Doctor Who: The Genocide Machine

Big Finish: Monthly Range #7

by Mike Tucker, Sylvester McCoy (Narrator), Sophie Aldred (Narrator)

The library on Kar-Charrat is one of the wonders of the Universe. It is also hidden from all but a few select species. The Doctor and Ace discover that the librarians have found a new way of storing data - a wetworks facility - but the machine has attracted unwanted attention, and the Doctor soon finds himself pitted against his oldest and deadliest enemies - the Daleks!

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Media Tie In, Time Travel, British Literature

Audio CD

First published April 30, 2000

About the author

Mike Tucker is a special effects expert who worked for many years at the BBC Television Visual Effects Department, and now works as an Effects Supervisor for his own company, The Model Unit. He is also the author of a number of original tv tie-in Doctor Who novels (some co-written with Robert Perry), and three books based on episodes of the television series Merlin. He co-wrote the factual books Ace! The Inside Story of the End of an Era with Sophie Aldred in 1996, and BBC VFX - The Story of the BBC Visual Effects Department with Mat Irvine in 2010.

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Attempting to return some overdue library books at the giant library on Kar-Charrat. The Doctor and Ace soon learn that the Daleks have been awaiting he’s arrival.
They plan to use the Time Lord to penetrate the time-sensitive defences of the building.

This is Big Finish’s first Dalek story and even through it felt slightly predictable at times, it was a great way to reintroduce The Doctor’s deadliest enemies.
I recall this being the first in the Dalek Empire arc, it sets elements in motion to be revisited at a later date.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has some major plus points in my opinion:

Sylvester McCoy's delivery is such a crowing, sneering masterpiece of Doctorly disdain and outrage.

Librarian Elgin is a great character, voiced excellently.

It's about a library! A massive library that houses all of knowledge everywhere!

There's a sentient species that lives in the water of a rainy planet. Since human beings are mainly water, it can live in us, even take over our bodies.

Daleks! With silly strident voices!!

Some great byplay with Ace where we get a glimpse of the TARDIS library. I love it when we get little domestic details about the old blue box.

And it's the old Faustian story about how the quest for knowledge can lead to unholy deeds.

On the minus side...eh, nothing much. This one really worked for me even though it isn't a general favourite.

PS: The massacre in the library was an especially chilling piece of aural drama.

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty average but solid Dalek story. It all takes place in a library with not that many other characters thrown in to keep the story as streamlined and easy to follow as possible. The seventh doctor manages to shine the most here, which is a good thing.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daleks in the library!!! I don't know what it is about that line but it just feels good to me 😅 makes me giggle. I simply loved this story, I loved the different voices for all the different daleks, I loved the relationship between ace and the doctor, the story was fascinating and as the beginning of the dalek empire series i look forward to seeing where it goes and the big twist near the end, I really didn't see coming but I loved it! Definitely if your a fan of some Dalek goodness and the 7th doctor being a force to be reckoned with then this one is for you!

5/5 Stars GoodReads 🌟⭐⭐⭐⭐

100/100 GingerPoints 🔥🔥🔥

[Polly Batchelor · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Astonishing! You could acquire the wisdom of a million years from a billion worlds in the time it would take to read a bus tickets."

The Doctor and Ace visit a library on Karcharrot to return an overdue library book. The library is hidden to all to contain it's secrets. The Doctor discovers that the library has a new way to store data, which has gained unwanted attention from the Daleks.
It was Big Finish's first Dalek story. It was ok. in some areas it was predictable and felt underwhelming. But it was a good introduction to the Daleks.

[Frank Davis]

Currently updating my reads for the end of 2023, I listened to this and a bunch of other Big Finish Doctor tales (some twice) towards the end of the year, mostly because I was too busy thinking about other things to focus on new stories and the comfort of the familiar voices was a welcome relief from other stresses. Unfortunately I have left it too long to give any story-specific details, but I will inevitably listen to these many more times in future and will hopefully be able to say something more substantial. Suffice it to say that these are just excellent. Production quality is top notch and the storylines are as good and sometimes even better than the TV episodes.

