Dalek Attack: Blockade And Other Stories from the Doctor Who universe: Dalek Audio Annual

Dalek Audio Annual #1

by Terry Nation

The Daleks are back! The ruthless creatures or hate return to menace the galaxy in a further collection of vintage stories from Terry Nation’s Dalek Annuals of the 1970s.

Audio CD

First published December 5, 2019

About the author

Terry Nation was a Welsh screenwriter and novelist. After briefly joining his father's furniture-making business and attempting stand-up comedy, Nation turned his hand to writing and worked on radio scripts for The Goon Show and a range of TV dramas such as The Saint, The Avengers, Z Cars, The Baron, The Champions, Department S and The Persuaders. He went on to write about 100 episodes of Doctor Who and wrote scripts for the American TV series MacGyver (1985) and A Fine Romance (1989).

He is probably best known for creating iconic villains the Daleks in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who. Nation also created two science-fiction shows - Survivors and Blake's 7.

Terry Nation moved to Los Angeles, California, United States in 1980. He died from emphysema on 9 March 1997, aged 66.

Reviews

[Juan Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dalek Audio Annuals are so much better than their Doctor Who counterparts. The stories are more coherent and there is a real sense of them belonging to a universe where the Daleks are looking to oppress humanity and be the supreme rulers, expanding their empire and at constant war.

As I said about the previous Dalek annual, you can easily picture a bleak Blake’s 7 type series revolving around these stories.

Some of the stories are a little overlong and would benefit from pruning. However the exercise here is to present them in their entirety. The narration is good quality and keeps the pace moving along. The narrators manage to make what is essentially pulp fiction into stories worthy of attention.

I definitely enjoyed “Blockade” most of all, with the space merchant, Ed Cowley, doing the right thing and saving the universe from the Dalek threat and losing his life in the process. It’s quite a brave and surprisingly moving tale.

I also liked “Nightmare” with its human Daleks and “The Planet That Cried “Wolf”” with its prisoners luring the Daleks in a plot to help them escape. It all feels a bit bleak and the threat of the Daleks is never fully defeated.

An enjoyable audiobook with great performances from the narrators. So very nearly perfect…..

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five stories about people who get into trouble with the Daleks, on Earth and elsewhere, plus some other bits and bobs about the trundling terrors. The stories aren't terribly good, but the readings are, and I enjoyed listening to it. Matthew Waterhouse sounds uncannily like Colin Baker, and it was a surprise to learn that Davros can read minds!

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not the biggest Dalek fan as I feel they are played out but this is a pretty solid collection of Dalek stories (not featuring the Doctor). There are a couple of really good ones, one of which I'm guessing is inspired by/based on a tactic used by the Nazis.