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Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #140
Doctor Who: The Chase
The Daleks are closing in on the Doctor in a chase through both the universe and through time itself. For having created their own time machine, the Daleks are able to pursue the TARDIS from the planet of Aridius, on to the Empire State Building in 1966, on to the Marie Celeste in 1872 and even on into a haunted house within someone's nightmare.
Recognising that he must force a resolution to this desperate chase through time, the scene is set for a confrontation between the Time Lord and his most feared enemy on the jungle planet of Mechanus.
Recognising that he must force a resolution to this desperate chase through time, the scene is set for a confrontation between the Time Lord and his most feared enemy on the jungle planet of Mechanus.
144 pages, Paperback
First published September 20, 1989
2 people are currently reading
238 people want to read
About the author
John Peel
422 books166 followersJohn Peel is the author of Doctor Who books and comic strips. Notably, he wrote the first original Doctor Who novel, Timewyrm: Genesys, to launch the Virgin New Adventures line. In the early 1990s he was commissioned by Target Books to write novelisations of several key Terry Nation Dalek stories of the 1960s after the rights were finally worked out. He later wrote several more original Daleks novels.
He has the distinction of being one of only three authors credited on a Target novelisation who had not either written a story for the TV series or been a part of the production team (the others were Nigel Robinson and Alison Bingeman).
Outside of Doctor Who, Peel has also written novels for the Star Trek franchise. Under the pseudonym "John Vincent", he wrote novelisations based upon episodes of the 1990s TV series James Bond Jr..
He has the distinction of being one of only three authors credited on a Target novelisation who had not either written a story for the TV series or been a part of the production team (the others were Nigel Robinson and Alison Bingeman).
Outside of Doctor Who, Peel has also written novels for the Star Trek franchise. Under the pseudonym "John Vincent", he wrote novelisations based upon episodes of the 1990s TV series James Bond Jr..
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
November 15, 2018
I’ve always enjoyed The Chase, it’s a fun romp through space and time as The Doctor’s deadliest enemies The Daleks continue to pursue the TARDIS.
It’s everything you want from a Doctor Who story!
Just like another of Nation’s scripts ‘The Keys of Marinus’ (which I’ve also got a soft spot for) this story really hops along.
Peel really adds an extra layer to the story, making the Mary Celeste section darker, whilst the funhouse scenes during the next chapter is a light relief.
It’s also Ian and Barbara’s last story, I’m sad to see them leave but it was nice that Peel also referenced Susan too.
I was slightly disappointed that the now famous ‘London 1965’ line wasn’t included here.
That’s offset by the introduction of Steven, he’s such an underrated companion.
I’m looking forward to he’s first trip in the TARDIS.
It’s everything you want from a Doctor Who story!
Just like another of Nation’s scripts ‘The Keys of Marinus’ (which I’ve also got a soft spot for) this story really hops along.
Peel really adds an extra layer to the story, making the Mary Celeste section darker, whilst the funhouse scenes during the next chapter is a light relief.
It’s also Ian and Barbara’s last story, I’m sad to see them leave but it was nice that Peel also referenced Susan too.
I was slightly disappointed that the now famous ‘London 1965’ line wasn’t included here.
That’s offset by the introduction of Steven, he’s such an underrated companion.
I’m looking forward to he’s first trip in the TARDIS.
July 16, 2023
The Chase is an odd duck in its TV incarnation. A story even grander in scope than the previous two Dalek serials, Terry Nation's scripts got a sprucing up in the humor department from script editor Dennis Spooner on their way to the screen. The result was a tonal mess across much of its six episodes, and worse, it gradually turned the Daleks from less of a threat than a minor nuisance tolerated to get to this week's cliffhanger. Thankfully, in keeping with several serials in the later years of the Target novelizations, The Chase got a second look-in thanks to John Peel in 1989. And rarely have I been glad for such a thing to occur.
