Remembrance of the Daleks

by Ben Aaronovitch

With unfinished business to attend to, the Seventh Doctor returns to where it all began: Coal Hill School in London in 1963. Last time he was here, the Doctor left something behind – a powerful Time Lord artefact that could unlock the secrets of time travel. Can the Doctor retrieve it before two rival factions of Daleks track it down? And even if he can, how will the Doctor prevent the whole of London becoming a war zone as the Daleks meet in explosive confrontation?

An adventure featuring the Seventh Doctor as played by Sylvester McCoy and his companion Ace.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Time Travel, Fantasy, Media Tie In, Ebooks

211 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 1990

About the author

Ben Aaronovitch's career started with a bang writing for Doctor Who, subsided in the middle and then, as is traditional, a third act resurgence with the bestselling Rivers of London series.

Born and raised in London he says that he'll leave his home when they prise his city out of his cold dead fingers.

Reviews

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remembrance of the Daleks is easily one of the seventh doctor’s best stories. It’s action packed and filled with delicious small nods to earlier adventures. The seventh doctor is at his most secretive and manipulative at this point in the series. Ace is absolutely smashing in this one. The daleks – who had already been a bit overused at this point and had almost started to become a parody of themselves – are finally scary once again. And racism - which is such an important theme - is tackled carefully and with respect. On one hand with the modern day world views of Ace colliding with those of the past, and on the other hand in the rivaling Dalek groups. And it all comes together in a brilliant multi-layered finger-licking good story.


Naturally this story is a great watch if you’re a Doctor Who fan. But it’s fun to note that there are some extra details in this novelization that really help flesh out the characters a little bit more, which I do believe makes it worth the effort of reading it, even if you’ve already seen the serial.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Doctor Who novelization that pointed the way to the New Adventures & BBC Books series that were waiting around the proverbial corner. In some ways, "Remembrance" is a throwback to the best of early Terrance Dicks & Malcolm Hulke -- enhanced characters, with detailed, sympathetic & convincing backgrounds and motivations. In other ways, it lays the road map for the original series of Doctor Who fiction that was waiting to be born -- flashback and "historical" sources, and imaginative speculation regarding the most famous foundations in the canon. A fantastic, groundbreaking entry in the Doctor Who series.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben Aaronovitch adapts his own Doctor Who script into a very satisfying novel that improves on the televised version.
In the late 1980s Doctor Who script editor Andrew Cartmel brouhgt back some of the mystery & excitement that had been missing from the series. Remembrance of the Daleks was one of the best adventures for the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) & stands the test of time (pun intended!) very well.
Aaronovitch expands his script into a novel with extra dialogue & scenes. There are plenty of references to previous Doctor Who stories & a lovely brief & subtle nod to another science fiction legend-Bernard Quatermass.
It all adds up to one of the best Doctor Who novels around & you can't say fairer than that.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before I began running, I used to joke that running couldn't be as much fun as they say it is because you never see anyone running with a big grin on their face. And while I may not have a big smile planted on my face most days while out pounding the pavement, I can't help but think I had a big smile planted on it for much of the time I was working out while listening to Remembrance of the Daleks.

Based on one of my favorite seventh Doctor stories (and one of my favorite stories from the entire run of Doctor Who), this novel was one that I spent months looking for in book stores when it was first published (back in the days before Amazon and other on-line sellers) and then eagerly consumed once I'd found it. It was one of my favorite entries from the Target novels lines -- taking a great story and making it even better with some world building, character development and hints about the past of the our hero, the Doctor that, at the time, I lapped up with a spoon.

I've still got my original copy of the book, sitting proudly on my bookshelf with all my seventh Doctor Target novels. And I was fascinated to see that this novel was chosen to represent the seventh Doctor's era for the fiftieth anniversary books that came out a couple of years ago. And yet for some reason I couldn't bring myself to re-read the book. Part of me was worried that my memory would cheat and the re-read couldn't live to the memories I had of reading it. And then there was part of me that said -- man, if there was ever a novel I'd love to see become part of the audio range, it would be that one.

