Doctor Who: The Wheel In Space: 2nd Doctor Novelisation
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- Create Date：2022-01-19 11:21:11
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Terrance Dicks
- ISBN：1529138531
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Laura
，
2。5/5I mean， it does the job， more or less， but I can't help but feel this is one of Dicks' weaker efforts。 There are a few reasonably nice bits， but large swathes are just speech， and I mean I get it's sometimes hard to adapt the heavily dialogue based form of a script to prose， but when I've already watched the original serial it's just a bit boring to read。 I also think there's points where so slavishly writing down what happens is detrimental to the tension （（view spoiler）[We cut from Gemma 2。5/5I mean， it does the job， more or less， but I can't help but feel this is one of Dicks' weaker efforts。 There are a few reasonably nice bits， but large swathes are just speech， and I mean I get it's sometimes hard to adapt the heavily dialogue based form of a script to prose， but when I've already watched the original serial it's just a bit boring to read。 I also think there's points where so slavishly writing down what happens is detrimental to the tension （（view spoiler）[We cut from Gemma overhearing the Cybermen's plan to her calling the others immediately， so there's never any concern they won't find out and never any dramatic effect to her knowing calling them will kill her （hide spoiler）]）。 Plus， reading it did sort of highlight that there are elements of this serial that sag a bit， something that was perhaps papered a bit more over on screen where the charisma of actors can somewhat carry things。 。。。more
Scott Moore
，
The original TV serial is a decent story， though it followed on from 3 other base-under-siege cybermen stories， which is perhaps why Patrick Troughton was beginning to get bored。 Despite the scriptwriter's concerns over scientific accuracy， there are some silly physics errors that even a school child could spot。 However， Terrance Dicks has done his job well here and made this story a good read。 The original TV serial is a decent story， though it followed on from 3 other base-under-siege cybermen stories， which is perhaps why Patrick Troughton was beginning to get bored。 Despite the scriptwriter's concerns over scientific accuracy， there are some silly physics errors that even a school child could spot。 However， Terrance Dicks has done his job well here and made this story a good read。 。。。more
Michael J
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It's great to have new DW adventures！ Jamie and the Doctor are great together。 It's great to have new DW adventures！ Jamie and the Doctor are great together。 。。。more
Ian Banks
，
A fairly perfunctory translation from screen to page。 Mr Dicks works hard to give the various guest characters some personality but the story doesn’t really seem capable of supporting them。 There’s a fair amount of running around and back and forth but the tension just wasn’t there for me。
John Parungao
，
Terrance Dicks made an invaluable contribution to Doctor Who by adapting many of the old scripts into the Target novel range。 Wheel in Space is one of the many incomplete stories from the 1960's era of Doctor Who and Dicks has done his best to give readers an entertaining version of an otherwise lost story。 Terrance Dicks made an invaluable contribution to Doctor Who by adapting many of the old scripts into the Target novel range。 Wheel in Space is one of the many incomplete stories from the 1960's era of Doctor Who and Dicks has done his best to give readers an entertaining version of an otherwise lost story。 。。。more
Craig
，
This is a novelization of the final serial from the fifth season of Doctor Who。 Three of the most influential writers of the early years of the character were involved: Terrance Dicks wrote the book based on the teleplay by David Whitaker from a story by Kit Pedler。 It was broadcast from April to June of 1968， and starred the second version of The Doctor along with his long-time companion Jamie McCrimmon。 At the start of the story companion Victoria Waterfield is waving goodbye， having decided t This is a novelization of the final serial from the fifth season of Doctor Who。 Three of the most influential writers of the early years of the character were involved: Terrance Dicks wrote the book based on the teleplay by David Whitaker from a story by Kit Pedler。 It was broadcast from April to June of 1968， and starred the second version of The Doctor along with his long-time companion Jamie McCrimmon。 At the start of the story companion Victoria Waterfield is waving goodbye， having decided to settle down on Earth in the 20th century with a nice family and no longer roam the timestreams and spaceways。 Their craft malfunctions， after which The Doctor and Jamie find themselves on a space ship which then rendezvouses with a space station that Jamie explores after The Doctor is knocked unconscious。 The Cybermen lay siege to the station， but are turned away with the help of perky Zoe Heriot， astrophysicist and librarian， who stows away to join the TARDIS crew at the end of the story。 There are still some sexist bits， but Zoe was a strong and intelligent character， and Dicks tried to smooth out the script in his version。 It's one of Dicks' better Cybermen books， I think， with more emphasis on Zoe and Jamie and The Doctor in the background。 。。。more
