harryhobbit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
ashlylynne's review against another edition
3.0
Synopsis
The Doctor, along with his companions Sarah and Harry, are trapped on the planet Skaro where a war has torn the surroundings as well as many of the inhabitants to absolute shreds. But, something is happening, something that changed the world forever: This is when and where the daleks were born. Will everyone make it off Skaro alive?
This novel is based on a Doctor Who story which was originally broadcast from 8 March–12 April 1975.
Doctor Who and the Genesis of the Daleks by Terrance Dicks
★★★
Genre: Science Fiction
Release Date: 1976
Source: Barnes & Noble – Bought
On My Shelf: Yes
I originally picked up this book because I’m a huge fan of the 4th doctor without even realizing that this was based off an actual episode of Doctor Who. I should have known better, since many of the old books are simply novelizations of the episodes, but I didn’t even think about it until I was about 1/3 of the way through this. I will say that it’s kind of nice that the most (if not all?) of the DW episodes have been novelized since it can often be hard (at least here in America) to get ahold of the episodes, but I’m not a huge fan of reading novelizations of TV shows unless they’re really well done, and that affected my reading of this.
I’m not saying that this was bad or that I didn’t enjoy it completely, it’s just that it weighted my experience. I found this satisfying to read, but I didn’t find myself wanting to pick this up without a bit of a struggle. I enjoyed the story and always do enjoy those extra tidbits you get from being more inside the characters head, but I don’t always feel like this adds much since, if the actors and writers of the show do their job, there shouldn’t be much extra that is going on past what the watcher of the show already perceives/understands. And so, even though Dicks was a writer on the show (and on this specific episode), I didn’t feel like the novelization added anything extra.
Now, I haven’t actually watched(despite owning a DVD copy of) this episode. I don’t know if that also affected my reading of this, but I’m nearly positive that I will enjoy watching this more than I did reading this. This might, though, be a personal thing as I often only read books based off shows when they give us new story lines and fresh adventures, and this book didn’t give me that.
Also, the writing wasn’t awesome. It was alright, but nothing that I was mesmerized by. I’m not bashing Dicks(okay…I’m actually 12 and yes I totally know what I just wrote there so shut up about it I died laughing too…), but his writing just didn’t really do much for me. It was satisfactory, but not novel-worthy. I think that he did an absolute awesome job writing for the show, but I think his talents really cater to screenwriting and not novel-writing.
Overall, I didn’t think this was terrible or anything and I’d still recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading novelizations, but it just wasn’t great for me.
Review originally published on my Wordpress blog Ashly Reads.
The Doctor, along with his companions Sarah and Harry, are trapped on the planet Skaro where a war has torn the surroundings as well as many of the inhabitants to absolute shreds. But, something is happening, something that changed the world forever: This is when and where the daleks were born. Will everyone make it off Skaro alive?
This novel is based on a Doctor Who story which was originally broadcast from 8 March–12 April 1975.
Doctor Who and the Genesis of the Daleks by Terrance Dicks
★★★
Genre: Science Fiction
Release Date: 1976
Source: Barnes & Noble – Bought
On My Shelf: Yes
I originally picked up this book because I’m a huge fan of the 4th doctor without even realizing that this was based off an actual episode of Doctor Who. I should have known better, since many of the old books are simply novelizations of the episodes, but I didn’t even think about it until I was about 1/3 of the way through this. I will say that it’s kind of nice that the most (if not all?) of the DW episodes have been novelized since it can often be hard (at least here in America) to get ahold of the episodes, but I’m not a huge fan of reading novelizations of TV shows unless they’re really well done, and that affected my reading of this.
I’m not saying that this was bad or that I didn’t enjoy it completely, it’s just that it weighted my experience. I found this satisfying to read, but I didn’t find myself wanting to pick this up without a bit of a struggle. I enjoyed the story and always do enjoy those extra tidbits you get from being more inside the characters head, but I don’t always feel like this adds much since, if the actors and writers of the show do their job, there shouldn’t be much extra that is going on past what the watcher of the show already perceives/understands. And so, even though Dicks was a writer on the show (and on this specific episode), I didn’t feel like the novelization added anything extra.
Now, I haven’t actually watched
Also, the writing wasn’t awesome. It was alright, but nothing that I was mesmerized by. I’m not bashing Dicks
Overall, I didn’t think this was terrible or anything and I’d still recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading novelizations, but it just wasn’t great for me.
