Doctor Who: The Evil of the Daleks (Target Doctor Who Library, No 155)

Rating:
Summary: Daleks are evil......but good.
Review: After reading POTD , found another Dalek book called EOTD. After finishing this book ,i found that this was even better then Power. Peel is great at Novelizions and this is his best. The Doctor is looking for his Tardis with has been stolen. In the end he finds that the daleks have taken it and he must obey them or die. The Plot of this book is full of suspense and is one of the best Patrick Troughton stores there was but only the 2nd episode out of 7 is left.Well done mr.Peel.

Rating:
Summary: How the Daleks met their final end
Review: Like its cousin, The Power Of The Daleks, the novelization for Evil Of The Daleks was also written by John Peel and is a story that's incomplete in TV form (except Episode 2). However, this is a very significant story in the Doctor Who canon, as this sees the very end of the Daleks. At least that's what it was meant, as Dalek creator Terry Nation was looking to market his creations in America, hence this story. Like the Power novel, is written so that it gives depth into the characters. This book is more effective, as there aren't many supporting characters that there were in Power.

Following their adventures at Gatwick Airport, the Doctor and his companion Jamie are shocked to see someone steal the TARDIS. The Doctor is suspicious. Who would want to steal a time machine that has the outward appearance of an outdated British telephone box? "...whoever took it must have known exactly what they were stealing. Which means they must know who I am." he says.

His suspicions prove right, as he and Jamie are whisked off to Victorian England, 2 July 1866. They meet Edward Waterfield, a professor, who with his financial backer and benefactor, the leonine bearded Theodore Maxtible, are under the thrall of the Daleks, who have kidnapped Waterfield's daughter Victoria.

"The conquest of humanity has eluded us. The Daleks must know why." The Doctor's task is to discover the human factor. To that end, he works at a series of instruments recording Jamie's thoughts on a capsule, as he sets out to rescue Victoria. "It is for you... to select the major emotions and thought processes to make up the human factor," he is told. Once finished, the factor will be transferred to the Daleks so they will become unbeatable, something the Doctor would rather die than do, but the Daleks have his time machine, plus he doesn't want to endanger Victoria's life, despite not having met her. The Doctor seems to sum up the kind of enlightened person he is when he tells the fiance of Maxtible's daughter, "I am not a student of human nature. I am a professor of a much wider academy, of which the human being is merely a part." His cleverness comes in at times when it looks like he's at a disadvantage, which makes the Second Doctor, with his dark Beatles mop-top, and impish smile, come alive.

Jamie's nobility and bravery is one of the highlights Examples of the human factor are given by Jamie's rescue of Kemel, the muscular 6 and a half foot mute Turkish strongman initially told that Jamie is a murderer and to stop him. Kemel realizes his being deceived and aids Jamie in his quest.

The reason I wish this story were available in TV form is that Daleks are seen acting human, calling the Doctor "friend" and playing trains with him. Another is the image of seeing the Daleks respond not with "I obey" but "Why?" That is what differentiates Daleks from humans, blind obedience versus questioning authority.

Two things are in variance. The other is the timing of this story to other Dalek stories. Terry Nation, creator of the Daleks and John Peel agree that this story takes place after the Dalek Masterplan of 4000 AD, with Peel placing his novel more than a thousand years after that adventure. Yet other reference books place the scenes on Skaro either between the 19th and 22nd century, or in the case of History of the Universe, around 2966 AD. And Maxtible's death is not detailed in the novel, being in variance to how he dies in the TV version.

One major important thing reinforced in the novel from Terry Nation and John Peel's history of the Daleks book is that the Emperor Dalek here is NOT Davros, but the Dalek Prime, the Gold Dalek who experimented himself to become an immobile, grossly mutated creature that became pure mentality and needed a support system. Another great novelization by John Peel.

Rating:
Summary: How the Daleks met their final end
Review: Like its cousin, The Power Of The Daleks, the novelization for Evil Of The Daleks was also written by John Peel and is a story that's incomplete in TV form (except Episode 2). However, this is a very significant story in the Doctor Who canon, as this sees the very end of the Daleks. At least that's what it was meant, as Dalek creator Terry Nation was looking to market his creations in America, hence this story. Like the Power novel, is written so that it gives depth into the characters. This book is more effective, as there aren't many supporting characters that there were in Power.

Following their adventures at Gatwick Airport, the Doctor and his companion Jamie are shocked to see someone steal the TARDIS. The Doctor is suspicious. Who would want to steal a time machine that has the outward appearance of an outdated British telephone box? "...whoever took it must have known exactly what they were stealing. Which means they must know who I am." he says.

His suspicions prove right, as he and Jamie are whisked off to Victorian England, 2 July 1866. They meet Edward Waterfield, a professor, who with his financial backer and benefactor, the leonine bearded Theodore Maxtible, are under the thrall of the Daleks, who have kidnapped Waterfield's daughter Victoria.

"The conquest of humanity has eluded us. The Daleks must know why." The Doctor's task is to discover the human factor. To that end, he works at a series of instruments recording Jamie's thoughts on a capsule, as he sets out to rescue Victoria. "It is for you... to select the major emotions and thought processes to make up the human factor," he is told. Once finished, the factor will be transferred to the Daleks so they will become unbeatable, something the Doctor would rather die than do, but the Daleks have his time machine, plus he doesn't want to endanger Victoria's life, despite not having met her. The Doctor seems to sum up the kind of enlightened person he is when he tells the fiance of Maxtible's daughter, "I am not a student of human nature. I am a professor of a much wider academy, of which the human being is merely a part." His cleverness comes in at times when it looks like he's at a disadvantage, which makes the Second Doctor, with his dark Beatles mop-top, and impish smile, come alive.