G。 Page
，
Awesome little space adventure with the second Doctor and Jamie。 Brilliant concisely written by Dicks！ He keeps suspenseful， alien， and yet intimate。
Jack
，
This book ends where Fury from the Deep left off， with the departure of Victoria。 This is necessary for us to understand the current dynamic between the Doctor and Jamie （both of whom are upset about Victoria leaving）， as well as letting us know there is a vacancy for a new companion。 This role is filled by Zoe， who is introduced in this story as a young librarian/mathematician/astrophysicist from a future Earth space station。 The Doctor and Jamie make an excellent team， so it's always fun to re This book ends where Fury from the Deep left off， with the departure of Victoria。 This is necessary for us to understand the current dynamic between the Doctor and Jamie （both of whom are upset about Victoria leaving）， as well as letting us know there is a vacancy for a new companion。 This role is filled by Zoe， who is introduced in this story as a young librarian/mathematician/astrophysicist from a future Earth space station。 The Doctor and Jamie make an excellent team， so it's always fun to read books with the two of them。 Jamie does a lot of the initial exploration as the Doctor is unconscious， so we get our first impressions of the wheel and of Zoe through his eyes。This is a base-under-siege story and the Cybermen do eventually show up， being a little bit sinister as always， sneaking out of the shadows when you *most* expect it， but in a way that the modern Cybermen with their loud feet never could！ I never understand why the novels try to make the Cybermen taller than humans， as I think they're scarier the more human-like they are， but this is a small detail。Overall despite being a fairly generic Cyberman base-under-siege story （and despite the constant patronising of all the female crew members） it's an interesting book to read because of the characters of the Doctor， Jamie and Zoe。 。。。more
Ivana Richards
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Another highly enjoyable book from the master of doing adaptations。 I do like it when the enemy goes unintentionally mucky - this one has a Cyberman saying "Effective penetration should be immediate。" Ooh-er， Matron。I'm now eagerly looking forward to the forth-coming animated release of this sadly missing Troughton story。 Another highly enjoyable book from the master of doing adaptations。 I do like it when the enemy goes unintentionally mucky - this one has a Cyberman saying "Effective penetration should be immediate。" Ooh-er， Matron。I'm now eagerly looking forward to the forth-coming animated release of this sadly missing Troughton story。 。。。more
Connor Whittle
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As a Who Story: 9/10Really fun adventure， with a great emphasis on Jamie。 The Cybermen are a great match up for the second Doctor， and their menacing plots were fun to think about。 Classic Whos side characters often follow a very similar formula each time - an arrogant， ignorant and indignant leader who usually serves as a secondary antagonist but I haven't marked it down in this instance because it was done much better， and felt less distracting from the main trio than it did in 'Fury of the De As a Who Story: 9/10Really fun adventure， with a great emphasis on Jamie。 The Cybermen are a great match up for the second Doctor， and their menacing plots were fun to think about。 Classic Whos side characters often follow a very similar formula each time - an arrogant， ignorant and indignant leader who usually serves as a secondary antagonist but I haven't marked it down in this instance because it was done much better， and felt less distracting from the main trio than it did in 'Fury of the Deep'。 Prose and characters: 4/10Unliks the last who book I wrote a review for， the prose in this book was a little shaky。 All of the books have a practical and digestable prose， but this book suffered in ways that ultimately diminishsd the tension。All the characters were written amazingly and its impossible for me not to see the actors of the main trio saying the lines。For non who fans: 7/10It's not a bad starting point， but not one I'd recommend。 Overall though， it introduces a recurring villiam， and one of Who's best and Zoe， one of。DWs most interesting characters。 。。。more
Book collector
，
