Review: Doctor Who: The Coming of the Terraphiles by Michael Moorcock (audio book)

Doctor Who: The Coming of the Terraphiles by Michael Moorcock, read by Clive Mantle (AudioGO, October 2010, 9 CDs, ISBN: 140846814X)

My experience of Doctor Who audio books has been limited mostly to the abridged 3 CD versions of the range of 'new' Who books, which are fairly easy reads aimed at teenagers/adults. This offering from well known science fiction author, Michael Moorcock is quite a different kettle of fish.

The Coming of the Terraphiles features the eleventh Doctor and Amy (but no Rory). The Doctor receives a garbled message from a familiar voice which leads to him joining a group of Terraphiles (Earth lovers) who are playing in a tournament of 'classic' old, old Earth games. It's important to the continued life of the universe that the team he joins wins the ultimate prize of the Silver Arrow of Artemis.

The Doctor and Amy meet the Terraphiles on the planet Peers and then have to make their way to the final on Flynn, in the Miggea system in the centre of the galaxy. Along their journey they stay in a stately home and meet characters out of a P G Wodehouse novel, go on a ship captained by a centaur, make a trip to the Second Aether, encounter General Frank/Freddie Force and his Anti-Matter Men who want to destroy the universe and meet allies such as Captain Abberley and the Bubbly Boys and also, an unknown quantity in the shape of the pirate Captain Cornelius.

Though the underlying plot is fairly straightforward: the Doctor must get from A to B, fight off enemies, win the Arrow and put the balance of the universe back to rights, this was quite a difficult listen at times. There was a lot of detail about the characters and places and most confoundingly for me - the science of space-time, which went mostly over my head. It does take a while for the Doctor and Amy to become the focus of the story but there are enjoyable chapters on Peers to compensate.

This is a novel with a scope hugely outside the normal tv episodes or Doctor Who books; there is a large cast, about fifty-percent non-human which would be impossible to portray outside of a feature film, as well as multiple universes, gigantic (Babylon-5 style) space-ships and numerous planets. The tale is not without humour though: the descriptions of the games are very funny; the Doctor's speciality is Cracking the Nut (with a sledgehammer) as are the customs that have survived, though modified over 50,000 years and the Wodehouse characters: Bingo Loxesley and Mr and Mrs Banning-Cannon (so well portrayed by Clive Mantle) are a hoot. Indeed Clive Mantle does a sterling job with the narration. He has to provide many voices, both human and alien and even has to sing from time to time. His Doctor and Amy are immediately recognisable even though he's not imitating the tv actors.

In conclusion, thought it's always great to read about the unseen adventures of the Doctor, its more complex ideas and language may mean that The Coming of the Terraphiles is not for everyone, and though I enjoyed the audio version, for once I think I'd probably have got on better with the print version.

OT: Doctor Who Audio Book review

Continuing with my occasional reviews of Doctor Who/Torchwood audio books, next up is The Nightmare of Black Island, written by Mike Tucker and read by Anthony Head. As well as appearing in the episode School Reunion, Anthony Head is also the voice of Doctor Who Confidential and this exposure serves him well in his portrayal of Rose and the Doctor.
















The Nightmare of Black Island starts off rather nastily and extremely creepily with the death of a tourist who has recently arrived in a small coastal Welsh village which has an abandoned light-house on a small black-rock island. The man doesn't get much fishing in before he's mauled to death by a 2 metre tall monster. Rose is sleeping in the TARDIS and is able to 'see' this event in her dream. The Doctor guides the TARDIS to the outskirts of the village but when the pair head through the woods to the village proper, they are set upon by not just one monster but a whole variety of peculiar and deadly forms.

Reaching safety in the shape of a local pub, they discover the trouble began when a local man, Nathanial Morton, returned and set up a nursing home. The Doctor and Rose visit the home then getting nowhere, they separate; the Doctor visits the light-house and Rose returns to spy on the home. The Doctor finds a space-craft on the island but he leaves it too late and the monsters return trapping him there, whilst at the home, Rose doesn't avoid detection and gets captured. The duo will need the assistance of the villagers - to first, free the time-travellers and then to help eradicate the monsters and allow the children to sleep peacefully at night once more.