Because Peel, having established a rapport with Nation while writing The Official Doctor Who and the Daleks Book, got ahold of Nation's original scripts for The Chase. Those scripts (rather than the Spooner rewrites) became the basis for Peel's novelization, something that's apparent from practically the opening page. Gone are many cringe-inducing moments, from Vicki's story about the glass castle to the excesses of Morton Dill and the haunted house sequence. Elsewhere, the scene of the Mary Celeste crew ambushed by the Daleks (played unwisely for laughs on-screen) is far more darkly portrayed here and with more reflection by Ian and Barbara when they recognize what's happened. Tonally, The Chase novelization is a different beast than its TV predecessor and far better for it.
Not that those aforementioned scenes are gone for good. There remain flashes of humor in what remains, and this version of Morton Dill is still here for laughs. But here, it's less cringe and actually funny because it doesn't overplay its hand (and, frankly, the accent isn't over the top on the page or even in the audiobook version read superbly by Maureen O'Brien). What changes is the emphasis as Peel, like Marc Platt would when he novelized Ghost Light the following year, finds a better way of pacing the story. Wisely, he affords more page count to the opening and closing installments of the TV serial, trimming down the flabby middle episodes. The focus shifts from comedy to suspense, something that Nation (as a writer of thrillers outside of his Doctor Who work) excelled in and which Peel nicely realizes on the page. The Daleks, too, feel more threatening, and their demises in sequences such as the haunted house feel more like actual threats to them rather than played for laughs.
The choice to focus on the bookending portions of the narrative also suits their locations. Free from the constraints of a 1960s BBC TV studio, Aridius and Mechanus are far grander worlds than they could ever have been on-screen. The once underwater cities of Aridius have a faded grandeur to them, the jungles of Mechanus feel far more threatening, and the Mechanoid's city can be the utopia in waiting it was so clearly meant to be. Even the Doctor's robot (well, android) double can be more convincing on the page. The ideas, rather than the execution and misplaced humor, shine through.
The concluding chapters also offer surprises in the companion department. Ian and Barbara still leave, and Steven Taylor's introduced as the incoming companion. The handling of both are different here, with Steven receiving a far more central role in the escape and a fleshing out of just how on Earth (or, rather, Mechanus) he ended up at the TARDIS in time for The Time Meddler. Ian and Barbara's farewell plays out slightly differently, the Doctor less confrontational and abrasive (and minus the "time and Spain" slip of Hartnell's), but with no less poignancy. It's a shame that the now iconic "London 1965!" moment is missing though the literary equivalent of that joyous final montage remains present even here.
The Chase novelization, like The Space War's take on Frontier in Space or Platt's aforementioned Ghost Light, offers a vision of the serial that might have been. A version that would prove more in keeping with Nation's original intentions, rather than copying and pasting what viewers would have seen in 1965 (and later, still, on home video and streaming). For anyone who cringed their way through the TV serial and wondered what it might otherwise have been, Peel's prose offers an alternative, one that's far more enjoyable.
Because Peel, having established a rapport with Nation while writing The Official Doctor Who and the Daleks Book, got ahold of Nation's original scripts for The Chase. Those scripts (rather than the Spooner rewrites) became the basis for Peel's novelization, something that's apparent from practically the opening page. Gone are many cringe-inducing moments, from Vicki's story about the glass castle to the excesses of Morton Dill and the haunted house sequence. Elsewhere, the scene of the Mary Celeste crew ambushed by the Daleks (played unwisely for laughs on-screen) is far more darkly portrayed here and with more reflection by Ian and Barbara when they recognize what's happened. Tonally, The Chase novelization is a different beast than its TV predecessor and far better for it.
Not that those aforementioned scenes are gone for good. There remain flashes of humor in what remains, and this version of Morton Dill is still here for laughs. But here, it's less cringe and actually funny because it doesn't overplay its hand (and, frankly, the accent isn't over the top on the page or even in the audiobook version read superbly by Maureen O'Brien). What changes is the emphasis as Peel, like Marc Platt would when he novelized Ghost Light the following year, finds a better way of pacing the story. Wisely, he affords more page count to the opening and closing installments of the TV serial, trimming down the flabby middle episodes. The focus shifts from comedy to suspense, something that Nation (as a writer of thrillers outside of his Doctor Who work) excelled in and which Peel nicely realizes on the page. The Daleks, too, feel more threatening, and their demises in sequences such as the haunted house feel more like actual threats to them rather than played for laughs.
