Customer Reviews

War of the Daleks (Dr. Who Series)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

WAR OF THE DALEKS reads more like one of the Target novelisations than as a work of fiction in its own right mostly due to some terribly clichéd characterizations and some very unfortunate prose. While reading, one wonders if this was not originally a "Junior Doctor Who" novel starring the Third Doctor with Jo and then quickly altered at the last moment to accommodate the Eighth Doctor and Sam. It wasn't, of course, as it was the subject of many an argument between the author and fans on the rec.arts.drwho newsgroup for quite a long time before its publication. The object of discussion was the infamous "retcon" that turned all of the post-Genesis stories on their heads. It's this that the book is most infamous for and I'll speak more about this later, but I'd first like to talk about the rest of the book.

There are several ideas present in the book that could, if developed properly, have turned out very well. It would have been interesting to see the Doctor coming to terms with having accidentally wiped out an entire planet with more than just a shrug of his shoulders and a mumbling of, "Oh golly, I feel just awful about those guys." The scenario in which the Thals wished to turn themselves into Dalek-like creatures in order to survive and defeat the Daleks should have been a lot more interesting than it in fact turned out to be. The Doctor merely lectures the Thal leader for a few moments and then the whole matter is dropped from the book without any more expansion. There are some moments of actual interesting interaction that had the potential to develop into intriguing character development. Sam and a Thal war veteran discuss some of the aspects of a race totally dedicated to war with generations upon generations not knowing any other way of life. But instead of the conversations actually going somewhere philosophical or thought provoking, they are resolved with hackneyed dialog and banal observations. Every character is a two-dimensional cliché and each person can be entirely summed up in a word or a short phrase ("greedy", "dedicated, but questioning", "creepy", etc.). Even the Doctor is mostly faceless; the only way we know that it's the Eighth Doctor is that we don't go any more than three pages without being told how good-looking he is. It was certainly a relief when Davros was revived and was one of the only characters not to continually notice how attractive the new Doctor is.

The rest of the book is mostly a confused mess. For example, the water planet on the fringes of the Dalek Empire is given the same name as the world that the Doctor is supposed to have destroyed (the editor should have caught this one). The book is so heavy in continuity references to previous Dalek adventures, that one almost needs some reference material in one hand while reading the book in the other in order to make sense of it. While the continuity points may alienate casual and non-fans, the hardcore fans are most likely annoyed that so many of the points are incorrect. The remains of the Dalek battlecruiser that was destroyed by the Hand of Omega near Earth in REMEMBRANCE OF THE DALEKS are found floating thousands of light-years away in a seldom visited area of space with no explanation. REMEMBRANCE took place in 1963 (at least Peel didn't try to retcon away the year of the adventure), yet "about thirty years" later, Earth is supposed to have a giant space empire spanning a large portion of the galaxy. And worst of all, the Daleks actually find the Doctor's TARDIS unlocked, with all of its time-travel capabilities and other secrets available and the most interesting thing they can do is to plant a bomb inside in hopes of killing the Doctor.

Now, onto the retcon. The only question that I have is: why? The story could have continued on perfectly well without it and would not have been bogged down for several pages while the Dalek Prime has to explain and re-explain the situation to a confused audience. It isn't needed for the story and only succeeds in making the Doctor and Davros look like complete morons for not noticing that a very important base of operations is suddenly a few thousand light-years away from where they thought it was. It really does not seem to have any reason to be in the book at all. It certainly reads as though the retcon was thought up first and then the rest of the book was structured to make it seem plausible. Even with all the thought that obviously went into devising this, it still does not adequately fit into the rest of the story. The jump from action to long, tortured explanation back to action feels very jarring.

The last few chapters of the book are passable if only because at this point one knows to keep one's brain firmly in the locked "off" position. This is not recommended for grown-ups.

I have seriously mixed feelings about "War of the Daleks". Despite it being clunky, juvenile and containing the most pointless continuity rewrite in the history of science fiction, it's still the only BBC Doctor Who novel (with the exception of "The Infinity Doctors") that I've read more than once. It's a guilty pleasure, like Godzilla movies. Reading it, you know that it's dumb, but you just can't stop. At least, I can't.