Updated review after reading the 2021 reprint in the essential Terrance D。 Vol。 1 （review of that will follow when I've read the last two books。）Feel free to skip this first section as it will be the same on all of his books。Cards on the table。。。 Terrance dicks is not only one of my favourite writers he's also the author who hooked me on reading when I was young。 His prose is beautifully simple。 He often edited the original stories as he went， fixing little things that didn't quite work， sometim Updated review after reading the 2021 reprint in the essential Terrance D。 Vol。 1 （review of that will follow when I've read the last two books。）Feel free to skip this first section as it will be the same on all of his books。Cards on the table。。。 Terrance dicks is not only one of my favourite writers he's also the author who hooked me on reading when I was young。 His prose is beautifully simple。 He often edited the original stories as he went， fixing little things that didn't quite work， sometimes obviously but often in small subtle ways。 I still read his books over 40 years after first reading some of them。This was adapted from the 1968 scripts by David Whitaker and kit pedlar in 1988。 The second doctor and Jamie encounter their old enemies the cybermen and meet a new friend， zoe heriot。 This is great fun。 The cybermen's plan is convoluted illogical and ridiculous but frankly， yes okay， its daft， but don't worry about it。 I've enjoyed this story and this book a lot over the years。 Terrance doesn't adjust the plot much as it would be too much to fix。 Instead he decides to ignore the daftness of the plan and just tell the story which he does very well with his usual subtle alterations to small details。 He captures the characters of the doctor， Jamie and zoe well along with the supporting cast。 The wheel in space is daft but I love it。 This book has long been sort after by fans。 Only 23，000 paperback copies of the original book were printed， due allegedly to a warehouse fire but other books in the range had similarly small print runs。 This had also been released in hardback， one of the last to be released in both formats （only three more after wheel） but the book is considered to one of the hardest to locate。 。。。more
Peter
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The Cybermen's plan is absolutely barmy and shockingly convoluted， but at least Terrance Dicks's novelisation is much pacier than the televised episodes！ The Cybermen's plan is absolutely barmy and shockingly convoluted， but at least Terrance Dicks's novelisation is much pacier than the televised episodes！ 。。。more
Mars G。
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I enjoyed this novelization a lot。 The episode itself is hard to follow because of the loss of some of the video; this is a very welcome clarification。
Joe Stevens
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Terrance Dicks is the 'good hands' writer of the Doctor Who Target series。 No matter how bad the TV serial was， and this one was bad， he manages to write an enjoyable adaptation that feels like a Doctor Who story。 This sounds like an odd thing to say， but fairly often the Doctor and his companions feel like just another couple of the dozen or so characters in DW novels instead of the protagonists。Neither the author or the book are going to win awards， but for Doctor Who fans or even enjoyers， as Terrance Dicks is the 'good hands' writer of the Doctor Who Target series。 No matter how bad the TV serial was， and this one was bad， he manages to write an enjoyable adaptation that feels like a Doctor Who story。 This sounds like an odd thing to say， but fairly often the Doctor and his companions feel like just another couple of the dozen or so characters in DW novels instead of the protagonists。Neither the author or the book are going to win awards， but for Doctor Who fans or even enjoyers， as I am， it is a pleasant hour spent with Doc Two and Jamie。 This isn't a read to start your Who reading career。 。。。more
Kerry
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A perfectly standard Terrance Dicks telling of a lost story。 Like most of the lost stories， I know the basics if not the details， and it was nice finding out a bit more of what happened （as best as we know given the source material is missing）。Terrance Dicks' usual tics are there， especially in descriptions of the characters， but that's to be expected。A quick and enjoyable read。 A perfectly standard Terrance Dicks telling of a lost story。 Like most of the lost stories， I know the basics if not the details， and it was nice finding out a bit more of what happened （as best as we know given the source material is missing）。Terrance Dicks' usual tics are there， especially in descriptions of the characters， but that's to be expected。A quick and enjoyable read。 。。。more
Paul Waring
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A 'middle of the road' Cyberman story， especially as a novelisation。 It doesn't have the tension of Tomb or even Moonbase， and there's little development of the characters on the Wheel。 With most of the televised episodes missing， it's hard to tell if this is a result of the original story or Dick's novelisation。 A 'middle of the road' Cyberman story， especially as a novelisation。 It doesn't have the tension of Tomb or even Moonbase， and there's little development of the characters on the Wheel。 With most of the televised episodes missing， it's hard to tell if this is a result of the original story or Dick's novelisation。 。。。more
Shaun Collins
，
As with so many of the episode novelizations， this one adds just enough to the proceedings to be a fuller， richer experience than just the episode。 The fact that the episode only exists as a recon make it a bit fuller， and a bit richer than most。 For a more complex review， visit www。travelingthevortex。com As with so many of the episode novelizations， this one adds just enough to the proceedings to be a fuller， richer experience than just the episode。 The fact that the episode only exists as a recon make it a bit fuller， and a bit richer than most。 For a more complex review， visit www。travelingthevortex。com 。。。more
