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Books to read if you love Doctor Who

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42 reasons why The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is beyond brilliant

1st, 4th, 6th Doctor Novelisations

Doctor Who: The Renegades Collection

A collection of four classic TV novelisations featuring Time Lords who fled life on Gallifrey. 
 
In The Time Meddler, the turbulent English coastline in 1066 is the scene of a troubled encounter between the Meddling Monk and the First Doctor, Steven and Vicki. 
 
In The Deadly Assassin, the Fourth Doctor returns to Gallifrey and is framed for presidential murder - but his old enemy the Master is waiting in the wings. 
 
In Shada, the Fourth Doctor and Romana visit their old friend, the retired Time Lord Professor Chronotis, at Cambridge University - but an epic adventure featuring K9 soon unfolds. 
 
In The Mark of the Rani, the TARDIS lands the Sixth Doctor and Peri in the Industrial Revolution, where renegade Time Lord the Rani is conducting unethical experiments on the human brain. 
 
Peter Purves, Geoffrey Beevers, Lalla Ward, John Leeson and Nicola Bryant are the readers of this quartet of classic novelisations. 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
'Doctor Who: The Time Meddler' cover image artwork © Jeff Cummins

1st, 3rd, 4th & 6th Doctor Novelisations

Doctor Who: The Time Travel Collection

Four exciting novelisations of classic TV stories in which the Doctor and his companions traverse the Fourth Dimension. 
 
 In Doctor Who: The Space Museum, by Glyn Jones, the TARDIS jumps a time-track, allowing its occupants to witness themselves as exhibits in a glass case: a future they must avoid at all costs. 
 
 In Doctor Who and the Day of the Daleks, by Terrance Dicks, a 20th Century peace conference is threatened by guerillas from the future, intent on changing the course of history. 
 
 In Doctor Who: City of Death, by Douglas Adams and James Goss, the Doctor and Romana witness dangerous fractures in time whilst on holiday in Paris, and must determine the cause. 
 
 In Doctor Who: The Two Doctors, by Robert Holmes, a set of temporal experiments concern the Time Lords enough to dispatch the Second Doctor on a mission; when it goes wrong, it seems only the Sixth Doctor can save him! 
 
 Maureen O'Brien, Richard Franklin, Lalla Ward and Colin Baker read these classic tales, originally published as Target Books paperbacks, with Nicholas Briggs as the Voice of the Daleks. 
 (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Terrance Dicks (Author) 
 Terrance Dicks became Script Editor of Doctor Who in 1968, co-writing Patrick Troughton's classic final serial, The War Games, and editing the show throughout the entire Jon Pertwee era to 1974. He wrote many iconic episodes and serials for the show after, including Tom Baker's first episode as the Fourth Doctor, Robot; Horror at Fang Rock in 1977; State of Decay in 1980; and the 20th anniversary special, The Five Doctors in 1983. Terrance novelised over sixty of the original Doctor Who stories for Target books, including classics like Doctor Who and the Abominable Snowmen and Doctor Who and the Auton Invasion, inspiring a generation of children to become readers and writers. He died in August 2019, only weeks before the publication of his final Doctor Who short story, 'Save Yourself', in The Target Storybook. 
 
Douglas Adams (Author) 
 Douglas Noel Adams was born on 11 March 1952 in Cambridge. His parents divorced when he was five, and Douglas and his younger sister Susan were brought up by their mother in Essex. From 1959 to 1970 Douglas attended Brentwood School, and he first thought seriously about writing when a teacher named Frank Halford gave him ten out of ten for a composition. He was the only boy ever to have been awarded full marks. 
Leaving school in December 1970, Douglas won a scholarship to study English at Cambridge. His main reason for going there was to join Footlights, although his first attempt to do so was a failure. He succeeded in joining in his second term, but found the group which ran the society a bit stand-offish. He also felt constrained by the limits of pantomimes and mid-term revues, so instead he set up his own revue group, Adams-Smith-Adams, with two friends. It was very successful. 
 
