Doctor Who and the Revenge of the Cybermen

 

"The very mention of Cybermen fills me with unspeakable dread."

Writer: Terrance Dicks

Format: Novel

Released: May 1976

Series: Target 51

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane, Harry

Synopsis

A mysterious plague strikes Space Beacon Nerva, killing its victims within minutes. When Doctor Who lands, only four humans remain alive. One of these seems to be in league with the nearby planet of gold, Voga... Or is he in fact working for the dreaded Cybermen, who are now determined to destroy their old enemies, the Vogans?

The Doctor, Sarah and Harry find themselves trapped in the midst of a terrifying struggle to death – between the ruthless power-hungry Cybermen and the determined, desperate Vogans.

Verdict

Doctor Who and the Revenge of the Cybermen was a fantastic novelisation of the Season 12 finale! This was a terrifically typical book from Terrance Dicks that was just a joy to read. I'm a big fan of this serial in the first place so I was excited to see it presented in prose and it didn't let me down. The pace of this one was really good and the follow on from Genesis of the Daleks and the wider continuity with The Ark in Space was brilliant with the return to Space Beacon Nerva. The fact that they had arrived a millennium prior to their encounter with the Wirrn was intriguing and presented a different dynamic with the TARDIS missing and hurtling back towards them in time. That was quite unique so I liked that. The way the Cybermen were written was outstanding from Terrance Dicks and I really think he did a stellar job in making them feel imposing and threatening, as my opening quote suggests. The reactions of the Doctor and the Vogans in knowing that the Cybermen were at play was magnificent! I liked the description of the Cyber War and that is something I am dying for Big Finish to jump on in depth as that just seems right up their alley! A war so big that it sent the Cybermen into hiding for centuries. That could be really good and I do hope that happens or I come across it soon if it has indeed been tackled. The link between Nerva and Voga worked well and I thought the characters of Stephenson and Kellman were very good. The latter's position between the Cybermen and the Vogans and attempting to betray the former was great. I thought the Cybermen knowing the Doctor but thinking the Fourth Doctor here was different to the man they encountered in the past was fun, and I also really liked the little prelude page describing the genesis of the Cybermen. I thought it was interesting for them to supposedly be made of both metal and plastic as that seems different to what we know. Harry and Sarah Jane had strong stories as the companions and their being separated from the Doctor was a lot of fun, especially when Sarah went back to Nerva to warn him about the Skystriker when he was actually on the planet all along. The plot itself didn't deviate too much from what we saw on television which was good. It felt better to explore the Vogan politics in prose and the struggle for power and even existence between Vorus and Tyrum was really well done. The latter's fascination with destroying the Cybermen through his Nerva trap was intriguing and just fascinating. The use of the cobalt bombs with the Cybermen hoping to destroy the last remains of the planet of gold was marvellous and it's a plan I really do admire. I loved how much the Cybermen presented logic in this book and their efforts to restart the desire to take over the universe was terrific. The Cyberleader was very good as the head of the enemy and I also thought the Cybermats were great. The way they were used to ultimately infect the Cybermen with gold dust was brilliant as well! I thought the last few pages and the conclusion of the book as a whole was incredibly frantic and probably slightly too rushed, but it was still very exciting. It just seemed that within a page or two we had the Doctor stopping Nerva crashing into Volga, the Skystriker taking out the Cybermen and then the TARDIS turning up to take the Doctor and his companions away! There just needed to be some breathing room and some threading out of information, but otherwise this was a magnificent read! I also loved the little lead into Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster as that was great continuity amongst the range. Overall, a really enjoyable novelisation!

Rating: 9/10