Doctor Who Discovers Strange and Mysterious Creatures (novel)

Doctor Who Discovers Strange and Mysterious Creatures was the fifth Doctor Who Discovers educational novel, and the last published by Target Books. Its release date was 20 April 1978.

Publisher's summary
During the course of his adventures Dr. Who has met many strange forms of life. Now the Doctor discovers that there are mysterious creatures living here on Earth which, in their way, are just as extraordinary.

In Dr. Who Discovers Strange and Mysterious Creatures he encounters flying squirrels, weird fish like the silver hatchet, and the piratical frigatebird among many others.

The Doctor also encounters some legendary beasts such as the mighty King Kong and the dreaded vampire, Dracula!

This is another title in a new series of illustrated Dr. Who books. So watch out for more of the Doctor's voyages of discovery.

Characters

 * Fourth Doctor
 * King Kong,
 * Dracula
 * Amduscias
 * Loch Ness Monster

Worldbuilding

 * The Fourth Doctor became involved in the discovery of the platypus by the scientists of the British Museum after getting side-tracked on an adventure that had him on the trail of the Master in the 18th century.

Story notes

 * While the previous books in the series had print runs of 40,000 copies, this book had a reduced print run of 10,140 copies, owing to poor sales on the previous books in the series, which led to Target cancelling the further books in the series they had planned.

Continuity

 * When he nearly comes across a real Tibetan Yeti, the Doctor recalls that he has already met "the Yeti", though the Yeti in question were merely alien beings disguised as Yeti. (TV: The Abominable Snowmen, The Web of Fear)

Credits

 * Series editor: Fred Newman
 * Series Designer: Frank Ainscough
 * Cover Artwork: Jeff Cummins
 * Internal Illustrator: George Underwood