Inferno by: Terrance Dicks

Inferno was written by Terrance Dicks, based on the story of the same name by Don Houghton.  It was the 89^th story to be novelized by Target Books.

 

The novelization of Inferno is an interesting one as unlike other Third Doctor stories, this is one of four Third Doctor stories to be novelized after the end of the Fourth Doctor’s run and the confirmation of the junkings of episodes (the others were The Ambassadors of Death, The Mind of Evil, and The Time Monster), but all were done by the script editor of the era, Terrance Dicks.  This book was released in 1984, fitting as that year saw the original television serial returned to the BBC Archives from Canada, though it would be a decade before it was released on home video.  The novelization plays out less like the James Bond thriller of the televised version, but more like a mystery where the Doctor is playing detective against what is going on at the Inferno Project, which makes me wonder if that aspect of the story was what played into fan consensus until it was released to the public.  There is this focus on Stahlman as a man of science and some backstory given to just what his background was.  Less of the focus comes on Stahlman being a mad scientist, and more of a man driven by vision, making the mad scientist tendencies in the parallel Earth plot come to the forefront there.  Dicks also makes some of the performance subtext of the parallel Earth version to become text, with a few added lines here and there about the characters and their motivations.  It makes the bravery and cowardice parallels between the Brigadier and the Brigade Leader come right to the forefront especially in the adaptation of Episode 6.  Dicks also has clearly perfected his writing style by this point, giving Inferno this easy read, however, that is a slight detriment when it comes to the conclusion.  While the final episode of the story remained tense, this one almost jumps the shark in immediately revealing that there is a way to conclude the story.  It means that the final episode feels incredibly rushed and the book ends almost unsatisfactory.

 

Overall, Inferno is an interesting way to experience a Doctor Who story which is regarded as a stone cold classic, even if it is one where the story itself is slightly let down in the adaptation.   The audiobook also deserves a mention for Caroline John’s wonderful narration and the wonderful music score from Simon Power.  9/10.