Legacy of the Daleks, by John Peel. Published in CT 274
Now this is what Dr Who books should be all about! The cover is fantastic, the plot is exceptional, the enemies are sinister and terrible, and as for the tie-in with the TV series, well, it is incredibly well done. I must confess, this is the only Dr Who novel I have read by John Peel, but if the rest of his books are half as good as this, then he is a hell of a good writer.
This book features the 8th Doctor, Susan, the unfamiliar-yet-familiar (read on to find out why!) Estro and the feuding Lords of England. Oh, and a few Daleks too.
30 years on, and Earth is slowly recovering from the Dalek Invasion of Earth, yet technology has not. Dark Ages technology mixes with nuclear reactors, Knights keep the order whilst the autocratic Lords rule England, and battle amongst themselves for the title of King of England. Lord Haldoran is set to take this title, as he now has the power to crush his rival, Lord London. Haldoran is assisted by Estro, who has broken the forbidden rule and explored Dalek Artefact 17, and supplied Haldoran’s troops with the stuff of nightmares: Dalek weapons!
The Doctor materialises in the midst of this chaos after receiving a distress call from Susan, his search for his new companion, Sam, temporarily forgotten. The Doctor is soon captured by Haldoran and he, together with Susan’s husband, David, are taken to his castle.
Meanwhile, Susan investigates DA-17 ands uncovers the sinister truth: Estro is reactivating the Dalek artefact to recover a weapon of ultimate power. Before Susan can warn the authorities of this, DA-17 suddenly comes to life, and she is captured by her oldest enemies: the Daleks are reborn!
The Doctor is taken before Haldoran, but the Lord is forgotten as the true identity of Estro is revealed. By corrupting the language of Esperanto, Estro has kept himself hidden from the Doctor, but the Doctor soon recognises him for who he really is: the Master!
The Doctor, David and a rogue General of Lord Haldoran manage to escape from the Master and journey to DA-17 in an attempt to rescue Susan. However, the Daleks have secured their perimeter and plan to reactive Daleks across the planet and finally complete their conquest of Earth. With Susan captured by the Daleks, the Doctor is in a desperate race to free her from the clutches of the Daleks and prevent the Master from obtaining the Dalek weapon of power. In this, the Doctor fails, but who wins? Read the book to find out!
This book is an absolute masterpiece, it really is. The 8th Doctor is portrayed here far better than in other 8th Doctor books. The bit-characters all seem real and have their real lives to lead. Susan and David are brought back to life and the Master recovers his evil and cunning. The book also links the Master’s history, covering just how he turned from the Master last seen in Frontier in Space, to that in The Deadly Assassin.
Legacy of the Daleks is, quite simply, one of the greatest books ever written, Dr Who or otherwise. At 97% it rates higher (in my view) than any of the TV shows, and is a must for all Dr Who fans.
By Peter Witney