[luckey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was great nothing special, honestly I really think this should be a great classic who TV story. The visuals would be so slay. The Daleks were great, Sylvester was great, overall nice, it was just nothing outstanding for me.

[Kelly McCubbin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reminds me of a televised Third Doctor story, The Day of the Daleks... without being a fraction as interesting. The Day of the Daleks was an interesting mystery about time-travel paradoxes and political intrigue in which the Daleks are shoehorned in at the last minute. All in all it survives the stretch and is pretty fun. The Genocide Machine simply FEELS like the Daleks were added later in the process and, as a result, feels incredibly awkward as a narrative. You can hear in these early Big Finish stories the production team desperately trying to deal with sound. They try and tame it. They try to use it as a character. In this story, they try to use it to set a mood. (Eventually they'll get all these things working together, mostly.) And the mood works, sadly against the narrative, but it works on it's own. But at the end of the day the cacophony of far too broad of ideas (The library that knows EVERYTHING! Information water!) neither holds together nor suits the Daleks.
On the plus side, Sylv and Sophie have really started to hit their groove and Lousie Faulkner as Bev Tarrant gives a valiant performance in a pretty thankless part.

The precursor to the "Dalek Empire" series of audio dramas.

[Nicholas Whyte]

The Seventh Doctor and Ace visit a ginormous library and confront the Daleks. Excellent. I loved: the Daleks themselves; the concept of a library storing all knowledge in the galaxy (impossible though I know it to be); the duplicate Ace demonstrating the Sophie Aldred can act (something I have occasionally had cause to doubt); and especially the many many references to other Dalek series - jungle planet with unseen indigenous species (Daleks' Master Plan), Daleks modified by their own plan who turn against the leadership (Evil of the Daleks), the Doctor's references to the interests of the Time Lords and the Matrix (Deadly Assassin), and a slight nod forward to the Dalek absorbing all human knowledge in 2005's Dalek story. Was this the first time Nick Briggs did the Dalek voices? He's very good. My one quibble is that I found it difficult to tell apart Louise Falkner, playing Bev Tarrant (who I understand is a recurring Big Finish character) and Sophie Aldred as Ace. Probably my hearing.

[Seb Hasi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really expected something interesting for the Daleks first outing on Big Finish, and this is was not that. Although there are some interesting plot points, and great scenes, the story is just such a play by numbers kind of forgettable. Powerful thing/place, Daleks try get it, Doctor stops them. Obviously that could be argued is the formula for every Dalek story ever; here though, the Daleks do barely anything but shout. As an antagonist their presence is always cool and makes visualising stories easier, as every listener obviously knows what a Dalek looks like. The worst part however has to be how awful the Daleks sound. This is merely 2 years away from emphatic Dalek voices on TV, yet here they are genuinely just a guy very blatantly yelling into a ring modulator.

The merits of the story is how adorable Ace and the Doctor are, but as my favourite Tardis team I’ll always be biased. The supporting cast is quite small here but I did love the chief librarian in a weird way, even if it turns out he is accidentally evil. The woman trying to rob the library does have personality and is given time to develop as a character, but when it comes down to it she is obviously just there to give Ace someone to talk to. The Doctor doesn’t really seem in control in this story, not for the first half at least, which makes him just going ‘oh dear, oh no’ constantly a very frustrating thing. This is absolutely not in keeping with the way this Doctor’s character was developing, and it’s only really saved by McCoy giving his usual strong performance and engaging with the script, that really gave me any interest.

