1979: THE ADVENTURES OF K9 AND OTHER MECHANICAL CREATURES (Target Books)

My copy of Bob Baker's new autobiography, K9 STOLE MY TROUSERS, arrived from Amazon yesterday.  I've only had time to give it the most cursory of glances (looks good!) but it did remind me of this other essential K9 text, from 1979: THE ADVENTURES OF K9 AND OTHER MECHANICAL CREATURES by the ubiquitous Terrance Dicks.

This was published - alongside a similar DALEK volume - by Target Books (of multiple paperbacks fame) and was one of the earliest DOCTOR WHO reference works.  It's undemanding stuff but - for a seven-year-old fan - an absolute must-have.

The mechanical mutt is - obviously - the main draw but clearly Dicks couldn't think of enough things to say so he expanded the brief to include various robots featured in the show to date.  In the pre-home video era, and with no repeats of note on TV, these glimpses into the show's past were tantalising indeed.  I wonder if today's young fans look at the various photo-heavy reference books of today and feel a similar surge of excitement about the show's hitherto undiscovered past?

Priced at 85p, this wasn't cheap but I kept hassling my parents every time we went to WH Smith until they bowed to the inevitable.  My original copy eventually fell apart and this is actually a recently acquired replacement.  I'll post the DALEK book soon.