Given that the Target Doctor Who adaptations began at around the time Jon Pertwee took over the role as the Doctor, it seems odd that this early third Doctor story was not immediately adapted.When Mars Probe 7 goes astray, a rescue ship is sent up to try to find the missing astronauts. It returns, but when recovered has no crew whatsoever, and is highly radioactive. UNIT is called in to try to discover what has happened.
It turns out that someone has kidnapped the ambassadors of an alien race. If they are not returned, Earth faces destruction...
'The Ambassadors of Death' was overly-long as a TV serial. Terrance Dicks takes the opportunity to present us with a slimmer version of the story - not necessarily lacking in detail, but seemingly faster-paced. This is probably an illusion, but one which readers should take graciously.
This story explores Doctor Who's new 'exiled on Earth' format, and does so quite sensibly by reversing the usual roles of humans and aliens.
