Product Description

Tom Baker reads this thrilling novelisation of a classic Doctor Who adventure. The mind of Sutekh the Destroyer is consumed with jealousy and hatred. Convinced that all living things are his mortal enemy, he is determined to annihilate all forms of life throughout the universe. Imprisoned at the heart of an Egyptian pyramid, the force of this maniacal evil has been paralysed for centuries. But now, after thousands upon thousands of years of long captivity, the moment of deliverance has arrived. Sutekh's vicious megalomania is about to be unleashed upon the world - unless the Doctor succeeds in outwitting a mind so powerful it can force him to his knees and torture him at a glance...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #444411 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-14
• Released on: 2008-08-14
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Binding: Audio CD

Customer Reviews

As good as it gets
The legend that is Tom Baker narrates this slice of classic Gothic early-seventies Doctor Who. The original TV story has gone down in `Who-lore' as one of the finest in the show's long and illustrious history, and this audio adaptation of the original Target novelisation certainly does it justice. The Fourth Doctor and companion Sarah-Jane Smith have great chemistry and the sinister alien threat `Sutekh' is genuinely chilling. Baker's narration is both eerie and invigorating, while the bits of the story that didn't make the TV version are filled-in for the listener. Writer Terrance Dicks' effortless flair for creating readable, listenable and watchable drama is never better demonstrated than here. Chris Achilleos' classic Target cover is faithfully reproduced, and this is another beautifully packaged addition to what is fast becoming an essential CD collection.

Superb reading of an Excellent Story
As a child, I had fond memories of this story, and the novelisation was the book I read most often. I recall once actually finishing it and turning straight back to the first page to read it again! Terrence Dicks, stalwart of Doctor Who publishing, turns in a better than average book, adding to the basic story to flesh out character backgrounds and provide information about what happens to characters after they leave the story. In listening to this audiobook, it was this aspect which impressed me most.

The other impressive aspect is Tom Baker's reading. He brings to life the characters on the page, imbuing them with something of their screen-selves. The Doctor was never more alien than in Pyramids of Mars, and this comes across thanks to the fluency of the reading. This is one audio book that I have returned to more than once.

Mummy Adventure
For many thousands of years SUTEKH had waited... trapped in the heart of an Egyptian Pyramid. Now at last the time had come - the moment of release, when all the force of his pent-up evil and malice would be unleashed upon the world... The TARDIS lands on the site of UNIT headquarters in the year 1911, and the Doctor and Sarah emerge to fight a terrifying and deadly battle... against Egyptian Mummies, half-possessed humans - and the overwhelming evil power of SUTEKH!

Sarah is characterized especially well in this book, making the reader really empathize with her as she struggles to come to terms with concepts as bizarre as Egyptian mummies walking around and building a rocket, but the real surprise is the way the Doctor is handled. The televised story is well known for the moments where the Doctor's alienness are emphasized, but Dicks if anything goes further. There is a brief moment where Sarah realizes how little she actually knows about the Doctor