The Dalek Generation

"The Daleks had saved and enhanced countless billions of lives."

Writer: Nicholas Briggs
Format: Novel
Released: April 2013
Series: NSA 52

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor

Synopsis

'The Sunlight Worlds offer you a life of comfort and plenty. Apply now at the Dalek Foundation.'

Sunlight 349 is one of countless Dalek Foundation worlds, planets created to house billions suffering from economic hardship. The Doctor arrives at Sunlight 349, suspicious of any world where the Daleks are apparently a force for good – and determined to find out the truth. The Doctor knows they have a far more sinister plan – but how can he convince those who have lived under the benevolence of the Daleks for a generation?

But convince them he must, and soon. For on another Foundation planet, archaeologists have unearthed the most dangerous technology in the universe...

Verdict

The Dalek Generation was a decent novel and a very intriguing look into the Daleks. With how frequent their appearances have been in all mediums of Doctor Who, I was quite happy to see that something different was done with them and instead of being recognised as the be all and end all of evil, they were revered across countless planets as saviours. One word that the Doctor just could not believe the Daleks were capable of being was nice. He was almost disgusted at the very prospect of it and refused to believe for one second that they were not up to something dastardly. The Doctor's distaste for the Daleks was evident throughout this novel and it was the driving force and reminding us what they were really like. With no companion in this story, that role fell to three children in the form of Ollus, Jenibeth and Sabel. They were terrific characters and the moment the Doctor had to tell them that their children had committed suicide in order to prevent a secret from the Daleks was heartbreaking. He was clearly devastated by the responsibility he had inadvertently taken on and that spoke volumes. Ollus was particularly marvellous with his prized possession of his holographic spaceship toy. He absolutely loved it. His ease at steering actual ships was also particularly impressive and the Doctor was quietly surprised by his abilities. The Doctor having been to his funeral, or what he thought to be his funeral, before he'd even met the child was an unexpected occurrence but he dealt with it very well. His tackling with the Dalek Litigator was excellent and I loved that the blurriness was revealed to be the Vortex itself. The Dalek Time Controller being the one that was effecting the Vortex and pulling the Doctor in certain directions was good but I really wasn't sure why the Doctor was so surprised if he claimed having knowledge of him. He should have known, apparently. He's the Doctor – of course it would be the Daleks! The plan actually being to use the Cradle of the Gods to turn all of the Dalek Foundation planets into new Skaros was excellent and the formula to harness it was needed, held within the toy. I thought the long passage where the Doctor and the children were hiding from Dalek gunfire from one side of the TARDIS ended poorly as I really didn't see why so much was effort was devoted into the Doctor turning it around. Surely the children could have just jumped around with him whilst the Dalek fire was stumped by the holograms? The tension wasn't quite deserved. The Doctor's continued mentioning of the Robomen was a personal highlight for me and I'd love for them to return in the modern era in some capacity. Lilian Belle was a delightful character and her questioning of whether the Daleks actually could be evil was very good. Jenibeth thinking of jelly bobs for the entire time she was held by the Daleks was emotional but the idea of the Cradle of the Gods latching onto her seemed a little farfetched. The Doctor and her brother and sister's plea to get her to think of something better and nice was an emotionally charged moment though and a really great moment when things didn't turn out too disastrous for the Doctor. But his interfering was getting a lot, and it would lead things close into The Snowmen very nicely. Overall, a decent adventure but it just needed a little less silliness and some more clarification in places.

Rating: 7/10