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Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks: 2nd Doctor Novelisation
Nicholas Briggs reads this epic novelisation of the Second Doctor's debut TV adventure.
Following an encounter with the Cybermen, the Doctor's life appears to hang in the balance—until, before the eyes of his companions Ben and Polly, his physical appearance is transformed!
Disoriented after his regeneration, the Doctor takes the TARDIS to the Earth colony planet Vulcan. Ben and Polly are disturbed—the Doctor isn't the man he used to be. The Doctor is also worried; the colonists have found the remains of two Daleks, which they plan to revive!
Once reanimated, the Daleks claim that they are content to serve humanity. Can it really be true? Or do they have their own, more sinister plans?
Nicholas Briggs, who is the voice of the Daleks in Doctor Who, reads John Peel's novelisation of the original 1966 TV serial by David Whitaker.
(Contains some descriptions of violence.)
Reading produced by Neil Gardner.
Dalek voices produced by Nicholas Briggs.
Sound design by Simon Power.
Executive Producer for BBC Michael Stevens
Following an encounter with the Cybermen, the Doctor's life appears to hang in the balance—until, before the eyes of his companions Ben and Polly, his physical appearance is transformed!
Disoriented after his regeneration, the Doctor takes the TARDIS to the Earth colony planet Vulcan. Ben and Polly are disturbed—the Doctor isn't the man he used to be. The Doctor is also worried; the colonists have found the remains of two Daleks, which they plan to revive!
Once reanimated, the Daleks claim that they are content to serve humanity. Can it really be true? Or do they have their own, more sinister plans?
Nicholas Briggs, who is the voice of the Daleks in Doctor Who, reads John Peel's novelisation of the original 1966 TV serial by David Whitaker.
(Contains some descriptions of violence.)
Reading produced by Neil Gardner.
Dalek voices produced by Nicholas Briggs.
Sound design by Simon Power.
Executive Producer for BBC Michael Stevens
Audible Audio
Published November 3, 2022
About the author
John Peel
445 books167 followersJohn Peel is the author of Doctor Who books and comic strips. Notably, he wrote the first original Doctor Who novel, Timewyrm: Genesys, to launch the Virgin New Adventures line. In the early 1990s he was commissioned by Target Books to write novelisations of several key Terry Nation Dalek stories of the 1960s after the rights were finally worked out. He later wrote several more original Daleks novels.
He has the distinction of being one of only three authors credited on a Target novelisation who had not either written a story for the TV series or been a part of the production team (the others were Nigel Robinson and Alison Bingeman).
Outside of Doctor Who, Peel has also written novels for the Star Trek franchise. Under the pseudonym "John Vincent", he wrote novelisations based upon episodes of the 1990s TV series James Bond Jr..
He has the distinction of being one of only three authors credited on a Target novelisation who had not either written a story for the TV series or been a part of the production team (the others were Nigel Robinson and Alison Bingeman).
Outside of Doctor Who, Peel has also written novels for the Star Trek franchise. Under the pseudonym "John Vincent", he wrote novelisations based upon episodes of the 1990s TV series James Bond Jr..
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 13, 2026
My initial viewing of classic Doctor Who was incomplete, thanks to the BBC’s purge of many of the classic serials from the 60s and 70s. All of Patrick Troughton’s first two seasons were incomplete and my only exposure to “Power of the Daleks” before 1993 was the summary in the Programme Guide and a glossy magazine-sized photo novel I picked up at a local convention that combined the original script with the surviving telesnaps.*
*I’m sure copies of the soundtrack were running around, but in the pre-Internet days, I had no way to access them, much less know they existed.
The Target adaptation of “The Power of the Daleks” was one of my first opportunities to experience the story in a way that closely resembled the televised version. I looked forward to it because I’d found John Peel’s adaptations of two William Hartnell-era Dalek stories enjoyable, even if I hadn’t loved his first entry in the New Adventures line.
“Power” is a fascinating adaptation. Freed from the page count of most of the range, Peel is allowed to really run with the adaptation, not only developing the characters far beyond what could be done in six episodes, but also introducing a few that didn’t feature in the original version. Beginning with the closing moments of “The Tenth Planet,” Peel gives readers a more faithful version of the original regeneration than we got in Gerry Davis’ Target adaptation of “Tenth.” Peel is also able to tie-in a lot of continuity from twenty-six seasons of classic Doctor Who, making his version of “Power” feel like a hybrid of a Target novel and a New Adventure entry.
And yet, for some reason, back in 1993, I didn’t appreciate it. I felt it lacked something. Looking back I couldn’t tell you what it was I think the novel lacked because thirty years later, I’ve just spent an enjoyable chunk of time revisiting the novelization in audiobook form and found it a delightful entry in the range.