The choice to focus on the bookending portions of the narrative also suits their locations. Free from the constraints of a 1960s BBC TV studio, Aridius and Mechanus are far grander worlds than they could ever have been on-screen. The once underwater cities of Aridius have a faded grandeur to them, the jungles of Mechanus feel far more threatening, and the Mechanoid's city can be the utopia in waiting it was so clearly meant to be. Even the Doctor's robot (well, android) double can be more convincing on the page. The ideas, rather than the execution and misplaced humor, shine through.
The concluding chapters also offer surprises in the companion department. Ian and Barbara still leave, and Steven Taylor's introduced as the incoming companion. The handling of both are different here, with Steven receiving a far more central role in the escape and a fleshing out of just how on Earth (or, rather, Mechanus) he ended up at the TARDIS in time for The Time Meddler. Ian and Barbara's farewell plays out slightly differently, the Doctor less confrontational and abrasive (and minus the "time and Spain" slip of Hartnell's), but with no less poignancy. It's a shame that the now iconic "London 1965!" moment is missing though the literary equivalent of that joyous final montage remains present even here.
The Chase novelization, like The Space War's take on Frontier in Space or Platt's aforementioned Ghost Light, offers a vision of the serial that might have been. A version that would prove more in keeping with Nation's original intentions, rather than copying and pasting what viewers would have seen in 1965 (and later, still, on home video and streaming). For anyone who cringed their way through the TV serial and wondered what it might otherwise have been, Peel's prose offers an alternative, one that's far more enjoyable.
Read
April 8, 2009http://nhw.livejournal.com/1024712.html#cutid2[return][return]I was pleasantly surprised by this one, I think my first Peel novelisation (and certainly his first). The original story is one of the sillier efforts of early Who, including a comedy Dalek, not one but two very silly monsters (the Mire Beast and the Fungoids) and lots of utterly unconnected settings. Peel has used Terry Nation's original scripts, plus some of his own historical research on the Mary Celeste, and come up with rather a good narrative, moored into later Who continuity (with references to future incarnations, the Draconians, etc). It ends up being rather fun.
April 29, 2025
Going back to read John Peel’s novelization of The Chase is honestly a weird one after having experienced his novelizations of The Daleks’ Master Plan and The Power of the Daleks, because this is the first book the man wrote. It’s also the only novelization that Peel has a story to work with and in the forward to the book he apparently used Terry Nation’s original scripts which Nation’s wife Kate just had, before being script edited and tightened up for television by Dennis Spooner. Structurally The Chase follows the same plot beats and episodes with minimal deviations, the proper deviations are more in terms of not following the script dialogue which in many ways is better and worse than what we got on television. The biggest disadvantage to the novelization is the handling of Barbara Wright as a character. Peel already just doesn’t have a handle on how Barbara works. Now this possibly Nation’s original scripts, as a writer he did have a tendency to put female characters into one category but there are several points throughout the novel where Barbara is just reduced to a gibbering, screaming wreck. This is especially apparent in the adaptation of “Journey Into Terror”, Peel using this as an attempt to really get the horror element down. This is one of those things where it’s reduced to just Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster, still in their Universal film guises, but to make them scary Peel has Barbara become this nervous wreck.
Barbara does give more background on the Mary Celeste, that sequence actually being extended because Peel desperately wants to include the historical details and then a further discussion between Ian and Barbara about how they may or may not be responsible for the deaths on the Mary Celeste. If I had to guess this wasn’t a Nation original, but a Peel, Nation as a writer never really thought about time travel mechanics even though he wrote (or co-wrote) three serials with major time travel implications that are almost certainly from other people, mainly Robert Holmes and Dennis Spooner. It’s a discussion that is circular. The only other thing that really feels like a misstep is again in the middle sections, this time in the Empire State Building sequence where Morton Dill is no longer just a comedy yokel, but is presented rather cruelly by Peel as a total idiot who is treated with heavy handed ableism by Peel. He is committed to an asylum at the end of his sequence which is meant to be funny but just comes across terribly.
