Doctor Who Snakedance

I love Doctor Who, and anything written by Terrence Docks is worth a read. He embellishes the original televised story to make it the story more engaging. Snake lance was the first memory of the show I have, and so a very fitting book for me to acquire.

An easier day for the Doctor than usual as he only needs to save one world this time, not the entire universe. A long banished evil, the Mara, plots its return. The Doctor is aided by Nyssa in this one. Tegan is also with the Doctor but through no fault of her own is more of an opponent than an ally. The Doctor discovers the evil plot and then cannot convince the locals that he is right and they should help him. It always amazes me how the Doctor gets such quick access to the people in power. In this one he regularly makes it to the company of the hier to the title of Federator, ruler of a group of worlds. He also manages to get thrown in jail, as does Nyssa, but they manage to escape. Quite a fun book and a quick read.

The TARDIS arrives someplace other than when it is supposed to, much to the Doctor's dismay but to the lack of surprise of either Nyssa or Tegan. No one knows where they are, but the Doctor was teaching Tegan how to set the coordinates. Why she set them for Manusa soon becomes plain, as the Mara makes its presence plain. A struggle for Tegan's mind is about to begin...Following on from 'Kinda', 'Snakedance' sees the Mara cast as a threat against a completely different society than that which we saw last time. This is a successful sequel: it retains strengths from the story upon which it is based, but casts it sufficiently differently that you have no risk of mistaking which story is which.Given the mystical/spiritual side to the story, it probably could have done with a more subtle noveliser than Terrance Dicks. Having said that, he does a workmanlike job.

This book has a certain punch the TV episode lacks. Usually, with these adaptations, it's the other way around, but in this case, unhindered by the shaky cardboard sets and clunky special effects that dogged the episode, this one shines. If you can find a copy grab it.