Doctor Who and the Robots of Death

"Robots never forgot anything, they were incapable of error."

Writer: Terrance Dicks

Format: Novel

Released: May 1979

Series: Target 53

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, Leela

Synopsis

On a desert planet the giant sandminer crawls through the howling sandstorms, harvesting the valuable minerals in the sand. 

Inside, the humans relax in luxury, while most of the work is done by the robots who serve them.

Then the Doctor and Leela arrive – and the mysterious deaths begin. First suspects, then hunted victims, Leela and the Doctor must find the hidden killer – or join the other victims of the Robots of Death.

Verdict

Doctor Who and the Robots of Death was an excellent novelisation of the cult classic of the same name (almost!). I was surprised before reading to find that this would only be 108 pages and that meant I absolutely flew through it! It has been some time since I watched this one and one thing that I always remember the story by is the incredible design of the server Robots. They look incredible and their appearance on the book cover definitely makes this design one of my favourites. I thought the description of the Robots was really well done in the novelisation and I also enjoyed the information surrounding the different types of Robots and their functions. The distinguishing between the D or Dums to then likes of the VOC and SV types was really good and actually crucial to the plot of the adventure as we would come to know. I really liked the continuity with The Face of Evil and it was fun for this to be Leela's first trip in the TARDIS since joining as companion. Her annoyance when she discovered that her use of a yo-yo had no bearing on the 'magic' of the TARDIS was wonderful and even this early on, the chemistry and relationship between the Doctor and Leela was palpable even in prose. I was a huge fan. Leela's hunter instincts kicking in throughout was very good to see and I liked how she had suspicions regarding Poul from the start. His suffering of Robophobia was presented very well and I liked how he was susceptible even as a double agent. That revelation was magnificent and I thought it was a lot of fun for the Doctor to interact with D.84 after knowing that the Robot could speak and was far from a Dum. I thought the role of the Company was decent and I enjoyed how quickly thing actually proceeded. Everything started to go wrong with the Doctor's arrival and the imagery of the sandminer itself was terrific. The cliffhanger within when it seemed the Doctor and Leela were doomed was fantastic. SV.7 made for an excellent villain and him being the lead Robot under the true command of Taren Capel was magnificent. I thought the mention of this character throughout the book before being revealed as Dask was very good indeed and I liked his last ditch attempt to get access before confirming his true identity. The logic of the Robots was brilliant throughout and the calm nature in which they carried out orders of killing was superb. That certainly added to the Robophobia! Uvanov was a great character as the head of the sandminer mission and his organisation, or lack thereof, when it came to trying to deduce who the murderer was at the start of the book was enjoyable. The back and forth and blame games being attached was fantastic stuff and the conflict made for a really good way to get to the know all of the characters quickly. Having a contained setting like the sandminer also helped with that. Toos was another very good character and her assuming command after Uvanov was relieved of his duties was terrific. Zilda, Cass and Borg all dying showed just how much death there was within this story but that was necessary to showcase the evil nature of Capel and his servitor robots. The conclusion to this one with the feedback loop is quick and easy but it works and having something simple in a story where logic is so prevalent works well for me. It's incredible how suddenly the Doctor and Leela depart and that is even more obvious in prose. Overall though, a really strong novelisation!

Rating: 9/10