Legacy of the Daleks by: John Peel

It is interesting that John Peel’s Legacy of the Daleks relies far less on past continuity than his first Dalek novel, War of the Daleks.  There are references integral to the plot (having a decent knowledge of The Dalek Invasion of Earth in particular), but unlike the previous novel, this one does not get itself bogged down in filling in as many details of Dalek continuity possible.  The novel begins relatively Dalek free, instead focusing on the efforts to rebuild the Earth after their invasion.  Technology is improving while the system of government put in place resembles one of lords and serfs instead of a democratically elected system.  Susan and David Campbell are seen entirely as war heroes and have been instrumental in building up Earth’s society.  There are still dangers left over from the Dalek occupation, mainly the Slythers are still around and much more dangerous than the one that appeared on television.  The first two chapters are dedicated to introducing Donna, a knight in an arranged marriage to Lord Haldoran who acts as a one off companion to the Doctor.  This is because Legacy of the Daleks continues the story arc where Sam Jones is missing.  Peel immediately endears Donna to the reader by having her save a little girl wandering into a forest after a cat.  Donna exudes a sense of chivalry throughout the novel and Peel writes her with amazing chemistry when it comes to her interactions with the Eighth Doctor.  There comes a moment when the reader wants to have the Doctor invite her to be a companion with him, yet because the books have already established Sam as the companion.  Donna also serves to shine a light on just how much Sam Jones drags the Doctor down: Sam is only mentioned at the beginning and end of the novel with implications that it takes the Doctor time to find her.



Using a title like Legacy of the Daleks and having much of the early novel not feature the titular aliens, Peel crafts a story where the Daleks are not necessary making the moment when they appear superfluous.  There is already a plot containing the Delgado Master manipulating events on Earth with Draconian technology he gained in Frontier in Space.  Peel could have settled with the Master on Earth as the only antagonist, making the ‘legacy’ of the title literal.  The Daleks shouldn’t be the main villains, the Master should be using fear of their return as a way to gain power.  The novel culminates in Susan shooting the Master and leaving him to die for killing David in a moment of emotional catharsis for the novel.  It’s moments like these that could elevate the novel into one of the greats and make up for the average turn out in War of the Daleks, but the Daleks themselves are what bring the novel down.  Peel does however understand what makes the Daleks work: he evokes The Power of the Daleks and The Evil of the Daleks, showing the Daleks scheming to build their numbers to take over the Earth a second time.  There are several scenes which evoke sequences of The Power of the Daleks beat for beat, fitting seeing as Peel novelized that story for Virgin Books.  Though these scenes are simply rewrites and add little to the actual events of the story, but fill out the page count.  He does have a grasp on the Eighth Doctor, who is the hapless romantic who understands what his ‘flirting’ does so he employs it with an air of facetiousness about him.  The biggest issue with the Eighth Doctor is he is almost a background player in events.



Peel also deserves praise for his handling of Susan and David.  While Peel disappointingly does not allow Susan and the Doctor to interact with one another, Susan’s plot is one of a politician attempting to help rebuild society, something Big Finish Productions will pick up on when they brought her into their Eighth Doctor range of audio dramas.  (On the note of Big Finish, the contradictory information here can be explained away by meddling from Faction Paradox.)  Susan has grown tremendously and is having difficulty keeping her ageless face from David.  She cannot bear to see him grow older and wishes to spend the rest of her life with him, an impossible feat.  It is his death at the hands of the Master which tears her apart.  Overall, Legacy of the Daleks works as a novel but it’s the ‘of the Daleks’ part of the title which brings it down.  6/10.