Five new Target novelisations featuring the Fourth, Tenth, Twelfth, and Thirteenth Doctors will be released in July, celebrating half a century of the Target Books range.
Each book will come with new cover artwork by the sensational Anthony Dry, a friend of the DWC!
The titles are:
These will all be published on 13th July 2023, each written by the original screenwriters of the TV episodes, i.e. Stephen Gallagher, Keith Temple, Phil Ford, Peter Harness, and Pete McTighe, respectively.
Launched in 1973, Target Books published novelisations of almost every Doctor Who serial aired between 1963 and 1989, with only a few notable exceptions like Revelation of the Daleks and City of Death. BBC Books began reissuing a select few paperbacks in 2012, and in 2018 expanded the Target range to include all-new novelisations of 21st century Doctor Who episodes.
Here are the brief synopses:
Kerblam! by Peter McTighe
Kerblam! is the biggest online retailer in the galaxy – but how did it become so big? When the Doctor’s Kerblam! package includes a mysterious request for help, she heads straight to the company’s warehouse moon to investigate…
Pete McTighe is a British screenwriter, producer, and lifetime Doctor Who fan. As well as writing episodes of Doctor Who, he has written two series of hit BBC drama The Pact, alongside writer and showrunner duties on A Discovery Of Witches, The Rising, and Wentworth for which he received five Australian Writers Guild nominations. He also writes and directs acclaimed short films to promote Doctor Who – The Collection Blu-ray releases.
Planet of the Ood by Keith Temple
The Doctor and Donna learn that the planet of the Ood holds cruel and awesome secrets. As they battle for justice and survival, the fate of the entire Ood race hangs in the balance. Will the outcome be salvation – or extinction?
Keith Temple is a British screenwriter whose credits include Doctor Who, Doc Martin and the original BBC comedy drama, Angel Cake starring Sarah Lancashire. He has also written extensively for Continuing Drama including EastEnders, Emmerdale, River City and Casualty. Most recently, he wrote the screenplay for the horror feature film, Wyvern Hill. He has also written for the stage and lectures widely on screenwriting and filmmaking.
The Waters of Mars by Phil Ford
The first human colony on Mars is destined for destruction in a nuclear explosion. This tragedy is a fixed point in history. The laws of time dictate that it cannot –must never – be changed. But as the Doctor’s darkest hour comes calling, he resolves to break the rules as he never has before…
Phil Ford has written scripts for Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures for BBCTelevision. He also wrote animated Doctor Who adventure Dreamland, and four Doctor Who Adventure Games. His extensive screenwriting credits include episodes of Taggart, Bad Girls, New Captain Scarlet and Coronation Street. He co-created Wizards vs Aliens with Russell T Davies.
The Zygon Invasion by Peter Harness
It took three Doctors to broker a fragile peace between Zygons and Humans. Now the Twelfth Doctor must face the fallout alone. With his alliescompromised and his companion believed dead, can he stop the world from plunging into war?
Peter Harness is an English playwright, screenwriter and actor. He has contributed to programs such as McMafia, City of Vice, and Case Histories and wrote a new miniseries adaptation of The War of the Worlds for BBC One.
Warriors’ Gate and Other Stories by Stephen Gallagher
A new-to-print, expanded novelisation of the classic 1981 adventure. With the TARDIS caught in the collapsing void between two different universes, the Fourth Doctor is drawn into a dangerous alliance with a race of enslaved, time-sensitive aliens
The consequences are explored in two further short stories, one exclusive to this volume
Stephen Gallagher is an English screenwriter and novelist from Manchester. He wrote two serials for Doctor Who, as well as writing for Rosemary & Thyme and Bugs. He also created and wrote Eleventh Hour, a science-based series for ITV.