Review originally published on my Wordpress blog Ashly Reads.
eviecantread's review against another edition
2.0
Hmm. Where to start.
This is literally an (almost) word-for-word adaptation of the episode. It isn't a good one. The prose is basic and simplistic, bringing moments that were incredible to watch on screen (I'm talking about Davros' power speech) into very flat and missable moments. I suppose that happens to any screen-to-page adaptation, especially when the episodes like this one have a lot of action, but still. There is little thought put into the writing, and overall, if this was an adaptation of a lesser episode there would be no point in reading. However, Genesis of the Daleks is one of the best episodes of Classic Who, so the plot was strong. Literally, just go watch the episode instead, you're not missing much.
HOWEVER, in reading this I have finally paid off the sins of 8-year-old me who accidentally stole this from my primary school's library yonks ago. So that's nice.
This is literally an (almost) word-for-word adaptation of the episode. It isn't a good one. The prose is basic and simplistic, bringing moments that were incredible to watch on screen (I'm talking about Davros' power speech) into very flat and missable moments. I suppose that happens to any screen-to-page adaptation, especially when the episodes like this one have a lot of action, but still. There is little thought put into the writing, and overall, if this was an adaptation of a lesser episode there would be no point in reading. However, Genesis of the Daleks is one of the best episodes of Classic Who, so the plot was strong. Literally, just go watch the episode instead, you're not missing much.
HOWEVER, in reading this I have finally paid off the sins of 8-year-old me who accidentally stole this from my primary school's library yonks ago. So that's nice.
sean67's review against another edition
3.0
The first of three books in an omnibus titled The Adventures of Doctor Who - all from the Tom Baker years and all apparently in a row. This one takes a six part serial and reduces it to 140 pages in the paperback and a bit shorter in pagination in the omnibus.
IT is based on a script, so it is pretty constricted, but it has the normal Doctor Who situations, and you can almost tell when each episode of the serial reaches its climactic moments.
A decent story with the Terry Nation script adapted by the Terrance Dicks novelisation.
A fun read, and a tad nostalgic, but perhaps an original novel of Doctor Who would be more involving?
IT is based on a script, so it is pretty constricted, but it has the normal Doctor Who situations, and you can almost tell when each episode of the serial reaches its climactic moments.
A decent story with the Terry Nation script adapted by the Terrance Dicks novelisation.
A fun read, and a tad nostalgic, but perhaps an original novel of Doctor Who would be more involving?
jacobpark's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
eraemilius's review against another edition
3.0
It's sort of exciting to imagine what Doctor Who would have been like had it been made on a huge movie budget.
nwhyte's review against another edition
http://nhw.livejournal.com/1041222.html#cutid2[return][return]One of the greatest TV stories, and I still think one of the best novelisations. The action is breathlessly stripped down from six episodes to fit the Target format; but Dicks also adds a lot more circumstantial detail about the horrible landscape of Skaro, Davros, the Kaled and Thal leaders, the reactions of Harry and Sarah to their environment, and the Doctor's moral dilemmas. Despite knowing the story as well as I do, I found myself reading avidly to the end.[return][return]
thomas_wright's review against another edition
4.0
I love this serial I have it on DVD what was missing for me in this novelization was the sense of constant fear and doom definitely works better as a tv show but still worth reading
mountford14's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
dodau's review against another edition
3.0
Ok I'm determined to write a few words about every book I read this year.
I'm reading all of the 500 plus Dr Who books in order and unfortunatly that means starting with the Target ones. Written mainly for kids I think and a lot of the time novelisations of the tv episodes these are sketchy at best. Clunky dialogue, plotting that leaves a lot to be desired and very badly dated.
In this one the Doctor gets sent to elimate the daleks before they become a threat to the galaxy and if you;ve ever watched the show, obviously fails.
I'm reading all of the 500 plus Dr Who books in order and unfortunatly that means starting with the Target ones. Written mainly for kids I think and a lot of the time novelisations of the tv episodes these are sketchy at best. Clunky dialogue, plotting that leaves a lot to be desired and very badly dated.
In this one the Doctor gets sent to elimate the daleks before they become a threat to the galaxy and if you;ve ever watched the show, obviously fails.