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Weird flip between narrators

Reviewed: 17-04-24

I enjoyed the book, and both narrators did a fine job - it certainly helps if you're a fan of Stacey Solomon - but as others have observed it was an odd choice to get the other narrator to read things as if she was the author when you know she isn't. Pick one person or the other, or just get the other narrator to read the other unpersonal bits. Also it feels like an incomplete experience in audio, as you get the impression they are describing illustrations you can't see, which isn't always crucial in audiobooks but here you do feel like you're missing out.

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the wrong discs

Reviewed: 22-08-15

Just as a warning to fellow purchasers really - the original of this volume would be great but this is exactly the same as Volume 2. There must be a technical error somewhere. Audible did kindly refund me for this but I don't think they've fixed the problem yet. So, don't buy this if you already have volume 2...

I did love volumes 1 2 3 and 5!

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3 people found this helpful

Nonsense

Reviewed: 18-08-15

I'm sure the performances are fine (so I've not rated them too harshly) but the production and the (star name - but I couldn't distinguish any performances from each other) acting do nothing to make the script less impenetrable. If I hadn't got this from a voucher I'd return it. I tried and tried to get into it and it was supposed to be helping me with the text as I was reading it simultaneously but it's just too obscure. No fault with audible or the production house, but in no way would I recommend the play in any format. I cannot even think that an adaptation would be worthwhile, as the plot would scarcely run to a page.

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Bleak with flashes of excellence, well performed

Reviewed: 23-05-15

A dull tragedy which has glimpses of brilliance but could have done with a good strong edit and is just too depressing to meet my tastes. The ending, oddly, is sort of happy, but everyone in the book is SO MISERABLE. I finished it because we were reading it for book club but I certainly didn't enjoy it. It wasn't unrealistic - the writing is actually good and frequently powerful - just terribly sad (and frequently overlong). One finds oneself exasperated and angry for a lot of the book.

The Audible production is excellent, however. The narrator is perfect for the material and is both versatile and subtle.

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1 person found this helpful

Beautiful little book

Reviewed: 11-12-11

A pleasant addition to the Doctor Who library. If like me you grew up after the 'classic' series ended and are still working your way through the back catalogue, the villain loses something of its punch but this part of the premise still stands alone reasonably well.

The story is very sensitive to the regular characters involved - Tenth Doctor, Donna, Wilfred Mott, and Sylvia Noble. Bernard Cribbins' narration is a joy to listen to, with understated but well-pitched versions of all the regular characters besides his own, including a surprisingly good interpretation of Tennant's Doctor. Wilf, of course, is a spot-on delight as usual, both in writing and delivery.

The sub-plots are tenderly written and very moving, exploring the background of Donna's family and the relationship between Wilf and his new friend Nettie, a bold and worthy one-off character. This does steal quite a lot of runtime from the main plot about Chaos bodies and M-Tecs and conveniently-Italian-but-for-some-reason-not-evil kiddiwinks, and I'm not sure I followed the whole of the sci-fi thread. There may have been slightly too many auxiliary characters to hold together for a story of this length. But for all that, it ticks along nicely, and the emotional underlay has you caring about the rest of the story enough to make up for any other elements that don't quite satisfy. There is plenty of danger and excitement, and it wouldn't feel out of place in the Tenth Doctor's era on TV - but would you expect less from Gary Russell?

The ending reminds me most strongly of an earlier episode of the Sarah Jane Adventures, and I mean that in the best possible sense. Russell takes a potential risk in the resolution of the plot in a way that fits well with the Tenth (and possibly Seventh and Eleventh too) Doctor but it pays off beautifully, and not a dry eye in the house.

Loved it.

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1 person found this helpful