November 3rd, 2023
41 comments
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Doctor Who Target 2024 The Star Beast
Available to order from www.forbiddenplanet.com or www.amazon.co.uk
The three latest Doctor Who adventures featuring the Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble will become novels.
BBC Books is delighted to announce that it will be expanding the Doctor Who Target range with three new titles in January 2024. The collection are novelisations of the 2023 Doctor Who Specials, which will feature David Tennant as the Fourteenth Doctor and Catherine Tate as Donna Noble. Each book will have specially commissioned cover artwork by Anthony Dry.
Launched in 1973, Target Books published novelisations of almost every Doctor Who serial aired between 1963 and 1989. To the delight of fans, BBC Books began reissuing these classic paperbacks in 2012, and in 2018 expanded the Target range to include all-new novelisations of modern-era Doctor Who episodes. This year, Target Books celebrates its 50th year publishing Doctor Who books.
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Loobop
November 7th, 2023 - 8:10amwhen they say target i always think of the american department store of the same name.
bryan
November 3rd, 2023 - 4:41pmGorgeous. Lovely big bold Bam covers. These already made me want them for xmas but the giggle might (will have Ncuti) so understandable.
Wow. Lovely. We are so being spoiled for the 60th Birthday In General.
More, more,more ( as in cheering at the Theatre or concert , not Andrea true convention but even that’ the sentiment)
bryan
November 3rd, 2023 - 5:30pmJust realised the layout of the Giggle. Checkout the Celestial Toymaker Target cover
The Fishmonger
July 16th, 2023 - 11:20amMeep. And you can quote me on that.
Kenny
July 15th, 2023 - 4:51pmThe more novelisations the better
Kenny
July 15th, 2023 - 4:51pmThe more novelisations the better
Fred
July 14th, 2023 - 9:24pmI’m not exactly quivering with excitement about the new specials, but I’m glad they’re releasing these pretty much in tandem with it. A nice way for people to enjoy them in different formats.
Bookcollector
July 14th, 2023 - 9:29pmI know what you mean fred, I can’t say I’m terribly excited by Tennant’s and Davies return either. But I do love the books and so I’m excited to get these as target books
Fred
July 17th, 2023 - 4:31pmI haven’t actually bought a single one of the novelisations since… well, I don’t know when I got it, but it was The Moonbase! I’d personally rather they’d carried on with the New Series Adventures instead, which I thought were brilliant. But I’m sure these will sell better, especially if someone sees a title they recognise.
Anon
July 17th, 2023 - 6:38pmI’d rather have the target books than new novels. Most of the new novels have been very underwhelming
Lewis Frisby
July 18th, 2023 - 2:16pmI have read the first few chapters of the waters of mars novel and it is very good the way phill ford describes the flood is really good highly recommend
Bookcollector
July 14th, 2023 - 6:54pmAll ordered! Brilliant news.
Bookcollector
July 14th, 2023 - 6:54pmAll ordered! Brilliant news.
IheartMelissaBenoist
July 14th, 2023 - 6:48pmWhew! I was so afraid that the 14th Doctor wouldn’t be represented in full length book form at all. Hate to see an entire Doctor not represented on my bookshelves. And considering there’s likely no usable gap between the specials the novelizations are probably the only shot. But thankfully all of the anniversary tv stories from 1973 onwards will be novelized.
Anonymous
July 14th, 2023 - 9:46pmThere can and will be more 14 content.
RTD has already stated that there is a “gap” between power of the doctor-DWM comic and then specials.
There is already a “bonus” 14th doctor story in the 10th doctor xmas 2023 book. And rumours are that part 8 of big finish “once and future” will use the 14th doctor.
All the TV show needs to do in the first special is have 14 say he went traveling a little to “run this body in” and its sorted, just like at the start of the end of time.
Anonymous
July 14th, 2023 - 6:47pmWhew! I was so afraid that the 14th Doctor wouldn’t be represented in full length book form at all. Hate to see an entire Doctor not represented on my bookshelves. And considering there’s likely no usable gap between the specials the novelizations are probably the only shot. But thankfully all of the anniversary tv stories from 1973 onwards will be novelized.
Anonymous
July 14th, 2023 - 5:34pmNice to see tie-in merchandise for the current stuff being released around the time of broadcast again. Timing is key. The refusal to let license holders in on key information on the slightest possibility it would leak really hurt the previous era from a brand perspective.
bryan
July 14th, 2023 - 3:20pmNow open for pre orders .
11th Jan 2024. That’s 2 xmas pressies sorted . Love a Gary Russell novel ,and James Goss is always readable ( even city of death full horror mix) Isn’t Mark Morris more known for Horror /darker novels and stories? Brilliant
I had though originally the 3 specials were a trilogy ,rather than 3 distinct tales.
Hopefully the Festive 15th Doctor Episode will be out mid year. Lots of publicity opportunities for Ncuti Gatwas’ first Target Novel of his First story.
Bookcollector
July 15th, 2023 - 1:31amMark Morris has written some great who books. And he has been involved with the predator books for titan.
Rory
July 14th, 2023 - 2:50pmI’m hoping that with these being published in january we still get a batch of novelisations mid-year as well. I really want them to keep novelising all of the Nu-Who episodes (even Fear Her).
Two batches of six a year would be ideal.
Bookcollector
July 14th, 2023 - 6:53pmTwo batches of six or just one a month would be brilliant as far as I’m concerned.
