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8th Doctor, 8th Doctor adventures, 8th Doctor Books, Dalek Invasion of Earth, Doctor Who, Doctor Who Susan, Doctor Who The Master, Doctor's granddaughter Susan, Legacy of the Daleks, Legacy of the Daleks book review, The Master
Legacy of the Daleks
Review by Paul Bowler
As the Doctor begins searching for his missing companion, Sam, a psychic cry of despair from his granddaughter Susan leads him to Earth in the late 22nd century where England is gradually recovering from the Dalek invasion. This is where the Doctor left Susan after she fell in love with David and stayed to help the survivors rebuild. However, when the Doctor arrives in Domain London he finds that Susan has gone missing and the city is now divided by political infighting.
The Doctor’s attempts to find Susan leads to a confrontation with Lord Haldoran, who is planning all-out-war against his enemies. Haldoran’s military advisor, Estro, has installed power cables down an abandoned mineshaft, where they are attempting to reactivate a mysterious device. When the Doctor meets Estro he instantly recognizes him as the Master. However, this is the incarnation who regularly battled against the 3rd Doctor, and he has been manipulating events so can he seize control of a powerful Dalek weapon.
But have the Daleks really been vanquished, or are they secretly rebuilding? The Doctor is reunited with Susan, and together with her husband David, and Donna, a knight of Domain London, they must find a way to stop the Master from escaping with the core of the matter transmuter and destroy the Daleks.
Legacy of the Daleks is set thirty years after the Dalek Invasion of Earth, where humanity is gradually starting to rebuild, but the shortage of natural resources has begun to cause conflict as opposing political factions begin to turn on one another. Although the Doctor’s companion Sam dose not appear in Legacy of the Daleks, this offers John Peel the chance to reunite the Doctor with his granddaughter Susanhe, as well as her husband David, and introduce us to Donna, one of the Knights of Domain London.
One of the most interesting aspects of Legacy of the Daleks is way Peel develops these characters, these are harsh times, and it seem that Susan and David’s relationship is in trouble. David is struggling to cope with the fact Susan is not aging like him, because she is a Time Lord, and it’s beginning to put a strain on their marriage. Donna is another really strong character, she is the black sheep of her family, and has had to overcome great adversity in her own personal life. Haldoran is a maliciously evil character; his plot to overthrow his rivals is utterly ruthless.
The Eighth Doctor is right in the thick of the action in Legacy of the Daleks. It was interesting to see the Doctor reunited with Susan, and the added bonus of having the Delgado version of the Master included as well brought a nice twist to the story. It takes a while for the Daleks to appear, but when they do the plot becomes really action packed as the Daleks go on the rampage. After such an exciting story, the ending did seem a little rushed and a bit contrived for my liking, but it was still a thoroughly entertaining book.
About The Author
Hi, I’m Paul Bowler, blogger and reviewer of films, TV shows, and comic books. I’m a Sci-Fi geek, a big fan of Doctor Who, Star Trek, movies, Sci-Fi, Horror, Comic Books, and all things PS4.You can follow me on Twitter @paul_bowler,or at my website, Sci-Fi Jubilee, and on YouTube and Facebook
Sounds like a good novel Paul, I’ll have to see if it’s available on kindle. The Dalek Invasion of Earth is one of my favourite classic Who serials and anything that ties into that piques my interest.
I’ve always found it odd that they never brought Carol Ann Ford back, or at least a regenerated Susan (remember those rumours about Maisie Williams?) in new Who – I know that Big Finish have done good work in that respect but since the Doctor pledged to return in the original serial that’s something that surely they could have delved into in the modern series.
I really like this Doctor Who novel and enjoyed reading it again recently so thought I’d make a good review and a change from comics. I love the premise of how Legacy of the Daleks is a sequel of sorts to Dalek Invasion of Earth, and that it sees the return of Susan – I think they missed a trick really by still not brining Carol Ann Ford back in modern Who, even if it was only for a brief cameo, it would still be a lovely scene to have. I’m not sure if Legacy of the Daleks is available on Kindle, but I’m sure there must still be a few copies of the paperback still around. I always enjoyed this series of Doctor Who novels when the show back ion the days after the TV Movie 🙂
Looks like a bit of a classic cover design. When did this book come out?
Yeah, its a really eye catching cover isn’t it? Great 8th Doctor story as well. I think is was publisher in 1998. Its still one of my favourites from that range of Doctor Who books.
Another fantastic Post – thank u for this
Yuletide Greetings, Paul!!
Hope u are keeping safe, happy and well during this festive season.
https://bradscribe.wordpress.com/2019/12/25/sweet-jumping-christmas-its-the-bradtastic-festive-post/
Enjoy!
Thank you and wishing you a very happy Christmas as well! Been enjoying the holidays and having a rest. Been enjoying spending time with family and playing some video games. Glad you enjoyed the review. Legacy of the Daleks is one of my favourite Doctor Who BBC books from the 8th Doctor’s Era! 🙂
Happy Holidays from S.D.’s to yours. 🥂🎄🎁🤠
Cheers and happy holidays! Have a great time! 🙂
We def are, thank you. 🙂