Whether you are a child of the 1960s or a fan of the more recent revitalisation of the Doctor Who franchise on BBC Television and while there is no more shaky scenery and the special effects have now ‘gone Hollywood’, there is no denying the relevance of Doctor Who in the sci-fi arena. Malcolm Hulke wrote the original novel in 1975, following the television serialisation of the The Green Death, which was first aired in 1973.

In this latest release, the music and sound effects have been brought bang up to date thanks to the latest recording technology and the certainty of access to a much greater dynamic support library. Katy Manning reads the adventure with a sense of real involvement, which should not come as much of a surprise, as she did appear as the original ‘Jo Grant’ in the TV series and, therefore, can admit to a certain intimacy with the role. Of course, as an ‘audio book’, this title has enormous relevance to a wide variety of potential listeners. If you believe in the power of radio, then playing it on a vehicle’s CD system, or listening at home, will highlight its fantastically realistic edge.

Naturally, it is a classic story and, without imparting the entire content, it begins in a remote Welsh mining village, when a man emerges from a disused colliery completely covered in a green fungus. He dies but the investigation commences with the good Doctor performing his usual and occasionally shambolic means to uncover the cause, while colliding with the reluctant Dr Stevens of ‘Panorama Chemicals’, who knows a lot more clearly than he is prepared to admit about the huge green maggots living underground and the force that controls them. Well-read and acted, gripping and immense fun, this is an audio book worth owning for that next long drive or for when Doctor Who is space-travelling between series.