The Power of the Daleks (novelisation)

 was a novelisation based on the 1966 television serial The Power of the Daleks.

Publisher's summary
THE STRANGER DREW HIMSELF UP TO HIS FULL HEIGHT. "I AM THE DOCTOR", HE ANNOUNCED.

Disorientated after his regeneration, the Doctor takes the TARDIS to the Earth Colony Vulcan. Ben and Polly are disturbed — the Doctor isn't the man he used to be.

The Doctor too is worried. The colonists have found the remains of two Daleks — which they plan to revive.

Once revived, the Daleks claim that they are content to serve humanity. Can it really be true? Or do they have their own, more sinister plans?

This is a brand-new novelisation of a classic Dalek story, which is also the first story to feature Patrick Troughton as the Doctor. It has been unavailable since its broadcast in 1966.

Chapter titles

 * Prologue
 * 1) We Must Get Back to the TARDIS
 * 2) It's Beginning to Work Again
 * 3) I Think We'll Make Some Changes
 * 4) So You've Come At Last
 * 5) They're Not Going to Stop Me Working on the Capsule
 * 6) Why Have You Come to Vulcan?
 * 7) Alien? Yes -- Very Alien
 * 8) Nothing Human, No
 * 9) You Don't Half Make Mountains
 * 10) Plenty of Nuts
 * 11) They'll be too Frightened to do Anything Else
 * 12) It's Watching Me, Lesterson
 * 13) What Have You Done, Lesterson?
 * 14) I Obey
 * 15) You've Done Nothing But Meddle
 * 16) Keep Her in a Safe Place
 * 17) When I Say Run, Run Like a Rabbit
 * 18) Insanity
 * 19) These Things Are Just Machines
 * 20) We Want No Accidents
 * 21) The Doctor Was Right
 * 22) I'm Going to Wipe Out The Daleks
 * 23) I Can't Stop Them
 * 24) The People Will Do Exactly as They Are Told
 * 25) Every One Must Be Killed
 * 26) You Have To Admire Them
 * 27) The Law of the Daleks is in Force
 * Epilogue

Deviations from televised story
In the acknowledgements, author John Peel thanks Dennis Spooner and June Barry for bringing to his attention David Whitaker's original scripts for the serial. Content was edited out of these scripts by Spooner (Whitaker was unavailable) in order to make room for the new Doctor's characterisation once it was confirmed that Patrick Troughton has been given the role. Barry later retrieved the original scripts from her attic and made them available to Peel. As a result, Peel was able to restore some of the content when writing the book, as well as expand on what was already there:


 * The prologue refers to John Benton and UNIT, Sarah Jane Smith — who is described as "UNIT's official chronicler" — and Allison Williams. All are involved in the clean-up operations in the aftermath of the Cyberman invasion. (TV: The Tenth Planet) None of these characters were introduced into the series until well after the original serial was broadcast — in The Invasion, The Time Warrior and Remembrance of the Daleks respectively. This marks one of the few times that established characters have been inserted into a novelisation of a story of which they were not originally part.
 * According to the novelisation, The Tenth Planet occurs during the 1990s, not 1986. It is also states that humans examined the Cyberships which allowed them to eventually develop space travel.
 * Much of the post-regeneration scene takes place in the TARDIS wardrobe rather than the console room.
 * While the Doctor is looking in one of his chests, he finds the brooch Cameca gave him. (TV: The Aztecs)
 * The piece of Dalek metal the Doctor has in his possession was given to him by Susan. It is explained that she took it from the Dalek City. (TV: The Daleks)
 * The Doctor, Ben and Polly find more than one hidden listening device in their room after Bragan brings them some fruit.
 * The Doctor concludes that the 22nd century Dalek invasion of Earth has not yet taken place, explaining why the colonists are unfamiliar with the threat of the Daleks. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth)
 * Frequent mention is also made of the Interplanetary Mining Corporation as the driving force behind the colony's founding and funding. The IMC's first mention in the television series was not until 1971's Colony in Space.
 * The character Thane, the colony's medic, is written into the story. She is one of the rebels' section leaders; some of her lines in this capacity were spoken by an unnamed male in the televised story. She conveys much of the reasons for the rebels' discontent. The Daleks kill her during the climax.
 * More background is given to Valmar and why he joined the rebels: he was one of the chief engineers on Vulcan, but was demoted after Hensell blamed him for an industrial accident that killed four men.
 * In the televised version, a Dalek says: "Yes. You gave us life," before it kills Lesterson. In the novel, it says: "Yes. You gave us life. We give you death."
 * Bragan's death is more graphic than it is in the original version. In the TV story, he is simply shot dead; in the novelisation, Valmar shoots first to wound him and save Quinn before shooting Bragan through the head.

Writing and publishing notes

 * Along with The Evil of the Daleks and The Paradise of Death, this was significantly different from previous titles. The three were regarded as a bridging point between the old Target range of Doctor Who books and the soon-to-be-launched Virgin Missing Adventures range, while also fitting in with the ongoing Virgin New Adventures range. They all had a new-look cover with no Target logo being featured. Furthermore, each title was identified as part of the Doctor Who imprint and not the Target imprint. Together, these three books were unique. While part of the Virgin brand, they did not include the Virgin branding, a fact that was not overlooked. From the start it was decided that the Doctor Who imprint would be replaced with the more "appropriate" Virgin branding more associated with the New Adventures range.
 * Chapter One opens with a recap of the ending of The Tenth Planet, with Ben rescuing Polly and the Doctor from the Cybership. As a result of the end of that story also being novelised, the First Doctor is given a small role in the story and the dead bodies of Cybermen also appear.
 * Through this recap, the novelisation remains consistent with the ending of the televised version of The Tenth Planet. However, it is inconsistent with the ending scene in that story's novelisation, Doctor Who and the Tenth Planet, which alters the scene to give the Second Doctor some dialogue.
 * This book was dedicated to the memories of David Whitaker, Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell and with special thanks to June Barry.
 * John Peel's other Dalek novelisations - The Chase, Mission to the Unknown, The Mutation of Time and The Evil of the Daleks - were all interrelated works, connected by various references and story aspects. The Power of the Daleks, conversely, is standalone. It is the only one of Peel's Dalek novels in which the Dalek Prime and has neither an appearance nor a mention.
 * This book features a Seventh Doctor and Ace illustrated advert for Doctor Who Magazine.
 * The Doctor Who 30th anniversary logo features on back cover.
 * The back cover flash reads "TARGET DOCTOR WHO NOVELIZATIONS 8 MILLION COPIES SOLD".
 * The cover for the original Target Books edition features the artwork of Alister Pearson.
 * The appearance of the Second Doctor on the cover marked the first time this incarnation had appeared on the cover of a Target novelisation since Doctor Who and the Web of Fear was published in 1976.

British publication history
One single paperback edition, priced £4.50 (UK).

Audiobook
This Target Book was released as an audiobook on 3 November 2022 complete and unabridged by BBC Audio and read by Nicholas Briggs.

The cover blurb and thumbnail illustrations were retained in the accompanying booklet with sleevenotes by David J. Howe. Music and sound effects by Simon Power.