Customer Reviews

Legacy of the Daleks (Doctor Who Series)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

LEGACY OF THE DALEKS is a better written book than WAR OF THE DALEKS. The Daleks appear to be much more of a threat, the Doctor acts with greater intelligence, and the continuity references are slightly less annoying and confusing. Unfortunately, it's still not a very good book.

The beginning of the story has a lot going for it. Set thirty years after the end of the Dalek invasion, we see Earth gradually putting itself back together after years of occupation, death camps and war. There's a strange mix of technologies and customs as modern tools and weapons are used alongside cultural throwbacks from centuries ago. England has again become a land of bickering Lords; knights roam the countryside doing good deeds. Of course, since this is the 22nd Century, the knights are armed with futuristic weapons and machine guns in addition to their more traditional accompaniments. There is some interesting development at the start where we see some of the power struggles that are going on as the factions of surviving humans battle it out for dominance. Resources are scarce. The production and selling of energy is a major factor in how much power and influence one has. So far, so good.

It's the moment in which the Daleks first appear that the story starts falling apart for me. Up until this point the book had the potential for a lot of interesting political and military maneuvering as the different Lords vie for control. But once the Daleks show up, that goes out the window and all we are left with are some long, pointless battle-sequences and Daleks issuing reports to each other. The interest that had been built up surrounding the remaining humans and their plight is quashed and we're left with extended battles and overblown scheming from shallow villains.

As in WAR the characterizations are extremely poor. The Doctor appears more like the eighth than in WAR, but he has frequent lapses into his third and fourth personas. The secondary characters are almost universally poor. These aren't people - they're vessels for the plot (what there is of it) who have no reason for existing other than to say things that drive the story forward. There's no consistency about them either; they say or do whatever is needed of them at the time regardless of how much it jars with their previously established character. At no point did I feel that I was reading about human beings.

The poor characterizations would not have been as inexcusable had there been an absorbing plot going on around them. Unfortunately, this book is pretty much a complete runaround with very little in it to inspire interest. The Doctor and company run around, get locked up, escape, get threatened by men with guns, escape again, run around, etc. There is not much substance here.

All in all, it would probably be better to skip this book. Although it takes place in the middle of the Sam Is Missing story-arc, the related threads are only at the beginning and end of the book. You won't miss anything important or entertaining if you decide to read something else.

I was delighted to read that the Doctor finally decided to look in on Susan, and was therefore dissappointed that they never actually meet. There is only one brief scene where they barely make eye contact. The point of conflicting continuity is raised by some, but that has always been one of the endearing qualities of Doctor Who. Like the Doctor himself, it never abides by the rules. And who really cares as long as the story works? There is a nice bit of story linking that explains how the Master became the decaying wreck he was in The Deadly Assassin. As for the ending, I hope it leaves open the possibility of bumping into Susan somewhere in future. Maybe she and her "Grandfather" can actually exchange a few words.

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

THE LEGACY OF THE DALEKS is the tenth adventure featuring the Eighth Doctor, but not Sam (having been lost in THE LONGEST DAY, part one in a three part book adventure - T.L.O.T.D. is an intermission), and is a far cry better than the previous book - but not by much. I'm not exactly sure why the Terry Nation Estate feels that only John Peel can write Dalek novels (he was the only author allowed to write them even under the VIRGIN imprint as well), and the only conclusion I can come to is that - he's safe. He won't color outside the lines, and he always tries his best to remain failthful to the Dalek spirit - while at the same time, trying to tie 30 years of continuity together into a pretty bow. And once again, it doesn't work (see THE WAR OF THE DALEKS for a full review). While there are some mild moments of interest, there is little here that you haven't seen or read somehwere else before. It's a very bland and fast paced read that offers so very little (and yet manages to cough up some disturbing moments, the worst being found in the many references to sexual torture)... but promised so much. There is a cracker jack scene between David and Susan early on that I felt could literally explode this book apart (and I won't give it away), and I hoped that Peel would explore this idea more in the book... but, he dosen't... in fact, he will reference it, only to solve the problem by simply killing off Susan's husband... shocking. The Third Doctor's Master makes his final show here (his performance here has the feel of the Fifth Doctor's adventure - THE KINGS DEMONS, in both style and plot). We learn at the end of this story how he came to look the way he did in the Fourth Doctor's adventure THE DEADLY ASSASSIN and I'll tell you up front right now - it's all Susan's fault (and here again Peel tries to tie up loose ends in the television history - and it doesn't work). And speaking of Susan - the Doctor and she only met ONCE in this entire story - and that is when David is killed while saving the Doctor - after that THEY NEVER MEET AGAIN! - making the point of this entire adventure a waste of time and a rip off. Not only does it contridict the set history in THE DALEK INVASION OF EARTH, but it also introduces a few new impossible elements that make the reason behind the Dalek invasion of Earth pointless... just like this book. Not a total lose, but what might have been will haunt me for days after. As always, these early adventures seem to not have found their footing. The Doctor is uneven, and the stories try to be adult while holding onto the sense of fun and whimsy of the series - and they need to make up their minds. A good book to have in the collection (and the prices for the PEEL/DALEK books are going up all the time), but just a mild read. Next... DREAMSTONE MOON, and the return of Sam...