Douglas left Cambridge in the summer of 1974 and took occasional office jobs before joining forces with Monty Python team member Graham Chapman. They collaborated on a number of projects; unfortunately, very few of them were ever broadcast. A while later he was invited to Cambridge to direct the 1976 Footlights revue, but even this turned out to be a disappointment. At the end of the year, broke and feeling like a failure, Douglas moved back home with his mother. 
In 1977 his luck changed. Through his former flatmate John Lloyd, Douglas met BBC Radio 4 producer Simon Brett. He felt that Douglas' style of humour should have its own show, rather than being crammed into existing formats. Having been inspired by a copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to Europe, Douglas came up with a draft for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. After several delays the first six-episode series was broadcast, with a second rapidly following. The worldwide phenomenon they spawned includes five novels, a book of scripts, two LPs, a television series, a computer game and two stage plays. 
In addition to Hitchhiker, Douglas' work included two Dirk Gently detective novels and two humorous place-name 'dictionaries', The Meaning of Liff and The Deeper Meaning of Liff (both co-written with John Lloyd) as well as Last Chance to See, an account of a global search for rare and endangered species which he co-wrote with Mark Carwardine. 
 
In 1999 Douglas moved to Santa Barbara with his wife and daughter to work on a proposed Hitchhiker film. Always a keen advocate of new technology, his last series for Radio 4 was The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future, a look at the advances mankind was likely to make in future years.He died suddenly of a heart attack, aged 49, in May 2001. A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy feature film was produced in 2005, whilst both Stephen Mangan and Samuel Barnett have portrayed Dirk Gently on television in recent years. 
 
James Goss (Author) 
 James Goss has adapted three Doctor Who stories by Douglas Adams for BBC Books (City of Death, The Pirate Planet, and The Krikkitmen). He's also written several original Doctor Who and Torchwood books. His novel #Haterz is in development as a motion picture. He's also written for the stage and the radio. 
 
Robert Holmes (Author) 
 Robert Holmes was a scriptwriter for numerous television programmes including Dr Finlay's Casebook, Dixon of Dock Green, The Saint, Juliet Bravo and Bergerac. He was involved with Doctor Who for over fifteen years and wrote numerous scripts including Jon Pertwee's debut serial as the Third Doctor, Spearhead from Space, and Fifth Doctor Peter Davison's final serial, The Caves of Androzani (voted by fans in 2009 as the best Doctor Who story in history). He introduced both the Autons and the Sontarans to the show and was script editor during the first three years of Tom Baker's tenure as Fourth Doctor. Holmes also contributed to several other sci-fi shows including Doomwatch, The Nightmare Man and Blake's 7. He died in 1986, aged 60.

Doctor Who and The Pirate Planet (target collection)

The classic Doctor Who adventure by Douglas Adams, now part of the Target Collection.

Douglas Adams (Author) DOUGLAS ADAMS was born in Cambridge in March 1952. He is best known as the creator of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life as a BBC Radio 4 series. The book went on to be a No. 1 bestseller. He followed this success with The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980); Life, The Universe and Everything (1982); So Long and Thanks for all the Fish (1984); Mostly Harmless (1992) and many more. He sold over 15 million books in the UK, the US and Australia. Douglas died unexpectedly in May 2001 at the age of 49. James Goss (Author) James Goss has adapted three Doctor Who stories by Douglas Adams for BBC Books (City of Death, The Pirate Planet, and The Krikkitmen). He's also written several original Doctor Who and Torchwood books. His novel #Haterz is in development as a motion picture. He's also written for the stage and the radio.

This all-new Target novelisation is based on the televised version of The Pirate Planet 
 
The hugely powerful Key to Time has been split into six segments, all of which have been disguised and hidden throughout time and space. Now the even more powerful White Guardian wants the Doctor to find the pieces. With the first segment successfully retrieved, the Doctor, Romana and K-9 trace the second segment of the Key to the planet Calufrax. But when they arrive at exactly the right point in space, they find themselves on exactly the wrong planet - Zanak. 
 
Ruled by the mysterious 'Captain', Zanak is a happy and prosperous planet. Mostly. If the mines run out of valuable minerals and gems then the Captain merely announces a New Golden Age and they fill up again. It's an economic miracle - so obviously something's very wrong... 
 
For a much expanded version based on Douglas Adams' first draft scripts, check out BBC Books' hardback edition of The Pirate Planet".

Two full-cast audio dramatisations

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Original Albums

Don’t Panic! Reissued for the first time in 40 years, two unique recordings of Douglas Adams's sci-fi comedy drama.

Douglas Noel Adams was born on 11 March 1952 in Cambridge. His parents divorced when he was five, and Douglas and his younger sister Susan were brought up by their mother in Essex. From 1959 to 1970 Douglas attended Brentwood School, and he first thought seriously about writing when a teacher named Frank Halford gave him ten out of ten for a composition. He was the only boy ever to have been awarded full marks. 
Leaving school in December 1970, Douglas won a scholarship to study English at Cambridge. His main reason for going there was to join Footlights, although his first attempt to do so was a failure. He succeeded in joining in his second term, but found the group which ran the society a bit stand-offish. He also felt constrained by the limits of pantomimes and mid-term revues, so instead he set up his own revue group, Adams-Smith-Adams, with two friends. It was very successful. 
 
