Doctor Who‘s Target novelisations have been a staple of the Whoniverse for over fifty years now, allowing fans in the days before the advent of home video a chance to revisit their favourite stories on the page (or even experience them for the first time). Having regenerated the Target collection in 2018, BBC Books have steadily released adventures from across six decades of Doctor Who in 2021, 2022 and 2023, and now in 2024, all three of last year’s 60th Anniversary Specials have been reimagined in prose from authors Gary Russell, Mark Morris and James Goss.

Taking the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble on adventures meeting the Meep, travelling to the edge of the universe, fighting a formidable foe from another reality and encountering the Doctor’s next self, this trilogy of stories graced our screens late last year and fans can now add them to their bookshelves…

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The Star Beast

Starting off as a Doctor Who Magazine comic strip, The Star Beast has been adapted into an audio drama, a television special and now a Target novelisation, courtesy of stalwart Who scribe Gary Russell. This version of The Star Beast expands on the televised story in some fun and interesting ways, incorporating some deleted moments, resolving a few minor plot holes and allowing readers a deeper insight into the characters – particularly Sylvia Noble’s perspective on the events, thus providing much added depth for her character (appropriately, Sylvia actor Jacqueline King reads the audiobook).

Russell’s novelisation also allows the story to breathe a bit more, providing the perspectives of Fudge, watching the UNIT vs Wrarth Warrior battle from his bedroom window, and Stew Ferguson, who inadvertently finds himself caught up in the events – both offering a down-to-earth human perspective which grounds the narrative. Whovians will also be delighted with the snippets of letters, texts and general Whoniverse lore interspersed between chapters, providing pieces of backstory for different characters and monsters.

Perhaps the cute and cuddly Meep doesn’t work quite so well in prose (compared to a comic or TV), and the timeline is all a bit confusing, but The Star Beast makes for a really strong Target novel and a great addition to the range.

Pre-order THE STAR BEAST here

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Wild Blue Yonder

I was a little trepidatious going into this novelisation of Wild Blue Yonder. The special has such strong visual storytelling and is so ambiguous in places that, in the hands of a lesser writer, a prose adaptation could easily lose what made the TV story so excellent in the first place. Mark Morris‘ novelisation, however, is pitch-perfect, treading a fine line between retelling the events of the specials and expanding on it in prose form without losing any of the ambiguity.

Despite already being familiar with the TV version, Morris’ novel is surprisingly suspenseful, building a feeling of unease before unveiling the eerily uncanny Not-Things. When the creatures do appear, it’s unclear which Doctor and Donna are the real one until just the right moment, maintaining a sense of confusion and paranoia. The novel is able to get into the characters’ heads without giving the game away, focusing the drama on the Doctor and Donna’s experiences. The sense of tension is aided by the chapter titles; after the Isaac Newton-focused prologue, they become the alien countdown (‘fenslaw, colliss, brate…’), gradually leading up to the final moments.

Wild Blue Yonder could have easily been a dull run-around story, but Russell T Davies‘ TV script is an exquisite piece of character-driven sci-fi, and a great distortion of familiar Doctor Who tropes, which are built upon further in this fantastic novelisation from Mark Morris. If you fancy seeing double, this one is well worth a read – just make sure to keep some salt on you…

Pre-order WILD BLUE YONDER here

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The Giggle

While the first two novels in this collection are more traditional adaptations of the TV episodes, James Goss‘ novelisation of The Giggle is easily the most inventive and playful of the bunch. The book is narrated by the Toymaker, depicted here revelling in his own glory and madness, indulging in some meta jokes, structuring each chapter as a ‘move’ in a game and incorporating various puzzles and games (including a choose-your-own-adventure section) into the novel itself. Even the Toymaker’s German accent is maintained, with his dialogue written phonetically, leaning further into the more absurdist elements of the character. It’s an ingenious narrative device, aided by the Toymaker’s omniscience, and does make The Giggle stand out in the Target collection.

This novelisation is also an improvement over the TV version, giving a much clearer idea of what’s happening on a ground level in 2023 whilst the characters are attempting to defeat the Toymaker, and providing a greater sense of resolution to the Giggle plot itself. The story – on TV and on the page – could probably benefit from following a character ‘on the ground’ seeing the full extent of the Giggle, but the emphasis in both versions is on the main characters, simultaneously feeling epic and small-scale.

The Fourteenth Doctor’s character arc feels a little clearer in the novelisation as well, with the sense that he’s worn out and at the end of his tether setting up his ending in a less sudden way. The now-infamous bi-generation isn’t explained in greater detail, although specifying ‘The Old Doctor’ and ‘The New Doctor’ does make the ending feel a little clearer in its intentions.

All in all, The Giggle is an excellent novelisation of a TV story that feels like a mixed bag. Like with The Star Beast novel, there’s more breathing room in the narrative, and some deleted lines and moments are incorporated, although the third act is still a bit baffling, and the stakes a little vague. Thanks to its unique framing device, The Giggle novelisation is much more of a Toymaker story – and better for it – and James Goss plays with the format in some truly ingenious ways. If you already loved The Giggle on TV, this adaptation will be the icing on the cake. If you’re still not sure about the story, this version may give you a new appreciation of it.

Pre-order THE GIGGLE here

All three Doctor Who Target books are available now