Fiction Reviews
Doctor Who
The Evil of the Daleks(2023) Frazer Hines, BBC Books,
£22 / Can$49.95 / US$28, hrdbk, 229pp, ISBN 978-1-785-94843-5
This story features the second Doctor (played by Patrick Troughton) and Jamie McCrimmon (played by Fazer Hines), his longest-running companion in terms of episodes. It is the first novel by Frazer Hines (yes, the one that played Jamie) and, the title page tells us, it was written with the help of Mike Tucker and Steve Cole (though no other mention of them is made). It is based on the original scripts for the serialised adventures The Evil of the Daleks and The Wheel in Space, both written by David Whitaker.
At the end of The Wheel In Space, the Doctor warns their new friend, astrophysicist Zoe Heriot, that travelling with them might be very dangerous and to prove it he dons a headset which allows him to project his memories onto the TARDIS’s main screen so that she can see such horrors as the Daleks. The story in this book is an expansion of that idea, with the Doctor showing Zoe the entire adventure of The Evil of the Daleks. As a device for telling a story, it works well. The writing is competent though not outstanding, but it does a good enough job of telling the story and makes for easy and enjoyable reading.
The story was first aired in 1967 so I am not worrying about spoilers - my apologies if the story is new to you. The Doctor has invited Zoe onboard but before she has to decide whether to join them on their adventures the Doctor is eager to show her what she might encounter and to assess her suitability as a new companion. He can use the headset to show her all aspects of the encounter as the general action has been stored by the TARDIS, it being aware of its surroundings. I am nitpicking a bit, but I am not entirely convinced that the TARDIS could have gained all the necessary information given its considerable distance from the Doctor at times - but it would be a shame to let that get in the way of the story.
It is 1966 and the TARDIS is somewhere round the back of Gatwick Airport; well, it was - somebody has just loaded it onto a lorry and driven off with it. The Doctor and Jamie flag down a taxi and chase after it, arriving at an antique shop located on the edge of London’s Square Mile. That night they break in but are tricked and rendered unconscious by the proprietor, Edward Waterfield. The theft of the TARDIS had been a lure to capture them and, by means of a transmat/time device, Waterfield takes them back to 1866, his own time. The plan was masterminded by Theodore Maxtable, Waterfield’s colleague and the owner of the house that they wake up in, somewhere near Canterbury.
Maxtable explains that as a result of scientific experiments he was conducting on static electricity, he inadvertently summoned alien creatures - Daleks! They are holding Waterfield’s daughter Victoria prisoner and have forced the two of them to lay this trap for the Doctor. The Daleks requirements are simple: they will put Jamie through a set of dangerous and challenging trials to test his courage, strength, and friendship with the Doctor - the rescue of Victoria. Meanwhile, they force the Doctor to monitor Jamie and analyse what it is that makes humans special; they will then use that factor to enhance their race and make Daleks invincible. There is nothing the Doctor can do but comply; he cannot tell Jamie what he is up to, resulting in Jamie feeling very betrayed by the Doctor’s actions. However, the Doctor has a plan - with luck incorporating human values into Daleks will give them free will and they will no longer simply obey the Dalek Emperor; they will become free-thinking and cease being evil.
With the experiment complete, the Daleks return to Skaro. It is revealed that Maxtable had actually been in league with them all along and he accompanies them, forcibly taking Victoria with him. He was supposed to also bring the Doctor, Jamie, and Waterfield, but they had escaped him. The Daleks have taken the TARDIS with them but the Doctor finds one of their own time machines in the house and follows them to Skaro, though carefully lands outside the Dalek city. Soon the Doctor finds himself face to face with the Dalek Emperor and learns that he has been tricked; the true purpose of the experiment was to use the human factor to identify and boost the Dalek factor, allowing them to enslave other races. However, the Doctor is right; the experimental Daleks with the human factor refuse to take orders and a revolution begins. Reclaiming the TARDIS, the Doctor and Jamie rescue Victoria and escape.
In the Introduction, Jamie speaks directly to the reader, introducing himself and explaining the circumstances. Most of the story is told in the third person as we follow the action as portrayed on the screen but between chapters, at points when they take a needed break from watching the screen and the intensity of the story, there are Interludes where Jamie again talks directly to us and describes things from his perspective, particularly the strength of his feelings at the time. In the Coda at the end, Jamie welcomes Zoe as their new companion and reminds us that Victoria went on to join them in their adventures.
The story was well told and I thought the Chapter/Interlude structure of the storytelling worked nicely and made for a very pleasant read. It is not great literature but it makes a good addition to the ever-growing collection of Doctor Who novelisations.
Peter Tyers
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