pdf - which has a 1978 copyright date of publication (99 pages)

A rather underwhelming novelisation of a story that had some interesting variations on a sort of Pod People/Body Snatcher theme. The final sentence wraps things up somewhat abruptly: 'The android invasion was over.'

read 09.11.84

This is a novelization of the fourth adventure of the thirteenth season of Doctor Who, which was broadcast in November and December of 1975. The original teleplay was written by the famous Terry Nation and was adapted to this prose format by Terrance Dicks, who wrote so many of them. The story features the fourth version of The Doctor, who is accompanied by Sarah Jane Smith. Former full-time companion Harry Sullivan returns in his swan song, as does Sergeant Benton of UNIT. It's one of two scripts written by Nation for the show that doesn't have Daleks. It's a very good spooky story with good mysterious elements, inspired perhaps by Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The TARDIS lands in what appears to be England but is instead a set on the planet Oseidon where the evil Kraals are plotting to cleanse the Earth so they can move in and take over. This is the ninth of ten Doctor Who books that Pinnacle Books reprinted in North America to introduce the character to the North American audience. Harlan Ellison wrote an enthusiastic introduction which was used at the beginning of all of them.

The book is a quick read and full of Doctor Who moments. The dialogue sounds like the Doctor. Besides the Doctor and Sarah Jane, UNIT, robots, and aliens all make appearances. Additionally, just like in the show, the Doctor continues to elude death and overcome insurmountable obstacles. I had great fun reading this novel. However if one is not a Doctor Who fan, this book is probably not for them. The book is not without flaws. There were many plot points that were lightly skimmed over and some jumps in the narrative that left me wishing they have fleshed out the story more. A final thought a knowledge of the Doctor Who universe is assumed in the book. Therefore it is not a starter novel. I'd try watching the 9th Doctor first 3 episodes.

If you love Doctor Who and enjoy reading, then this book will be loads of fun. If you are unfamiliar with Doctor Who, this book might leave you a by underenchanted and mystified.

Great story and an underrated 70s adventure

Started a bit slow, but was good in general.

Good for what it is. Light and entertaining. Not great writing and the ending is like the author got bored of writing. The last line is literally "The Android Invasion was over". Still, these books are enjoyable.

Read early in life.
Dicks dashes through plot breathlessly:
Aliens, robots, drinks.

"The Doctor said casually, 'That's all right. But keep your wits about you, Benton. Nobody knows who's who around here.' Pleased with his little joke, the Doctor went on his way." (p. 117)

Groan, Terrance. Groan.

An adaption of a Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) story featuring Sarah Jane Smith. Apparently returning to Earth, the Doctor and Sarah Jane begin to suspect that something is amiss and are chased by mysterious aggressors. Then they encounter some familiar faces who are behaving very strangely.

It's androids.
Obviously.
There is only one thing that would've made this story interesting and that is if there were some genuine mystery as to why Harry Sullivan and Sergeant Benton are acting out of character. Unfortunately the answer to the mystery is plastered all over the cover and therefore all that's left is a very lacklustre and derivative 'Invasion of the Bodysnatchers' knock-off (something Who has already done many times and much better).

The only redeeming feature, and the reason I've not given this a one-out-of-five, is that the erratic charm and wit of Baker's incarnation of the Doctor is on full display here.
I particularly liked the scene where an enemy says there's no time for pleasantries and the Doctor replies "How about 'unpleasantries', pig face?"

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I've always had a bit of a soft spot for this story and Dicks novelisation highlights the more playful elements of this Season 13 serial.

Admittedly much of the story is rehashed ideas from previous tales - which you'd expect from a Terry Nation script.
UNIT themselves are pretty poorly served, but the initial setup is rather good.

I love the mystery of a seemingly deserted village with so many random clues, like why are all the coins dated as the same year?
I also find it odd that the TARDIS team are hopeful that they've arrived on Earth (especially as this feels like a repeat of the season opener Terror of the Zygons).
Though knowing that there's going to be an invasion with androids negates much of the initial premise.

The Kraals plans are quite preposterous which I quite appreciate, Dicks does atleast wrap up some loose ends from the televised story.

"You know the Brigadier?"
"Known him for years. As a matter of fact, I'm his unpaid Scientific Adviser."

The Doctor and Sarah are back on Earth or at least they think they are. They arrive in a little village of Devesham ,but not all is as it seems. This is one of the few 4th Doctor era episodes I have yet to see (which will soon change) I felt the title should have been different, in both sense for tv and novel as you know from the word go, you know what to expect. I felt certain aspects felt rushed.

As it's a Dick's novel, I am presuming it sticks quite well to the tv episode as he usually does. I will find out if it does or not.

"Let's try the Pub."