Tim Pigott-Smith reads this gripping novelisation of a classic "Doctor Who" adventure. Forced off course by the Mandragora Helix, the TARDIS lands in the province of San Martino in fifteenth-century Italy. Here, the court astrologer, Hieronymous, has been taken over by the Mandragora energy-form - Hieronymous and the other members of his star-worshipping black magic cult will be used as a bridgehead, enabling the Mandragora Helix to conquer the Earth and rule it through their chosen servants. The Doctor has to defeat not only the Mandragora energy, but the evil schemes of the murderous Count Frederico who plans to usurp the place of his nephew, the rightful ruler of the province. Tim Pigott-Smith reads Philip Hinchcliffe's complete and unabridged novelisation, first published by 'Target Books' in 1977. '"BBC Audiobooks" has chosen well with its books and has taken the right approach with its readers...they benefit from new music and sound effects' - "Doctor Who Magazine".
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
While it's true that this isn't the most scintillating novelization of the range it is well done overall with descriptive passages and flows along quite nicely. It's the reading of Tim Piggot-Smith that makes this a worthwhile buy. He does an excellent job of bringing the characters alive. His Doctor is quite interesting. Completely unlike Tom Baker but interesting nonetheless.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
In an attempt to circumnavigate the Tim Piggot-Smith versus Tom Baker debate I will say that this is a solidly entertaining reading of one of the Fourth Doctor's most exhilerating serials. Recently available on DVD as well, the story sees Tom Baker really hitting his stride as the nomadic wanderer in time and space; Philip Hinchcliffe, the show's producer at the time, makes a rare but welcome foray into the Target books range, and his story maintains the crispness and humour of the original script, whilst adding a touch of literary verve and some suitable embellishments - exactly what the range did best. Whilst not as impressive as those penned by Malcolm Hulke, this still fleshes out some of the characters, and gives greater depth to the picture of Renaissance Italy that works better in the minds' eye than realised visually with the BBC's paltry 1976 Doctor Who budget.
All in all 'Masque' is another welcome addition to a super range of audio books; the decision to use original Target artwork on these audios was also an inspired one, and Mike Little's front cover simply makes a great package even more appealing (despite the rather dodgy rendition of Tom Baker it remains iconic within the range). As a Doctor Who (and particularly a mid-late 70s Doctor Who) fan, it's inevitable I will be generous in my reviews of these audios - please rate me on the quality of the info and not on whether you agree or disagree with the sentiments expressed. Thankyou.
All in all 'Masque' is another welcome addition to a super range of audio books; the decision to use original Target artwork on these audios was also an inspired one, and Mike Little's front cover simply makes a great package even more appealing (despite the rather dodgy rendition of Tom Baker it remains iconic within the range). As a Doctor Who (and particularly a mid-late 70s Doctor Who) fan, it's inevitable I will be generous in my reviews of these audios - please rate me on the quality of the info and not on whether you agree or disagree with the sentiments expressed. Thankyou.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Don Kepunja
Format:Audio CD
For what it's worth, I really recommend this. There have been some peerless releases in this excellent series recently (The Abominable Snowmen and, er ...And The Cybermen are probably the best yet), but this `lesser' effort has bags of charm, too. And much as I love Tom Baker's readings of fourth Doctor adventures (Brain of Morbius and Pyramids of Mars particularly), Tim Piggott-Smith's take on the cosmic Bohemian is a weird delight, too. The actor is a warm, assured reader overall, but `his' Doctor fascinates - as another reviewer noted, he isn't like Tom Baker at all... and yet there is a bit of him in there... Your listener almost ended up picturing another Doctor altogether, albeit one with a tart dash of Hartnell. A lot of the interest here lies in this being a less well-known fourth Doctor adventure, too, and while some of the plotting is yer perfunctory capture/escape/capture business, it's set in a colourful space and time, and nods back and fo(u)rth to all sorts of Who Greatest Hits. With warm spring sun in your face and your packed lunch at your back there are worse ways to spend your walk to work, you know...
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3.7 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Missing Tom
This audio book would have been so much better with Tom Baker. He has lifted a poor novelisation before with his great reading voice and delievery (Pyramid of Mars), however the... Read more
Published on 9 April 2009 by DUSTY
1.0 out of 5 stars
Tedious and Uphill to maintain
Forced off course by the Mandragora Helix, the Tardis lands in the province of San Martino in fifteenth-century Italy. Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2007 by Jay
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