And so it was that when the Target audio range finally got rolling again this year, I was took great delight to see that Remembrance of the Daleks was headed to audiobook. I ordered it the audiobook, quickly converted it to .mp3 for my iPod and was ready to start listening.

It took about five minutes for my apprehension to fade and turn to delight as I experienced this one again.

Remembrance of the Daleks is a pure nostalgia fest from beginning to end. But one with a damn good story put on top it. The nostalgia rewards long time viewers of the show with Easter Egg after Easter Egg but it somehow manages to tell an entertaining, straight-forward Doctor vs the Daleks story that translates very well to the printed page. In his introduction to the anniversary edition, writer Ben Aaronovich say he was worried it might not hold up since it was his first published novel. I'm here to assure Aaronovich that not only does it hold up, it's every bit as entertaining today as it was twenty-five or more years ago.

Aaronovich re-tells the story from the television screen but he inserts character development and some side tangents that you couldn't, quite frankly, cram into the 90 minute version of this story. The story throws in a few red herrings for long-time Dalek story fans, including hiding a certain genius creator of the pepper-potted monsters very well. At one point, Aaronovich takes us inside the mind of the Special Weapons Daleks and even gives us a backstory on how that particular Dalek came to be.

I could gush on and on for days on this one. It was simply that good and that much fun.

This audio version, read by the man who played Davros, Terry Molloy, sparkles. Part of this is that Aaronovich understood that reading Daleks having long conversations on the printed page can get tedious and he kept it to a minimum. It makes it feel a bit more special when Nicholas Briggs does his usual cameo to re-create the Dalek voices from the story. As with other entries in the audio line, there are the usual sound effects and dramatic music to heighten everything.

But make no mistake -- the real selling point here is the story itself. It still holds up and while I know it isn't great literature, I still hold it up as one of the more enjoyable books I've read -- then or now. In fact, I got to the end of disc five and found myself ready to listen to the whole thing all over again. And while I didn't I can see myself visiting this one again -- and this time I won't wait twenty-five years!

[Brayden Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have much to say specifically about this other than what I thought after watching the actual episodes. It's simply a badass fight between Daleks with some Brits and an Alien we call the Doctor in between, perhaps a little more violent than most Doctor Who stories but I don't mind one bit.

[Matthew Kresal · Rating 5 out of 5]

The term “game changer” has come to be rather overused. Yet its a phrase that perfectly describes the 1988 Doctor Who serial Remembrance of the Daleks, offering a relaunch of the series and Sylvester McCoy’s era as the Seventh Doctor after a rocky first season in the role. It can also be applied to its novelization, adapted into prose by its TV scriptwriter Ben Aaronovitch, which would set the tone for the next era of literary Doctor Who.

Much like its TV counterpart, Aaronovitch’s novelization blew away both cobwebs and assumptions about what Doctor Who could be in its respective medium. Like the series itself, it could be a genre-bender and mixer. There’s elements of science fiction, to be sure, including with the use of the Hand of Omega at the novel’s end some descriptive prose worthy of Arthur C Clarke. Something which is also true of the hard-SF descriptions of the Hand of Omega itself and the Daleks with their casings, battle armor, and battle computers. There’s also elements of the thriller and action novel, with some adrenaline pumping descriptions of sequences that take what was on TV and kick it up a notch. Indeed, much like the early novelizations of Terrance Dicks before he entered his “novelization a month” phase or Malcolm Hulk's novelizations, Aaronovitch feels keen to present essentially a “writer’s cut” of an already well-regarded TV serial. It would be a new standard and an influence felt on the closing years of the Target novelizations and beyond.

For Aaronovitch also delved, as few writers beyond Hulk had in the novelizations, more deeply into the characters and the emotional arcs. Something which could advantage of the medium’s ability to put readers into the mind of the characters (not to mention imagine things very differently than a BBC budget could manage). Aaronovitch expands particularly on Ace, again already a solid element of the serial, and exploring her backstory but also her actions within the serial in greater depth. The supporting cast, including Gilmore and Jensen, likewise benefit from the fleshing out, from their backstories to their thoughts showing what it’s like to live in the extraordinary world of Doctor Who where the everyday and the extraordinary exist so easily side by side. Elsewhere, reading Mike Smith’s thoughts and motivations, including how he came to be involved with Ratcliffe’s Association, makes for fascinating and unsettling reading in a time when the far-right has become resurgent and you’ve likely had a similar experience to what Ace has with him with someone you know. What Aaronovitch brings to the page is nothing short of a literary, but still genre, feel for what prose Doctor Who could be.