It's now weird that I’ve spent so much time discussing what went wrong with The Chase, but here’s the thing. Peel does a lot right. The bookends of the story, Aridius and Mechanus, are converted to be played completely straight. The opening scenes in the TARDIS genuinely feel like this TARDIS team is a family, some of the dialogue is toned down so Ian and Barbara aren’t really annoyed at Vicki for being a bored teenager. It creates his great sense of domesticity and family, meaning that the Daleks are actually more of a threat. The comedy of the Daleks is really kept to the occasional wry line, they are a complete threat, immediately slaughtering the Aridians while they are collaborators. Peel makes the collaboration utterly pathetic, and rightly so, it’s out of self-preservation and only needs one of them to actually stand up and fight. On Mechanus they are also immediately ready to kill, the duplicate of the Doctor being somehow darker and the idea that if Vicki was found she wouldn’t even be captured, just exterminated. Okay in the end there are some injected bits of continuity into Steven’s backstory, something that feels more like a reflection on the idea of the Earth Empire that mentions the Third Dalek War and the Draconians, but it’s genuinely these great bits.
Overall, The Chase is one of those novelizations that feels so completely different from the television production. There are plenty of negative things that John Peel brings to the novelization, some of which might be Nation originals or might just be Peel’s general problematic tendencies. Still, I find this novelization to be better than the original serial, it’s not a rambling comedy and somehow the exit of Ian and Barbara hits harder here because they have passed through fire with the Daleks being an actual threat. 7/10.
Barbara does give more background on the Mary Celeste, that sequence actually being extended because Peel desperately wants to include the historical details and then a further discussion between Ian and Barbara about how they may or may not be responsible for the deaths on the Mary Celeste. If I had to guess this wasn’t a Nation original, but a Peel, Nation as a writer never really thought about time travel mechanics even though he wrote (or co-wrote) three serials with major time travel implications that are almost certainly from other people, mainly Robert Holmes and Dennis Spooner. It’s a discussion that is circular. The only other thing that really feels like a misstep is again in the middle sections, this time in the Empire State Building sequence where Morton Dill is no longer just a comedy yokel, but is presented rather cruelly by Peel as a total idiot who is treated with heavy handed ableism by Peel. He is committed to an asylum at the end of his sequence which is meant to be funny but just comes across terribly.
It's now weird that I’ve spent so much time discussing what went wrong with The Chase, but here’s the thing. Peel does a lot right. The bookends of the story, Aridius and Mechanus, are converted to be played completely straight. The opening scenes in the TARDIS genuinely feel like this TARDIS team is a family, some of the dialogue is toned down so Ian and Barbara aren’t really annoyed at Vicki for being a bored teenager. It creates his great sense of domesticity and family, meaning that the Daleks are actually more of a threat. The comedy of the Daleks is really kept to the occasional wry line, they are a complete threat, immediately slaughtering the Aridians while they are collaborators. Peel makes the collaboration utterly pathetic, and rightly so, it’s out of self-preservation and only needs one of them to actually stand up and fight. On Mechanus they are also immediately ready to kill, the duplicate of the Doctor being somehow darker and the idea that if Vicki was found she wouldn’t even be captured, just exterminated. Okay in the end there are some injected bits of continuity into Steven’s backstory, something that feels more like a reflection on the idea of the Earth Empire that mentions the Third Dalek War and the Draconians, but it’s genuinely these great bits.
Overall, The Chase is one of those novelizations that feels so completely different from the television production. There are plenty of negative things that John Peel brings to the novelization, some of which might be Nation originals or might just be Peel’s general problematic tendencies. Still, I find this novelization to be better than the original serial, it’s not a rambling comedy and somehow the exit of Ian and Barbara hits harder here because they have passed through fire with the Daleks being an actual threat. 7/10.
