The Scream of the Shalka (Doctor Who) [Paperback]

Paul Cornell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 16, 2004 | Series: Dr Who

When the Doctor lands his TARDIS in the Lancaster town of Kennet, in the present day, he finds that something is terribly wrong. The people are scared. They don't like going out onto the streets at night, they don't like making too much noise, and they certainly don't like strangers asking too many questions. What alien force has invaded the town? Why is it watching barmaid Alison Cheney? And what plans does it have for the future of the planet Earth? While starting with a small community under threat, this old-fashioned, very traditional but very up to date Doctor Who adventure takes in the entire world, from New Zealand to India, Siberia to the USA, and cosmic expanses beyond.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Random House UK (March 16, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0563486198
• ISBN-13: 978-0563486190
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,273,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The ninth Doctor....well, he was for a little while!, March 24, 2004

By 

Sean Brady (Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Scream of the Shalka (Doctor Who) (Paperback)

This book is the novelisation of the animated story that was shown at the official BBC Doctor Who website (BBCi). It's written by the author of the webcast, Paul Cornell who is still one of the most popular writers of original Doctor Who fiction.

The story features the ninth Doctor (voiced by Richard E.Grant in the webcast) attempting to rid an English town of alien invaders. Typical Doctor Who story, but Cornell comes up with a few new angles to hold the interest. For example, there's the surprise appearance of another Doctor Who character but all is not as it seems.

There's a behind-the-scenes section after the story which explains how Paul became involved with this venture. It's entertaining in its own right and is essential reading for Doctor Who fans.

This may be the only appearance of the BBCi ninth Doctor in print (with the exception of an online short story at BBCi) now that the new television series starring Christopher Ecclestone as the Doctor is on the way. BBCi announced that there won't be any more webcasts for the forseeable future. Don't feel sorry for Paul Cornell though...he's signed on as a writer for the new tv series, a job that he's dreamed of having for years.

4.0 out of 5 stars The Last Novelization, March 16, 2011

By 

Matthew Kresal (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Scream of the Shalka (Doctor Who) (Paperback)

The Scream Of The Shalka web-cast was intended to be the debut of the ninth Doctor played by Richard E Grant. Unfortunately for that Doctor, but fortunate for fans, this would turn out to be the Grant ninth Doctor's only appearance due to the announcement of the return of the TV series. In the meantime there was a novelization of that web-cast was published. Written by the script's writer Paul Cornell, the novelization reads as an homage to the Target novelizations of years past in the form of the last Doctor Who novelization to date.

Fans of the original series of Doctor Who might know that almost every story of that was novelized by Target Books between the 1970s and the early 1990s. Keeping that in mind, it is perhaps best to read this book as an homage to that series of books. From the first page to the Doctor's introduction a few pages later, the entire opening of the book plays out an opening right out of a classic Target novelization. Throughout the entire book there are little moments like that including the Master's appearances, the chapter titles and even the final couple of lines of the novelization itself. The result is that it reads like a blast from the past.

The book has some nice additions to it as well, another hallmark of the best Target novelizations. It is these additions that Cornell's writing shines brightly. We learn some of the back-stories of various characters since as Alison Cheney and her boyfriend Joe for example. The book also fills in some of the gaps of the original web-cast including why UNIT doesn't appear as one might expect or just who the various groups around the world who play a large role in the finale are. The latter in particular is well done by Cornell who turns supporting characters with no names from the original web-cast into flesh and blood human beings in a matter of pages. There aspects of the web-cast that Cornell doesn't expand on such as why the Master is in the condition he is in or what the mysterious event is effecting the Doctor throughout the story but that is perhaps because, at the time, there was the possibility of more stories where those things might have been revealed. The result overall is a pleasing expansion of the web-cast.

The novelization though is literally only part of the book. Unlike Marc Platt's novelization of the fan video Downtime where the story had to be padded out to fill the novel, Cornell's novelization only takes up only three-quarters of the book's length. The rest of the book is taken up by two items. The first is an essay by Cornell about the making of the web-cast from the commissioning process to the challenges of writing it (including Cornell having someone break into his house to send the scripts to the BBC while he was in New Zealand) right up to the recording of the audio for the web-cast with some sections written by others involved in the production. The second item is the original storyline for the web-cast. Originally titled Servants Of The Shalakor, the storyline is similar yet very different which makes this section perhaps the most intriguing part of the book.

Scream Of The Shalka is in book form exactly what it was in web-cast form. It is a traditional alien invasion of Earth style story told with a new Doctor and in modern style. The novelization expands that story with additional details while playing out as an homage to the Target novelizations of the past. Combined with a making-of essay and the original storyline, the result is a satisfying read. It also marks the last Doctor Who novelization to date and a proud one to go out on.