Glenn
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A decent premise with a different spin on the Cybermen abilities。 We'll see how it compares with the recon of the TV story coming on Britbox later this month。 More of my review can be heard later this month as well on the Traveling the Vortex podcast。 A decent premise with a different spin on the Cybermen abilities。 We'll see how it compares with the recon of the TV story coming on Britbox later this month。 More of my review can be heard later this month as well on the Traveling the Vortex podcast。 。。。more
Adam James
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Fun fact: if you currently own a copy of this novel， it's probably worth at least $80。 Most of the copies were burned in a warehouse fire back in 1988， so， getting your hands on a copy of The Wheel in Space can be pricey。 Not so fun fact: This story is pretty garbage。 In The Wheel in Space， we find the Cybermen plotting their most devious schemes yet。。。they're going to "plunder Earth's precious minerals。" But first they have to take control over the humans' space base！ And then they're going to。 Fun fact: if you currently own a copy of this novel， it's probably worth at least $80。 Most of the copies were burned in a warehouse fire back in 1988， so， getting your hands on a copy of The Wheel in Space can be pricey。 Not so fun fact: This story is pretty garbage。 In The Wheel in Space， we find the Cybermen plotting their most devious schemes yet。。。they're going to "plunder Earth's precious minerals。" But first they have to take control over the humans' space base！ And then they're going to。。。create a super nova。。。to。。。um。。。create a meteor shower。。。that will。。。uh。。。hurt。。。。people。。。？Ultimately it's the most complicated of idiot evil plots considering the mighty Cybermen could just， you know， go to Earth directly without bothering with the wheel in space。 Remember: just because the book is expensive doesn't mean it's good。 。。。more
Steve
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There were many base-under-siege stories in the Troughton era， at least two involving the Cybermen。 They come in for a lot of stick for being lazy and trope-ridden:- the Doctor and Jamie arrive at the base in the midst of A Series Of Unexplained Deaths and are at first blamed for everything- the base has a multi-cultural crew and an Angry Commander- the monsters will have a hugely impractical plan- nobody believes the Doctor or Jamie， particularly the Angry Commander- the Siege will initially be There were many base-under-siege stories in the Troughton era， at least two involving the Cybermen。 They come in for a lot of stick for being lazy and trope-ridden:- the Doctor and Jamie arrive at the base in the midst of A Series Of Unexplained Deaths and are at first blamed for everything- the base has a multi-cultural crew and an Angry Commander- the monsters will have a hugely impractical plan- nobody believes the Doctor or Jamie， particularly the Angry Commander- the Siege will initially be sneaky， involving a mysterious disease or Cybermats or both- things will escalate to a full-blown invasion which will be thwarted remarkably easilyThe Wheel In Space has all these in spades。 In fact it may be one of the most generic bases-under-siege out there。 There's nothing particularly challenging going on。 It's like an old cardigan of a story， warm， predictable and familiar。 And I love it。I've still no idea what the Cybermen's plan was。 It involved stars going nova and meteor storms？ For。。。 reasons？But it introduced Zoe， for which we should be eternally grateful。 。。。more
Anne
，
I'm not going to say this was in any way brilliant， not in plotting or depth or anything like that。 But for me， it's terrific fun spending more time with the Doctor， especially as compared to some of the "new adventures" I've been reading lately where I have to slog through so much "guest star" perspective。The fun stuff I enjoyed this time around included the extra large dose of continuity as we saw Jamie pining for Victoria and coming off as very reluctant bring another "wee young lass" onboard I'm not going to say this was in any way brilliant， not in plotting or depth or anything like that。 But for me， it's terrific fun spending more time with the Doctor， especially as compared to some of the "new adventures" I've been reading lately where I have to slog through so much "guest star" perspective。The fun stuff I enjoyed this time around included the extra large dose of continuity as we saw Jamie pining for Victoria and coming off as very reluctant bring another "wee young lass" onboard for adventures。 Lol， while he was unwilling to go there again so soon， the Doctor was willing to dive on in。 All that plus wacky new TARDIS features！ I love when we see new TARDIS stuff （no matter how delightfully contrived。。。）！As for the Cybermen， cutie pie （"Billy bug"） cybermats， dumb-ass commanders and other such annoyances？ Well， at this length， I can tolerate any of that， no problem！ Plus， I might actually like the Cybermen more when I don't have to see/hear them lumbering around being all obnoxious。 Good fun。 。。。more