Dave
July 14th, 2023 - 2:17pmThe artwork will look like a “homage to” / rip off of Chris Achilleos’ work, I’m sure. There will be black and white portraits of the Doctor, a coloured image of the monster and lots of Kirby dotted multicoloured energy waves.
The original Target range went through a range of styles, but the modern ones are very predictable, safe and boring.
Coupeskidoo
July 14th, 2023 - 3:01pmI have some great news: you don’t have to buy them!
Coupeskidoo
July 14th, 2023 - 3:10pmYou’re right. They should return to the photo covers and neon logo of the ’80s. 😉
Anonymous
July 14th, 2023 - 5:06pmI like the new covers but I do agree they could mix them up a bit as the 1972 Chris Achilleos style only really covered a handful of the original books, they just happen to be the most iconic ones.
Anon
July 14th, 2023 - 6:48pmWow… a doctor who fan unhappy with great merchandise… I’m shocked
Zarbi
July 15th, 2023 - 9:49amTo be fair, the original Target covers were already a homage to Frank Bellamy’s Day of the Daleks Radio Times cover
rich
July 15th, 2023 - 11:09amThe new covers look like photos but through a filter to give them dots like Archilleos’ work had.i don’t know if they are, but that’s what they look like.
Anon
July 15th, 2023 - 1:03pmThey are full artwork rich
Anonymous
July 15th, 2023 - 3:28pmPeople are allowed to criticise things. I may not agree with what Dave’s saying but he’s allowed to voice his opinions.
AD
July 16th, 2023 - 6:34pmHi Dave, I’m the artist that goes for the safe and boring method!
To be fair, art is there to be critiqued and its quite possible that this style is coming to the end of its regeneration – however its following a house style that the BBC want to follow as a brand, so there’s not much I can do about that I’m afraid.
As an aside, I wish there was a magic button to run these things through a filter but alas its all done freehand digitally. I wouldn’t want to cheapen the experience on the fans perspective by throwing together something so carefree, these things are not free to the public.
Dave
July 18th, 2023 - 9:28amA disappointing few “well you don’t have to buy if you don’t like them” and “ooh a moaning Who fan” comments; obviously I am aware of that, but I do find it a bit weird how angry fans get at even the mildest of criticism. There’s a lot of ground to cover between “these look awful I will not buy them”, which I did not say, and the “Don’t ever dare say a word against Doctor Who merch” approach you seem to prefer.
The artist (sorry AD, I don’t know your name) has replied to this and coped with the criticism of their own work in a much more mature way, so I’m pretty sure the rest of you can calm down.
To you personally, AD, yeah, I can see it’s a corporate branding decision (the original reprints all used Achilleos art, and Achilleos did the first “new” covers in the range for Battlefield etc), and I’m not immune to the benefits of that (the TV21-style Daleks on Day of the Doctor really appealed to me, for example)
However, I’m a child of the 80s so a lot of my ideas of what a Target cover is Andrew Skilleter and Alister Pearson rather than Achilleos. That’s not to say that I think the new books should ape their style to suit my tastes, but I would LOVE for an artist (maybe yourself!) to put their stamp on the range as Achilleos, Pearson and others did, so that when people look back on the three fourteenth Doctor books they have the same rush of nostalgia for “their” style of Doctor Who book art as I do looking at the blue spine Target reprints and others do looking at the original 1973 books.
I just think it would be great to have a “Target in 2023” art style for three books that represent a real break in tradition for Doctor Who publishing.
booboo
July 18th, 2023 - 9:34amHis name is Anthony Dry, its says so in the blurb on the post.
AD
July 18th, 2023 - 12:00pmNo problem at all Dave, people enjoy different styles. Pearson was my go to originally, but my medium cant match his!
Be interesting to see where they go in the future as theres so many more left to do…
Cheers,
Ant
Bookcollector
July 18th, 2023 - 12:30pmReally like your artwork Anthony. As an old (depressingly old actually) fan I’m used to things changing. The target books are the best example. The logo changed constantly, the artwork varied between interpretation (the likes of achellios) to photo realistic (pearson) to just plain old photos for a, thankfully brief period. I’m sure we will get new styles with the continuations of the range and each will have its fans and detractors. Personally I just like the books and if I like the cover that’s a bonus. I’ve loved Anthony dry’s work and they sit beautifully on the shelves.
Dave
July 18th, 2023 - 3:14pmThanks Booboo, apologies for skipping your name there, Anthony. Poor reading skills!
AD
July 19th, 2023 - 10:07amThanks Bookcollector, I really appreciate your comments. Yes I think initially there was so much digital painting and artwork in the BBC catalogue that they wanted a distinct style to separate these new books. But yes, everything changes eventually!
Dave no apologies necessary!
Star Lord
July 14th, 2023 - 1:22pmProbably too much to ask for all three but really hoping at least one of these is adapted by Russell T himself. Wasn’t expecting more to be announced so soon, the copies of the latest wave literally arrived yesterday.
Star Lord
July 14th, 2023 - 1:38pm**Just saw the placement covers with three authors, oh well nevermind, one can dream.
Robert Sienicki
July 14th, 2023 - 1:39pmNope, Gary Russel, Mark Morris and James Goss are writing the novelisations. RTD is too busy writing Season 15 at the moment.
I’m Batman
July 14th, 2023 - 1:04pmWell I wasn’t expecting this.
I am curious as to how the artwork will look but I doubt they’ll reveal till after the episodes air in case of any potential spoilers.