I'm not sure why in major fan circles this novel is getting ripped to shreds. John Peel is truely an "old-school" Who writer who is at his best when writing the Daleks. Many are upset by the so-called breaking of established continuity. Those same people forget that if it wasn't for change and establishing new "chapters" in "Who's" long history, it never would have survived for as long as it has. This is definately one of the most exciting novels in the line. It was wonderful to see Susan and David again, as well! Mr. Peel truly draws you in and doesn't let you rest until the back cover is closed. He manages to tie up a few loose ends along the way (In a much more convincing and interesting way that in The Eight Doctors!) A+++ Mr. Peel, keep them coming!

Peel truly knows how to write Dr. Who and the Daleks. This is a well written, fun ride with some interesting twists and turns. ENJOY!

I've read other John Peel books and like anyone else, some I like better than others but I've never disliked anything the man writes. He's outdone himself here. What a good book! Keeps you interested and never gets boring or bogs down. Well done, John!

The Doctor FINALLY decided to check on Susan, his granddaughter, while looking for Sam - but problems crop up. Susan, for her part, has seemingly adopted Earth and humans as her home now that she has married a human. But problems crop up.

The characterazations are perfect and you care about or hate the proper people throughout. There is one character that does a total 180 about-face which I had a little problem with because normally people don't change. But, for the sake of the story I shelved my disbelief.

Other than that, it is great. A good read, and you don't really need to know the history of the Doctor to enjoy this story. It would be a good book to recommend when introducing a newbie to DW. I just wish I could give this book 4 1/2 stars. The only reason I couldn't give it five stars was because of the Barlow character, but that's my problem.

For those keeping score at home, this is a better book than Peel's other excursion into Dalek-land "War of the Daleks" but being that the other book was more an excuse to explain a bit of continuity that really didn't bother anyone than to have an actual plot, it really wasn't that tight a competition. The book has a decent starting premise, to be honest, taking us into the world post "Dalek Invasion of Earth" and showing us how everything shook out, with the lands being divided into domains and the different lords attempting to one-up each other to gain control. The various political machinations of it all are rather interesting but unfortunately, the title stipulates that Daleks have to show up eventually and off we go. We also get to see what happened to Susan and husband David Campbell thirty years down the line and Peel's extrapolations of what it's like to married to a near-immortal, while not original, are at least worth exploring. But then the Daleks show up. Also, just to sweeten the pot a bit, the Master is hanging about doing nefarious deeds and having a grand time manipulating everyone. Until, of course, the Daleks show up. Getting the pattern? Peel has a few interesting elements at play here but it all tends to get shoved out of the way (or cleared up) so the Daleks can have their usual steamrolling effect on the plot. They show some intelligence here but none of the fierce cleverness that defined their sixties stories, they mostly stand around and give reports and shoot people. Which is all they really did in "Dalek Invasion of Earth" so it kind of fits. And while Peel is professional enough to keep this all at the very least engaging, the number of missed opportunities here is staggering. The biggest one is (spoiler, I guess) not having the Doctor and Susan meeting at all. Why bring in the only companion he can consider family if you're not going to explore any meeting between them? Instead, he spends more time letting us know how the Delgado Master met his end, which isn't anything that anybody was really begging for. In the plus column, the Doctor is written fairly well here and all told, I'm not missing Sam all that much, even though I know he's going to find her soon. But I think the BBC has to finally realize that stripped of all the audio/visual elements that help define them, on paper they are simply not that scary.

This is the best of all the Doctor Who novels that John Peel has written. It has the feel of the tv series. Something that many novelists of the Docter can't create. Peel explores what happened to Earth in the aftermath of the Dalek Invasion of Earth, and shows that humanity can act pretty stupidly at times. He also lets us see what became of the Doctor's granddaughter Susan after thirty years living on Earth. As someone who interviewed Terry Nation, the creator of Daleks, I think he would have approved of this story.

This book is incredible. I could not stop reading it. Every Doctor Who fan should read this Dalek story for the fact that it pushes Doctor Who further. The continuity in the book is great along with the series. It makes sense that now we get more insight into this realm of Doctor Who. The mysteries are being answered and it is about time. John Peel opens up more possibilities for the future of Doctor Who with this book. After reading War of the Daleks and now this one I cannot wait for the next Dalek story.

I have just finished reading this great book and can't wait to read John Peel's other Dalek book 'the War of the Daleks.' This novel, is great in the way it ties together the aftermast of the Dalek invasion of Earth and also the disfigured Master of the Deadly Assasin. I'm no big fan of the Daleks but their actions are just about believable in this book. A good read for any fan.