This is the novelization of the first episode of Doctor Who. The Doctor has lots of help in this one, his grand daughter Susan and two of her teachers, Ian and Barbara.

Ian and Barbara refuse to believe that the Doctor can travel through time, so he takes them into the past where they meet up with a tribe of cavemen. The tribe has lost the ability to make fire and the Doctor must decide whether to give it back to them. To make matters a bit more confusing there are two warriors jockeying for leadership of the tribe, so the Doctor needs to decide who to present it to. Oh, and of course everyone is threatening to kill the Doctor and his companions if they do not do what they are told.

The Doctor is not as forceful in this story as in later ones, at times Ian leads the group, although eventually the Doctor always ends up back in command. A quick story and for once the Doctor does not have to save the world, just himself and his companions.

This book has a very interesting history in it's relation to another book, "Doctor Who and the Daleks" by David Whitaker. If you have read both of them, you will notice that they both start out with the Doctor and his granddaughter Susan meeting the two schoolteachers Ian Chesterton & Barbara Wright. This is because right after the adventure of "The Daleks" in 1964, it's book was written so that it could be the start of a Doctor Who book series which later became TARGET of which "An Unearthly Child" belongs. Since it was the start of a series, Mr Whitaker thought it would be necessary to make the meeting of Ian and Barabara in his book. Several years later on October 15th 1981, the company W.H. Allen & Co. started printing the book "Doctor Who and An Unearthly Child". Mr. Terrance Dicks had decided to follow the script and make that story the beginning since it was a very historical adventure. It is about a young student of 15 named Susan Foreman who goes to Coal Hill School in London England. Some very strange things have been said from this strange girl, so two of her teachers, Science teacher Ian Chesterton and History teacher Barbara Wright follow her home to find her house is a Police Box. I'll leave it hanging there. I do happen to admit that it does lack some excitement that other stories have, but I also admit that it was an instant classic to me!

Bill