Review: The Dalek Generation / Author: Nicholas Briggs / Publisher: BBC Books / Release Date: Out Now
Over many years Nicholas Briggs has written, produced, directed or performed in many Dalek stories and is also the voice actor for the TV show. With all that experience behind him, his first foray into novel writing had, inevitably, to be a Dalek tale and his recently released BBC paperback The Dalek Generation is exactly that. And what a solid, action-packed story it is.
The story features the Eleventh Doctor sans companion, who rescues three children from an abandoned space-ship – their parents committed suicide when the realised that they were to be boarded by Daleks. Meanwhile in the countless Dalek Foundation Worlds billions of people benefit from the Dalek’s beneficence on planets set aside just to shelter them from the ravages of economic hardship. What is going on?
The plot moves along with pace as the Doctor fails to convince humanity of the fundamental evil of the Daleks and also has his infallibility peeled away strip by strip as one by one he loses the children. To make matters worse he finds he is being manipulated by the Dalek Time Controller, a foe created for the Big Finish stories.
Everything comes to a head at the site of an all-powerful alien artefact and the Dalek’s shocking plan is finally revealed before the Doctor wrestles victory from the Daleks despite overwhelming odds.
The book is very well paced and has a good few twists; the setting is very TV Who and is consistent with the recent Asylum of the Daleks. If there are flaws it is that the ending is almost too tidy, the Doctor isn’t particularly reminiscent of Matt Smith and perhaps a companion would have given some more opportunity for interaction. These are minor points though and this is good read recommended to fans or casual viewers of the show.
