Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon

"They have a great distrust of progress."

Writer: Terrance Dicks

Format: Novel

Released: December 1980

Series: Target 43

Featuring: Third Doctor, Sarah Jane

Synopsis 

Fifty years after his first visit to Peladon, the Doctor returns to find that Queen Thalira has inherited a troubled kingdom from her father.

Membership of the Galactic Federation was expected to bring peace and prosperity to the planet, but the spirit of the sacred monster Aggedor is once more spreading terror and death.

The Doctor uncovers a treacherous plot to steal the mineral wealth of Peladon, and is again confronted by his old enemies – the Ice Warriors.

Verdict 

Doctor Who and the Monster of Peladon was a great novelisation of the televised serial of the same name! Peladon has become something of a mainstay in the Doctor Who universe now thanks to a large number of visits in Big Finish, but it was nice to revisit one of the originals with the first sequel. It’s nice to follow on from The Curse of Peladon with the Doctor arriving back a little later than he had planned. His old friend the King was now dead and his daughter Thalira had been installed as Queen. She was an intriguing character and whilst she does have an aura and almost acceptance that she was lacking authority despite her position and title, that grew thanks to her wonderful interaction with Sarah Jane. She was rather boisterous in this book and that started almost immediately with the TARDIS arriving in Peladon’s tunnels. It was hardly the citadel she was promised, but the Doctor would soon get her there. She took great offence to Ortron as Chancellor referring to the monarch as just a female which was brilliant and highlighted her fine companion qualities. Her relationship with the Doctor was a little frosty but in a fun way and the moment at the end with the Doctor lying helpless in the refinery was excellent as she shed a tear. The Doctor startled her at being alive and awake and she wasn’t too pleased about it! I love the political nature of Peladon’s position as part of the Galactic Federation and there were tensions strained here for sure. The return of Alpha Centauri was most welcomed although having them described throughout as male was a little odd. That’s just plain wrong in my view. It was a little off putting each time if I’m honest. Centauri being able to validate the Doctor’s identity was good though and I liked how his name was something of a legend on Peladon. The use of Aggedor again in the story was brilliant and I loved the idea of a projection to scare the miners and force them into submission. Eckersley was a strong character as being in league with Azaxyr with business very much at the forefront of proceedings. I thought the pace of the book was done well and I really liked how the Ice Warriors entered the fray well past the halfway point, posing as the Galactic Federation security called in by Centauri. Except they’d got there rather quick and housed themselves in the very place where the Aggedor projections were coming from. I was impressed with how the book opened as we had a neat summary of events to get us to this point from the Doctor’s last outing to Peladon, that was certainly helpful even if it hasn’t been that long since I read the preceding novelisation. Azaxyr going rogue is brilliant stuff and it’s great to have the Ice Warriors firmly as the enemy. His leading of a rogue group on Mars that opposed the planet becoming part of the Galactic Federation is really good stuff. His death was quite brutal and sudden and I liked the threat of the sonic cannon throughout, although the Doctor did survive it blasting up a little too easily. Especially with Ettis being thrown to his death! The scale of death in the story almost reached uncomfortable points with Azaxyr killing off hostages and the miners losing their spirit as ‘Aggedor’ killed them in their numbers. Gebek was really good in rallying them and his loyalty to the throne was admirable. The Doctor suggesting him as the new Chancellor as the story finished was a nice touch. I thought it was quite amusing that the war with Galaxy Five was over just because Azaxyr had failed in his mission to get the trisilicate. Not exactly a good war effort! The Doctor calming down the beastly Aggedor again with the Venusian lullaby was good and the beast sacrificing himself to save Thalira was a fitting conclusion. Overall, this was a really solid read! I’m all for more visits to Peladon. 

Rating: 8/10