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decembera's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Absolutely loved this one. It's a campy Doctor Who romp with a bunch of your favorites, and it doesn't pretend to be anything else. Susan gets to be the glorious badass that she deserves to be, and Eight gets to hold a kitten. Say less.
hidekisohma's review
3.0
So this will be my third eighth doctor book i read. Is this one better than the rest? I mean...it's okay?
What really caught my attention about this book was that it had susan in it. Being a big fan of Hartnell's First doctor era i really wanted to check this one out. However, if you're looking for a big doctor/susan reunion in this one, you're going to be disappointed like i was.
This novel takes place on Earth 30 years after the events of the 1st doctor arc "The Dalek invasion of Earth". I watched it ahead of time to know what was going on and honestly, i recommend you at least watch the last episode of the arc before moving into this book. It'll help with knowing some of the characters you'll come across and where we last left off Susan. You don't need to see the WHOLE thing, but the last episode at least.
The biggest issue i had with this book was the issue i have with a lot of these classic doctor who books. a lot of the book was dedicated to one off side characters that only appear in this book that i don't care about. I don't know whether this is in order to stretch out the page count or what, but i do not care about evil dudes trying to rule london and fighting amongst each other with evil politics. i'm reading doctor who. not futuristic game of thrones.
The parts with McGann's doctor are always fun and i enjoyed basically every scene he was in. He's always fun with his suave take on the doctor with trying to solve everything with diplomacy and words. It was also nice to see them follow the continuity of the 1st doctor arc. a sequel arc with a new doctor is a cool idea. I just wish there wasn't so much random politics.
The lack of Susan/doctor in this book was EXTREMELY disappointing, but from what i read in the other reviews, if i want a touching susan/doctor reunion, i should listen to a big finish audioplay. I wish the author had done more with Susan and the doctor as the showrunner COMPLETELY squandered the opportunity back in "The five doctors". I thought perhaps this author would give me something in regards to that. But no, John Peel squandered it too. Oh well, i'll find the audioplay and listen to it i suppose.
Okay story, not great, but okay. this book is a SOLID 3/5. right in the middle. Slightly above average. Not very memorable, i zoned out during a lot of the political parts. Better than Genocide, but that isn't saying much.
What really caught my attention about this book was that it had susan in it. Being a big fan of Hartnell's First doctor era i really wanted to check this one out. However, if you're looking for a big doctor/susan reunion in this one, you're going to be disappointed like i was.
This novel takes place on Earth 30 years after the events of the 1st doctor arc "The Dalek invasion of Earth". I watched it ahead of time to know what was going on and honestly, i recommend you at least watch the last episode of the arc before moving into this book. It'll help with knowing some of the characters you'll come across and where we last left off Susan. You don't need to see the WHOLE thing, but the last episode at least.
The biggest issue i had with this book was the issue i have with a lot of these classic doctor who books. a lot of the book was dedicated to one off side characters that only appear in this book that i don't care about. I don't know whether this is in order to stretch out the page count or what, but i do not care about evil dudes trying to rule london and fighting amongst each other with evil politics. i'm reading doctor who. not futuristic game of thrones.
The parts with McGann's doctor are always fun and i enjoyed basically every scene he was in. He's always fun with his suave take on the doctor with trying to solve everything with diplomacy and words. It was also nice to see them follow the continuity of the 1st doctor arc. a sequel arc with a new doctor is a cool idea. I just wish there wasn't so much random politics.
The lack of Susan/doctor in this book was EXTREMELY disappointing, but from what i read in the other reviews, if i want a touching susan/doctor reunion, i should listen to a big finish audioplay. I wish the author had done more with Susan and the doctor as the showrunner COMPLETELY squandered the opportunity back in "The five doctors". I thought perhaps this author would give me something in regards to that. But no, John Peel squandered it too. Oh well, i'll find the audioplay and listen to it i suppose.
Okay story, not great, but okay. this book is a SOLID 3/5. right in the middle. Slightly above average. Not very memorable, i zoned out during a lot of the political parts. Better than Genocide, but that isn't saying much.
rebelbelle13's review
3.0
Legacy of the Daleks is a huge step forward from the previous novel, Longest Day, but let's be fair, the bar was set awfully low. In terms of Dalek stories, it's rather the usual fare: something fishy is going on, reveal the Daleks, lots of death, the Doctor gets captured and frees himself and his companions, he finds a way to destroy this incarnation of the Daleks, he gets in his TARDIS and away he goes. There's a little more than that here though, which adds to the story rather than detracts from it. In this case, Legacy is a continuation of a previous Doctor Who arc, this time reaching all the way back to Hartnell's era. I'd recommend watching The Dalek Invasion of Earth arc from the first Doctor before reading this one, as it leads directly into this story (albeit 30 years later). Susan is here, as well as David from the original story. She fumbles around for the first 2/3 of the book, but really comes into her own and kicks some solid butt towards the end. Also, heads up for those looking to see a grand reunion between the Doctor and Susan- it doesn't happen. They briefly see each other from afar and that's it. I don't believe that's a spoiler, but more of a heads-up to anyone who was hoping to see a better reunion than what we got in The Five Doctors. The other reason this book didn't receive a better score is because there was too much political nonsense, maneuvering and war planning. I didn't care who was backstabbing who, or which direction General So-and-So was going to move his troops. I'm here for the Doctor, and the Daleks, so show me them. As for the latter, they put in a decent showing, and as usual, John Peel didn't disappoint in that aspect. The former doesn't really do anything until the last minute besides complain at all the killing that's happening and how evil humans are to each other- so that could have been done a bit better. Donna, the Doctor's makeshift companion, was capable and just fine for this one installment, but I'm very glad she's not a mainstay. The Master turns up here as well, although he probably wasn't entirely necessary either. All in all, it was a decent time, but there was nothing super memorable here.
