Sunlight 349 is one of countless Dalek Foundation worlds, planets created to house billions suffering from economic hardship. The Doctor arrives at Sunlight 349, suspicious of any world where the Daleks are apparently a force for good – and determined to find out the truth. The Doctor knows they have a far more sinister plan – but how can he convince those who have lived under the benevolence of the Daleks for a generation?
But convince them he must, and soon. For on another Foundation planet, archaeologists have unearthed the most dangerous technology in the universe…
A thrilling, all-new adventure featuring the Doctor as played by Matt Smith in the spectacular hit series from BBC Television
Altruism of the Daleks After a break, the BBC return to releasing three original Doctor Who novels in one go. They are the same size as previous Eleventh Doctor ones, but feature slightly different cover designs, with painted rather than photo covers.One of this latest batch is the Dalek Generation, which is written by Nicholas Briggs. Better known as the Voice of the Daleks [and various other monsters] on TV, and for overseeing the range of Doctor Who audios from Big Finish Publications.The book runs for two hundred and fifty three pages. It is divided into a prologue and sixteen chapters. It is suitable for readers of all ages. And the Doctor’s dialogue is perfectly well written, with lines that you can imagine Matt Smith saying.The story features the Doctor travelling without any companions.And it also features the Daleks.Yes, the Daleks. The benevolent beings who founded the Dalek Foundation worlds. Planets where the poor and dispossessed from other worlds were offered new homes and new lives. Planets where nothing bad ever happens, and people live in peace and harmony. All thanks to the Daleks.In the meantime, receiving a message cube [as seen in the tv episode ‘the Doctor’s Wife’] leads the Doctor to find a spaceship and three orphaned children on board. Their parents died to prevent the Daleks from getting hold of something. But what? Can the Doctor convince people who owe everything to the Daleks what they’re really like?Because they must be up to no good, right?Or are they just being very cunning indeed?There’s some clever plotting in this that hooks you from the off, and it does do radically different things with the Daleks that have never been tried in a story before. There’s also something that will come us an interesting surprise to listeners to the audio range, but you don’t need to have heard those to get into this.The three children are quite prominent characters and could be annoying, but never quite get to that state. Certain scenes and actions of the Daleks are a little grim, but not enough to put younger readers off.And it does feel as if it’s written by someone who knows the Daleks and their stories of old well. With a few character names that could have come out of something written by Dalek creator Terry Nation.It does threaten to lose it’s way slightly in the second half as the action tos and fros a lot, but it is well worth hanging in there, because it pulls some superb surprises in the final fifty two pages. Everything – including a few early scenes that you may have been left wondering about the relevance of – does turn out to be relevant. And important. It’s all very clever and cunning indeed. Just like the Daleks.It’s not quite the best novel in this range, but it’s a decent read and it’s well worth a look.
good story, poor resolution An exciting well constructed story, containing characters that draw the reader deeper into the story,which is a ripping adventure with a heart warning end.
I like a good doctor who story as much as the next fan, especially if it features the daleks, but this was so ridiculous, its not even funny. are we really expected to believe that so many people would be taken in by the daleks considering their murderous past? highly unlikely I think.considering this is a doctor who novel, the doctor doesn,t really do anything. he spends the entire book being outwitted by the daleks at every turn, and the resolution, when it comes, is at the hands of 3 grown up children, and a mysterious bit of alien tech which can apparently reorder matter on a grand scale.speaking of the resolution, is that the best the author could come up with? tragedy and doctor who go hand in hand with each other, you expect it, so this sort of sickly sweet ending is just wrong on so many levels. using an alien device to recreate the childrens dead parents? really?to make matters worse, the daleks, when defeated, simply get in their spaceship, and leave, no reprisals, no attack on the sunlight worlds, nothing. lame lame lame.