Aside from the beginning with all the monsters this story feels like it could easily be filmed for tv and would make an exciting two parter, but equally it has the feel of the classic Doctor Who episodes of the 70s where the story was split into 4, 6 or even 8 parts. The Doctor and Rose are well written and feel consistent with the tv portrayal. Not too surprising as the author worked on series 1 and 2 in the visual effects department.

Though Anthony Head states, in the not to be missed interview at the end of disc 2, that he doesn't do impersonations he gets the speech patterns correct and provides a flavour of the accents of the Doctor and Rose so that you do hear the tv actors' voices. He also does well with the remaining characters and he has a lovely, warm voice for the straight narration. To date he doesn't appear to have narrated any more - but I'd certainly be keen to listen to them if he did.

OT: More on Doctor Who Audio Books

I've blogged before about David Tennant being the narrator of four Doctor Who audio books and I thought I'd give Freema Agyeman (Dr Martha Jones) a go as well. So far she's narrated abridged versions of Wetworld by Mark Michalowski and The Last Dodo by Jacqueline Rayner. Due to be released on the 10th is, The Pirate Loop, also read by Freema.

Wetworld begins with the TARDIS landing on the swamp planet of Sunday. It only takes a few minutes for the TARDIS to be submerged in deep water with Martha still inside. Martha is kidnapped by an underwater creature and the Doctor goes for help to recover the TARDIS. He quickly discovers a group of humans who are the advance party, making the world suitable for Earth's overspill population. Martha is soon recovered but why is she desperate to return to the water and why are the otters, captured by the settlers, changing from aggressive and stupid to friendly and clever?

The Last Dodo sees Martha and the Doctor aiming for Mauritius so that Martha can see a real life dodo. Unfortunately the 'automatic dodo detector' sends the TARDIS to MOTLO, the Museum of the Last Ones, where Eve and her team capture the very last specimen of a species so as to keep the species 'alive' - the specimen is kept in stasis. The duo's arrival sets off a chain of events which leads to sabre tooth tigers back on Earth (and in the high street!) and culminates in the truth behind the creation of MOTLO.

Freema Agyeman's narration is eminently listenable to and she captures the Doctor's cadence and speech pattern well. She uses a number of accents to discriminate between the characters and I was impressed enough to pre-order The Pirate Loop.

Storywise though, it's hard to say how much the abridgement is to blame. Wetworld seemed particularly choppy, if you'll forgive the pun, with the action jumping from one scene to the next, in particular Martha's rescue. The Last Dodo seemed much smoother.

The dialogue in Wetworld is also not as good as in The Last Dodo. The Doctor referring to the monster as "Slimey" and using a phrase such as "That's a bummer' didn't feel right. On the other hand, the dialogue in The Last Dodo appears much more like the tv series and includes the Doctor's excruciable jokes.

The Last Dodo is told mainly from Martha's point of view and in parts is told directly by her to the listener as if they were a friend on the end of the phone and thus it is especially suitable for narration by Freema Agyeman.

Both stories have a common underlying theme of green issues; the Doctor's abhorrence of cages for animals; his anger at the settlers using a heavily polluting fusion reactor on their new planet.

Coming soon, my random thoughts on the new(ish) Torchwood audio books: Everyone Say Hello and Hidden.

Review: Doctor Who: The Eye of the Jungle by Darren Jones (audio book)

Doctor Who: The Eye of the Jungle by Darren Jones, read by David Troughton (AudioGO, July 2011, 2 CDs (1hr 30mins), ISBN: 9781408468159)

In The Eye of the Jungle the Doctor takes Amy and Rory to the Amazonian jungle in 1827. Shortly after leaving the TARDIS they are surrounded by crocodiles. They are saved by Oliver Blazington, a mercenary/hunter who is there to capture animals for his boss Garrett who will subsequently exhibit them at London Zoo. However the locals are restless as domestic animals and people are disappearing and the priest's housekeeper refers to an "Eye" that seems to be involved.

