Timelash

"Few were ever given an audience with the Borad. Most never returned."

Writer: Glen McCoy

Format: Novel

Released: May 1986

Series: Target 105

Featuring: Sixth Doctor, Peri

Synopsis

The inhabitants of the planet Karfel are suffering under the tyrannical rule of their leader, the Borad, who has brought his world to the brink of interplanetary war.

Those who dare to oppose the will of the Borad are mercilessly sacrificed to the Timelash, a fate considered by many to be worse than death.

When the Doctor arrives on Karfel he soon discovers the Borad's horrifying plan, a plan which will directly affect his young American assistant, Peri...

Verdict

Timelash was a decent novelisation of the televised serial of the same name! I was intrigued to find what I would get from this book as I am not the biggest fan of the on screen version, but depending on the mood I've been when it came to watching it I have ended up giving very different ratings in the past. I think this novelisation fell somewhere in the middle and it was definitely an improvement on my thoughts upon my last viewing. Given his brief stint on screen in terms of story numbers, there aren't many opportunities to read the Sixth Doctor in prose in novelisation style so this was a real treat and I think one of the book highlights was the relationship between the Doctor and Peri. It could only be described as feisty on times which made for an interesting read and I loved the idea that the former was purposely making comments to annoy the latter so his day would be more interesting! That was a lot of fun and well in line with the characterisation of the Sixth Doctor from screen. The TARDIS scenes between the pair were a real treat and it's crazy to think that they didn't exit its doors until somewhere around pace forty! A third of the book! I also liked the addition to the TARDIS console with it being described that the Doctor had a sneaky little switch that would ensure the TARDIS visited Earth despite his claims of it all being random. That was delightful and it could go a long way to provide feasibility to just how often the Doctor landed on the planet. I thought the setting of Karfel was very good and the basis of the battle between the Karefelon and Morlox was pretty good. I do enjoy the style of pitting two different species against each other and the Borad being a mixture of the two was a fun reveal. I liked the mystery behind his presence throughout the book and whilst his reveal isn't as impactful without the visuals, it's still a big moment that has been built towards. The concept behind the titular Timelash was great and I enjoyed how the Doctor used the analogy of swimming in a whirlpool when explaining how the TARDIS couldn't escape its pull. It serving as a death sentence on Karel was horrific. I'm not a massive fan of the fact that the Third Doctor had visited Karfel before and actually played a pretty big role in the way of life on the planet after defeating famine. I always prefer sequels to be of stories that we've actually seen! It was fun though to have Peri remembering Jo Grant when pushed into naming the image she saw to prove that she had indeed come in the TARDIS. Katz and Mykros were fantastic characters and I really did enjoy their relationship and roles throughout the book. They play an important part of the story and I think there is more room to appreciate them and other guest characters in the prose style rather than on television. In the prose, the ending comes quite quick and somewhat predictably with the Borad ending up going into the Timelash to seal his fate. It was a fitting to conclusion to what is on the while a decent little read of a pretty good story, but it does have some pacing issues and moments where more clarity is needed. Regardless, an enjoyable book! 

Rating: 7/10