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A review by royzee
Doctor Who and the Daleks by David Whitaker
3.0
This is a curiosity in the Who fiction pantheon. One which I read yonks ago and rediscovered lately when having a turn out. Kind of can't part with these old Target books but...
Don't expect hard SF, don't expect the usual Who trademark, get in, fix it, leave without really engaging. Our innocent protagonist Mr Chesterton is waaaaay out of his depths in this unsettling take on Doctor vs Daleks. And not just those spooky pepper pot things... He has always bothered me from the TV series. Wooden isn't quite the word but he and his companions in this novel remind me of soap opera in space. Maybe that is what the original concept was; create engaging characters then torment them to see how they get on.
Here they champion the cause of the weaker denizens of a planet that might or might not actually be Earth. Dr Who knows because he is up to tricks that threaten the lives of all of them. Some kind of "link" that needs "mercury" you know, the sort of thing you can get from any city. "Special Offer this week! Mercury, buy one get one free..." Twaddle.
Of course, you need a trigger because personally one look at Skaro and I would reset the coordinates! Somewhere there is fan fiction where just such a thing happens. "Dr Who Stays in and Puts His Feet Up".... etc.
There is much here to amuse but much to annoy. Much to feel sold short. Much to question.
For a start the ethics of the whole thing. This is especially acute when musing on later encounters between the Doctor and the daleks, Tom Baker vs Davros especially.
Then there is the physics... oh dear oh dear.... how a thing with one eye and a prod could build a city... how come the Thaals who are little more than cavemen can develop drugs? What do they subsist on? Does no one have religion?
Nothing is explained... the names for a start "daleks". They suddenly start calling them that... but the daleks did not as far as I recall introduce themselves as such. And how come everyone speaks ENGLISH?! Nonsensical plot devices...
Anyway, I got a bit tired of it all and I found the ending predictable and unsatisfying rather than charming so maybe it will go to the jumble sale after all.
Don't expect hard SF, don't expect the usual Who trademark, get in, fix it, leave without really engaging. Our innocent protagonist Mr Chesterton is waaaaay out of his depths in this unsettling take on Doctor vs Daleks. And not just those spooky pepper pot things... He has always bothered me from the TV series. Wooden isn't quite the word but he and his companions in this novel remind me of soap opera in space. Maybe that is what the original concept was; create engaging characters then torment them to see how they get on.
Here they champion the cause of the weaker denizens of a planet that might or might not actually be Earth. Dr Who knows because he is up to tricks that threaten the lives of all of them. Some kind of "link" that needs "mercury" you know, the sort of thing you can get from any city. "Special Offer this week! Mercury, buy one get one free..." Twaddle.
Of course, you need a trigger because personally one look at Skaro and I would reset the coordinates! Somewhere there is fan fiction where just such a thing happens. "Dr Who Stays in and Puts His Feet Up".... etc.
There is much here to amuse but much to annoy. Much to feel sold short. Much to question.
For a start the ethics of the whole thing. This is especially acute when musing on later encounters between the Doctor and the daleks, Tom Baker vs Davros especially.
Then there is the physics... oh dear oh dear.... how a thing with one eye and a prod could build a city... how come the Thaals who are little more than cavemen can develop drugs? What do they subsist on? Does no one have religion?
Nothing is explained... the names for a start "daleks". They suddenly start calling them that... but the daleks did not as far as I recall introduce themselves as such. And how come everyone speaks ENGLISH?! Nonsensical plot devices...
Anyway, I got a bit tired of it all and I found the ending predictable and unsatisfying rather than charming so maybe it will go to the jumble sale after all.