Publication Information
Author: Ian Marter
Cover artist: Bill Donohoe / Alister Pearson (1993) / Steve Kyte (unused)
Publishing date: 17th April 1981 Episode Information
TV serial: The Enemy of the World
Writer: David Whitaker
Transmission dates: 23rd December 1967 - 27th January 1968 (6 episodes) Fact and Findings
Script writer Whitaker began writing his version of the novel shortly before his death. Marter took over the task. This was covered by 'Doctor Who Weekly' in its Gallifrey Guardian section (in the 36th edition dated 19th June 1980) under the excruciating banner "A Marter to the cause". The story is given the title ‘Enemy of the People’ at one point in the article, although this is corrected later.
First edition cover price - 95p
Classic chapter title: The Doctor takes a risk
Later editions were numbered 24 in the Doctor Who library.
Years before the new adventures, Marter introduces swearing violence into a Doctor Who novel. Page 29: For a moment Benik looked as though he were going to burst out laughing. Then he moved up to the desk and flung down the papers. 'That bastard Kent's got his filthy hands on the leader,' he shouted, staring wildly at Bruce. Page 72: With cat-like stealth, Fariah ran along by the wall. Turning a corner she saw Kent's motor caravan parked among some trees. She waved frantically and called out as she saw Giles scrambling into the driving seat. Simultaneously there was a crackle of shots behind her. A series of bright red holes exploded across the back of her white tunic and she was hurled against the wall. A security guard ran up and stood over her writhing body with his pistol levelled. And Fariah goes on to be tormented by Benik before finally dying.
The novel was included in The First Doctor Who Gift Set, released in 1982. The four books that made up the boxed set were An Unearthly Child, The Enemy of the World, State of Decay and Warriors' Gate. The box cover was the artwork from The Programme Guide.
The novel was first published by W. H. Allen. It was reprinted in 1982, 1983 and 1984 (and it is likely that this final edition was re-covered at a higher price later in the 1980's). The novel was re-covered for a final release on the 20th May 1993, priced £3.50. This version was another case of earlier contents (1984) being re-jacketed. The ISBN throughout was 0 426 20126 4.
A laminated hardback edition was released by W. H. Allen in March 1981, priced £4.25, ISBN 0 491 02972 1. Cover Data
Steve Kyte produced a cover for the original version of the book that went unused in favour of Bill Donohoe's. A larger version of Kyte's artwork appears in David J. Howe's book Timeframe (Virgin Publishing Ltd, 1993).
Alister Pearson's cover artwork for the 1993 reprint was released as a postcard, free with 'Doctor Who Magazine' (number 206), November 1993.
Unusually, the back cover of the 1993 reprint does not feature any dialogue (usually all in capital letters) nor any background information (usually the final paragraph). Reviews
"Some of the writing has much to commend it, like the description of the TARDIS landing on the beach. However, vast chunks of the story have been cut. So have huge portions of dialogue. This is a pity as it makes the book chop about so much that there is no natural flow."
- Chris Marton, 'Wheel In Space' (number 11), August 1981
"The use of 'strong language' in this novel is a brash and unequivocal declaration of the fact that The Enemy of the World is not a children's story."
- Martin J. Wiggins, 'E=mc3', 1981
"Excellent."
- 'Cloister Bell' (number 5), March 1983
"With today's standards of life having lapsed considerably, one supposes that in this contemporary novelisation the use of bastard was in keeping with the times and would not offend."
- The author of the "Matrix Data Bank" column in DWM (April 1983), in response to the question of whether the word bastard had appeared in the original TV script, makes his opinion known
"Enemy of the World was possibly his least acclaimed book, mainly because although a superb story, David Whitaker's script lacked any real science-fiction punch and was more an experimental spy story. Nevertheless, Ian put a lot of work into it and brought the story to life with excellent characterisation, although it had to be trimmed to fit into the required W. H. Allen page count."