Throughout the novel, John Peel does a great job of showing us how good it could have been, as he breaks up the main plot with small vignettes from the greater galaxy as it grapples with the Dalek threat. These are gripping stuff indeed, epic adventures against an implacable and ruthless foe. The opening scene, a vast battle between the Daleks and Thal special forces, is equally gripping and for some reason reminds me of many of the scenes in Heinlein's "Starship Troopers". If the book had continued along those lines, it would have been superb; miltary SF in the Doctor Who universe is something we really haven't seen before, and Peel infuses the battle scenes with great tension and drama, whether they be between the Daleks and lone security agents, custodial robots or Draconian starships. He proves that he certainly has the ability to write this kind of stuff well, which is why the direction he takes with the rest of the novel is so irritating.

In between the battle scenes, Peel manages to create some very interesting characters and then gives them very little to do. The Doctor, supposedly the hero of the story, literally does nothing to affect the plot at all throughout the entire book. Yes, he gets to solve problems, but it is plain that those problems are largely of no consequence and that most of the events of the novel would have occurred in exactly the same way were he present or not. Given that Peel's characterisation of the Doctor is extremely generic, I'm convinced the book would have been far better had it been written as a standalone book without the Doctor in it at all.

The biggest problem with the book occurs when the plot moves to Skaro, the Dalek homeworld. Since the Doctor blew it up in the TV episode "Remembrance of the Daleks", the fact that it still exists drives what is left of the plot. It's at this point that pretty much all the characters switch their brains off and Peel reveals the real reason the book was written in the first place; to undo the destruction of Skaro as seen on TV. Apparently the creator of the Daleks, Terry Nation, objected to the destruction of the Dalek homeworld, despite okaying it for broadcast (he had script approval and the ability to veto anything he didn't like), and Peel took it upon himself to "undo" that event. To do so, he concocts the most bizarre, convoluted, risky and ultimately pointless conspiracy I've ever come across, rewrites over a decade of Doctor Who history and makes both the Doctor and Davros (the mad scientist who first engineered the Daleks) look like complete idiots. When the book was first published, the sound of Dalek fans all over the world going "huh?" was almost deafening. After waiting years for a new Dalek adventure, to be presented with something so mediocre that showed the skeleton of the classic it could have been was almost too much to take.

And yet I keep re-reading it, almost as if I keep hoping that since the last time it'll have metamorphosed into the book it should have been. It's the literary equivalent of a dumb popcorn movie, complete with spectacular set pieces, implausible plot and dodgy acting. If I can keep my brain stunned into silence for the duration, I enjoy it. It's only when I start asking questions that I realise how bad this thing is. Still, if you - like me - love the Daleks and have been starved of new adventures for years, you could do worse than pick this up. Just don't say I didn't warn you.

This - the fifth book in the Eighth Doctor's adventures - fares better than the fourth, but is still a troubling read. Perhaps the worst of this book is the attempt to somehow join together nearly 30 years of Dalek history into one volume and have it all make sense... it dosen't, it can't, it won't - but that hasn't stopped John Peel from making a go at it. Much of the drama involved with the Daleks here actually reads more like Terry Nations's color weekly comic that was run in the the late 60's and early 70's - which features the Dalek Prime fighting for his right to rule against all comers - and just like the comic, the Daleks are given independent thought, will, voice and emotion - which totally contridicts everything we've come to know and even love about the Daleks from the series. Davros is dragged out once more and is put little or no use here - he is neither given any grand speeches or dramatic confrontations with the Doctor - which lessens both his place in the story and the Doctor's as well - both come across very dull, and these early 8th Doctor adventures still have not found their footing with their hero - coming across more like the 7th mixed with a poet (which is commented on a few times in the course of the book). Perhaps the weakest point in this whole story is Sam's teenage girl crush on the Doctor - it's uncomfortable when Peel relates how she blushes when the Doctor kisses her forehead, or how warm she feels towards him (ick - and if you're like me - then you might agree that the only one true love the Doctor might have ever had was in fact with Tegan - they worked so well together). But all is not lost - there are a few moments that work well, and one INTERLUDE that is just fantastic, well written and so interesting that I wish the entire book had been written in this manner - check out INTERLUDE: HESPERUS (pg: 213) to see what I mean. These early adventures may not be the best - but they are getting harder and harder to find, and always worth picking up as both a fan and a collector. Not perfect, but all is not lost.

