Thread: The Pescatons

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  1. 15th Aug 2007, 10:25 PM #1
    Joe Meredith's Avatar
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    Default The Pescatons

    Hi All,
    I finally managed to pick up a copy of the book today, and a brand new copy at that. I've heard it isn't the best book but I'll still give it a go - I am so intrigued by the mystery of the vast, roaring creature mentioned on the the blurb
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  2. 15th Aug 2007, 10:42 PM #2
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    Well done for tracking that down!

    The original audio story is about 10 minutes long (it seems) so they did a good job of expanding it. And sticking it in the middle of another story altogether!
    Pity. I have no understanding of the word. It is not registered in my vocabulary bank. EXTERMINATE!
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  3. 16th Aug 2007, 12:42 PM #3
    Antony Cox's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rob McCow View Post
    Well done for tracking that down!

    The original audio story is about 10 minutes long (it seems) so they did a good job of expanding it. And sticking it in the middle of another story altogether!
    I agree! I like the audio but the book is really good and obviously has a lot more dialogue from other characters in the story who are only referred to in the audio version.

    A good read indeed!
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  4. 16th Aug 2007, 1:26 PM #4
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    I remember it being a terrible book! I always really liked the record (oops, showning my age there) but i thought the expanded version was full of schlocky moments, and was generally badly written tosh.

    Si xx

    I've just got my handcuffs and my truncheon and that's enough.
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  5. 16th Aug 2007, 1:35 PM #5
    Pip Madeley Guest

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    I've not read the Pescatons, but I'd love to read Pemberton's novelisation of Fury From The Deep. Shame that it's nearly 20 on eBay (offending my bargain senses) - I think I might see if I can get it from work by doing an Inter-Library Loan
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  6. 16th Aug 2007, 2:43 PM #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by SiHart View Post
    I thought the expanded version was full of schlocky moments, and was generally badly written tosh.

    Si xx
    Yes, but apart from that, it was fab!
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  7. 16th Aug 2007, 4:30 PM #7
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    It's not the same without mad Kenny Clayton.

    Make way for a naval officer!
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  8. 17th Aug 2007, 10:34 AM #8
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    Didn't the book get a real drubbing in DWM at the time? I read it once back in... 1993?4?2? and don't remember it being anything very exciting - certainly I think the tape/CD version is much more entertaining (Hello Dolly notwithstanding).
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  9. 17th Aug 2007, 11:18 AM #9
    Pip Madeley Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Curnow View Post
    Didn't the book get a real drubbing in DWM at the time?
    "Sorry Victor, but what went wrong? Yes, the story has been extended, quite logically, and the less impressive bits of the record are gone (for example the Doctor doesn't defeat Zor with the infamous piccolo!), but unfortunately the whole book seems rushed, and it is not up to the standard of Pemberton's other work, such as his excellent radio plays or novels (not just Fury from the Deep). For a story supposedly set in the late Sixties, anachronisms such as Breakfast Television, personal computers and video phones sit uneasily with Monkees T-shirts and Sarah Jane's problems with her pass. And as for failed TV personality turned astronomer Bud Emmerson watching the TARDIS shoot into space instead of dematerialising, the less said about that, the better... The book (also) has some genuinely creepy moments. The sequence when two Pescatons close in on the research base, and two engineers are trapped in a hut in their path, could be taken from one of the best SF movies. This passage marks some brilliant story telling that really holds your attention. Unfortunately, such moments are few and far between and ultimately, Doctor Who - The Pescatons, the last Target novel for a good while I suspect, is a bit of a damp squib."

    -- Gary Yaris Russell, 'Doctor Who Magazine' (number 179), October 1991
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