Unapologetic Reviews

This book took me a little over two weeks to read, but it felt longer. I didn't enjoy it much. It wasn't completely terrible, but I found it a bit boring. The story takes place in 2013, actually, so it's a bit strange in that way, since it was written in 2009. You only realise how many things can happen in 4 years when reading something like this. It happens in a super-mall, which actually didn't sound so bad. It's an environment that I know well, since I work above a mall, and spend a lot of time there, sometimes just to get out of the office. However, the story itself just didn't entertain me so much. It was obvious what was going on at about 10% into the story, so that took the mystery out. Then it was all just people dashing about, some minor characters getting killed, and I just wanted to get to the end already. It was just too simplistic. I also missed the Doctor having someone to properly explain things to. This takes place at the point of his life when h...

This Doctor Who book was not so original in its storyline, but it gets brownie points for still making it exciting. Seriously, I should some day count how many stories have alien possession in them. However, in this case while it was a major part of the story, it wasn't the only thing going on. The appearance of the Sontarans was a surprise, since I didn't read the synopsis. It added an interesting twist to the story. Some central characters were Sontarans, and they weren't portrayed in a completely negative light, which was nice. The author captured the species well, though the resolution to the conflict between the leader and his subordinate felt odd and a bit out of place. I suppose the author wanted to add something of Sontaran culture into the whole thing. Our main positive characters were humans again. The family running the local hotel were well-rounded, not one-dimensional. What I did find strange was the computer thing with Vienna. It just didn't seem like some...

I listened to the abridged audiobook version of the story. Martha, that is, Freema Agyeman read it. Like I said before, she does a very good job of reading these audiobooks. The story is among the most original book stories I've read for Doctor Who. It takes place on a starship called the "Brilliant". It has space pirates, time loops, the good old wibbly-wobbly, so it uses the potential of a Doctor Who story very well. I kept listening to it through the day, as it's full of twists and turns that will keep you wanting to go on with the story. The story didn't feel incomplete, as with some of the audiobooks. It has a good pace and flow. There are several characters that I liked in the story. Mrs Wingsworth was a bit annoying at first, but she turned out all right. The space pirates were a bit of a surprise, but I could see the point of their characters. Overall, I recommend this story for everyone. Maybe even people who just like a good sci-fi story, as it has plent...

I listened to the abridged audiobook version of the story. It was read by Debbie Chazen, who plays Foon Van Hoff in the Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned". It was a nice job, nothing disturbing. The story takes place in a small English village, and centres around the wishing well in the middle. Strange stories and events surround the old well, and the Doctor decides to investigate with Martha. My problem with the story was that it reminded me too much of several other stories, most noticeably Doctor Who: The Art of Destruction and Doctor Who: Forever Autumn . They all take place in or near a small village, with something lurking under the ground. There is the old mind control involved, which is such a reoccurring theme, it's getting boring. Seriously, authors, think of something new. So this story gets points deducted for being unoriginal. There are some nice action scenes, but the ending feels abrupt. It may be because of the abridged version, but if it is, then t...

I listened to the audiobook version of this story. This is the first one that I listened to, and was ready by Martha, that is, Freema Agyeman. I thought her reading style and her voice were very good. She did the parts of the Doctor well, and in character. The story takes place on an alien planet. It's ironically called "Sunday". The Doctor once said that on Sunday nothing happens, but here many things did. The story wasn't all that fabulous to me. While it was interesting, and not boring at all, it was slightly predictable. Though towards the end I did have a moment of classic; "Now how will they survive this?" It just made me wish that it wouldn't obviously be mind control again. I don't think I gave away anything with that. The supporting cast are nice. I especially liked Candice, who was one of those people who actively help the Doctor, and are even effective. Kind of made me wish they took her along for the ride. Overall, it...

I listened to this book as an audiobook. The story is about the Doctor trying to help people on a planet about to be eaten by a sort of space monster. It reminded me of how the Doctor and the monsters are never too far from each other. He genuinely wants to help, but of course, he ends up in a pickle. There are robots, talking wending machines and sunbeds. It's a rather fun story, but there are two things that bothered me about it. One was that in the beginning, when he arrives, the people are already preparing to leave. It may be the audiobook's fault, but it feels kind of strange that he stays. Not un-Doctor like, but clearly he is not wanted. The other thing is the ending, which made me ask; "Why didn't they do that in the first place?" It felt like the author wrote himself into a corner, and used the plan B to get out of it. However, it was such a plan B, that to any reasonable person it would have been plan A. The story is read by Will Thorp, who p...

I listened to the audiobook. I actually like this one, which was a relief, since The Art of Destruction , which I listened to before, wasn't all that good. The story is about a planet, Laylora, where things are going horribly wrong. The deeper meaning of the story is that when a foreign element is introduced into an ecological system, things go haywire most of the time. The plot is a bit predictable, but it is a lot of fun. The action scenes are exciting, and there is a real sense of danger for the Doctor and Rose. It's read by Shaun Dingwall, who played Pete Tyler in the series. He does do a really good job of it, and has a nice, easy-to-listen-to reading. It is kind of funny to note that this is the last Rose story, and it's told by Rose's father. Two characters are memorable in the story. One is Rez, the human man who arrived to Laylora on an escape pod. He is forever trying to fit in, and most of the villagers are supportive. His presence and how the others on the p...

I listened to the audiobook version. This is so far the worst Doctor Who book I read / listened to. I keep forgetting about it too, so apparently my brain is trying to erase the memory. In the beginning, the way animals and all sorts of things were turning into gold and then moving was interesting, but when they were crawling around the caves it got quickly boring, and it couldn't recapture my interest. I wondered if it was just because I listened to it and not read it, but looking through the reviews I saw that other people had similar experiences with it. I didn't like Don Warrington's reading. For some reason his voice annoyed me, and I felt he couldn't capture the Doctor's way of speaking either. He was more successful with the African characters. The characters I can't remember at all. I remember that there was a guy and a woman that were running about, but nothing of them was committed into memory. Overall, I don't recommend this book. It can be given ...

I've listened to the audiobook version. The story is sort of interesting. Now the audiobook is abridged, so maybe it's better if I read the whole book, but I had some problems with it. On the one hand I felt that the parts on the planet were very hurried, while the part in space is a lot more detailed. It was also too much running about, and ended up not being all that interesting in the long run. Some elements of the steampunk aspect were nicely used, like when only steam was available or not, but otherwise it seemed a bit forced. The mystery element played out nicely, and the overall story was okay. It just wasn't as exciting as it could have been. The reading by David Tennant was brilliant as always. Even the way he emulated the steam coming out from the robots was effortless, and sounded genuine. The original characters didn't make much of an impact on me. Perhaps the ones that I could remember the most were Sally and Jimm. Though that is probably so ...

I listened to the audiobook version of this. I kind of wished I knew this took place in Ancient Rome, as a few months before listening to this I was actually in Rome. The story is one of my favourites so far in that it uses time travel. Most of the Doctor Who stories have the Doctor arrive somewhere, and then leave at the end, not really using the Timey-Wimey effect. This story has that, and to me, that makes it more interesting. We don't see as much of Ancient Rome as I would like to, but there is a great scene in the Colosseum. The resolution of the problem is well-thought-out, and I was really curious as to how it would turn out. It was rather a surprise, and I'm not surprised easily. The story is read out by David Tennant. While I've listened to several stories, I have to say, he is my favourite reader. Of course, he has intimate knowledge of the Doctor, but the was he plays with his voice and the different accents is masterful. Makes me want to seek out more of his aud...