Doctor Who: Death to the Daleks

Doctor Who Target Books (Numerical Order) #20

by Terrance Dicks

A mysterious power loss strands the TARDIS on Exxilon, a sinister fog-shrouded alien planet.

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, Media Tie In, Audiobook, Adventure

125 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Terrance Dicks was an English author, screenwriter, script editor, and producer best known for his extensive contributions to Doctor Who. Serving as the show's script editor from 1968 to 1974, he helped shape many core elements of the series, including the concept of regeneration, the development of the Time Lords, and the naming of the Doctor’s home planet, Gallifrey. His tenure coincided with major thematic expansions, and he worked closely with producer Barry Letts to bring a socially aware tone to the show. Dicks later wrote several Doctor Who serials, including Robot, Horror of Fang Rock, and The Five Doctors, the 20th-anniversary special.
In parallel with his television work, Dicks became one of the most prolific writers of Doctor Who novelisations for Target Books, authoring over 60 titles and serving as the de facto editor of the range. These adaptations introduced a generation of young readers to the franchise. Beyond Doctor Who, he also wrote original novels, including children’s horror and adventure series such as The Baker Street Irregulars, Star Quest, and The Adventures of Goliath.
Dicks also worked on other television programmes including The Avengers, Moonbase 3, and various BBC literary adaptations. His later work included audio dramas and novels tied to Doctor Who. Widely respected for his clarity, imagination, and dedication to storytelling, he remained a central figure in Doctor Who fandom until his death in 2019, leaving behind a vast legacy in television and children's literature.

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third and final Pertwee Dalek story typifies everything about the Target range.
From Terry Nation's recycled script of his previous Dalek stories to a satisfying screen to page recounting from Dicks.

I guess from Nation's point of view that his famous popular creations are such a hit then why shy away from a simple and easy winning formula, whilst Dicks were turning these out relatively quickly (25th in 4 and a half years!) sticks faithfully to the original story.

It's certainly the weakest of the Third Doctor's encounters but there's still lots to enjoy.

The novel is a step up from the televised adventure as Dicks is able to describe the planet Exxilon more vividly.
As this title is currently out of print this will only appeal to fans who wish to read the entire range.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an adaptation of the third adventure of Doctor Who's eleventh season, which was originally broadcast in February and March of 1974. Terrance Dicks adapted the original screenplay of Terry Nation for this book. Dicks was the story-editor of the show at the time, and Nation created the Daleks in 1963 and, I believe, wrote all of their episodes through the 1960s and '70s. The third regeneration of The Doctor starred in the story, and his companion was the popular journalist, Sarah Jane Smith. The story starts with the TARDIS malfunctioning (which it did a lot with #3 at the controls) due to an energy drain, and landing on the planet Exxilon, just before a Dalek ship is also stranded there. The Daleks aren't an integral part of the story, which isn't among Nation's best. Sarah is captured by the Exxilon's high priest and taken to the caves for sacrifice, The Doctor meets up with some Space Marines who are mining Parrinium, which cures a space plague, and there are some progressive intelligence tests... it's all rather jumbled.... too much plot in too little space for a change, but it's a very quick read and fun if you don't try to make too much sense of it.

[Rob Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid Terrance Dicks adaption of an otherwise bland and uninspiring adventure.

[Paul Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Target] (1978). SB. 125 Pages. Purchased from Zardoz Books.

One of Terrance Dicks’ lesser efforts, amongst his 67 Target novelisations. Clumsily written in places. Entertaining enough, though.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Novelization of a classic Doctor Who episode featuring the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane

[Reuben Herfindahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite novelizations. It's one of the few that is better than the episode it covers.