The narrative with the water people was really interesting, and I think developed in a subtle and effective way. It is just a shame that we have to keep cutting back to the Daleks yelling every three minutes or so. The story does have some very dark and disturbing concepts but they don’t really go anywhere, if anything the story practically copies Death To The Daleks! completely. I think Mike Tucker is a phenomenal writer, but it is very clear that he was given a criteria of things he had to do, and any original ideas were smothered with the necessity of Daleks. Separating these aspects from the all the Dalek stuff really turns out a strong story, and if you can patiently sit through their evil plan not working for an hour and a half then you get to some great writing. Again though, those Dalek voices are excruciating.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

あらすじ

Part1
ベブ・テレントは部下を率いて熱帯雨林の中にある古代神殿を調査していたが、攻撃され部下を失ってしまう。その頃、ターディスの書庫を整理中、エースは図書館から借りっぱなしの本を見つける。それがカー・シャラット図書館の蔵書と知ったドクターは返却に図書館へとターディスを向かわせる。図書館には太古から蓄積された宇宙中の知識が集結しているため、悪用されないようタイムロードの技術であるタイムバリアによって、入館資格を持たない者には誰にも存在を気がつかれることなく隠されていた。図書館長エレガンはドクターを歓迎し、データを液体化して保存する新システム”ウエットワークス”について説明する。これによって図書館は膨大なストレージを得たのだ。データは脳に直接ダウンロードすることで復元することができるときき、ドクターはセキュリティが破られた時のことを心配し、エレガンにさらに詳しい説明を求める。エースは特に興味を持てず、一足先にターディスに戻る事に。エレガンはエースのDNAをタグ付けし、ドクターがいなくてもタイムバリアを抜けられるようにする。ターディスにもどる途中、エースは道に迷っているベブに出会う。事情をきき行動を共にすることにするが、ダーレクに捕まってしまう。

Part2
エレガンからダーレクの小隊がカー・シャラットに上陸し、図書館のセキュリティを脅かしたことがあるときき不審感を抱き、タイムロードが設置したセキュリティシステムを確認する。ドクターはダーレクがまだ付近にいる可能性を心配し、エースを探しにいく。すると森の中で気を失ったエースと負傷した女性ベブを発見。ドクターとエレガンは二人を図書館の医療室に連れてもどる。しかし、その頃、エースはドクターに対する人質としてダーレクに母船に連れ去られていた。ドクターが見つけたエースはダーレクが複製した工作員だった。意識を取り戻したエースにドクターはベブの身元についてや、誰に攻撃されたのか質問する。しかし、要領を得ないエースにドクターはエレガンを連れ、森を調べに行く。ベブが古代神殿を調べに来ていた可能性をエレガンに示唆され、調べに行き、そこで大量の死体を発見。ドクターは、ダーレクに攻撃された盗掘目的の調査隊であると推測する。さらに古代神殿はダーレクの冬眠施設であることが判明。その間にダーレクはエースの複製をつかって、図書館のセキュリティシステムにアクセスし、タイムバリアを無効にし、一体のダーレクにデータをダウンロードし、図書館を破壊しようとしていた。

Part3
ダーレクの母船が図書館に向かうのを見たドクターはエレガンとターディスに向かう。図書館のデータをダウンロードするのにタイムロードの脳神経を媒介にする必要があったダーレクはエースとベブ、エレガンの腹心である司書のプリンクの命を盾にドクターとエレガンに投降を呼びかける。囚われの身となったドクターはデータをダウンロードするための媒介にされ落命する。

Part4
ドクターの意識はカー・シャラット星の住人によって救われていた。カー・シャラット星人は水の生命体で、図書館のシステム”ウエットワークス”のせいで自由を失い死に追いやられつつあるとドクターに助けを求める。

 

感想
オーディオでダーレク同士の会話を聞き続けるのはなかなかの苦行。内容を把握するのが精一杯でとてもとても物語を楽しむ余裕は持てないというのが正直なところだ。それでも、図書館長のエレガンのキャラが良く、ベブとラペルのエピソードなどストーリー的には面白かったと思う。

