Doctor Who: Battlefield (Target Doctor Who Library) [Paperback]

Marc Platt (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Carol Pub Group; Published in 1991 by Virgin Publishing Ltd edition (August 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042620350X
• ISBN-13: 978-0426203506
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #823,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Swords, spaceships and the Brigadier, March 1, 2001

By 

"grrreg" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doctor Who: Battlefield (Target Doctor Who Library) (Paperback)

The TARDIS arrives on Earth in the near future, where an archaeological dig has attracted some knights apparently from the time of King Arthur, and UNIT is nearby escorting a nuclear missile. As events escalate, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart is called back from retirement as figures from Arthurian legends walk the fields of England.

Marc Platt adapts Ben Aaronovitch's script into this novel, and the story is an odd patchwork. The extent to which it works is probably a matter of personal opinion. For me, it is OK but could have been better.

One of the strengths is the return of the Brigadier, whose relationship with the Doctor is well emphasised - their friendship is plain and obviously very strong. There is also one of the Brig's best scenes in the show's history.

Not so well fitting are the Arthurian elements - while interesting enough, the assertion that a future incarnation of the Doctor will be known as Merlin is a little hard to take, and the attempts to insert technologically-based "magic" is quite poor.

There are also a large number of supporting characters, who do not seem to play a useful role.

An interesting experiment, treading some familiar ground (technology as magic has been covered in 'The Daemons', 'The Time Monster', 'Pyramids of Mars', etc. with varying degrees of success), which doesn't quite make if for me.