Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus (novelisation)
Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus was a novelisation based on the 1964 television serial The Keys of Marinus.
Publisher's summary
a remote force-shielded island set in a sea of acid, governed by
the ultimate computer which rules and balances the gentle life of Marinus, guarded by
ruthless protector of a peace-loving race threatened by
Warlord of the brutal sub-human Voords, sworn enemy of Arbitan and of Marinus, who has within his grasp
THE KEYS OF MARINUS
the Conscience's vital micro-circuits, the doors of good and evil.
Can the Doctor find the hidden circuits in time? Arbitan's command was 'Find them, OR DIE!'
Chapter titles
- The Sea of Death
- The Marble City
- The Velvet Web
- The Brains of Morphoton
- The Screaming Jungle
- The Whispering Darkness
- The Snows of Terror
- The Demons
- Sentenced!
- The Mystery of the Locked Room
- The Missing Key
- Arbitan's Revenge
- Final Goodbyes
Deviations from televised story
- The Voord are identified as a frog-like subspecies with bullet-shaped heads, lacking their distinctive helmets.
- The warrior who initially follows Susan around the outside of the City is a "Class 1 Voord Assault Trooper" that has been programmed to kill enemies on sight, indicating that it is partly mechanical or robotic in nature.
- Yartek is said to have developed a technological immuniser that he distributed amongst his followers rather than the unexplained resistance to the Conscience's pacifying influence of the televised version.
Writing and publishing notes
- This title was Philip Hinchcliffe's last contribution to the range and his sole novelisation of a serial he did not produce.
- With no photographs for reference, cover artist David McAllister decided to try something different and feature no people on the cover.
- Then producer John Nathan-Turner's insistent critique of the cover artwork -- namely that the TARDIS itself is blue, not grey and the light atop it white, not red -- went unheeded. The unaltered image was used for publication.
Continuity
- The passage of time on Marinus is measured in zeniths.
- The Voord's origins here as genetically-engineered animals conflict with other sources that position them as early ancestors to the Cybermen. (COMIC: The World Shapers)
Cover Gallery
Target Books Original editions; cover by David McAllister
Hardcover edition; cover by David McAllister
Target Books 1987 edition; cover by David McAllister
British publication history
First publication:
- Hardback
- W.H.Allen & Co. Ltd. UK
- Paperback
- Target
Re-issues:
- A planned reissue in 1994 was cancelled.
External links
to be added