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow this story is really clever at subverting your expectations from the title and cover. I think I'm firmly into the era where Big Finish have hit their stride, and begun experimenting with the creative and brilliant ideas they're reputed for. And quite frankly, I'm shocked it happened so early. This is a Seven and Ace story, a point in its favour, and Sophie Aldred really gets a lot to do as Ace, for a variety of reasons. That said, the true stand out is Sylvester McCoy - he still has some moments of unconvincing acting but my god he brought his A-game to this performance. I really wasn't feeling this story for a long time - Elgin is an annoying character, the running joke of Prink not speaking was both painfully unfunny, and a lot of the time an inappropriate tone to take for the circumstances - but there's a shift partway through where this story just becomes brilliant. The ideas it plays with are incredibly imaginative, and Elgin proves his worth to the story eventually. It is a little difficult to follow though, and I did have to look at the wiki plot summary to clarify the things I didn't understand. That said, still an incredibly strong story. 4.5 stars.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying how Big Finish crafts these Seventh Doctor and Ace stories and this one is a particular treat given the involvement of the Daleks, as advertised on the cover art for this audiobook experience. But the way things initially pan out is quite different from what I had expected based on the structure of other Doctor Who stories, and I enjoyed that touch of surprise.

Starting things off with what could be the universe's greatest library hidden behind Time Lord technology was an interesting yet familiar start to things but how the Daleks get involved in things really got me. Their plan was, of course, weird but initially effective, as is the way of these Classic-era stories. And thus it merits a proper Classic-era solution, one that sidesteps violence in the name of a higher calling.

[CJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

007 The Genocide Machine (Dalek Empire 1) 3.5/5
The Genocide Machine is a fine story, but it does drag on a little to long. That being said, there are quite a few things that I enjoy. The main concept is interesting, with a good twist, and made for an interesting element of the story. My MVP for this story was Sophie Aldred. She had a lot to work with, even if I don't think she managed to stick the landing on one main thing. Also interesting that we get to hear Nicolas Briggs as the Daleks for the first time in an official capacity. Some of the voices he uses still appear in Doctor Who to this day, which is a nice piece of continuity. This is also the first part of a 'soft' prequel to what will be called Dalek Empire. It'll be interesting how this story impacts it. While not the best, this story has enough to keep you entertained for the most part.

[Dan Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big Finish has done an amazing job with quite a few of their productions, including this particular story starring, not only Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor, his companion Ace, but the Doctor's famous enemies, the Daleks! As we Whovians know, the Doctor, in the Classic episodes, has not participated in the infamous event known as the Time War quite yet, but you can tell that our famous Time Lord has more moods than his current regenerations. One of these is a jovial attitude. Another, as you can see in this story, is an almost calm rage.
Big Finish is another way I'd suggest to get your Doctor Who hype up while waiting for a new series, because it has been confirmed that the events in these stories HAVE occurred!

[Natira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich mochte dieses Abenteuer des 7. Doctors und Ace, das für die beiden harmlos beginnt. Ace wundert sich über die Sortierung in der Tardis-Bibliothek (der Doctor ist ca. alle 50 Jahre dabei, einen neuen Versuch zu starten, dieses Mal jedenfalls landet "Bleak House" in der Architekturabteilung) und findet dabei ein Buch, dass definitiv in die Bücherein auf Kar-Charrat zurück muss. Dort begegnen den beiden aber nicht nur ein Bibliothekar, sondern Ace stolpert über Beth, die Überlebende eines Angriffs, und der Planet hält noch weitere Überraschungen bereit, eine davon macht den Doctor sehr sehr wütend.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mike Tucker takes full advantage of the four-episode format to craft a story that is complex and interesting. Between the script and production, there was solid world-building. Tucker also does a decent job of recreating the 7th Doctor and Ace, further developing and maturing her character. Sylvester McCoy always played the Doctor with such a distinctive accent which really works well for the audio format. Sophie Aldred also does a good job sounding like her younger self as Ace. However, there was not as much humor (except for references to the Doctor's umbrella) to fully recreate what was so endearing about the 7th Doctor and Ace.