Douglas left Cambridge in the summer of 1974 and took occasional office jobs before joining forces with Monty Python team member Graham Chapman. They collaborated on a number of projects; unfortunately, very few of them were ever broadcast. A while later he was invited to Cambridge to direct the 1976 Footlights revue, but even this turned out to be a disappointment. At the end of the year, broke and feeling like a failure, Douglas moved back home with his mother. 
In 1977 his luck changed. Through his former flatmate John Lloyd, Douglas met BBC Radio 4 producer Simon Brett. He felt that Douglas' style of humour should have its own show, rather than being crammed into existing formats. Having been inspired by a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Europe, Douglas came up with a draft for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. After several delays the first six-episode series was broadcast, with a second rapidly following. The worldwide phenomenon they spawned includes five novels, a book of scripts, two LPs, a television series, a computer game and two stage plays. 
In addition to Hitchhiker, Douglas' work included two Dirk Gently detective novels and two humorous place-name 'dictionaries', The Meaning of Liff and The Deeper Meaning of Liff (both co-written with John Lloyd) as well as Last Chance to See, an account of a global search for rare and endangered species which he co-wrote with Mark Carwardine. 
 
In 1999 Douglas moved to Santa Barbara with his wife and daughter to work on a proposed Hitchhiker film. Always a keen advocate of new technology, his last series for Radio 4 was The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future, a look at the advances mankind was likely to make in future years.He died suddenly of a heart attack, aged 49, in May 2001. A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy feature film was produced in 2005, whilst both Stephen Mangan and Samuel Barnett have portrayed Dirk Gently on television in recent years.

Don’t Panic! Reissued for the first time in 40 years, two unique recordings of Douglas Adams's sci-fi comedy drama. 
 
When Earthman Arthur Dent learns that first his house and then his planet are about to be bulldozed, it’s the beginning of an interplanetary adventure for him and his friend, Ford Prefect. After fleeing Earth they hitch a lift with hoopy frood Zaphod Beeblebrox, who hurtles from one improbability to another - literally. With Trillian and Marvin the Paranoid Android in tow, the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything is soon revealed: 42. But what was the question…? 
 
Following the success of the BBC radio series, Douglas Adams adapted his scripts for these two full-cast albums, with incidental radiophonic music provided by Paddy Kingsland. First released by Original Records in 1980, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe star Peter Jones as The Book, Simon Jones as Arthur Dent, Geoffrey McGivern as Ford Prefect and Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox. 
 
 Produced by Geoffrey Perkins and Tim Souster, the cast also includes Cindy Oswin, Stephen Moore, Richard Vernon, Valentine Dyall, David Tate, Jim Broadbent, Bill Wallis, Roy Hudd, Frank Middlemass, Stephen Greif and others. 
 
Hang onto your towel – it’s going to be the ride of a lifetime.

Last Chance To See

Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine lead us on an unforgettable journey in search of the world's most endangered species.

Descriptive writing of a high order ... this is an extremely intelligent book

In every case, the presence and personality of the endangered animals rise off the page - even when the authors don't manage to find them.  The writing may be witty, but this book is a sobering reminder of what a very great deal we have to lose

This is life or death stuff, but Adams is a writer who chooses not to shake his finger at the reader. He fails completely in the self-righteous-piety department. Instead he invites us to enter a conspiracy of laughter and caring

It is a book one reads in a rush, always looking forward to the next perverse paragraph, wise insight or felicitous phrase

Last Chance to See brings out the best in Adams' writing ... constantly springing on the reader the kind of dizzying shift in perspective that was the stock in trade of Hitchhiker'

Who would have thought that a book in the field of "ecology/nature" ... could be as lively, sharply satirical, brilliantly written and even funny as this one? ... ranks with the best set pieces in Mark Twain

If the measure of a book's worth is the strength of the urge to 'get out and do something' that it gives you, then LAST CHANCE... is way up there with the best of them.

Douglas Adams (Author) DOUGLAS ADAMS was born in Cambridge in March 1952. He is best known as the creator of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life as a BBC Radio 4 series. The book went on to be a No. 1 bestseller. He followed this success with The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (1980); Life, The Universe and Everything (1982); So Long and Thanks for all the Fish (1984); Mostly Harmless (1992) and many more. He sold over 15 million books in the UK, the US and Australia. Douglas died unexpectedly in May 2001 at the age of 49. Mark Carwardine (Author) Zoologist MARK CARWARDINE is an active and outspoken conservationist, award-winning writer, TV- and radio - presenter, widely published photographer, magazine columnist and consultant. He presented the weekly programme Nature on BBC Radio 4 for many years and is co-presenter, with Stephen Fry, of the BBC-TV series Last Chance to See. The author of more than 50 books, including several bestsellers, he has been Chairman of prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition since 2005.