Ken
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Dull！ Maybe one to many Cybermen and Base Under Siege stories in this era。 The weakest one on both counts。
Michael Mills
，
Not so much an original story as a grey slab of reconstituted Doctor Who。 A base under siege， a forgettable supporting cast talking cod dialogue， and the Cybermen at their most generic。 The Wheel in Space lacks even the ambition of more spectacular failures like The Twin Dilemma。
Daniel Kukwa
，
Another infamous dog's breakfast of a TV story， beaten into competent shape by the pen of Uncle Terry。 There's nothing remarkable about this adaptation， but Mr。 Dicks certainly works overtime to try and paper over some of the ridiculous elements present in David Whitaker's scripts。 One bit of magic does come at the beginning， when the servo-robot is given a few lovely scenes from its own point of view。 Another infamous dog's breakfast of a TV story， beaten into competent shape by the pen of Uncle Terry。 There's nothing remarkable about this adaptation， but Mr。 Dicks certainly works overtime to try and paper over some of the ridiculous elements present in David Whitaker's scripts。 One bit of magic does come at the beginning， when the servo-robot is given a few lovely scenes from its own point of view。 。。。more
Leah
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A very fast read。 Nice， light Cybermen story。
Richie （Richie's Crazy Collection）
，
Re-read in 2017。
Paulo "paper books always" Carvalho
，
Quite good story。This tale sets the return of Doctor Who to space。 They arrive at a ship of huge dimensions that is drifting through space。 Cyberman is our evil doers and this is also the first tale with the new companion Zoe Heriot， the Librarian。 I really enjoy Zoe。 She has an eidetic memory。 A child wonder。 In this story Jamie has a more important role。You won't get more about cybermen than you already know。 They are evil and want to conquer the earth。 Mind controlling is getting a bit。。。 usu Quite good story。This tale sets the return of Doctor Who to space。 They arrive at a ship of huge dimensions that is drifting through space。 Cyberman is our evil doers and this is also the first tale with the new companion Zoe Heriot， the Librarian。 I really enjoy Zoe。 She has an eidetic memory。 A child wonder。 In this story Jamie has a more important role。You won't get more about cybermen than you already know。 They are evil and want to conquer the earth。 Mind controlling is getting a bit。。。 usual。 The last couple of books I read someone has their mind taken over by someone。 It's quite。。。 annoying？Nevertheless。。。 interesting reading。"You can't deny the facts。 It's pure logic。" -Zoe"Logic， my dear zoe， mere enables one to be wrong with authority。" Doctor 。。。more
Rich Meyer
，
Another great adventure with the Cybermen。 If I recall correctly， the show this book was based on was the last of the celebrated "monster" season， that saw the show veer off from historical journeys and into full-blown sci-fi。 This also features the first appearance of Zoe， the final companion of the Second Doctor。 Well-written and the usual great characterization。 Definitely worth a read！ Another great adventure with the Cybermen。 If I recall correctly， the show this book was based on was the last of the celebrated "monster" season， that saw the show veer off from historical journeys and into full-blown sci-fi。 This also features the first appearance of Zoe， the final companion of the Second Doctor。 Well-written and the usual great characterization。 Definitely worth a read！ 。。。more
Christian Petrie
，
This is the Cyberman story that I think most people forget about。 When you think back to the classic Cybermen stories， this one does not leap out like the others from this time period。 The significance most people hold with it is that Zoe is introduced。The plot is not memorable and is reminiscent of The Moonbase。 Something created by men not on Earth is being taken over so the Cybermen can invade Earth。 Basic plot， with nothing standing out。The story is not terriable， but since it seems familiar This is the Cyberman story that I think most people forget about。 When you think back to the classic Cybermen stories， this one does not leap out like the others from this time period。 The significance most people hold with it is that Zoe is introduced。The plot is not memorable and is reminiscent of The Moonbase。 Something created by men not on Earth is being taken over so the Cybermen can invade Earth。 Basic plot， with nothing standing out。The story is not terriable， but since it seems familiar， that is why people probably forget about it。 There are some neat parts to it。 For a while Jamie is doing all the work， since the Doctor is unconscious。 Terrance Dicks starts off the story with some good writing。Then the mundane sets in where it feels things are going through the motion。 All of the sudden the end comes and everything is wrapped up。 Terrance Dicks does a decent job with trying to make it interesting， but winds up getting bored himself and wraps it up。Overall， just an okay book， nothing exciting。 Giving a three because the author does try to improve it。 。。。more
stormhawk
，