Innocence

"Davros is still a boy."

Writer: Gary Hopkins
Format: Audio
Released: Septemer 2006
Series: I, Davros 01

Featuring: Davros

Synopsis

"I find it fascinating that a living creature would subject itself to such dangerous experimentation. Knowing that it would die..."

The Kaled and Thal races are at war. No one really remembers why, or when it started, but generations of people on both sides have lost so very much.

Born into an influential family is Davros. Now aged sixteen, he is being pulled in various directions his father wants him to follow tradition and go into the military. His sister has joined the Military Youth and his scheming, devoted mother wants him to pursue a life of science.

But no one seems terribly interested in what Davros himself wants. So he must begin to assert himself, begin to take control over his own life, begin to work towards his destiny...

Verdict

Innocence was an excellent start to the I, Davros spinoff series! I was hugely impressed with this story and I really wasn't sure what to expect but I was delighted with what I listened to. It took us back to the days of Davros during his teen years on Skaro in the midst of the bloody war between the Kaleds and the Thals. I really liked how that war was often mentioned but wasn't really the focus of the story and I also thought it was beneficial to introduce some of Davros's family before he actually appeared himself.  Considering what we know Davros became, it was quite unfathomable to imagine him as a young boy with a family but that's exactly where this audio took us back to. I really loved that the war was an absolute stalemate and I'm sure that would contribute to Davros's creating of the Daleks to change things from boring repetition. Calcula was a wonderful character and it was no surprise that she was so conniving and devious - that's definitely the side of the family that Davros got some of his traits from. The way she manipulated events was extraordinary and instead of being happy that her husband returned from being on the field during war, she orchestrated his death along with that of his sister. In doing so, she framed Brogan and had him killed partly by her own daughter and it was all because she didn't want the truth about Davros's father to get out in the open. Nasgard had seemed to make a decent father for Davros and I liked that whilst his son wanted to go into science, he wanted to push him onto the field of battle. His being usurped by Brogan was an intriguing element of the story but I have to say I was a little surprised that Calcula saw to his death. Yarvell was a lovely character but I thought the concept of Davros having a sister was just downright wrong. I liked that. At one time, he really was just a normal child but the adventure he went on during this story showed that he was anything but ordinary. His working with Magrantine was superb and his fascination with the radiation and living tissue was a joy to behold. At just sixteen, there were signs of the great enemy we would come to know. The way he locked his tutor in with the radiation on maximum to see its effects was quite startling but just sublime. The calmness of the character was incredible and I loved how unsurprised Calcula was when he showed her what had become of his new tutor. She believed in him and she was the only one. That was excellent. Overall, a fantastic start to the series!

Rating: 9/10