[Jacob Licklider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes there’s really only so much one can do in novelizing a story without making things improve. Death to the Daleks was the final Dalek story to star Jon Pertwee as the Doctor with Elizabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, but it was also the seventh to be written by original Dalek creator Terry Nation and it is this novelization that really attempts to draw some originality out of a script that is a melting pot of different Dalek story ideas. Terrance Dicks’ novelization doesn’t actually change any significant events from the television serial, but the few pieces of originality in the serial are adapted incredibly well. The opening sequence where the power on the TARDIS is drained and any of the ideas dealing with the city of the Exxilons is treated as living are particularly well written. The former manages to capture the desperation of the Doctor being stranded, though this is an aspect from the original script for The Daleks reused again here. Dicks gets to the heart of the character drama instead of just running around the cave sets. The living city while on television attempted to be designed well, and Michael E. Briant’s direction makes it look interesting, there isn’t nearly as much emphasis on it being alive. Here Dicks really makes it feel otherworldly for a setting, especially as the story progresses and the city itself awakens. The destruction at the end of the story also feels more real in prose, perhaps because Dicks is actually really good at building suspense.

Death to the Daleks, despite the evocative cover and having the best classic Dalek design, actually suffers from not being great as a Dalek story. While Dicks’ adaptation tries to emphasize the scheming of the Daleks and the ideas of the space plague, as a force they just aren’t portrayed as effective. The tenuous alliance between them and the human characters is something that just barely worked on television and it doesn’t work here, probably because the supporting characters aren’t actually all that well characterized, the book more concerned with making the Doctor and Sarah Jane work as a pair.

Overall, Death to the Daleks is far from a bad novelization, Dicks’ prose is as always quite breezy and light making it at the very least a fun read. This is an occasion where a perfectly functional Terry Nation Dalek story becomes a perfectly functional Terrance Dicks novelization and in isolation that’s something that someone genuinely might love, but this is also a novelization I experienced immediately after three other novelizations of Terry Nation Dalek stories so that interference makes you really notice the issues with Nation’s plots. Dicks doesn’t make any large scale changes to the plot which isn’t really helping matters either. 6/10.

[Jason Bleckly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This in my top 10 favourite Doctor Who stories of all time. And Terrance does a magnificent job of translating it to the written word. Filmed in the traditional Doctor Who quarry, the book gives the planet more life and believability, for instance when Sarah and the Doctor are sharing a meal with the Exxilons and discuss the ecology of the planet. It’s only a minor section, but adds to the worldbuilding.

Going into this book I was concerned the visual aspects inside the city wouldn’t be as engaging as the broadcast version. Belal and the Doctor exploring the city and passing its test is the best part of the story for me. The sections seem a little truncated, but that’s probably just me as I wanted to savour those bits, But the important thing is they feel right. The humming glowing walls with the text and maze. They look brilliant on TV and haven’t lost anything in the book. And the decorative floor where they play Venusian hopscotch is totally on point.

There is also the general characterisation of the characters. They all feel true to original, but they are also given a little more depth through internal characterisation, particularly Galloway.

And it has my favourite blink and you’ll miss it moment where the Daleks shoot the little TARDIS model while trying out their replacement mechanical weapons.

If ever I’m suffering from Doctor Who withdrawal I can see myself giving this another read. This is top tier Doctor Who.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhere between a 3 and a 4 for me.
Has some quite cool ideas in the story, but some of it is definitely reminiscent of previous Dalek stories. The Daleks themselves feel a bit of a mixed bag here - sometimes they are showing their strengths quite well, with cunning, ingenuity and the fact that their intelligence is on par with the Doctor's, if somewhat more methodical and less intuitive / quick. At other times though, they feel like they could have been replaced with another of the Doctor's enemies without much issue, as just feel like another obstacle while facing the main adversary, which here feels like the planet.
Didn't feel like the strongest story for Sarah here either, almost seems to disappear altogether from the plot at times, as potentially a bit too much focus given to some of the one off characters, and even the Doctor suffers a little from this, though is in good form where he does appear.
All round a bit of a mixed bag, but some of the ideas in it do help lift it, and the pacing and action is pretty good still.

