Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen

"The Yeti are timid, harmless creatures. Everyone knows that."

Writer: Terrance Dicks

Format: Novel

Released: November 1974

Series: Target 01

Featuring: Second Doctor, Jamie, Victoria

Synopsis

'Light flooded into the tunnel, silhouetting the enormous shaggy figure in the cave mouth. With a blood-curdling roar, claws outstretched, it bore down on Jamie.'

The Doctor has been to Det-Sen Monastery before, and expects the welcome of a lifetime. But the monastery is a very different place from when the Doctor last came. Fearing an attack at any moment by the legendary Yeti, the monks are prepared to defend themselves, and see the Doctor as a threat.

The Doctor and his friends join forces with Travers, an English explorer out to prove the existence of the elusive abominable snowmen. But they soon discover that these Yeti are not the timid animals that Travers seeks. They are the unstoppable servants of an alien intelligence.

Verdict

Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen was an outstanding novelisation of the famed Classic serial! I really enjoyed this book and it was a stark reminder of just how good this story is. I really appreciated being able to read the story in its entirety and I think it's a damned shame that we have five of the six episodes missing from the archives. It's such a strong adventure and it really does show in this novelisation. I think this one will get the animation treatment at some point in the future, but I don't think there is any alternative to the real thing that would be able to do this one justice. I loved it. The Det-Sen Monastery is such an effective setting and I think a lot of that is down to its simplicity. It's quite a contained story with the focus on the Monastery and venturing as far as the surrounding mountains and a cave, but the fact that we know it's the Himalayas really gives it a status. It just works. I thought Travers was a brilliant character and his position as an explorer with the intent on finding the famed legend of the abominable snowman was terrific. He was selfish too and wanted all of the glory so it was very amusing when he went along with the story that it was the Doctor in his big fur coat that had attacked him. The Doctor using his physical makeup as proof of his innocence was great. I liked the relationship he had with Jamie in the book, but I did feel that Victoria was left not doing an awful lot which was a bit of a shame. She got her customary screams in though when a Yeti was about to attack! The concept of the Yeti in their form here is excellent and they have such an effective look and description. They really are unique so having them controlled by the Great Intelligence here was fantastic. I think the idea of an intelligence works very well and it using the form of Padmasambvha. The Doctor having been to Tibet before and to this monastery specifically is usually not something I'm a fan of when it is unseen encounters, but the fact that tomorrow's blog plan is a certain Early Adventures audio means that this book was absolutely preparation for that! I'm really excited to see how true to this book that audio is with the First Doctor. You could tell here that the Second Doctor was loving the idea of returning the Ghanta centuries after he was entrusted with it and initially arriving as a suspect and then owning the place in quick time was wonderful. The Yetis being controlled by the spheres was really good and having Victoria taken over by the Intelligence to bring a Yeti back was great stuff. I thought Thomni and Songtsen were excellent characters as well and the latter being part of the Intelligence was a good revelation and surprise. I just loved everything about the book to be honest. The story just works. The pace was excellent. The cliffhangers at the end of each chapter were exciting and had me wanting to read more. The conclusion was really good as well and I liked how a literal explosion of a mountain was what had to be done to take out the Great Intelligence and prevent it from growing a desire to consume the world. Overall, a wonderful read! 

Rating: 10/10