Needless to say, the time-travellers soon discover the Eye for themselves and must save themselves from a fate worse than death...

This is an entertaining adventure, revealing the Doctor's empathy for not just humans but other animals too and he maintains his refusal to be used as a weapon by those who are taking the missing life-forms. I loved the fact that cd1 ended on a cliff-hanger worthy of classic Doctor Who tv episodes. Also that Amy and Rory don't require saving, rather the reverse.

David Troughton, son of 2nd Doctor, Patrick, and who appeared himself in the 10th Doctor episode Midnight takes over the narration duties this time round. His Doctor doesn't sound much like Matt Smith but does sound similar to Clive Mantle's Doctor in The Coming of the Terraphiles; his Amy is a bit wobbly but he does get Rory's inflection down to a T. Impersonations, intended or otherwise, aside he does a good job with the story-telling.

The sound-effects continue to improve. In the early days there was nothing, that was replaced by a smidge of music but now if someone drops something you hear a clang. They don't overpower the narrator this time round, which has been a complaint of mine before.

The Eye of the Jungle is a solid adventure in this series of "exclusive" audio adventures. My personal favourite so far has been The Runaway Train narrated by Matt Smith and the least engaging has been, The Ring of Steel which though narrated well by Arthur Darvill, has a run-of-the-mill story. (NB. I still have a couple more to listen to.)

OT: Freema Agyeman interview at Digital Spy

Digital Spy interviews Freema Agyeman mainly about Law & Order but also slips in a question about Doctor Who:

Are you looking forward to returning to Doctor Who?
"You leapt in there with that one! Well, actually, I'm on my way to do a voiceover for a Doctor Who audio book! You never quite leave when you're in that – the connection maintains all the way through. But in terms of when I'm going back to Cardiff - it might be thirty years time! I don't know when that's going to be."

I'm assuming the audio book in question is The Story of Martha which is to be released on 4 June. She has previously recorded The Pirate Loop, Wetworld and The Last Dodo.

I have an amazon list of audio books released since 2008 for (new) Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

OT: Doctor Who - The Pirate Loop audio book review

A few months ago I gave my opinion of the first two Doctor Who books to be narrated by Freema Agyeman: Wetworld and The Last Dodo. The third book to be read by Freema Agyeman is The Pirate Loop by Simon Guerrier (BBC Audio, July 2008, Ref. 9781408400449) which BBC Audio have kindly sent me a copy of.

The Starship Brilliant just disappeared from the radar. Not even the Doctor knew what happened to it. So of course what better place for the Martha and the Doctor to land the TARDIS a few days before the great ship vanishes off the radar forever?

They discover that the ship is using an experimental drive and that parts of the ship are in different time zones and the way between the zones is blocked by a time fungus which resembles cold scrambled egg. Fortunately setting 28 on the sonic screwdriver allows them to get through. Neglecting to hold on to each other as they walk through the 'scrambled egg' means the two of them get separated by several hours.

Martha arrives into the luxury part of the ship first where she's ushered by a robot steward, Gabriel, into the main cocktail lounge where she meets not just the other paying guests but also some non-paying and unwanted guests: space pirates. Unzipped from their space suits the pirates are revealed to be...badgers. They're named Joss, Archie and Dash and Martha has to use her brains and charm to keep them from shooting her and the rest of the passengers.

Meanwhile, the Doctor arrives in the same area as Martha, three hours later and has to track down his companion, save the ship from the pirates and resolve the time zone discrepancies.

The story cuts between Martha's arrival and the Doctor's until they are reunited for the final resolution to the mystery of the Brilliant.

The Pirate Loop is a fabulous listen. It's both funny and exciting as well as shocking in parts. It's a pacey story, full of action and I didn't want it to end. Simon Guerrier successfully captures the Doctor and Martha's personalities from the tv series, aided by Freema Agyeman's superb performance. Freema's emulation of the Doctor's manner of speaking is extremely good, even better than the two previous outings and she utilises a wide range of voices for the supporting characters, including the upper-class passenger Mrs Wingsworth, the gruff badgers, the monotone Gabriel and the softly spoken Starship Captain Georgina.