Subjective opinion: it's a "fair" piece of writing. Objective opinion: it contradicts Who and contradicts ITSELF. Other people have commented on how it disagrees with things like which Imperial Dalek is which. That could all be explained away with some good retcons and extrapolation (and I have). But the book gives ridiculously contrived explanations as Peel attempts to retcon every story since 1975 and makes a USELESS hash of it; his attempts to take the whole of Who back to what HE considers the Glory Days of the Daleks, furthering his own agenda for the Dalek storyline. Peel says the Doctor gets the wrong planet AND visits Skaro on a "special mission"? Digging up Davros, change his memories to rebury him? Movellans INVENTED by Daleks even though the whole galaxy has heard of the war? That's just in the plot. Contrived, artificial, forced, ridiculous. The writing? The interludes showing Daleks with other species in the Universe - GOOD writing, THAT impressed me. That's why I call it "fair" writing. The ending? "Oh no, another problem." "We've fixed it." "Oh good, there's another problem. Oh, and a third one. Oops, there's a fourth". Rushed, amateurish, implausible, pathetic. John Peel should never have been allowed to write an original Dalek novel. Stick him with the TV novelisations. Peel is still writing Who and Dalek stories for the kiddies. "A kiss on the forehead, for one thing!" The only reason I give this crap one star is because there's no option on the Amazon menu for ZERO stars. I'm about to read his next book "Legacy..." to see how much I have to do to retcon IT. I can't believe anyone gave this 4 or 5 stars and if you want to discuss it with me, go ahead and mail me. Defend this trash of Peel's, I dare you. The facts are against it. I love Who, love the Doctor, love the Daleks, even love Davros... but John Peel is destroying it all.

This was a great book. After reading INFINITY DOCTORS, I was a little skeptical of Doctor novels. This one rejuvenated my interest. It was great! An excellent Dalek story, with some interesting themes and twists put on the Imperial Daleks. It's also interesting to see them act differently due to certain circumstances (ever hear a Dalek say "Surrender?") The Doctor explains the backstory of the Daleks (and hence, mentions a bunch of back episodes in Dr. Who lore) to Sam, and it comes off well, as to not sound trite but helps the new reader who may not be too familiar with the Daleks. The Thals were well written and the view of them as a desperate race about to pay the ultimate price to defeat the Daleks was interesting and ironic. Sam's apparent interest in the Doctor was good but a bit cliched. The Eighth doctor was really well done here and reminded me a bit of the 4th Doctor. One complaint: this novel tries to do away with one previous Dalek storyline through a rather absurd explaination (even the novel admits it's absurd), which I couldn't figure out why it was so necessary to do it. Anyhow, this is a definitely worthy addition to the Doctor Who library.

I know it's been a while since War came out, but given it's reputation I skipped reading it for a while.

The action starts out in the midst of a Thal/Dalek battle. The book follows some of the Thals from the battle and onto a scavenger frieghter. The frieghter has just picked up some debris which happened to contain Davros's escape pod. The Doctor and Sam are also picked up by the frieghter. The Thals attack the frieghter and awaken Davros.

The action is very well done. Mr. Peel manages to write a pretty good action novel which fleshes out the battles to a greater extent than he was allowed to in his short 80's Target novelizations.

The only problem arises when the infamous retconn issue rears it's ugly head. He spends four or five pages explaining a confusing fanwanky theory about how Davros destroyed the wrong planet. He even goes as far as to retconn the Movellan Dalek war in order to support his theory. It feels like he was forced to incorporate a silly theory ontop of an action novel. It just doesn't work and really doesn't advance the story that much.

The story gets a little too obsessed after the Dalek Prime's long winded retconn and starts to feel too much like a dollar bin sci-fi action novel. It's a bit disappointing after the good beginning.

Mr. Peel does still mange to develop the charecters of Sam and the Doctor, as well as some of the peripheral charecters, despite the high action level. Sam suffers from a mild case of shell shock and goes from navite concerning the horrors of fighting a war, to understanding the Thal's motivations a bit better. The Doctor is the 8th Doctor in this book, a rare occurance for any books placed this early in the series, and a welcome suprise after his missing the mark on the 7th Doctor's charecter in Timewyrm:Genesis.

All in all, not a bad read. I think the retconn backlash has tainted the book and the author's reputation a bit too much. Yeah the retconn is silly, and it's certainly not Peel's best work. But for a fun story that doesn't require too much thought, it's worth it.