I wonder if part of that is that I've been able to experience the story in different ways since that initial reading. Thanks to the Internet, I was able to get bootlegs of the original soundtrack and later copies of the soundtrack with linking narration. And, of course, there’s the animated version, the full serial to be restored using animation for all the episodes, not just a missing segment or two. My appreciation of the story has grown over the past thirty years, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I appreciate the Target version of the story more now than I did back then.
I think a small part of my enjoyment this time around is the performance by Nicholas Briggs. Since it’s a Dalek story, we know that Briggs will be on hand to perform the Dalek voices as close as possible to the original screen versions as he can. But, there’s more to it. Briggs’ performance of the entire cast is extremely well done. It’s a shame that we didn’t get more of Briggs performing other stories during the audiobook range.
Another part of why the story works so well is the original script by David Whittaker. Whittaker took the Daleks in some fascinating directions during the Second Doctor’s tenure, casting them as far more cunning, devious, and malevolent than we’d seen in the first four Dalek stories. The focus of the story is a human colony, with undercurrents of rebellion and unrest bubbling. Enter a couple of Daleks, who are willing to manipulate the human inhabitants to get what they want, in this case, power to reawaken and rebuild themselves. The title takes on layers as you realize the Daleks are also manipulating everyone around them in a bid to take power in the colony and possibly rebuild an army using various supplies. There are echoes of modern Who in the story, especially the Ninth Doctor’s warning that a single Dalek can be incredibly dangerous in the superlative “Dalek.”
What we’re left with is a superb story, adapted with confidence and panache by Peel. This is one of the Target novels that not only tells the original story well, but also fills in a lot of details and backstory. It’s a book that many fans would eat up with a spoon, which is what I did upon revisiting it here.
*I’m sure copies of the soundtrack were running around, but in the pre-Internet days, I had no way to access them, much less know they existed.
The Target adaptation of “The Power of the Daleks” was one of my first opportunities to experience the story in a way that closely resembled the televised version. I looked forward to it because I’d found John Peel’s adaptations of two William Hartnell-era Dalek stories enjoyable, even if I hadn’t loved his first entry in the New Adventures line.
“Power” is a fascinating adaptation. Freed from the page count of most of the range, Peel is allowed to really run with the adaptation, not only developing the characters far beyond what could be done in six episodes, but also introducing a few that didn’t feature in the original version. Beginning with the closing moments of “The Tenth Planet,” Peel gives readers a more faithful version of the original regeneration than we got in Gerry Davis’ Target adaptation of “Tenth.” Peel is also able to tie-in a lot of continuity from twenty-six seasons of classic Doctor Who, making his version of “Power” feel like a hybrid of a Target novel and a New Adventure entry.
And yet, for some reason, back in 1993, I didn’t appreciate it. I felt it lacked something. Looking back I couldn’t tell you what it was I think the novel lacked because thirty years later, I’ve just spent an enjoyable chunk of time revisiting the novelization in audiobook form and found it a delightful entry in the range.
I wonder if part of that is that I've been able to experience the story in different ways since that initial reading. Thanks to the Internet, I was able to get bootlegs of the original soundtrack and later copies of the soundtrack with linking narration. And, of course, there’s the animated version, the full serial to be restored using animation for all the episodes, not just a missing segment or two. My appreciation of the story has grown over the past thirty years, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that I appreciate the Target version of the story more now than I did back then.
I think a small part of my enjoyment this time around is the performance by Nicholas Briggs. Since it’s a Dalek story, we know that Briggs will be on hand to perform the Dalek voices as close as possible to the original screen versions as he can. But, there’s more to it. Briggs’ performance of the entire cast is extremely well done. It’s a shame that we didn’t get more of Briggs performing other stories during the audiobook range.
Another part of why the story works so well is the original script by David Whittaker. Whittaker took the Daleks in some fascinating directions during the Second Doctor’s tenure, casting them as far more cunning, devious, and malevolent than we’d seen in the first four Dalek stories. The focus of the story is a human colony, with undercurrents of rebellion and unrest bubbling. Enter a couple of Daleks, who are willing to manipulate the human inhabitants to get what they want, in this case, power to reawaken and rebuild themselves. The title takes on layers as you realize the Daleks are also manipulating everyone around them in a bid to take power in the colony and possibly rebuild an army using various supplies. There are echoes of modern Who in the story, especially the Ninth Doctor’s warning that a single Dalek can be incredibly dangerous in the superlative “Dalek.”
What we’re left with is a superb story, adapted with confidence and panache by Peel. This is one of the Target novels that not only tells the original story well, but also fills in a lot of details and backstory. It’s a book that many fans would eat up with a spoon, which is what I did upon revisiting it here.
Displaying 1 of 1 review