Freema's next audio book narration is of Martha in the Mirror which forms part of a box set which includes Snowglobe 7 read by Georgia Moffett and The Many Hands, read by David Troughton, and was released earlier this month.

More posts on Doctor Who and Torchwood can be found on this blog, here.

OT: Narrators for the next set of Doctor Who Audio Books

The next three Doctor Who (tenth Doctor) audio books are released on 12th March. The narrators are as follows...

Debbie Chazen will narrate Shining Darkness by Mark Michalowski
Russell Tovey will narrate The Doctor Trap by Simon Messingham
David Troughton will narrate Ghosts of India by Mark Morris




My amazon list of Doctor Who related audio books, published since 2008, can be found here.

New Doctor Who audio book read by David Tennant

A friend of mine kindly lent me The Resurrection Casket, a recent freebie in the Radio Times, which is one of three Doctor Who audio books issued in 2006 which were narrated by David Tennant, each lasting about two and a half hours. I've now got my mitts on The Stone Rose, thanks to the library, but no luck yet with The Feast of the Drowned.

I was very impressed with The Resurrection Casket which would make an exciting tv episode with its killer monster (Kevin), pirates and robots. The banter was just like in the tv show and it was well narrated by David Tennant (except for perhaps his impression of Rose!).

So, I was pleased to see that David Tennant has recorded a new title, which has been available as a download for a month now but has recently come out on cd.


Synopsis: The Doctor and Donna face monstrous insects and a ruthless robot exterminator in this thrilling, exclusive audio story, read by David Tennant. The TARDIS is lost in battle on a distant planet. When the Doctor sets off in pursuit, Donna is left behind, and finds herself accepting a commission in the Pioneer Corps. Something is transforming soldiers into monstrous beetles, and she could be the next victim. Meanwhile, the Doctor steals a motorbike and stages a jailbreak. Well, how hard can it be to find the TARDIS, rescue Donna, and negotiate a peace? But that's before the arrival of a brutal and remorseless mechanical exterminator, bent on wiping out the insects. It may be that nothing can stop it, because this robot's solution for the infestation is very simple: kill everything.

(NB. Amazon.co.uk currently have it for £4.)

Crime fiction posts will resume shortly!

OT: Doctor Who, Torchwood & Sarah Jane Adventures Audio Books

I've put together an amazon list of the Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures audio books released in 2008. Visit it here.

I have borrowed some of these titles from the library, bought a couple off ebay and now have a review copy of Torchwood: Lost Souls. I've previously reviewed some here, here and here.

The next release from the BBC is The Forever Trap, an audio exclusive story, narrated by Catherine Tate and released on 9th October.


Synopsis: When the TARDIS is invaded by a holographic marketing scam, the Doctor and Donna find themselves trapped on the Edifice, a purpose-built complex of luxury apartments in space. Their new environs leave much to be desired: millions of beings from across the Universe have been gathered to live side by side in similar apartments. Instead of creating neighbourly affection, it’s led to terrible battles being waged in the corridors and on the stairwells.

The Doctor and Donna must cross the paths of deadly alien mobs as they search for the Edifice’s ultimate authority. Who – or what – lies at the heart of the incredible complex? What destructive scourge is eating away at the Edifice itself? And are the Doctor and Donna trapped forever in this living hell?

You can listen or download (68 MB) samples of narration by Elizabeth Sladen, David Tennant and Freema Agyeman from the BBC Doctor Who shop site.

Review: Doctor Who: Demon Quest: The Relics of Time (audio book)

Doctor Who: Demon Quest Part One: The Relics of Time by Paul Magrs and narrated by Tom Baker (September 2010, BBC Audiobooks Ltd/AudioGO, ISBN: 1408466678)


Following the success of 2009's five-part Hornets' Nest series, Tom Baker, Susan Jameson and Richard Franklin have been lured back to the studio for the Demon Quest series, again broken into five, one hour, episodes.