February 26, 2023
As usual, I haven't watched the serial yet as I prefer to read these novelizations first. On paper, this one is a mess, though still a fun and exciting mess. I like the central premise, that the Daleks have developed their own time machine and are pursuing the TARDIS as it leaps through time, and I have to wonder if this was meant to test the waters for a new format for the series, with each episode being a different stop in a different location, with the added urgency of pursuit. I'm glad it didn't catch on as the problem with most of the stops, especially those on alien worlds, don't feel like they get any breathing room to properly flesh themselves out before we have to race to a conclusion, as what I appreciate about most of the serials to this point is when we genuinely get to settle into a location and let it play out. Behind the scenes, I can also understand this being one of the most expensive serials of the time given the amount of new sets and costumes each episode, and it especially feels overly stretched thin when we spend multiple chapters in an automated haunted house setting up a weird punchline that doesn't land. Additional cons are potentially great threads like an evil robotic duplicate of the Doctor, or Vicki getting left behind and having to sneak a ride on the Dalek time machine, are also raced through before they really get a sense to play out. On the plus side, I like the intro note about Peel going back to Nation's original scripts as they were more ambitious in scope and locale, with some sequences having a scale that makes me really curious to see how/if they were realized within the limitations of the show. Also, while I'm going to deeply miss Ian and Barbara, this feels like a good sendoff, reflecting on how long they've been on the run, the focus on their joy at returning home together, and the Doctor's blustering way of hiding the blow to his emotions. As for Steve, we'll have to see how he develops. He gets a nice introduction here and seems a decent chap, but my concern is that he feels a little "golly shucks" bungly and I worry about him settling into a characterization akin to the annoying Ian of the films. I'm also curious how the dynamic with Vicki will develop, given that neither of them are from the modern Earth of the audience, but are both from very different stages of the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2024
Based on a script by Terry Nation and with cover art by Alister Pearson. It is number 140 in the Target catalogue.
This is the first target I’ve come across with an Author’s Note in the front explaining how and why it differs from the broadcast version. I’ve always found this a middling quality story. The 3 bit’s of the chase (New York, Marie Celeste, and Haunted House amusement park) always felt like rushed padding to me, but they are much improved in the book version. Though the tone of the New York bit is rather denigrating of Americans.
I did miss the scintillating dialogue of the Mechanoids, enter, enter, zero, stop, which is missing from the book. The just talk normally which is a bit dull. The section in the city also feels a lot briefier than it was in the TV version.
But this is only minor. This is one of the best I’ve read so far, admittedly I’m still in the Hartnell books so there’s a lot left to read The pacing and storytelling is excellent and it builds on the broadcast version. The first sub-story on Aridius was excellent. The mire beasts are actually dangerous semi-intelligent creatures, not the rubber suits of TV.
This is the first target I’ve come across with an Author’s Note in the front explaining how and why it differs from the broadcast version. I’ve always found this a middling quality story. The 3 bit’s of the chase (New York, Marie Celeste, and Haunted House amusement park) always felt like rushed padding to me, but they are much improved in the book version. Though the tone of the New York bit is rather denigrating of Americans.
I did miss the scintillating dialogue of the Mechanoids, enter, enter, zero, stop, which is missing from the book. The just talk normally which is a bit dull. The section in the city also feels a lot briefier than it was in the TV version.
But this is only minor. This is one of the best I’ve read so far, admittedly I’m still in the Hartnell books so there’s a lot left to read The pacing and storytelling is excellent and it builds on the broadcast version. The first sub-story on Aridius was excellent. The mire beasts are actually dangerous semi-intelligent creatures, not the rubber suits of TV.
December 18, 2024
Before John Peel would try to resolve Dalek continuity in the Eighth Doctor Adventures, he was the go-to guy for adapting Terry Nation's picaresques in the Target range. The first of these, Doctor Who (and) The Chase probably works better as a book than it does as a television serial because the saggy middle flies by faster. Peel attacks the material with some wit and gives us a bit of background on such characters as Morton Dill and the crew of the Mary Celeste, and expands the vistas of Aridius and Mechanus, planets that were constrained by the production means. According to Peel, he mostly based the book on Nation's script rather than the episodes as aired, but few deviations are felt. At least Steven doesn't have that stupid teddy bear, nor does that stupid Dalek from the early episodes appear). In my opinion, the one section that's less engaging than what I consider one of the worst Dalek stories put to tape, is the companion departure. It's just too well done on TV. But the rest benefits from Peel's prose and the theater of the mind.
