Doctor Who and the Talons of Weng-Chiang (novelisation)

 was a novelisation based on the 1977 television serial The Talons of Weng-Chiang.

1977 Target Books edition
Stepping out of the Tardis into Victorian London, Leela and the Doctor are confronted by menacing, diabolical horrors shrouded within the swirling London fog – a man's death cry, an attack by Chinese Tong hatchet men, giant rats roaming the sewers, young women mysteriously disappearing...

The hideously deformed Magnus Greel, conducting a desperate search for the lost Time Cabinet, is the instigator of all this evil. Posing as the Chinese god, Weng-Chiang, Greel uses the crafty Li H'sen Chang, and the midget Manikin, Mr Sin, to achieve his terrifying objectives.

The Doctor must use all his skill, energy and intelligence to escape the talons of Weng-Chiang.

1994 Target Books edition
'A CHINESE SECRET SOCIETY, FANATICAL FOLLOWERS OF AN ANCIENT CHINESE GOD CALLED WENG-CHIANG. THEY BELIEVE THAT ONE DAY HE WILL RETURN TO THE WORLD.'

Stepping out of the TARDIS into Victorian London, Leela and the Doctor find themselves fighting of the trained killers of the Tong of the Black Scorpion. Barely escaping alive, they soon discover that the swirling fog hides other, more sinister forces. Giant rats roam the sewers; young women mysteriously disappear; and a magician's manikin is found, clutching a blood-stained knife. Has an ancient and mysterious Chinese god returned to haunt the streets of London?

This is an adaptation by Terrance Dicks of a screenplay by Robert Holmes, which featured Tom Baker in the role of the Doctor.

Chapter titles

 * 1) Terror in the Fog
 * 2) The Horror in the River
 * 3) Death of a Prisoner
 * 4) The Monster in the Tunnel
 * 5) The Quest of Greel
 * 6) The Tong Attacks
 * 7) The Lair of Weng-Chiang
 * 8) The Sacrifice
 * 9) In the Jaws of the Rat
 * 10) A Plan to Kill the Doctor
 * 11) Death on Stage
 * 12) The Hunt for Greel
 * 13) The House of the Dragon
 * 14) The Prisoners of Greel
 * 15) The Firebomb

Deviations from televised story

 * The story opens with a scene of Chang performing rather than coming in after the end of the performance.
 * In the televised version of the story, the Doctor explains that a malfunction with the Peking Homonculus, which was only supposed to be a toy, "nearly" caused World War VI. The novelisation claims that World War VI did happen, and that Magnus Greel created the Homonculus himself with the intention of triggering a World War. It's the novelisation that states Greel was a key member of a "Supreme Alliance" of dictators, later used by other spinoff media, though this states they were took over after the war and a subsequent conflict against "an alliance of their victims" deposed them. The televised story has him as a notorious Minister of Justice but doesn't explicitly say who for.
 * Teresa is given a back story as a waitress in a Mayfair gambling club, and is given the surname Hart.
 * Joseph Buller is renamed Alf Buller.
 * Li H'sen Chang is only temporarily working for Jago, and as part of his operation he's deliberately been performing short terms at the smaller music halls on the outskirts of London.
 * Instead of wandering out the back of Chang's cabinet, the Doctor disrupts the trick by putting his henchman Lee in it.
 * The Doctor wears his scarf, whilst in the televised story he wears a Sherlock Holmes-esque outfit without the scarf.
 * In the second chapter, Jago thinks that Li H'sen Chang "really was Chinese" when most such magicians "were usually English enough once the make-up was off." This was possibly an in-joke by Terrence Dicks about John Bennet playing the character.

Writing and publishing notes

 * This was the first cover illustrated by Jeff Cummins, who replaced Chris Achilleos. Cummins was also asked to supply covers for Doctor Who and the Mutants and Doctor Who and the Tomb of the Cybermen, but his submission for Doctor Who and the Mutants fell through at short notice.
 * This was the last title to be reprinted by Target Books in March 1994 and the last book to carry the Target Books logo on the cover.

British publication history
First publication:
 * Hardback
 * W.H. Allen & Co. Ltd. UK


 * Paperback
 * Target

Editions published outside Britain

 * Published in the USA by Pinnacle Books in 1979 as a paperback edition, it was one of ten American novelisations; an introduction by Harlan Ellison features in all the editions.

Audiobook
This Target Book was released as an audiobook on 1 January 2013 complete and unabridged by BBC Audio and read by Christopher Benjamin.

The cover blurb and thumbnail illustrations were retained in the accompanying booklet with sleevenotes by David J. Howe. Music and sound effects by Simon Power.