[Linnea Gelland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daleks, Ace and secret libraries - and an extremely overdue library book. Fun mixed with some excitement in a pretty standard Who-story. What makes this one stand out to me, though, is the fact that we get to hear the Doctor get really angry. While this may not be all that uncommon (although I think that this Doctor usually finds himself in a state of frustration, rather than furious anger), it still gives some deeper insight into his priorities and personality.

[Gareth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somewhere between a 4 and a 5 this one. The Doctor and Ace in good form, with some other interesting characters also introduced. The Daleks are also in good form, showing some good patience and scheming here, rather than their sometimes stupidity that can be seen in some of the TV shows. Some interesting twists and turns in the story, and the sound effects went quite well for allowing us to picture what is going on, inside the library and in the rainforest. All round a really good listen.

[Mole Mann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good story from Mike Tucker (who I think is a somewhat underrated writer). I like a lot of the ideas used in this one though it might have went on a bit too long. Briggs does some of his best Dalek voices while the rest of the voice cast are pretty good.
Viewed this through Josh Snares' animation, which I think is a bit too reliant on real-world models but still quite impressive for something made by what I assume is one or a few people.

[Finlay O'Riordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first main range story to feature the Daleks is a decent listen, but being early Big Finish, some of the sound mixing and effects are a bit dated. There are also some fun Dalek variants here. This is also the introduction of Bev Tarrant, who will appear again and then later join the Bernice Summerfield adventures.

It's not hugely exciting but it's still worth your time and significant in terms of Big Finish as a whole.

[C S · Rating 2 out of 5]

The library on Kar-Sharrat is a formidable repository of information - so formidable that it has caught the attention of the dastardly Daleks, the Doctor’s greatest enemy. How unfortunate that this particular production is clunkily written, offensively dull and remarkably unremarkable. Not the best reintroduction for Skaro’s own evil pepperpots.

[C.A. A. Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderfully atmospheric. A real trip down memory lane too. Sylvester McCoy's Doctor with Ace. A clever story of a grand and extra special library on an outback planet. The whole presentation of this story is splendid. The Daleks are after all the knowledge they can get and have a diabolical plan to get at such desired things. If you are a Doctor Who fan, I would highly recommend this one.

[ani · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a difficult one. Because when I was listening to it I was like "This is solid. Not my favourite thing ever but I'm enjoying this." but two days later and I genuinely can barely remember anything. Like I have nothing to criticise, but to be fair, I have nothing to praise either. It passed my time at the gym and on I moved. But it's got McCoy and Ace and that's a duo I'll always appreciate.

[Julie Ditton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This starts off when the Doctor and ACE visit a library that houses all the knowledge ever. As the saying goes "A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing" but too much knowledge can be Dalek bait! What is it with Dr Who and libraries? Just like "Silence in the library" the Doctor has his work cut out for him.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is fine. Not the most memorable but an interesting concept. This feels like 3 ideas kind of stuck together and doesn't have a lot of weight to the danger in the story. For a story from 2000 it is one of the better stories but it blends into the pack. Not bad but not great either. The writing that 7 deserves is not here for this story.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Ace and the Seventh Doctor are one of my favorite duos in the series. This was a short story but it was still long enough to tell a good tale. I liked the plot and the interactions between the various characters was very well done.

[Aidan Brack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another story that has risen over time as I have grown to love Sylv's Doctor. The wetworks library setting is fun, even if the idea of this having a size measurable in gigabytes is laughable.
Loses a few points for Bev Tarrant messiness but this is worth the time.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn't a fan of this one at all. Way too much screaming and weird stereo dialogue. Wish I had enjoyed it more.

[Sidney McKidney · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story doesn't do anything super memorable (besides the aliens, they're cool), but it's a fairly enjoyable romp adventure thing.