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| By: | Siskoid, Moncton, NB |
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| Date: | Friday 14 October 2005 |
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| Rating: |   5 |
Like most people born after 1960, I've never seen Marco Polo and I wasn't really aware of the story's details. The Target novelisations are handy for that. But Marco Polo comes off as a rather average tale of the early Dr. Who era here. The dialogue isn't on the level with The Crusage or The Aztecs, and it usually all falls pretty flat. Sometimes seems like the author had to pair down the talk to fit his overlong story into 144 pages.
It's not a total dog, with the Doctor using his smarts rather often and not being outstaged by Ian, and Susan has some interesting bits. Barbara is sorely underused however.
Overall: Fair, but unartful adaptation.
| By: | Quist, NZ |
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| Date: | Tuesday 25 September 2007 |
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| Rating: | 9 |
It's not hard to see why the absence of this one is so lamented. In the early days of Dr Who the producers had an idea that the series could be semi-educational when discussing history or things scientific. Here we have explanations for why water takes longer to boil at higher altitudes, how cooler temperatures produce condensation and other historical minutae concerning the historical Marco Polo and Asia in general.
One of the better ones.
| By: | Matt Saunders, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
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| Date: | Monday 14 January 2013 |
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| Rating: | 8 |
It's a really good read, especially as I was not around in 1964 to watch it. I find the soundtracks quite hard to follow, so I am now experimenting by reading these Target novels first, and then listening to the CD. This method works very well, so I'll keep doing it this way - The Crusade is next.
The novel itself is very simple to follow, but this is not a bad thing at all. I also suspect that the description of the landscape and journey look much better in my mind than they did in the TV episodes! It's a good adventure story, an well worth a read.
