Resurrection of the Daleks

"It's my duty to hunt them and, this time, eradicate them forever."

Writer: Eric Saward
Format: Novel
Released: July 2019
Series: Target 161

Featuring: Fifth Doctor, Tegan, Turlough

Synopsis

"I'm not here as your prisoner, Davros, but your executioner."

The TARDIS is ensnared in a time corridor, catapulting it into derelict docklands on 20th century Earth. The Doctor and his companions, Tegan and Turlough, stumble on a warehouse harbouring fugitives from the future at the far end of the corridor – and are soon under attack from a Dalek assault force.

The Doctor's oldest enemies have set in motion an intricate and sinister plot to resurrect their race from the ashes of an interstellar war. For the Daleks' plans to succeed, they must set free their creator, Davros, from a galactic prison - and force the Doctor to help them achieve total control over time and space. But the embittered Davros has ideas of his own...

Verdict

Resurrection of the Daleks was a very good novelisation of what was a terrific televised story. At long last this Dalek adventure finally gets the novelisation treatment, but I imagine my reading was not anywhere near as special as it might have been for several fans who have read and own the initial batch of Target books. I'm not jealous, I promise. Regardless, I just had to get my hands on a copy and I thought it was a fantastic read. One thing that surprised me a lot about the novelisation was how little Turlough actually does. I've been much of a fan of his and I can't say I missed him here (or even noticed initially). Tegan was definitely the standout companion throughout which says a lot when Turlough knows about the Daleks! I really did think he would have more involvement. The characterisation of the Fifth Doctor was superb in this story with Peter Davison's likeness expertly captured on the page. I really enjoyed his dialogue with the Daleks and particularly Davros here and I've always thought this story was one of his best. This book certainly didn't change my opinion which I was delighted with. One of the highlights was definitely Lytton and he seemed as crude and dastardly as ever. I also liked the little foreshadowing of the events of Attack of the Cybermen where he would return to do battle with the Doctor as there would definitely be a next time. I though the shift to have him wanting the Doctor dead based on a history they shared was an intriguing move though but I was fine with it. I liked the emergence of the Supreme Dalek, but the most intriguing aspect of the Daleks for me was the likes of the Alpha, Beta, Delta, Epsilon and Gamma Daleks all appearing. Those were quite some names! They were good though. The initial focused setting being the Vipod More was brilliant and Davros being hidden and referred to simply as the Prisoner was delightful. I think that's because I knew what was coming but I really appreciated that. Some of the characters in this one were great with Mercer and Stein standing out. I must admit that this story fooled me again with the latter being revealed as a Dalek agent! Laird was also good but her death was just one of many that would send Tegan into breaking point when it came to travelling with the Doctor. The scale of death and how close and intimate it was definitely shone through in this novel and I couldn't blame Tegan for leaving the Doctor in abrupt fashion. Her little anecdote about questioning whether she'd made the right call was a nice touch. The only thing I really disliked about this story was the extended detail regarding what could go on in the TARDIS for Stein now he was on board. That seemed completely unnecessary and just filler. I didn't like that despite how interesting it was. Davros being needed by the Daleks was interesting as they needed a cure to the Movellan disease that defeated them following the events of Destiny of the Daleks, and I just loved Davros when he reacted to the reveal that the Daleks were defeated. He couldn't have that and quickly set a motion in plan to get an army and some Daleks on his side. The result was Dalek civil war and battles ensued. The use of the time corridor in the story was fantastic and I liked how it took the TARDIS out of action. The pace was also good but the ending did seem to come a little sudden as the two Dalek factions looked to wipe the other out. Who would truly rule the Daleks? I'm sure we'll get a revelation soon ;)

Rating: 8/10