eightfitz's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
wynnifer's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
nwhyte's review
4.0
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1506859.html
Susan's departure from the Tardis at the end of The Dalek Invasion of Earth was the first departure of a comopanion, and in some ways the least satisfactorily resolved of all; what sort of life does she face, presumably one of the Doctor's own race, but living with humans for the rest of her life? (When she pops up again in The Five Doctors we are told nothing of what she has been up to in the meantime.) The 1994 radio play Whatever Happened to Susan Foreman? had her wandering back to the twentieth century and becoming European Commissioner for Education, but it is not a serious attempt to contribute to canon. Big Finish tried a bit harder with Marc Platt's An Earthly Child at the end of last year, which brought Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor back to Earth decades after Susan's departure, and guest-starred McGann's son Jake playing Susan's son Alex, but I wasn't completely convinced.
By contrast, I loved John Peel's Legacy of the Daleks. Peel is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me - I rate his novelisations of the black and white era Dalek stories very highly, and appreciate his attempts to wrest continuity and character from material which is not always promising. Here, he has Susan trying to manage her relationship with the aging David, putting on make-up to appear nearer his age when they are together in public, in a post-Dalek England which has become a patchwork of feudal fiefdoms. Throw into the mix not only the visiting Eighth Doctor, but also the Delgado!Master attempting to Take Over The Universe by reviving the Daleks and stealing their tech, and the book ends up pushing many of my fanboy buttons, ending with hope for Susan and a prologue to one of my favourite TV stories. Best Eighth Doctor Adventure I've read for a while.
Susan's departure from the Tardis at the end of The Dalek Invasion of Earth was the first departure of a comopanion, and in some ways the least satisfactorily resolved of all; what sort of life does she face, presumably one of the Doctor's own race, but living with humans for the rest of her life? (When she pops up again in The Five Doctors we are told nothing of what she has been up to in the meantime.) The 1994 radio play Whatever Happened to Susan Foreman? had her wandering back to the twentieth century and becoming European Commissioner for Education, but it is not a serious attempt to contribute to canon. Big Finish tried a bit harder with Marc Platt's An Earthly Child at the end of last year, which brought Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor back to Earth decades after Susan's departure, and guest-starred McGann's son Jake playing Susan's son Alex, but I wasn't completely convinced.
By contrast, I loved John Peel's Legacy of the Daleks. Peel is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me - I rate his novelisations of the black and white era Dalek stories very highly, and appreciate his attempts to wrest continuity and character from material which is not always promising. Here, he has Susan trying to manage her relationship with the aging David, putting on make-up to appear nearer his age when they are together in public, in a post-Dalek England which has become a patchwork of feudal fiefdoms. Throw into the mix not only the visiting Eighth Doctor, but also the Delgado!Master attempting to Take Over The Universe by reviving the Daleks and stealing their tech, and the book ends up pushing many of my fanboy buttons, ending with hope for Susan and a prologue to one of my favourite TV stories. Best Eighth Doctor Adventure I've read for a while.
cynt's review
1.0
Started off pretty well, but couldn't keep it up. I enjoyed the Susan bits, until she was made redundant, and Donna's bit, until she suffered the same fate, characterization-wise. Wholly skippable.
julis's review
adventurous
medium-paced
2.0
This was not as bad as his last one! It was still pretty bad but not like, as bad. Couple reasons for this: 1, he had an excuse to never mention Sam at all, so he didn’t, so he wasn’t forced into writing a character that he transparently doesn’t like and 2, Delgado!Master is in it.
Plotting still bad, writing not great, Daleks incredibly boring. But the Master is fun and Susan is…present…and Eight isn’t awfully written.
nukirisame's review
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
coffee_deer's review
3.0
I'm starting to think that it's me and not the books - that I'm struggling through the first half of yet another DW novel and flying swiftly and joyfully through the second half. It was good, though, definitely good.
As a Whovian, I couldn't appreciate more the fact that the Eighth Doctor meets Delgado!Master there - both are strong favourites of mine so I was fangirling all over the place when I figured out who Estro was. I was glad to see Susan again, too, however, I'm not so sure about this version of the Dalek Invasion's aftermath. All the Lords and Domains... Not that it's totally unbelievable - I just prefer the Big Finish version better, I think.
Also, the way the novel's leading to the events of The Deadly Assassin is simply beautiful!
As a Whovian, I couldn't appreciate more the fact that the Eighth Doctor meets Delgado!Master there - both are strong favourites of mine so I was fangirling all over the place when I figured out who Estro was. I was glad to see Susan again, too, however, I'm not so sure about this version of the Dalek Invasion's aftermath. All the Lords and Domains... Not that it's totally unbelievable - I just prefer the Big Finish version better, I think.
Also, the way the novel's leading to the events of The Deadly Assassin is simply beautiful!
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