November 8, 2023
Don’t look too closely or take it too seriously, and this one can be a lot of fun. Plot holes galore, this is an interesting trek to several exotic and not-so-exotic places across space and time. There is a lot of intentional humor and heart. Oddly enough, I think that Nu-Who actually makes this story make more sense when you take in the Time War background to the 2005 reboot of the series. But it is bittersweet as this is Barbara and Ian’s final story.
On my reread of the series (some for the first time) for the show’s 60th anniversary I am glad to have taken the time to read it. Next up an appointment with the Time Meddler (Target Book 126)!
On my reread of the series (some for the first time) for the show’s 60th anniversary I am glad to have taken the time to read it. Next up an appointment with the Time Meddler (Target Book 126)!
May 9, 2019
At the start of the story, the author placed a note stating that the novel would follow the initial scripts proposed for the story, The Chase, not the actual TV story, and I have to admit, after reading the translation of the script, I prefer it that way!
The Chase is a story I wouldn't really expect myself to like, but I really did. The pace was just right, with the proper amount of action when it was needed. And what's funny: I didn't even know what the characters looked like before I read this book!
All I can say is: A Dalek story is more often than not a great Doctor Who story!
The Chase is a story I wouldn't really expect myself to like, but I really did. The pace was just right, with the proper amount of action when it was needed. And what's funny: I didn't even know what the characters looked like before I read this book!
All I can say is: A Dalek story is more often than not a great Doctor Who story!
March 29, 2023
Just like Earthshock, I haven't watched the Chase before now. In fact I haven't watched any of the 60s Dalek stories besides the very first one. John Peel's style is definitely similar to Terrance Dicks. This is a madcap story. There's all sorts of settings - from the arid deserts of Aridius to the jungles of Mechanus. Even the slapstick bit in New York is entertaining. Overall, the Chase is a solid story.
June 25, 2021
Thank you to this book for letting me know that Daleks use solar panels to charge. They may be genocidal monsters but at least they use clean energy!
In all seriousness, this book was fine, I've just been struggling a bit with motivation for the novels recently. Had some interesting backstory stuff too, but I don't think I'd want to replace the television version with it.
In all seriousness, this book was fine, I've just been struggling a bit with motivation for the novels recently. Had some interesting backstory stuff too, but I don't think I'd want to replace the television version with it.
January 17, 2023
Doctor Who : The Chase (1989) by John Peel is the novelisation of the eighth serial of the second season of Doctor Who. Ian, Barbara, Vicki and the Doctor are pursued through time by the Daleks.
It’s a fun story, the pacing is good.
The Chase is the final story for Ian and Barbara, Steven appears to replace them. His introduction is pretty quick though.
The Chase is an entertaining read.
It’s a fun story, the pacing is good.
The Chase is the final story for Ian and Barbara, Steven appears to replace them. His introduction is pretty quick though.
The Chase is an entertaining read.
May 6, 2023
I’ve never really enjoyed the broadcast version of this as it frequently seems that the Daleks aren’t very threatening, nor is the script very tense. However, Mr Peel’s version is quite gripping and fills in a lot of blanks, based as it is on Terry Nation’s original script and the benefit of being written 25 years later. Lots of fun and quite exciting.
December 5, 2023
A great original story line with the First Doctor. I'm so glad these scripts made it as books since many of William Hartnell's episodes are missing. This was a good one. New characters come into play here as well.
February 19, 2019
The doctor is chased through time and space by the daleks.
November 15, 2019
Really enjoyable. A huge improvement on the TV story.
January 9, 2021
A great novelisation of the story. Slightly let down by the lack of “Look, Barbara, we made it! London, 1965!”
July 22, 2021
Really exciting
May 22, 2016
I love it when there is a grand adventure to be had for the Doctor and companions. Peel does works wonders with the stories into novelizations. His additions to the inner thoughts, further motivations, and expanding action fills much of what might feel like it is missing, even subtly.
I do enjoy the ones that travel to several places. Another step into the modern (60s for the time of the show) and then, a fanciful one. Doctor Who at a fun fair, while giving an outrageous reason for its being there gives some comedy to the piece that would otherwise be terrifying.
