The Curse of Fenric by: Ian Briggs

 

The Curse of Fenric was written by Ian Briggs, based on his story of the same name.  It was the 158^th story to be novelized by Target Books.

 

Most fans attribute the novelization to Remembrance of the Daleks as the test run to see what original Doctor Who fiction can do in novel form.  It was published in 1990 and given no limit on its word count, something that fans were incredibly receptive to Aaronovitch’s style, so much that it would be reprinted in 2013 to represent the Seventh Doctor in book form for the 50^th Anniversary celebrations.  Fans forget, however, that this was not the only book given that commission: Ian Briggs was asked when adapting The Curse of Fenric to novelization form to also take advantage of an expanded word count.  This has the added effect of making this the longest novelization by wordcount to be published before the Virgin New Adventures began publishing and provided novelizations for The Power of the Daleks, The Evil of the Daleks, The Paradise of Death, and The Ghosts of N-Space which would be full novels.  Interestingly enough, the longest audiobook thus far of the Target novelizations is Ghost Light which is nearly 30 pages shorter than The Curse of Fenric yet the audiobook is two hours longer.

 

In adapting the script to television Ian Briggs was able to restore several scenes which were deleted as the episodes themselves overran and restore the structure to its original intent.  The four part version of the serial, while still brilliant, was a production Nicholas Mallett was unhappy with.  Notes were compiled by Mallett and composer Mark Ayres to eventually convert the story into a film version, something which would happen in 2003 for the DVD release, but Briggs also structures this like a film.  While there are the cliffhanger moments from the four episodes, they are not constricted by being in four 25 minute segments.  The story itself already lends itself to a novel format, with the perfect extrapolation for character expansion and taking some of the themes to be expanded in very important ways.  Perhaps the most interesting theme to be explored is the theme of sexuality, something that was there in the television story since Maiden’s Point is an important location and the Haemovores as vampires inherently make this sexual.  The novel makes a lot of the sexual themes explicit with several character additions, most notably Mrs. Hardaker having a dead child out of wedlock making her an outcast, and the relationship of Millington and Judson being of two repressed gay men ho have hurt each other because of the society they are inhabiting.  The former really makes you understand why Hardaker works as this spinster figure in parallel to Jean and Phyllis dying and becoming vampires as they are outcasts themselves.  Jean and Phyllis are essentially innocents in the story, sure they are implied to be sexually active characters which is why Hardaker is so hard on them and drives them to their deaths, while Millington and Judson are implied to have been helping each other.  Millington is especially portrayed as a man wracked with guilt due to being explicitly responsible for Judson’s accident which disabled him.

 

There are also additions to the character of Nurse Crane, while her role on television is important she does not get much focus, but here there is this added fear that she might be a double agent for the Soviets, explaining explicitly how the Russian soldiers were guided outside of Fenric’s supernatural assistance.  Briggs also adds five interludes in the form of historical documents charting the history of Fenric, the prophecies around Fenric, and the wolves themselves which make for interesting moments adding to the mystery.  The two taken for the history of Fenric that stand out the most are a mythic story a la One Thousand and One Nights exploring the first game the Doctor played with Fenric using an ambiguous incarnation of the Doctor (though it’s possibly William Hartnell or Tom Baker in the role and unlikely to be an appearance by the Other based on the characterization and using the moniker of the Doctor) and a reminiscence of Bram Stoker being inspired by stories of Fenric and the Ancient One for Dracula, both adding to the gothic quality of the story.   It also allows some name drops of the working titles of the story Powerplay, Black Rain, Wolf-Time, and The Wolves of Fenric.  Finally, an added epilogue helps complete the arc of the story for Ace (which on television ran throughout the season but is adapted to be a bit more self-contained as this is the climax of the arc and fallout revealed in Survival).  It is the origin for her fate in Set Piece, living in Paris in the 1800s to her heart’s content, possibly continuing the Doctor’s own work, though here meeting him briefly after they have parted ways.  Briggs also continues the thread of Ace being the first companion to be mature, explicitly having had sex and continuing the implied LGBT themes of Battlefield and Survival on television with attraction to Jean and Phyllis.  There are also scenes played from her perspective exploring her emotions surrounding her mother and growing up.

 

Overall, The Curse of Fenric is a perfect example of a novelization expanding upon a television story and making it work as a story and novel in its own right, not being afraid to change things from its source material and just letting the story be explored more than a visual medium ever could.  It is a riveting read from start to finish and perfection on an already brilliant story.  10/10.