Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion by: Terrance Dicks: The Creatures in the Waxworks

Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion was written by Terrance Dicks, based on Spearhead from Space by: Robert Holmes.  It was the 4^th story to be novelized by Target Books.

 

It’s often said that the televised Spearhead from Space is a jumping on point for Doctor Who fans trying to get into the Classic Series, and this is not without reason.  It was a formula shake-up, but that cannot be the only reason.  Some credit must go to Terrance Dicks who wrote the novelization Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion, which became the first story to be published outside of Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks, Doctor Who and the Zarbi, and Doctor Who and the Crusaders.  Oddly enough if you were someone reading the book without any knowledge of Doctor Who you would be frightened off by the first chapter, which recounts the final scenes of The War Games where the Doctor regenerates, before actually going on into the adaptation.  This would confuse readers and in my humble opinion Dicks could have easily just started with the Third Doctor falling out of the TARDIS in the next scene.  It would have gotten rid of a lot of the tedious continuity that bogs down the early pages, yet the book flies by as Dicks stays true to the scripts, with occasional dialogue and action changes only really there because the imagination can run away with you when reading these events.  Dicks keeps the characters intact, and because of his position as a script editor he has down the mannerisms of the original cast which makes you feel like you’re just experiencing Spearhead from Space, in written form.  He does one up the story in one effect as he makes it a bit clearer that the meteorites falling on Earth are causing heat and the story is meant to be taking place in October, when it is cold.  The Doctor also is specified to arrive in the dead of night which just makes more sense.

 

To summarize, Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion is a step down in quality compared to the original television story as it takes a story that can be taken as an introduction for some into Doctor Who and puts in some needless continuity.  Dicks still writes a good novelization but sticking with the televised story will be a much safer bet if looking objectively.  85/100