Indeed, that sense of forward looking might be the greatest legacy of the Remembrance novelization. The first presentation of the Other, the mysterious third founder of Time Lord society, would come within these pages and with it the first hints of the Doctor’s revised backstory. A throwaway reference from a fictional epigraph at the start of a chapter would introduce a recurring character who would appear numerous times alongside this Doctor in the years that would follow (including in novels by Aaronovitch). The subtle bits of characterization and world building around Gilmore, Jensen, and Alison Williams would serve as the basis for Big Finish’s later audio series Counter-Measures nearly a quarter-century later. Few other Doctor Who novelizations can claim to have had such a lasting influence.

All of which raises Remembrance into being (to paraphrase a cut line oddly missing even here) far more than just another novelization. One that more that makes for the occasional lack of physical descriptions that means, for example, in the first quarter to third of the novelization, you better have seen the TV serial to know what the Doctor, Ace, and the Counter-Measures team looked like. It’s no wonder that, alongside Marc Platt’s novelization of Ghost Light, this heady mixture would give birth in many ways to the New Adventures novels of the early-mid 1990s that would serve as Doctor Who’s torchbearer and eventual guiding light in the years to come.

That Aaronovitch packed all of that into 160 pages remains an extraordinary feat.

[Ashly Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

In this book The Doctor (Seven) and his companion, Ace, must rescue earth, yet again, from the Daleks. It all starts when The Doctor travels back to Coal Hill School in London, 1968. He left something there that needed to be dealt with. Little does he know the Daleks are also searching for what he left. What will happen when The Doctor gets a funny feeling about strange van? First published in 1990 and remastered for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Series, this book is marvelous and a grand adventure for any Whovian in search of one. (And, let’s face it, when are we Whovians not in search of an adventure.)

I’m quite obsessed with Doctor Who. If only that pin of mine were true. Although, I’d much rather be a companion than the Doctor. So, I mean, I’m just saying, Doctor, if you’re reading this, I’d love to explore space so maybe drop by and pick me up.

Anyway…I absolutely adored this book. It took me a bit to get into, since Aaronovitch sets the scene of it all up kind of strangely at first. It’s only a little hard to get used to his story telling style. I think this is because he had a hard time switching from screenplay writing to novel writing. However, his writing is brilliant and on point. (Humor, Heartbreak, Action – He writes it all.)

I also loved the story line this book laid out. It was interesting, and I was hooked – 1000% invested. I loved how he wrote the characters and their thoughts and actions. Everything about how he set things up was brilliant. There was not a dull moment in this novel. I found myself compulsively reading trying to find out what was going to happen next. The events make sense and all work well together. I just loved everything about this.

Plus, on top of the wonderful story, the characters were amazing. I loved every single one. Aaronovitch does a marvelous job of encompassing The Doctor and his companion’s personalities. For someone who isn’t experienced in writing novels (I’m not making this up or blowing this out of proportion; Aaronovitch tells his readers in the introduction to this new edition that he had a difficult time translating from script to book.), it can be hard to make the switch and translate everything well. But, he does a marvelous job and everything came through brilliantly.

Also, can we just talk about Ace for a minute? O.M.G. She was freaking stunning. I loved her character so much. I cannot praise her enough. She’s a young, black girl with a troubled past who kicks absolute butt. She doesn’t let anyone tell her what to do and she knows how to make bombs and fight. Holy cow, this girl. She was magnificent. My favorite character. I can’t commend her (or Aaronovitch for writing her) enough!

