The Well

"The Doctor heard every bone in the man's body shatter like crystal."

Writer: Gareth L. Powell

Format: Novel

Released: July 2025

Series: Target 188

Featuring: Fifteenth Doctor, Belinda

Synopsis

A terror from the past is rising from the darkness five miles deep.

Joining a military rescue mission to an isolated mining colony, the Doctor and Belinda find a single survivor of a violent catastrophe. What killed the colonists? Why is ever mirror in the base smashed? The chilling truth spells horror and death...

Verdict

The Well was a great novelisation of the televised episode of the same name! I do wonder if there will ever be a modern era novelisation that will take a different name from the episode on screen in good old fashioned Doctor Who and the Cave Monsters style? I think this book had a very tough task in putting into prose an episode that was filled with tension and incredible atmosphere. On screen, I think this is a perfect rating without doubt but this novelisation never quite felt like it was going to reach those standards. Obviously, that's not saying it wasn't any good because clearly my rating reflects that it was, but it is just so difficult to replicate that feeling on screen. It doesn't have the same edge when we find out that Aliss is deaf and the visual subtitles don't really feel necessary in a book. It's still very mysterious and I think the setting of Planet 6-7-6-7 is fantastic. The threat of galvanic radiation was strong and knowing what we do in hindsight that this is a sequel to Midnight, all the signs are there a little more clearly. I think it's good to read with that knowledge because the moment on screen was just sensational when the Doctor asks what the original name of the planet was. It is altered here in the way things flashback between Belinda and the Doctor gradually building to the name reveal, but it's still really well done. I thought from that moment on the book really took on a new lease of life as the first half or so was a lot about setting and character building to establish the story's key elements. That's no bad thing, but from the reveal on and when the Doctor knew what he was dealing with, the action was apace and full throttle. It was exciting. I thought the little flashback to the Tenth Doctor and Donna discussing whether the companion would be travelling to the sapphire waterfall was a nice touch and in such a short passage so effortlessly captured the essence of the former companion. That was a nice touch. The plot itself is excellent and I think the unnamed entity that has lain waiting for 400,000 years and learned so much in that time is a superb enemy. I'm not sure I entirely agree with this being when the Doctor was most scared, but the way it was sold with the inner thoughts of the Doctor and his helplessness was a very solid argument! One thing I was hoping would be explained in the novelisation was how the Doctor and Belinda just happened to exit the TARDIS in the exact same spacesuits as the crew they would meet. It is so baffling! Shaya was able to explain that there were months of life support, but surely the Doctor would at least know this if they came from the TARDIS wardrobe? That was disappointing not to get any kind of rationale. I thought the depiction of the colonists fighting each other was great and I think there might even have been room for some flashbacks but we didn't get them unfortunately. Aliss was on hand to recap what had happened though and her fear was elegantly portrayed. I thought the little profiles of members of the crew that ended a lot of chapters was a nice idea, although nearly all of the battles meant nothing with it being so far in the future. It was good though to flesh out the characters. A fine use of the format and I appreciated trying something new. Cassio invoking the Red Code was intriguing and seemed to be over in a flash with how Shaya manipulated the position of Aliss so the entity was directly in front of him and sent him flying to his death! The Doctor utilising the mirrors and understanding why they were broken was fantastic and I liked the tension building as the mercury reflection was being created. Shaya shooting Belinda right above the heart as the best shot was excellent stuff and I liked how that took the creature from her and she could sacrifice herself to keep it on the planet that would then be nuked. I suspect we might not have heard the last of it though and that's exciting, especially with the ambiguous ending of a shadow still being seen from behind. Overall, a great read of a superb story.

Rating: 8/10