[Ben Goodridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really like this one when I saw it on television. Sarah Jane came across as uncharacteristically whiny and the visuals were uninspired and manky considering we're supposed to be gazing with awe at a forbidden city. The book, fortunately, softpedals the character derailment, but still takes a while to get traction. The first few chapters are almost paint-by-numbers generic.

Daleks tend to be predictable in their narratives. This isn't necessarily a negative, if the narrative properly treats them as a force or an obstacle rather than an antagonist. This story has them weirdly cagey and expects the fact that they've essentially been neutered for part of the story to fool us into thinking they have guile.

Still. I've never read a Doctor Who book that rates fewer than three stars and I'm not going to let a few nits get in the way of an unblemished record. It's still a good story - I love the old Temples of Doom with their puzzle traps and fatal riddles, and unarmed Daleks are fascinating to watch. It just doesn't stand out for good reasons.

[Tim Deforest · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on a Third Doctor/Sarah Jane story, this one has the Tardis landing on a desolate planet, then immediately losing power.

The same thing happens to an Earth ship and a Dalek ship. The native population consists of a primitive tribe that worships a huge, sentient city. The city is the source of the power drain.

Can the Doctor, the humans and the Daleks work together to get off the planet? Not really--since Daleks obsess a little too much about exterminating all other life forms. in the end, its up to the Doctor to solve a series of puzzles to get into the city and give it a sort-of nervous breakdown.

Its an okay story, with Terrance Dicks doing his usual great job of turning the TV story into a prose tale. The Daleks are a little wasted--they feel like an unnecessary addendum to a story that works fine without them. The Doctor's greatest enemy should be a more prominent part of any story in which they appear.

[Michel Siskoid Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The changes Terrance Dicks makes to Death to the Daleks! - a not particularly well-loved story, so there's room for them - in the novelisation are quite good, actually. Nothing major, but they normally go towards making the story more sensical (the Doctor doesn't wander off after Sarah begs him to wait for her, for example). Of course, he can't make the "tomb robbing" sequences work - they're still bafflegab solutions to bafflegab problems - but doing it with curt prose is a lot more acceptable than watching the Doctor and a badly made-up Exxilon tediously work through each puzzle on screen. While I'm frequently bored by this on in televised form, it made for a fun, quick read. Daleks with powder weapons, Sarah carrying off complicated plans, and wow, looks like Terry Nation predicted the city-sized A.I. server than eats up all the energy, eh?

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doctor Who : Death to the Daleks (1978) by Terrance Dicks is the novelisation of the third serial of the eleventh season of Doctor Who and the seventy second serial overall.

The TARDIS loses power and lands on Exxilon. The Doctor and Sarah Jane find that the natives are very unfriendly. They encounter a ship from earth that has arrived on Exxilon to get Parrinium which is a mineral found on Exxilon that can cure a deadly plague that is ravaging humanity. The Daleks also arrive on the planet to get up to their usual dastardly deeds but find their weapons do not work. There is also a mysterious city on the planet.

Death to the Daleks is not a bad serial. Disabling parts of the Daleks makes them more interesting. It’s a good read for anyone who likes Doctor Who.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrance Dicks' novelisations of Doctor Who television adventures are, sometimes justifiably, accused of being flat re-tellings but here, when the adaptation is from the genius work of Terry Nation, it would be hard to reduce it to something less than exciting.

So, take a romp of an adventure and have it read by Jon "I can do all the Doctors' voices" Culshaw, and you have a triumph of an audio book free of the rather wooden performances by some among the supporting cast of the original broadcast. (And the listener is also spared the dire scene wherein the cast are so badly directed that on hearing that another space ship is landing, they hurry to see it arrive... and all look in markedly different directions.)

So, an easy win of 5 stars.