To paraphrase a famous quote about Hamlet: "What can be said about War of the Daleks that hasn't been said all ready?" This 1997 Eighth Doctor Adventure remains one of the most controversial novels in Doctor Who fandom as few novels have its polarizing effect. Having only come into fandom in January 2007 this novels reputation intrigued me enough to read it. So here is my take on one of the most controversial Doctor Who novels ever...

The novel does have some pluses. John Peel knows the eighth Doctor and his characterization is spot on with Paul McGann's performance in the TV Movie. Overall, characterization is an overall plus of the novel from its various Thal characters to Davros and even the Daleks. If nothing else Peel grounds the story in good characters (even if not in the best of situations). The novel also ahs two other essential elements of any good Doctor Who story: pacing and morality. For the vast majority of the novels length there is excellent pacing though there are moments when the novel practically grinds to a halt (more on that later though). There is also the morality sitting at the heart of the novels first half involving the Thals and what they want Davros for. This is arguably the finest part of the novel and it is a shame that it is so overshadowed by the novels downsides.

And now for the biggest problems of the novel: continuity references and (especially) chapter eight. If ever Doctor Who fans could give an award for way too many continuity references in any single Doctor Who story I feel very certain that War of the Daleks would win hands down. Not only are there references to every single Dalek TV story but to the 1960's comic stories as well to the point of annoyance. Peel also felt the need to put "interludes" between the various parts of the novel which show humans, Draconians and Mechanoids fighting the Daleks which serve no story purpose (that I could find anyway) and bring the novel to a halt. Yet these are mere appetizers (for lack of a better word) for the biggest problem of the novel: chapter eight aka THE RECON.

If there is any reason that this novel is as controversial as it was is and is likely to remain it is chapter eight. For reasons best known to Mister Peel in the space of a single chapter he brings the entire novel to a halt for the purpose of rewriting the entire history of the Daleks from Destiny of the Daleks to Remembrance of the Daleks completely and totally. Unlike recons of the past like Genesis of the Daleks or Lungbarrow the recon at the heart of the novel feels unnecessary and it is jarring to read. Sadly, even in a charitable state of mind, it is next to impossible to look past the slow moving and unnecessary chapter that brings down the overall value of War of the Daleks.

So where does the novel stand over a decade after its original release? Well it's not a train wreck. In fact with its strong characterization and mostly brisk pacing it makes for a fantastic adventure novel. Yet it is the continuity references by the dozen plus the mother (and father most likely) of all recons that keep the novel from reaching any higher in its potential. While I won't say this novel should be avoided like the plague if you dislike novels based entirely around continuity references then this isn't the novel for you. Consider yourself warned.

People need to calm down. This is just a book. It will be okay. John Peel did his best to sort out a VERY confusing history spanning 35 years and dozens of writers. Some things were well done, others I would have done things diffrently. That's OKAY. If you have a better idea, write a Who novel yourself. This was a book that read quickly, and had fairly unique charecters. Again, I have read better, but it was very enjoyable Who. Everyone tends to agree that the interludes were well done. I would like to have seen more of them as I found them splendid. Again, a almost great Who novel by an author who always does his homework. BRAVO!

This is the first new Dalek story in ten years, and it puts an entirely new spin on this very old foe. For once, instead of being clownish and incompetent, they are painted as dangerous as they were originally intended to be. While some have complained about retconning in this novel, the new information fits seamlessly with what we knew already and improves Dalek continuity. Bravo!

Unfortunately, the Eighth Doctor is so far just about indistinguishable from the Fifth, and his new companion Sam is jealous and unsympathetic. That is, however, hardly the fault of this novel, and I definitely recommend the book.

I hate Dalek stories as all they do is kill and subjugate. This story is no different in that respect, but it reveals a lot and offers a humdinger of a surprise.

It is no surprise that Davros lives. He's like a cockroach - you think you've got it but in the end the legs are still twitching. Yuck!

The character of the Eighth Doctor is perfect. It is fun to watch Sam's reactions to every woman she and the Doctor come across. Sam is only 17 and not really grown yet but she is like all of we human women who have come under the Romance Spell of the Doctor. All his incarnations have had it to some degree, but #8 is one big WOW! She wants the Doctor all to herself, and one suspects sometimes she has rather adult fantasies of them together in the Tardis, but....

Anyway, this is a good Dalek story for those who like planetery takeovers, killing, destruction and edge of your seat suspense. You keep asking yourself When Is This Going To End? But, when it comes to the Daleks, does it really ever end?