At the beginning of The Relics of Time, we find the fourth Doctor resting up in his Sussex retreat, Nest Cottage, with his housekeeper Mrs Wibbsey. He has decided to overhaul the TARDIS and has bits strewn all over the place. Unfortunately Mrs Wibbsey mistakes the spatial geometer for some old porch lights and takes it to the jumble sale where it is bought by a stranger to the village. A stranger, who rather than leave cash, leaves a collection of unusual items including a picture of an ancient mosaic with a very familiar face on it (see above!).

Fortunately the TARDIS can still move in time, so the Doctor and Wibbsey are able to travel back to Ancient Britain to solve the mystery of how the Doctor's head has been so immortalised when he hasn't been there before (or "at least not recently").

And so begins the first time travelling of the series, one that leads to the creation in mythology of the priestess Wibbsentia, and the role of would-be assassin for the Doctor. The pair have to stop a war, find out who a wizard and his monster are, and not least of all begin to track down the missing pieces of the TARDIS.

Tom Baker is "my Doctor" so it's a great pleasure to have him back at the helm in these exclusive audio adventures. The story is told with part narration, part sparky scenes of dialogue, mostly between the Doctor and Mrs Wibbsey. Tom Baker's voice may not be quite as it was in the tv shows, but he seems more mischievous and theatrical than ever.

By necessity, The Relics of Time is setting up the series mystery so the actual individual adventure is wrapped up quite quickly, though with much left to be explained in the following episodes. The schedule for which is:

Part Two: Demon of Paris (out now)
Part Three: Shard of Ice (4 Nov)
Part Four: Starfall (2 Dec)
Part Five: Sepulchre (2 Dec)

I'm looking forward to listening to the rest of the series.

OT: Another Doctor Who audio book to be read by David Tennant

I've got the latest edition of Doctor Who Magazine and it reveals that "the next 'audio original' title, The Day of the Troll by Simon Messingham" is to be read by David Tennant. This is his first since Pest Control.

The audio book will be released on 8 October 2009.

Synopsis: When the Doctor arrives on Earth in the far future, he is horrified to find the planet beset by famine and starvation. England is a barren wasteland, and scientists are desperately seeding the ground to make the crops grow again. But now it seems that something even worse is happening. Karl Baring, the owner of research facility The Grange, has been snatched away in the middle of the night. His sister Katy was with him when he vanished, but is now in catatonic shock - so it is up to the Doctor, with the help of the scientists at The Grange, to investigate. What is lurking under the old bridge, and why is it preying on people? The Doctor must find out, before it strikes again...

OT: Tom Baker's back as Doctor Who

Great news from the BBC this morning. Tom Baker is reprising his role as Doctor Who for five linked audio dramas:

For the first time in 28 years, Tom Baker is returning to his role as the Fourth Doctor in a series of five thrilling audio adventures from BBC Audiobooks. Doctor Who: Hornets’ Nest is written by the acclaimed Paul Magrs and stars Tom alongside a cast including Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey and Rula Lenska as the Hornet Queen.

The brand new series sees the Doctor on fighting form as he comes up against an enemy of unimaginable power and horrific intent.

The first story, The Stuff of Nightmares, will be available to buy from 3rd September 2009 priced at £9.78, with the remaining four stories due for release on:

2. The Dead Shoes – 8th October

3. The Circus of Doom – 5th November

4. A Sting in the Tale – 3rd December

5. Hive of Horror – 3rd December

Synopsis of The Stuff of Nightmares: ‘Wanted: retired army Captain for light household duties and fireside companionship. Must tolerate mild eccentricity and strong scientific advice. Knowledge of Giant Maggots, Super Intelligent Spiders and Prehistoric Monsters a positive boon.’

Responding to an advert apparently worded for him alone, Captain Mike Yates (retired) is reunited with a ghost from the past. But why has the Doctor, that mysterious traveller in Time and Space, sent for his former UNIT acquaintance? Trapped by a horde of vicious creatures in an apparently innocuous English country cottage, the two old friends are on the brink of an enormous adventure. As the Doctor relates his recent escapades, it becomes clear to Mike that they – and the Earth at large – are facing an enemy of unimaginable power and horrific intent.

