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From: gts@wjh12.UUCP (G. T. Samson)
Newsgroups: net.tv.drwho
Subject: Target Novelizations (esp. "The Myth Makers")
Message-ID: <634@wjh12.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Sep-85 13:03:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: wjh12.634
Posted: Wed Sep 18 13:03:56 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Sep-85 09:59:14 EDT
Organization: Harvard MicroWizards HQ
Lines: 31
Keywords: stealth, overthrow, anarchy

[Jam, Jam, Jam...]

I've got a LOT of the Target Doc Who novelizations, and there're a few
things that come immediately to my mind about them.

One is that Terrance Dicks is a bit of a hack.  I mean, it's nice that
he bothers to do a lot of them, but his style is a bit too pointedly
directed at children.  (Most of the books now say "Science Fiction/TV tie-in"
on the lower left corner of the back cover, instead of "Children/Fiction".
But Mr. Dicks doesn't seem to have gotten the message; many of his stories
still end with "The TARDIS was on its way to new adventures [gag].)

The other thing is that everyone who likes the books should read "The Myth
Makers" by Donald Cotton.  The idea of using the person who wrote the or-
iginal script to write the book is something that Target should be applauded
for.  "The Myth Makers" is one of the few REALLY fantastic novelizations
that I have run across. (Most of the others are by Malcolm Hulke.)  My room-
mate, a Classics major, finds the book "scurrilous" in its portrayals of
Odysseus, Achilles, et al, but that's half the fun...




-- 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name:		G. T. Samson
Title:		The Evil MicroWizard
Quote:		"No matter where you go...there you are." -- B. Banzai
Other_Quote:	"You speak treason!" "Fluently!" 	  -- The Doctor
ARPA:		gts@wjh12 [preferred] OR samson%h-sc4@harvard
USMail:		Lowell N-43, Harvard U., Cambridge, MA 02138