‘Descriptive writing of a high order… this is an extremely intelligent book’ The Times 
 
Join Douglas Adams, bestselling and beloved author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and zoologist Mark Carwardine on an adventure in search of the world’s most endangered and exotic creatures. 
 
In this book, Adams’ self-proclaimed favourite of his own works, the pair encounter animals in imminent peril: the giant Komodo dragon of Indonesia, the lovable kakapo of New Zealand, the blind river dolphins of China, the white rhinos of Zaire, the rare birds of Mauritius island in the Indian Ocean and the alien-like aye-aye of Madagascar. Inimitably witty and poignant, Last Chance to See is both a celebration of our most extraordinary creatures and a warning about what we have to lose if we do not act soon. 
 
Featuring a fantastic new foreword by the authors' long-time friend Stephen Fry, and an afterword from Mark Carwardine that considers what has changed since the book was first published, Last Chance to See feels more urgent than ever before. 
 
‘Douglas Adams’ genius was in using comedy to make serious points about the world’ Independent

Douglas Adams and the digital world

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future

Two radio documentaries exploring Douglas Adams’ vision of the digital future, plus Did Douglas Get it Right?, presented by Mitch Benn

Technology affects almost everything we do, and its possibilities can be both exhilarating and daunting. This collection features two radio documentaries exploring Douglas Adams’ vision of the digital future, plus Did Douglas Get it Right?, presented by Mitch Benn. 
 
Douglas Adams was a passionate technology enthusiast. His bestselling The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is full of futuristic tech, and in 1990 he predicted something very like the World Wide Web in the BBC2 film Hyperland. So in 1999, he was the natural choice to present Radio 4’s The Internet: The Last 20th Century Battleground. In it, he looked at the explosion in online communication, the evolution of cyberspace, and the risks and opportunities of the new virtual world. 
 
A year later, he hosted The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Future, in which he and his guests discussed how music, publishing, broadcasting, and society in general would be transformed in the 21st century. Sadly, this was Adams’ last BBC project: his death in 2001 meant he would never see if his visions came true. 
 
However, in 2015, Mitch Benn dipped into the archives for a follow-up programme, Did Douglas Get it Right?, revisiting Adams’ predictions to discover how prescient (or otherwise) they turned out to be... 
 
Fascinating, funny and insightful, these three programmes are a wonderful tribute to Douglas Adams, and a treat for fans and futurists alike. 
 
 
Produced by Mark Rickards.

Gerry Davis

Ian Marter

Douglas Adams

James Goss

Jenny T Colgan

Anneke Wills

Michael Troughton

Jon Culshaw

Camille Coduri

Nicholas Briggs

1st, 2nd, 4th, 10th Doctor Novelisations

Four classic TV novelisations in which the Doctor and friends are witnesses to alien invasion. 
 
In Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet, by Gerry Davis, the First Doctor, Ben and Polly help the crew of an Antarctic tracking station as they resist invasion by the Cybermen, intent on enslaving humanity for their own needs. 
 
In The Dominators, by Ian Marter, the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe find the peaceful planet Dulkis threatened with subjugation by brutal aliens and their robotic Quarks. 
 
In The Pirate Planet, by Douglas Adams and James Goss, the Fourth Doctor, Romana and K9 encounter the tyrannical Captain of Zanak, whose pillaging of other planets apparently knows no bounds. 
 
In The Christmas Invasion, by Jenny T Colgan, a newly regenerated Tenth Doctor must rely on Rose Tyler to help save Earth from the deadly invading Sycorax. 
 
Anneke Wills, Michael Troughton, Jon Culshaw and Camille Coduri read these thrilling tales, with Nicholas Briggs as the voice of the Cybermen. 
 
Duration: 20 hours 20 mins approx. 
 
? 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd © 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. 'Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet' cover image artwork © House of Achilleos

Douglas Adams

Books by Douglas Adams

Series by Douglas Adams

Doctor Who Target Novels – Classic Era20 Books

Hitchhiker's Guide (radio plays)7 Books

Articles featuring Douglas Adams

Books to read if you love Doctor Who

42 reasons why The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is beyond brilliant

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