painted background and a few pieces of set dressing. As it stands, this was also my introduction to the Target novelizations the first time I read it (this review originally coming from the second time).

Something that really stood out to me in this was a couple of little historical clarifications for the readers of 1981 (and today) about Police Boxes (which were commonplace in 1963 but nearly extinct in 1981) and the UK adopting a decimal system for a currency which was a major point in making Susan seem alien. Dicks writes: “At this time, the early 1960s, Britain was still sticking to her uniquely complicated monetary system…” which he then breaks down briefly for the reader. (For the record, the UK adopted a decimal system for currency in February 1971.)

I can see why kids loved these. It moves along at a good pace, this story at least is a faithful recreation of the TV story. It’s an easy read that’s well written. You get into the heads of the characters a little and you don’t have to rely on low-budget BBC effects. In my mind, because I have seen the TV episodes, I still see at least some of the sets in my mind. The voices of the main cast are perfectly in line with the show, and I can somewhat hear the guest cast in my head as I read. In all, a worthy adaptation and a decent read. It made a serial that (apart from the stellar first episode) isn't one of my favorites, into the decent story that lies underneath.