War of the Daleks

A little confusing, felt they spent too long describing the battle between the Daleks at the end so it became boring

I read about two thirds of this but could not for the life of me finish the novel. One of the dullest, most lifeless prose I’ve ever read, at least since John Peel’s previous book, Timewyrm: Genesis. Sam is reduced to just getting jealous of other capable women around the Doctor, which is in line with her character, but she’s also very capable in her own right. The supporting cast is frustratingly bland and if I’m being honest most of them blend together in my mind. I don’t much mind the fact this whole novel is a canon plaster, but it’s not a good book in its own right.

(Taken from my Goodreads Review | Last Read: March/April 2021)

Okay, I fully understand why the fandom hates this book. Because it completely rewrites the televised Dalek stories in order to negate the destruction of Skaro in Remembrance of the Daleks, fans tended to reject this book. I understand this, as Remembrance is a great episode and I'm a bit dubious of John Peel's claims that Terry Nation disliked that plot decision since Nation could've vetoed it before it went to screen. However, that said, this was a great book that's just fun to read. While I understand fandom's criticisms of Peel's Who books, I've found the three I've read enjoyable reads in spite of their flaws. This book (originally designed as a TV story then offered to Virgin before becoming an Eighth Doctor novel) is the fifth EDA and features the Eighth Doctor and Sam Jones. It's split into four parts split by three interludes. The middle interlude features a space battle between the Daleks and Draconians and is really fun to read.

The basic plot features a junker ship discovering an escape pod that contains Davros. The TARDIS is collected by the junker before being invaded by Thals and then Daleks before everyone is taken to Skaro for the Dalek Prime's trial of the Dalek Race that is intended to end Davros and his insurrection once and for all. A civil war erupts between the forces loyal to Davros and to the Dalek Prime while the Doctor, Sam and the Thals escape amid the chaos. There's even a fight between the Doctor and a Dalek inside the TARDIS at the end that's just awesome.

So, let's tackle the elephant in the room, the massive retcon of televised Dalek history. In a nutshell, after learning of the Shoreditch Incident (Remembrance) in the Dalek Invasion of Earth, the Dalek Prime works to ensure that Skaro isn't destroyed by the Hand of Omega. This involves terraforming a planet into Skaro and tricking Davros, and by accident the Doctor, that this is the real Skaro. Therefore, Destiny of the Daleks and Resurrection of the Daleks are part of the Dalek Prime's plot to trick Davros into destroying the wrong planet. Then it goes wrong when Davros creates his Renegade Daleks in Revelation leading into Remembrance. However, I actually don't mind this. It fits with the Daleks' deviousness and cunning, and allows for Skaro to exist in the TV Movie and then the Time War and Series 9. For me, it works. But, I understand why a lot of fans don't like it.

In the end, despite the retcon issues, this was just a fun book to read. If they made another Eighth Doctor movie, this would make a great movie. It's epic in scope and has a cinematic feel about it. Eight feels like Eight (or at least the Eighth Doctor I've come to know from his audio performances) and Sam is an enjoyable companion. A fun book that held my interest the whole time. My only real complaint about the Eight Doctor Adventures so far is the reliance on previously established characters and enemies (Time Lords/Master/Nostalgia, Vampires, Zygons, Jo Grant, Daleks). The next book, Alien Bodies, has a surprising returning villain, but makes up for that in weird new ideas and plot threads that carry on deep into the series.