Save Yourself

"The Fountain flows."

Writer: Terrance Dicks
Format: Short Story
Released: October 2019
Printed in: The Target Storybook 03

Featuring: Second Doctor

Synopsis

The Doctor is on Gallifrey and about to be put on trial by the Time Lords for breaking the rules of interference in other worlds. Except, the Time Lords see value in the Doctor's meddling and with him not in a position to negotiate, they utilise his talents and set him on a mission to Karn. The War Lord awaits, but is this really his first mission?

Verdict

Save Yourself was a fantastic story to continue along my reading of The Target Storybook! I must admit that I was really looking forward to this one prior to reading for a number of reasons. It is a poignant note that this has now turned out to be the last contribution of Terrance Dicks to the world of Doctor Who and I am really glad that it falls in a Target collection of adventures. He was the King of Target novelisations, of that there is no doubt whatsoever. This one was also sit within The War Games which is, as I have made no secret about sharing, my all time favourite Doctor Who story. I think it's phenomenal so to get a little extension of that here was magnificent. This really did have some terrific ingredients with the likes of the Second Doctor combining with the War Lord's return and the setting of Karn! That's quite brilliant and it would really be difficult to fail with those elements all coming together. I loved the idea of the Doctor being used by the Time Lords for missions they require being carried, but for which they have no volunteers. With the Doctor on trial, at this point in his life he isn't really in a position where he can negotiate. That was handled really well. This story also had the advantage of being written in hindsight and there were a number of additional details about the Time Lords that just hadn't come about when the Second Doctor's era was over in 1969. We had the Celestial Intervention Agency pretty much recruiting the Doctor and then also the details of the Elixir of Life. Although I would have loved a bit more time with the Second Doctor doing battle with the War Lord on Karn, what we got was still quite the image and a great deal of fun. The Doctor's reaction to the War Lord still being alive after it was revealed his mysterious 'superiors' had saved his atoms and reassembled him after his death shortly before the Doctor was captured for trial was intriguing as he wasn't overly surprised. I know that I was! I'm delighted that he returned though as I thought he was a tremendous villain. The description of his black-cloaked attire was excellent. His threats regarding the Elixir Flame and what it meant for regeneration was really good, but I loved how once it appeared that the Time Lords would arrive when the Doctor utilised the remote control TARDIS summons that had been added on to his person for the mission, the War Lord pretty much just fled in fear! That was really good and well suited to the time of the story. I really loved that as it showed how powerful the Time Lords were for someone who had fled their own people. The brutality in which the War Lord's fate was ultimate sealed was good and seemed pretty complete going by the charred description and quite frankly the mess that was left of the War Lord after falling into the pit. The Doctor seemed quite assured that he was no more. The twist that came at the end with the Time Lords revealing that the Doctor had actually been on a number of missions for the Time Lords already was outstanding and alone improved my rating by a full mark. I loved the audacity of what they were doing and the reasoning behind it was sublime in that they wanted the Doctor to have the full passion and desire of someone fighting for their life. That was cruelly excellent. The little reference to that with the battered appearance of the TARDIS before the Doctor set off for Karn was fantastic. The way Dicks concluded the story with its own first paragraph and setting things up again for further mission was just wonderful. Overall, a brilliant story and a fitting farewell adventure from the great Terrance Dicks.

Rating: 9/10