Remembrance of the Daleks [PROSE/1990.6.21]

★★★★★

  In the words of Barry Jenkins... foundational, foundational, foundational. It's a well-known anecdote by now that this was written without a specific word count, allowing Ben Aaronovitch to really expand the story into something he was aiming for but never fully got in the television series. Remembrance of the Daleks the Target novel is a hefty expansion of all the teased and unteased stories that the great televesion serial had. The Cartmel Masterplan? Reinstated in its full glory, with extended flashback sequences with Omega, Rassilon and the Other together in their continuity-defining glory. If you're not onboard with all the Cartmel Masterplan nonsense, you better stay away from this book! 

  I absolutely love this novel. For its depth, and how it waves between characters' stories seamlessly, it's pretty much the blueprint for the then-soon-to-come Virgin New Adventures. The Seventh Doctor is a scheming Time Lord who is "far more than just another" one of them, Ace is an already complex onscreen character who's given much more insight with her own inner voice shining through from the pages, and even characters you wouldn't expect to get chances to show off their inner voices get a chance at the spotlight. I mean, who knew that the Special Weapons Dalek would have such a tragic backstory? I'm glad Aaronovitch was allowed to expand the story however long he liked it; I'd go as far as to say that Remembrance of the Daleks is absolutely majestic in prose form, with Aaronovitch's commentary on UK fascism and racism (both with the Daleks and Ratcliffe's Association, not to mention the casual racism displayed by someone who's not a baddie) unbound to hit the audience even harder. Oh yes, this is also a precursor to the VNAs in the fact that it's adult, far more emotionally honest than its TV counterpart (at the time) was ever allowed to be, and it rocks. You can tell Aaronovitch had an amazing time writing and expanding the story of Remembrance; to this day, it's a seminal Dr. Who novel and one of the most important in its long prose history. It starts off as a straightforward novelisation, but ends up being so much more. For my money, this is the quintessential way to experience Remembrance of the Daleks (I'm sorry, Keff McCulloch!).