- Gary Russell in a tribute to Ian Marter, 'Doctor Who Magazine'
(number 121), February 1987UK Editions
| YEAR | DATE | PUBLISHER | COVER ARTIST | LOGO | SPINE COLOUR | SPINE NUMBER | TARGET LOGO | ISBN | PRICE | NOTES | OWNED |
|---|
| 1981 | 17th April | W. H. Allen | Donohoe | red curve | white | none | colour | 0 426 20126 4 | 95p | first edition | Y |
| 1982 | - | W. H. Allen | Donohoe | red curve | white | none | colour | 0 426 20126 4 | £1.25 | - | Y |
| 1983 | - | W. H. Allen | Donohoe | red curve | white | 24 | colour | 0 426 20126 4 | £1.35 | - | Y |
| 1983 | - | W. H. Allen | - | - | - | - | - | 0 426 20126 4 | £1.50 | - | - |
| 1984 | - | W. H. Allen | Donohoe | red curve | white | 24 | outline | 0 426 20126 4 | £1.50 | - | Y |
| 1993 | 20th May | Virgin | Pearson | McCoy banner | dark blue | 24 | outline | 0 426 20126 4 | £3.50 | retitled Doctor Who - The Enemy of the World, re-jacketed using 1984 contents | Y |
Miscellaneous
Author
IAN MARTER
Ian Don Marter was born at Alcock Hospital in Keresley, near Coventry, on the 28th of October 1944. His father, Donald Herbert, was an RAF sergeant and electrician by trade, and his mother was Helen, nee Donaldson.
He was, among other things, a teacher and a milkman.
He became an actor after graduating from Oxford University, and appeared in Repertory and West End productions and on television. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic. He was best known for playing Harry Sullivan in the BBC Television series Doctor Who from 1974 to 1975, alongside Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen. He had already appeared in the show as Lieutenant John Andrews in the Jon Pertwee serial Carnival of Monsters. He had numerous TV roles including appearances in Crown Court and Bergerac (Return of the Ice Maiden, 1985, opposite Louise Jameson).
Marter got into writing the novelisations following a dinner conversation. He went on to adapt 9 scripts over ten years. He started with The Ark in Space, the TV version of which he'd actually appeared in as companion Harry Sullivan. In the end he adapted more serials than he appeared in (7 appearances, 9 novelisations), and wrote one of the Companions series, telling of the post-Doctor adventures of Harry in Harry Sullivan's War. Shortly before his death he was discussing, with series editor Nigel Robinson, the possibility of adapting his unused movie script Doctor Who Meets Scratchman (co-written with Tom Baker) into a novel.
Doctor Who and the Ark in Space
Doctor Who and the Sontaran Experiment
Doctor Who and the Ribos Operation
Doctor Who and the Enemy of the World
Doctor Who - Earthshock
Doctor Who - The Dominators
Doctor Who - The Invasion
Doctor Who - The Reign of Terror
Doctor Who - The Rescue
Alongside his Who-related novels, he wrote movie adaptations of Splash! (as Ian Don, Star Books, 1984), Baby (as Ian Don, Star Books, 1985), My Science Project (as Ian Don, Target, 1985), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (as Ian Marter, Star Books, 1986) and Tough Guys (as Ian Don, Star Books, 1986). His four books featuring the Gummi Bears (also for W. H. Allen) were never published due to contractual problems.
Marter was married, with two sons. He died in his flat at the end of October 1986. He was just 42 years old.
Gift Set
Formed part of The First Dr Who Gift Set released in 1982. These sets comprised four recently released (or re-released) novelisations in a cardboard slip case. Three of the four books that made up this boxed set were An Unearthly Child, The Enemy of the World and State of Decay. There were variations on the fourth book between The Power of Kroll, The Keeper of Traken and Warriors' Gate. The box cover utilised the Bill Donohoe artwork from The Programme Guide. The gift set had ISBN 0 426 19270 2. In all there were nine gift sets released in the 1980s.