This is an absolute must-read for any Doctor Who fan (Whovian) out there. The story line is spectacular, the characters are wonderful, and it’s an adventure you won’t soon forget. I finished this book over a month ago, and I still can’t get over how much I loved it. I definitely wouldn’t hesitate to read this book again.

Review originally published on my Wordpress blog Dreaming Through Literature.

[Raj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remembrance is one of my favourite Doctor Who stories thanks, in no small part, to this novelisation, which I read many years before I ever saw the TV serial. It was on the strength of the memory of this book that many years later, I started reading Aaronovitch's Rivers of London books, which are thoroughly enjoyable reads.

This novelisation manages to add extra depth to the story that couldn't be conveyed on TV, and makes it feel more epic - especially the battle scene between the two Dalek factions. We also get flashbacks to Omega, Rassilon and The Other doing their work with the Hand of Omega back on Gallifrey, which makes it feel more epic. It also fleshes out Mike Smith and George Ratcliffe, and gives them back-stories tied to the War, and makes the Fascist connections that were implicit in the serial explicit. This is neatly compared to Ace, who grew up in the multicultural London of the 1980s.

Not exactly what I might have expected from a Doctor Who novelisation, but welcome nonetheless. A great novelisation of a cracking Doctor Who story.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Doctor returns to Coal Hill school in 1963 to retrieve a Time Lord device of immense power that had been left there by his previous incarnation. However, he is not the only one after the Omega Device.

Aaronovitch's novelisation of his own teleplay captures the essence of one of 'Doctor Who's finest stories and encourages readers to stretch their imaginative muscles to organically grow the story.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun.

[Kaethe]

Formally abandoned 20 April 2025

[David Layton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ben Aaronovitch took the time to make his adaptation of his first Doctor Who script into a real novel. It has descriptions, interior monologue, additional information, all of which makes this one a very enjoyable read. Aaronovitch took the WWII connections that Terry Nation worked up with the Daleks, and went better than Nation by getting to the heart of the issue rather than staying on superficial similarities. Aaronovitch takes on racism, the concept of racial purity, the resentments of working class men that leads them to embrace racism, and weaves them together quite well. Thus, while we have parallel stories - the Dalek race war and the Mike Smith and Ratcliffe work for the "Association" to bring fascism back to British politics and Ace's memories of her Pakistani friend whose house is burnt down by racists - the stories are parallel in theme rather than parallel in plot. To enhance the theme, he very firmly establishes Rachel Jensen as Jewish and explores a bit of her and Ian Gilmore's memories of World War II. This is also the story that introduces us to Doctor VIII the schemer, the one with complicated plans in motion and personal secrets. While the novel has many strengths, there are few little problem areas. It is hard to keep track of the two Dalek factions. I was never convinced by the idea of a girl who can shoot blue lightning from her hands. There are even larger hints that The Doctor was around at the time of Rassilon and Omega than there were in the TV episode. It is an idea I do not like. The Doctor is clearly established as from a much later time. Ultimately, though, this is a novelization well worth reading. I would give this 3 1/2 stars if Goodreads would let me.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have come to a realisation that Doctor Who books based on TV episodes aren't as good to read as new stories. I assume that is the problem with the Remembrance of the Daleks. I usually like Ben Aaronvitch as a writer as well. Instead I was terribly bored. There were a few flashes of interest towards the end, but hardly enough to save the book in my eyes. It's a shame because this book was chosen for the 50th anniversary series and I know I have read better stories about the 7th Doctor and Ace when I was younger. Oh well, we have to keep the copy of the book though because my son got Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred to sign it when we went to the Doctor Who convention in Leicester recently. For that reason alone, this book will be special.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Met Sophie Aldred (again) at Gloucester Geekmania and chatted about Ace being my favourite companion. And this story is one of the reasons why. In a society where we’re still fighting for equality, seeing Ace beat up a Dalek was an important part of my life. This is the ultimate ‘smash the patriarchy’.

Ben Aaronovitch does a great job of turning his screenplay into prose. All the way through I could see the TV episodes unfolding in my mind. Even better, he fleshed out the characters and gave them more life and back story.

Now I’m off to buy the DVD, I need to watch it again.