Timelash (novelisation)

 was a novelisation based on the 1985 television serial Timelash.

Publisher's summary
The inhabitants of the planet Karfel are suffering under the tyrannical rule of their leader, the Borad, who has brought his world to the brink of interplanetary war.

Those who dare to oppose the will of the Borad are mercilessly sacrificed to the Timelash, a fate considered by many to be worse than death.

When the Doctor arrives on Karfel he soon discovers the Borad's horrifying plan, a plan which will directly affect his young American assistant, Peri...

Chapter titles

 * 1) No Escape
 * 2) The Time Vortex
 * 3) Whirlpool
 * 4) Return of the Time Lord
 * 5) Negotiating the Timelash
 * 6) Stirring Embers
 * 7) Fight or Perish
 * 8) Battle Stations
 * 9) Regrouping
 * 10) Legacy of the Borad
 * 11) The Bandrils' Bomb
 * 12) Double Trouble

Deviations from televised story

 * As is tradition, much of the characters' dialogue has been altered for the novelisation.
 * The rebel group lead by Katz and Sezon make an appearance far earlier in the story than on television. Their new hideout is described as a disused mineral mine and the three insurgents who are captured and killed in the early hours of the story -- Gazak, Tyheer and Aram -- are noted to be the second of two paramilitary brigades attacking the Borad's power structure. Katzin "Katz" Makrif is the daughter of the former Maylin who died under suspicious circumstances in a previous "bloodless" coup.
 * Peri escapes from the Citadel onto the surface of Karfel itself, catching her breath under a crimson skyline and the twin suns of Rearbus and Selynx. Faced with the decision to travel north/south into the desert, east back into the city or west into the caves, she chooses to brave the caverns.
 * As on screen, Tekker is wholly unaware of the Borad's plans for his people. His betrayal and death comes at his moment of realisation when he tries to shoot the Borad.
 * The Doctor abandons the Borad's vault to rescue Peri and Herbert from the Morlox himself. He soaks the end of a wooden stake with the contents of the M80 cannister and thrusts it straight into the creature's mouth. The resulting chemical reaction combines the two together, killing the frenzied animal outright.
 * The Central Citadel's guardoliers are discovered to be androids of a similar make to those employed directly by the Borad. When he is killed, an automatic trigger is sent down to fifty-strong to obliterate every living thing in the Citadel. Peri arms herself with a blaster and accompanies the rebels while the Doctor and Mykros attempt to shut down the power vault with the two recovered amulets.
 * The Doctor explains that he "turned the TARDIS’s polarity into a field of negative energy" to attract the bendalypse warhead away from Karfel. When it impacted, they simply dematerialised.
 * The Borad is said to have a series of clones in freeze-chambers. The original is cast into the time corridor at the end of the story. The Doctor instructs Mykros to destroy them by disintegrating the temperature control units, so the dictator's regime can finally become a memory.
 * The small population of the planet is explained by most of them being wiped out by a famine. The Doctor showed them how to produce food artificially and, along with Maylin Makrif, negotiated the deal with the Bandrils to supply them with grain in exchange for power cells.
 * Gazak's father was a councillor who was killed for continuing to supply grain to the Bandrils in secret.
 * Peri does not use one of the acidic plants against a Guardolier.
 * The plot point of Peri receiving a note telling her where Sezon is and losing it is dropped, with the Guardoliers instead finding the rebels during a thorough search for her. An ally in the citadel, Bax, does bring the rebels a note updating them on the situation in the citadel.
 * Sezon and Katz were the leaders of separate rebel groups who have recently combined.
 * Kendron's death comes later, after the failed attempt to recapture the Inner Sanctum.
 * The TARDIS materialises in the Inner Sanctum on its return rather than in the corridor.
 * Sezon rejoins the others after the death of the cloned Borad rather than being off screen injured during the climax.
 * The Borad orders explosives placed at the landing pad the Bandril ship will be using. After his defeat, Mykros tells the Bandrils to use a different pad.
 * The Doctor destroys an android outside the Borad's vault by overloading his Kontron crystal device and throwing it at it.
 * The Doctor explains how he and Herbert survived the Bendalypse warhead hitting the TARDIS: They time-shifted an hour into the future, with the warhead only destroying living matter.

Writing and publishing notes

 * Television writer Glen McCoy made the initial suggestion to then-editor Nigel Robinson to novelise his own screenplay.
 * Dedicated "To my sister, Kathy"

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


 * Paperback
 * Target

Audiobook
This Target Book was released as an audiobook on 3 March 2022 complete and unabridged by BBC Audio and read by Colin Baker.

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.