Jamie's nobility and bravery is one of the highlights Examples of the human factor are given by Jamie's rescue of Kemel, the muscular 6 and a half foot mute Turkish strongman initially told that Jamie is a murderer and to stop him. Kemel realizes his being deceived and aids Jamie in his quest.

The reason I wish this story were available in TV form is that Daleks are seen acting human, calling the Doctor "friend" and playing trains with him. Another is the image of seeing the Daleks respond not with "I obey" but "Why?" That is what differentiates Daleks from humans, blind obedience versus questioning authority.

Two things are in variance. The other is the timing of this story to other Dalek stories. Terry Nation, creator of the Daleks and John Peel agree that this story takes place after the Dalek Masterplan of 4000 AD, with Peel placing his novel more than a thousand years after that adventure. Yet other reference books place the scenes on Skaro either between the 19th and 22nd century, or in the case of History of the Universe, around 2966 AD. And Maxtible's death is not detailed in the novel, being in variance to how he dies in the TV version.

One major important thing reinforced in the novel from Terry Nation and John Peel's history of the Daleks book is that the Emperor Dalek here is NOT Davros, but the Dalek Prime, the Gold Dalek who experimented himself to become an immobile, grossly mutated creature that became pure mentality and needed a support system. Another great novelization by John Peel.

Rating:
Summary: The "last" Dalek story
Review: The second last of the Target adaptation of Doctor Who stories, and the last of a TV serial. At the time the story was broadcast, back in 1967, it was intended to be the last ever Dalek serial in Doctor Who (Terry Nation had hoped to have a standalone Dalek series produced in America).

Like 'The Power of the Daleks', this adaptation is by John Peel and benefits from a larger page count than the general run of Target adaptations. This allows Mr.. Peel to explore the motivations of the different characters, which increases the enjoyment of the read.

Following on directly from 'The Faceless Ones', the TARDIS has been stolen by persons unknown from Gatwick Airport. Following leads which the Doctor believes were deliberately left for them, he and Jamie end up at an antique store run by Edward Waterfield. The antiques at this shop appear to be both authentic and brand-new.

As it turns out, Waterfield is an agent for the Daleks and he takes the Doctor and Jamie back to the 1860s, his own time, where the Daleks force the Doctor to conduct experiments on Jamie to discover the Human Factor, which they believe is what has allowed the humans to defeat them in the past.

The climax of this story occurs on the Daleks' home planet, Skaro, and introduces the Emperor Dalek, the ruler of the Dalek race and its empire.

A decent size adaptation which allows the reader the opportunity to sink their teeth into a juicy story, which includes a few twists and turns which may take those who don't know the storyline a few surprises.

Rating:
Summary: The "last" Dalek story
Review: The second last of the Target adaptation of Doctor Who stories, and the last of a TV serial. At the time the story was broadcast, back in 1967, it was intended to be the last ever Dalek serial in Doctor Who (Terry Nation had hoped to have a standalone Dalek series produced in America).

Like 'The Power of the Daleks', this adaptation is by John Peel and benefits from a larger page count than the general run of Target adaptations. This allows Mr.. Peel to explore the motivations of the different characters, which increases the enjoyment of the read.

Following on directly from 'The Faceless Ones', the TARDIS has been stolen by persons unknown from Gatwick Airport. Following leads which the Doctor believes were deliberately left for them, he and Jamie end up at an antique store run by Edward Waterfield. The antiques at this shop appear to be both authentic and brand-new.

As it turns out, Waterfield is an agent for the Daleks and he takes the Doctor and Jamie back to the 1860s, his own time, where the Daleks force the Doctor to conduct experiments on Jamie to discover the Human Factor, which they believe is what has allowed the humans to defeat them in the past.

The climax of this story occurs on the Daleks' home planet, Skaro, and introduces the Emperor Dalek, the ruler of the Dalek race and its empire.

A decent size adaptation which allows the reader the opportunity to sink their teeth into a juicy story, which includes a few twists and turns which may take those who don't know the storyline a few surprises.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent novelization of a top-notch Doctor adventure
Review: There is no doubt that the Daleks are the most popular and in some ways frightening enemy that the Doctor has ever encountered in his very long career. This story surpasses the original episodes in some ways, as it is not hamstrung by the budget limitations and technology of a BBC production of the 1960s but can take advantage of our "theatre of the mind", so to speak, and the author has taken the time to delve fairly deeply into the characters as well.

Here we actually get to see what made the Daleks truly dangerous, both in technology and in their intelligence. The Emperor Dalek devises a truly terrifying plan to simultaneously rid itself of both the Doctor and the interference of humanity, while at the same time making use of the Doctor himself to advance the plan. Multiple layers of deception even trick the Doctor into very nearly outsmarting himself.

This is one of the earlier adventures featuring Jamie, the longest-running and most popular male companion ever. The young Scotsman is well portrayed in this novel, unlike others that often make him out to be stupid, overly clueless, or sometimes even incompetent. Jamie is not stupid, and is within his limitations an exceedingly capable young man. He demonstrates this -- and in fact, his demonstration is critical to the plots on both sides.

The writing is well paced, the characters clearly drawn, and the adventure proceeds with smooth and increasingly powerful pacing. This is one Doctor Who novel which belongs on any fan's shelf, and which can in fact stand on its own in any science-fiction collection. HIGHLY recommended. "EXTERMINATE!"