The Criminal Computer
by Terrance Dicks (Blackie and Son, 1987)
An odd final volume, affording the Baker Street Irregulars a high-stakes case framed within a ludicrously unsophisticated conception of digital crime (even for the day). The denouement is pure SF mad scientist, after which Dicks may have felt too embarrassed to continue.
Terry Nation’s Dalek Special
ed. Terrance Dicks (Target, 1979)
The odd typesetting gives this a fanzine appearance, as if Dicks has cut-and-pasted his material from elsewhere. Includes a potted Dalek history, random Dalek puzzles and photographs (B&W), and a truly amateurish (more nonsensical than ever) MG story courtesy of Terry Nation.
The Disappearing Diplomat
by Terrance Dicks (Blackie & Son, 1986)
A return to form. Dicks makes use of Cold War tropes to cram in a proper, high-stakes action adventure where all the Irregulars have a chance to contribute (Mickey, thankfully, is reined in a little). Dan’s Sherlock-inspired brainwork is spot-on for middle-grade.
The Ghost Grabbers
by Terrance Dicks (Blackie, 1980)
After much build-up as to how realistic the so-called hauntings are, the ease of their fabrication is then glossed over. The multifaceted misdirection is clever enough so far as MG goes, but the scheme is at once painfully transparent and laughably overcomplicated.
The Cinema Swindle
by Terrance Dicks (Blackie, 1980)
Again, a somewhat underwhelming mystery. Mickey, the most rambunctious but least interesting of the Irregulars, sees some action, but the others do very little. The book is most noteworthy for its frank, even nostalgic depiction of the seedier side of 1970s London.
Star Quest: Terrorsaur!
by Terrance Dicks (W. H. Allen, 1981)
Dicks concludes his Star Quest trilogy with a fast-moving but inconsequential adventure. The young protagonists are reunited with their friends from the first book and defeat the same enemies—hapless space supremacists—thanks to some guff about a possibly sentient planet-wide ecology.
The Fagin File
by Terrance Dicks (Blackie & Son, 1978)
A slight, rather hurried volume, even by Dicks’s standards. The narrative chops about more than it did in the first Baker Street Irregulars mystery, and the investigation is something of a doddle. For a middle-grade adventure, though, the stakes are surprisingly adult.
Star Quest: Roboworld
by Terrance Dicks (W. H. Allen, 1979)
Dicks once again borrowed heavily from 1970s Doctor Who in scripting this middle-grade adventure of human outcasts, robot sentience, deranged scientists and plucky rebellion. This second book in the trilogy is more assured than the first, though never reaching any great heights.
The Case of the Missing Masterpiece
by Terrance Dicks (Blackie & Son, 1978)
This first book of the Baker Street Irregulars series shows Terrance Dicks to be right at home in a London setting. Unlike his Doctor Who novelisations, the Holmes-inspired mystery is rich in background detail and characterisation, its investigation offering plenty of suspense!
Dr. Ninth
by Adam Hargreaves (BBC, 2017)
As if inspired by a particularly insipid Terrance Dicks novelisation, Hargreaves doesn’t so much attempt a mash-up here as a clumsy retelling of Rose’s first story. The text is belaboured and even the pictures offer little. Jack Harkness is a middling highpoint.