[John Loyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third Doctor and Sarah land on Exillon because the TARDIS is suddenly drained of power. They find a roving band of savages trying to kill them, and a party of humans trying to mine a rare mineral that will defeat a space plague. To make matters worse a ship of Daleks lands and immediately tries to exterminate them. Fortunately whatever had drained the energy from the TARDIS also affected the Dalek energy weapons, too. It was a short reprieve the Daleks on the ship quickly built more traditional weapons. The Exillons capture and want to sacrifice Sarah and the Doctor.

Things look desperate. Not only will our heroes die, but the mining ship will fail to return will the mineral that can save millions of lives. Fast read, familiar characters, 3.8 stars.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick interesting Doctor adventure with a little dust up with the locals and the Daleks.
Comparing this to later Who shows the character growth and changes that have happened over the years. The Doctor is recognizable but also different from later versions.
I enjoy these retold Doctor adventures. They are usually enjoyable and quick. There didn’t seem to be any uncomfortable dated references or sexism in this story.

[Joe Brewer-Lennon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, the cover artwork is beautiful and iconic. The story itself has flaws, as does the TV version, but Terrance Dicks explains his way out of most in his usual, punchy style. Towards the end, you’re cheering the Doctor, Sarah, the expedition team and the Exxilons to succeed against the Daleks, but do they? Spoilers, sweetie!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5
This is a pretty decent novelisation hampered by being of Pertwee's worst story, although Dicks at least tries to flesh out a few of the elements that on screen are quite shallow. That being said, I really could have done without the evocation of degeneracy to describe characters who were already racist caricatures!

[Colin Oaten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent entry in the classic Target books series from Terrance Dicks as the 3rd Doctor and Sarah Jane arrive on a planet where a mining expedition find themselves with an objective common to the Dalek cause.

[Ian Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than the on-screen version but it is a mash-up of Terry Nation’s greatest hits, albeit quite a bit more fun than what he usually delivered. Some great moments, though, and it has that magnificent cover.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an entertaining adventure featuring the 3rd Doctor and Sarah Jane. I thought the plot was fun, and the side characters were well-written. All in all, a classic DW story that I greatly enjoyed.

[Theo · Rating 3 out of 5]

the idea of daleks having to modify themselves to have rudimentary machine guns instead of their usual lasers because of an invisible field of power outage is almost enough to make me want to watch this part of the show. and then i remember doctor who used to be a serial, not episodic.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, fairly fun read for fans of the series.

[Philippe Hyndrikx · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of the best in the whole series I think

[Steven Garner · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)

A quick, enjoyable read that was a great reminder of a classic Jon Pertwee Doctor Who story.

[G. Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fast paced adaptation by Dicks that entertains throughout. Quick and easy, this gem pulls no punches, however it’s full of adventure!

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun

[Michael Lasco · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far one of the best Dalek storylines in the show's history and this novelization is a lively representation of it. Loved it.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good one! These older episode novelizations are so good!

[Christian Petrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Is it a good thing when you start a review off saying it was not as bad as you thought it would be?

The plot is the Doctor and Sarah Jane are off on a trip, when the TARDIS loses power and lands on a planet where all energy is being drained. They encounter humans trying to find the cure a plague which the cure is on the planet. The Daleks show up, also being affected by the power drain.

If there is a power drain going on, wouldn't the Daleks not be able to move? Yes this is covered by some new way of them getting power, but goes against all we have learned about the Daleks. Also they happen to have machine gun adapters for their guns, since their regular weapons don't work.

This just felt like a paint by the numbers story. Granted some interesting concepts, the Exxilons were a powerful race who built a city too powerful and reverted to a non-tech race.

The city having different puzzles to solve to make it to the heart of it, felt as if it something we have seen before. However, in reading the Doctor Who books, this is the first time this concept was used.

Not too much here to report on otherwise. Probably the weakest Dalek story and an easily forgettable story as well. Only for those who are Doctor Who fans and happen to have no other book to read.