I do recall that when I first read the book, as a 13-year-old in 1983, I found it incredibly difficult to get into. Even in its published form, the book contained many deviations from the broadcast adventure, including much of the dialogue, an opening sequence that explains how Rorvik’s ship ended up in the white void, and a less rushed and more poignant farewell for Romana and K9. To be honest, I don’t remember the printed version of the novelisation well enough to identify each and every element that has been newly restored. Admittedly, reference photographs of the model are hard to come by, but for the record, this is how the Privateer looks in a screen capture from Part Two of the serial (see pic). Clearly the designer tasked with making Andrew Skilleter’s cover illustration (one of his finest, in my opinion) fit the square format of a CD jewel case did not know what the back end of the slavers’ ship looked like, and so cloned parts of the front of the vessel. Not so expertly extended is the Privateer on the front cover. ![]() Judging by the running time of the audio book (4 hours 40 minutes), I would say that the resulting narrative has been expanded by at least 25%. The physical process of performing and, 37 years later, reversing those changes makes for fascinating reading in its own right – a painstaking operation involving much Tippexing out, photocopying, colour coding, and holding pages up to the light to see what had once been written under the pasted-on corrections. When this approach was vetoed by the Doctor Who production office, Gallagher was forced to re-edit and restructure his text in order to make it more closely resemble the transmitted story. What is most exciting, though, is the fact that this edition has been extended and restored by Gallagher himself from his original manuscript.Īs the author explains in his liner note (which takes the place of the usual behind-the-scenes information from David J Howe), his initial version included numerous scenes and ideas that had been altered or discarded during the making of the television serial. Not only is it read by Jon Culshaw, who is well known for his impersonation of Tom Baker, but it also features John Leeson as the voice of K9. ![]() This is a very special presentation of Stephen Gallagher’s 1982 novelisation (writing under the pen name of John Lydecker) of his own scripts for the 1981 Fourth Doctor serial Warriors’ Gate, the final part of the E-Space trilogy. As all parties strive to find a way out, the Doctor realises that Rorvik’s ship holds the terrible secret of the Tharils’ history, as well as the means of their liberation… They also meet the crew of the Privateer, led by the embattled Rorvik. ![]() With K9 damaged by the Time Winds, the Doctor, Romana and Adric explore the strange white eternity of the Gateway, where past, present and future cross over. Arriving at an intersection, the TARDIS is invaded by a refugee of the enslaved Tharil race. The Doctor and his companions are trapped in E-Space, struggling to find their way back into their own universe. Warriors’ Gate Author: Stephen Gallagher, writing as John Lydecker
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