The Caves of Androzani was a novelisation based on the 1984 television serial The Caves of Androzani.
Publisher's summary
1985 edition
From the moment they land on the planet Androzani Minor, everything goes wrong for the Doctor and his new young companion, Peri.
They become involved in the struggle between brutal gun-runners, ruthless Federation troops, and the hideously mutilated Sharaz Jek, who lurks in the depths of the caves with his android army.
Key to the struggle is spectrox, the most valuable substance in the universe. Suitably processed, spectrox is an elixir of life, but in its raw state it is a deadly poison – a fact which will cost the Doctor another of his Time Lord lives...
Chapter titles
- Androzani Minor Revisited
- Spectrox War
- The Execution
- Sharaz Jek
- The Escape
- The Magma Beast
- Spy!
- The Boss
- Crash Down
- Mud Burst
- Takeover
- Change
Deviations from televised story
- Elements of Androzani society, such as chakaw picking, is explored.
Writing and publishing notes
Audiobook cover.
- The title page credits Robert Holmes as the author, both of the original television story and the book.
- Although number #92 in the Doctor Who library, the book was actually the 93rd to be released; this was because it was swapped in the publication order with the novelisation of Planet of Fire late in the day without the numbers being reassigned.
- This story was released as an audiobook read by Peter Davison.
Additional cover images
1992 edition; Cover by Andrew Skilleter
British publication history
First publication:
- Hardback
- W.H. Allen & Co. Ltd. UK
- Paperback
- Target