Time traveling Daleks that can track the Doctor's every move, are the worst threat yet. However, there is little menace, that I could feel, and I am content with that. They aren't my favorite bad guy, if one can say such a thing.
Also, the Mechanoids are an interesting aspect that I will enjoy hearing more about. There is much to learn about them.
I do enjoy the ones that travel to several places. Another step into the modern (60s for the time of the show) and then, a fanciful one. Doctor Who at a fun fair, while giving an outrageous reason for its being there gives some comedy to the piece that would otherwise be terrifying.
Time traveling Daleks that can track the Doctor's every move, are the worst threat yet. However, there is little menace, that I could feel, and I am content with that. They aren't my favorite bad guy, if one can say such a thing.
Also, the Mechanoids are an interesting aspect that I will enjoy hearing more about. There is much to learn about them.
January 24, 2021
Between a 4 and a 5 for me. In the chronological novel order at least, the first of the John Peel adaptions of Dalek stories, and he does a great job as usual. Makes a few differences to the TV show to follow the script more, but mainly that just allows for more fleshing out of the various alien creatures and other characters encountered.
We get to see quite a variety of situations here, due to the nature of the chase, but all of them are nicely contained, and highlight the variety of situations that can be encountered through time and space.
The meeting of the new companion, Steve Tyler, is interesting, especially as not that clear that he will become a companion.
Of course, it ends in the sadness of the departure of Iain and Barbara, though was a good farewell for them, compared to a lot of departures we get to see a bit of them post leaving the Doctor, but given two of my favourites, definitely made for bittersweet reading.
All round, a great read.
We get to see quite a variety of situations here, due to the nature of the chase, but all of them are nicely contained, and highlight the variety of situations that can be encountered through time and space.
The meeting of the new companion, Steve Tyler, is interesting, especially as not that clear that he will become a companion.
Of course, it ends in the sadness of the departure of Iain and Barbara, though was a good farewell for them, compared to a lot of departures we get to see a bit of them post leaving the Doctor, but given two of my favourites, definitely made for bittersweet reading.
All round, a great read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 7, 2011
The Doctor, Barbara, Ian, and Vicki (who gets back to some screaming in fine style after a brief hiatus), get chased through time and space by The Daleks, who are never quite as clever as successful adversaries should. The action is fast and furious as the setting switches from alien planets, the observation deck of the Empire State Building, a haunted house, and a colony world in deep space.
August 8, 2016
John Peel's first Target novelization remains some of his best work: a hybrid of the actual broadcast episodes of the 1st Doctor adventure "The Chase", combined with inspiration from Terry Nation's first draft scripts. The end result is something worthy of being compared to Terrance Dicks' work at his height...and doubly manages to turn one of "Doctor Who's" most infamous shaggy dog stories into something respectable and exciting.
May 28, 2013
I found I was far more upset in losing Ian and Barbara than I had been with Susan' untimely departure. This may be down to Peel's writing, which is a lot stronger than some of the other novelizations.
That said I really enjoyed this one. Yes it's a bit dated in places (blame the original source material and not Peel) but it works.
That said I really enjoyed this one. Yes it's a bit dated in places (blame the original source material and not Peel) but it works.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2016
Good adventure crossing a number of planets / creatures. The haunted house portion was a bit weak and the Daleks looked a bit soppy in this. Would be a good concept for a movie. It was sad to see Ian and Barbara go but they were obviously ready to head off in to the sunset together. Peel's writing kept the story interesting in the weaker parts. Another good romp overall.
April 16, 2008
Just a fun story with the Tardis bouncing all over time and space trying to get away from the pursuing Daleks.
September 3, 2008
Decent enough, but definitely episodic in nature. Liked the finale with Ian and Barbara though.
December 19, 2010
The Daleks(finally!!) send out an assasination squad for the Doctor which accidently stumbles upon using his gadget. The book covers his journey escaping(and attacking) them
September 27, 2012
A real hodge-podge. Some of the silliness is sort of fun, but overall it's not that memorable of a piece.
December 30, 2016
Re-read in 2016.
October 1, 2014
Lots of fun. This is the serial that marked the departure of Ian and Barbara.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews