Revisitation of the Daleks

As usual, our latest episode -- that being a review of Lance Parkin's The Dying Days -- can now be found here for those of you that haven't downloaded it yet.

Keep a beady ear peeled for late July when we revisit the Daleks with John Peel's War of the Daleks.  From the back cover:

[Warning:  The back cover pretty much reveals the entire plot about halfway through the book.  We're including it here just because we don't want to break precedent.  However, we recommend that if you wish to remain spoiler-free, jump past the italicized text below.]

The Doctor is repairing the TARDIS systems once again when it is swept up by a garbage ship roving through space, the Quetzel.

When another ship approaches and takes the Quetzel by force, the Doctor discovers that he and Sam are not the only unwitting travellers on board -- there is a strangely familiar survival pod in the hold.  Delani, the captain of the second ship, orders the pod to be opened.  The Doctor is powerless to intervene as Davros is awakened once again.

But this is no out-and-out rescue of Davros.  Delani and his crew are Thals, the sworn enemies of the Daleks.  They intend to use Davros as a means to wipe out the Daleks, finally ridding the universe of the most aggressive, deadly race ever to exist.  But the Doctor is still worried.  For there is a signal beacon inside the pod, and even now a Dalek ship is closing in...

You may remember when we reviewed John Peel's second Dalek novel, Legacy of the Daleks, back in Episode 7.  If your memory doesn't cheat, you probably know that we don't have very high expectations of this month's entry, but it's important in that it's (1) the first original Dalek novel to be published since the television series was canceled in 1989 and (2) assuming you believe the novels are canon, it's a gigantic game-changer for the history of the Daleks (listen to our upcoming podcast for more details).  Legacy of the Daleks followed it, and the BBC never again published a Dalek story for either the Eighth Doctor or Past Adventures ranges.  (Some Dalek stories have been published in the New Series Adventures, such as Prisoner of the Daleks and I am a Dalek.)

Fun links:

"War of the Daleks" on Amazon

John Peel's Website

"War of the Daleks" on the Doctor Who Reference Guide Website (Spoilers, sweetie!)

"War of the Daleks" on the Doctor Who Ratings Guide Website

Episode 7, A Sequel to "The Dalek Invasion of Earth," and August's Offering

Episode 7 (available here), our shortest yet, features a review of Legacy of the Daleks, a somewhat-sequel to "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" featuring Susan and the Eighth Doctor.  We would like to send a very special thanks to Jeff of The Goodies Podcast who provided us with this month's reading; as each episode progresses, it seems like each one of these readings is a tougher act to follow, and Jeff is no exception.

For August we will be reading The Infinity Doctors (ISBN: 0563-40591-0) by Lance Parkin.  The back cover reads:

"Sing about the past again, and sing that same old song.  Tell me what you know, so I can tell you that you're wrong."

Gallifrey.  The Doctor's home planet.  For twenty thousand centuries the Gallifreyans have been the most powerful race in the cosmos.  They have circumnavigated infinity and eternity, harnessed science and conquered death.  They are the Lords of Time, and have used their powers carefully.

But now a new force has been unleashed, one that is literally capable of anything.  It is enough to give even the Time Lords nightmares.  More than that: it is enough to destroy them.

It is one of their own.  Waiting for them at the end of the universe.

Featuring the Doctor, this adventure celebrates the thirty-fifth anniversary of Doctor Who. 

If this description seems a little broad, it is noteworthy that this book defies all continuity of the series, as it's impossible to tell when it is set (at least that held true in 1998).  It's also worth mentioning that this is a rather meatier selection from our last entry, with 280 single-spaced pages in a small font.  We'll have to start reading this one early!

Author Lance Parkin has penned a number of Doctor Who novels, perhaps the most notable being The Dying Days (the last Virgin New Adventure featuring the Doctor), The Gallifrey Chronicles (the last of the BBC Eighth Doctor adventures), and Cold Fusion (a Virgin Missing Adventure with both the Fifth and Seventh Doctors).

Don't forget to follow the podcast on Twitter via @dwpcpodcast, or follow Erik via @sjcaustenite or Sean via @tardistavern.  Feel free to contact us at dwpcpodcast@gmail.com.

Other sites of interest:
Lance Parkin's Official Website
The Doctor Who Reference Guide on The Infinity Doctors WARNING: SPOILERS!

The Doctor Who Reprint Society
 

Episode 6, Back to the Land of Fiction!

Sean here, posting for the first time ever, so watch out for those grammatical errors!  Episode 6, in which we discuss Conundrum by Steve Lyons is now available here.  This is the second Virgin New Adventures novel we've read (after Damaged Goods) and we're learning that this series is pretty deep.  But listen as we discuss this mind-bending sequel (of sorts) to "The Mind Robber" and as Erik waxes eloquent on tropes and what not.  And I think I say some stuff, too.  (He is so going to hate me for saying that.)  Also, a special thank you to Lillibet of Professor Dave's Ark in Space for lending us her dulcet tones by reading a passage from the book for us.

What steamy summer read do we have set for July?  We're due for an BBC Eighth Doctor novel, and it's going to be Legacy of the Daleks by John Peel (ISBN: 0-563-40574-0), entry #10 in the Eighth Doctor series.  It features the return of Susan, the Daleks (duh!), and a certain other character from the television series who I shan't mention (spoilers!).  From the back cover:

England in the late 22nd century is slowly recovering from the devastation that followed the Daleks' invasion.  The Doctor's very first traveling companion -- his granddaughter, Susan -- is where he left her, helping to rebuild Earth for the survivors.  But danger still remains all around...

While searching for his lost companion, Sam, the Doctor finds himself in Domain London.  But it seems that Susan is now missing too, and his efforts to find her lead to confrontation with the ambitious Lord Haldoran, who is poised to take control of southern England through all-out war.  With the help of a sinister adviser, Haldoran's plans are already well advanced.  Power cables have been fed down a mineshaft, reactivating a mysterious old device of hideous power.  But has the Dalek presence on Earth really been wiped out?  Or are there still traps set for the unwary?

The Doctor learns to his cost once again that when dealing with the evil of the Daleks, nothing can be taken at face value...

Have you ever noticed that there are very few Dalek novels in the entire range of Doctor Who novels, from the Missing Adventures on?  As they are trademarks of the BBC, authors writing about them were legally obligated to pay a large portion of the book's proceeds to the BBC, so practically no one chose to write them.  John Peel, as a close friend to Terry Nation, elected to pick up the gauntlet and wrote both Legacy of the Daleks and War of the Daleks.  He also penned a number of Target novelizations of Dalek stories.  I also can't help but feel tickled that he wrote novels for the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? series.  (Now good luck getting the theme song from the TV show out of your head.)

Thank you for all of your lovely comments on Twitter and iTunes, and feel free to email us at dwbcpodcast@gmail.com.  You can also follow us on Twitter via @dwbcpodcast.  Also, follow Erik via @sjcaustenite and Sean via @tardistavern.

Other fun stuff:
The Doctor Who Reprint Society
Wikipedia  BEWARE: SPOILERS!
The Doctor Who Reference Guide   BEWARE: EVEN MORE SPOILERS!
The TARDIS Library