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When last we saw our intrepid travelers, they had just overcome the budgetary limitations that kept them confined to the TARDIS for the duration of the story. If you missed that installment of Zorker's Great Doctor Who Chronological Read, you should go check out [my review of *Doctor Who and the Edge of Destruction*](https://steemit.com/@modernzorker/sci-fi-review-doctor-who-and-the-edge-of-destruction-1988-target-books) and then poke that 'Follow' button so you don't miss any more wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff!

Now with the disaster averted (and funding secured for further episodes), the Doctor aims the TARDIS at Earth and pulls the switch. The ship lands in a whirl of whiteness to sub-zero temperatures and thin air...and a blown circuit that prevents them from taking off again. According to their instruments, they're on the right planet, but in the wrong time. The TARDIS has deposited them on top of an Eastern mountain range in the year 1289, where they're fortunate enough to run across a caravan traversing the terrain.

Led by none other than famed Venetian explorer Marco Polo, the caravan travels across China and Mongolia to the court of the great Kublai Khan. The Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara are all welcomed as guests, though not every member of the caravan believes them to be ordinary people. The fierce warlord Tegana thinks they are deceptive devils come to lay curses and play tricks, and while Polo doesn't believe this to be the case, he's got a scheme of his own up his sleeve involving the strangely-dressed quartet and their flying caravan which appears barely large enough to hold one man, yet according to the Doctor can fit far more than four with no problems. The Doctor knows he and his companions must fix the TARDIS and escape, but under constant watch and unable to affect repairs, the caravan journeys inexorably onward to the palace where Kublai Khan holds court...and will be all too willing to add the TARDIS to his magnificent collection.
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Holy cow--now *this* is a *Doctor Who* story! *Marco Polo* is the first installment of the creators' initial vision for the show, a story taking place on Earth meant to show kids how exciting history could be. Lucarotti novelizes his own 1964 script, and while I can't vouch for complete historical accuracy, I can absolutely appreciate his efforts. This is a sterling effort, a triumph of a story which spans seven episodes in the course of 144 pages. Lucarotti so clearly enjoyed bringing this story to life and it shines through in every aspect of his writing.

Most impressive to me is just how much mileage the author gets out of a story where the group cannot use the TARDIS. This is a complete about-face from the last episode, which was about nothing *but* the TARDIS, and while *Edge of Destruction* isn't a terrible story, *Marco Polo* exceeds it in every sense. The characters are beautifully developed, the history is woven in seamlessly, and Lucarotti's descriptions of the sweeping vistas laid out before them, from the so-called Roof of the World in the mountains to the sweeping, opulent palace of Khan in Peking, are gorgeous.

While she's played a lesser role in the previous three stories, and she's still not center stage here, I *loved* seeing Susan get the opportunity to be a teenage girl for a little while. She makes fast friends with Ping-Cho, a fifteen year old woman travelling with the caravan as both cook and future bride for an elder palace statesman, and the two form a bond of close friendship. They conspire, share secrets, share sleeping quarters, and discuss their past and future when the adults aren't around. With a story like this, it would have been easy for a writer to push Susan to the background while the adults take an active role in directing events. Cheers to Lucarotti for not taking the easy way out and giving Susan more to do than pout and be told to stay out from under foot.

Equally rich is the characterization of Polo. I don't know much about the real world traveler, but Lucarotti's depiction of him as a suave, debonair, and highly-intelligent agent within Kublai Khan's employ is fun and fascinating. Polo walks a fine line during the story: originally seen by the group as their saviors when he saves them from Tegana's sword, he's later revealed to be a cunning character with designs on separating the TARDIS from its crew. Despite this, Polo is a decent sort. He could easily have the four murdered, or abandoned to their fates while he walked away with the flying box, but he's not interested in causing undue harm to innocents. It's desperation, not malice, which sees Polo plot against the Doctor and his friends; a desire to get out from under the employ of Khan and return to his native Italy. Like our protagonists, Marco Polo ultimately just wants to go home and its this shared goal which allows him to work both for and against the interests of the Doctor.
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I really can't praise this book and this story enough. The television serial has, unfortunately, been lost in its entirety (one of three episodes for which not a single frame of video exists), so it's impossible to compare Lucarotti's written visuals with the presentation of the program itself. Sad though this is, I almost feel glad this is the case. There's no way the BBC's budget could have produced anything as magnificent and sweeping as Lucarotti's novel depicts. Those wondering what it may have looked and sounded like will have to be content with a few random television snapshots available online, and an audio production using the original television soundtrack published on three discs in 2003. I've seen the images, but have yet to experience the audio version--something I hope to correct one of these days.

*Marco Polo* is shot through with the sort of fun, energy, and characterization that comes to mind when one considers the best *Doctor Who* stories. I went in with no preconceived notions or ideas, and was completely blown away. If the story played out on the air as well as it did in book form, it's just one more example of the BBC's commitment to quality during the show's formative years. Lucarotti's novel is a stunning example of just how much fun there is to be had with the concept of a time-traveling alien, his companions, and the entirety of galactic history ripe for the exploring.

Five towering, glittering, jewel-encrusted palace walls out of five.
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Next time, we'll be flying by the skin of our teeth as the TARDIS and her crew leave Earth and wind up on a deadly world with acidic seas, a brutal warlord, and a computer which governs over all with cold logic. Join me for this journey as I read and review *Doctor Who and the Keys of Marinus* on the next installment of Zorker's Great Doctor Who Chronological Read!