The Vampires of Crellium

"Marsalla's telepathic message was unemotional, but her words were like cold knives..."

Writer: Paul Crompton

Format: Short Story

Released: 1976

Printed in: The Amazing World of Doctor Who

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah

Synopsis 

The Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith have tracked a psychic power of immense ability to the thought deserted planet of Crellium. What are the Drakka? And what do they mean for the planet's vampires?

Verdict 

The Vampires of Crellium was a fantastic little story and is a fine example of how to do a Doctor Who Annual story. Although technically this story isn't from a Doctor Who Annual, it's presented as being so in The Amazing World of Doctor Who book which I am currently working my way through whilst being away for over a week at my grandparents. The book is actually not mine, which actually disappoints me, and is owned by my seven year old cousin with whom I watched Revenge of the Cybermen with yesterday. In between watching that story, he has been reading my copy of The Iron Legion graphic novel and has actually finished whilst I am yet to start! I had actually planned on starting this week but with The Amazing World of Doctor Who unexpectedly presented itself for my blogging. I like to think that my blog has numerous strange entries with verdicts given on some uncommon adventures ranging from appearing in Doctor Who Storybooks to stories such as these. I have blogged my fair share of Doctor Who Annual stories and I have been particularly critical of the format of the modern day Annuals, with the 2006 edition an exception, but I just love the Classic ones and even if the stories don't live up to my hopes, as many have failed to do so, at least the Annual itself presents itself in an appealing way to fans of all ages. That's something today's Annuals fail to do and it really does disappoint me. Although it was out around a year ago, I'm still yet to read The Art of Doctor Who special edition of DWM but I honestly can't see this book getting much of a mention. I've still got three adventures to go but other than A Fresh Start, the artwork has been pretty poor in the stories that followed. I know the Classic Doctor Who Annuals aren't renowned for their incredible artwork but the accompanying drawings for thus short story seemed rather poor which was a shame. It thankfully didn't have as much of an effect on the rating as occurred with The Psychic Jungle but I think that's because this was a text story whereas that was a comic strip. In a comic story you really do need the art to be good and I think that failing to be the case with The Dragon Lord is what has probably made it my least favourite DWM comic strip in a long time. Speaking of DWM, I must take time in the blog somewhere to mention how fantastic the 500th issue has been in my reading so far. I'm reading in stages with a rather busy house at the moment but I am absolutely loving it. Fitting in blog entries has been proved further difficult by my downloading of the Doctor Who Legacy game on my phone. I only started today but it's safe to say that I'm addicted! It's a real gem of a game and having the quick additions of the Shayde, Abslom Daak and Frobisher thanks to DWM has really helped with my gameplay. I'm delighted to see some of the characters that appear and I'm sure I'll be mentioning this game in more blog entries in the future. I also managed to grab a local bargain at the market today by purchasing The Coldest War DYD book for a mere £1. If I see something for that price, I simply can't not buy it. I thought this story was very good with great characterisation of Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor and I also loved the presentation of the relationship between the Doctor and Sarah. They're terrific together but I must admit I was surprised not to see Harry in the story. That's not a problem but I do hope he is in the next story I read. The faceless Marsalla was a brilliant character and her sacrifice to stop Krem-Ling was very admirable. The concept of the Communal Will was also pretty decent. Overall, a very enjoyable read! 

Rating: 8/10