The nightmare is only just beginning… With Tom Baker as the Doctor, Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey and Daniel Hill as Percy Noggins, The Stuff of Nightmares is the first of five linked stories written by the acclaimed Paul Magrs.

Listen to a sample of The Stuff of Nightmares at the BBC Shop website.

Synopses of all the episodes can be found on the Hornets' Nest website.

OT: Doctor Who - Wooden Heart audio book

Doctor Who: Wooden Heart by Martin Day (Audio Cd), July 2007, 2.5 hrs, ISBN: 9781405677752

I just wanted to briefly mention the abridged audio book of Wooden Heart by Martin Day.

The narration by Adjoa Andoh (who plays Martha's mum in the show) is absolutely superb and her Martha is extremely similar to Freema Agyeman's portrayal. The Doctor is a bit subdued but she captures his fast pace of speaking to a T.

In brief, the Doctor and Martha land on a deserted space-ship, one that looks like a former prison but whilst exploring, they open a door which leads into a forest where there are animals and an inhabited village. How can this village exist? When the Doctor and Martha get separated, the Doctor has to keep the 'village world' alive before Martha disappears forever.

The story-line for Wooden Heart is one of the more straightforward ones I've come across and it makes a pleasant change for me to understand it completely (almost). Irrespective of the story though, this one's worth listening to for the narration alone. (I do feel it could be quite scary in parts for a young listener.)

Review: Doctor Who: The Jade Pyramid (audio book)

Doctor Who: The Jade Pyramid by Martin Day, read by Matt Smith (AudioGO, January 2011, 1 CD, ISBN: 9781408427491)

This is the second of Matt Smith's audio book readings, the first being The Runaway Train which was set in America. In The Jade Pyramid we're off to medieval Japan.

The TARDIS is drawn to a distress beacon emitting from a small village in Japan. It appears to be coming from an ancient shrine. The Doctor and Amy meet the elder of the village, the kind and wise Shijô Sada who takes them inside the shrine past the "guard" of animal-skin covered mannequins called Otoroshi. Shijô Sada won't allow them to see the chamber containing the pyramid as it is sacred. However they are interrupted by the news that the Shogun has sent Samurai soldiers to retrieve the Jade Pyramid for himself. The Doctor must prevent the pyramid, which he believes to be alien technology, from falling into anyone's hands. A discussion amongst the villagers reveals both friend and foe of Shijô Sada and Amy escapes the meeting to take a look at the pyramid and it is then things begin to go badly wrong. The Otoroshi come to life and Samurai are almost upon the village. How can the Doctor save the village, Amy and protect the pyramid?

The Jade Pyramid is an exciting story along a slightly familiar theme of humans killing first, asking questions later. For a single cd length story it packs a lot in; there's fighting from Samurai and a ninja assassin as well as betrayal and a loss of a significant character, and the Japanese setting is refreshingly different.

Matt Smith reads at the breathless pace we've become used to in the tv series and differentiates the characters well and his Doctor is as mesmerising as ever.

I have a slight quibble in that the occasional background music at times slightly overwhelmed the narrator, and maybe needs to be toned down a little.

The Jade Pyramid offers a pleasant fix whilst we await the arrival of the new series and is one that I will listen to again.

OT: Torchwood Audio Books

As promised, here are my thoughts on the two Torchwood audio books I've listened to recently. Perhaps as some kind of compensation for the events at the end of series 2 of Torchwood and also not being able to appear in the last two episodes of the current series of Doctor Who, these audio books are narrated by Burn Gorman and Naoko Mori aka my two favourite Torchwood characters, Owen and Tosh.

The two books, Everyone Says Hello by Dan Abnett and Hidden by Steven Savile are exclusive to audio and couldn't be more opposite.

Everyone Says Hello begins with unexplained rift activity and Owen being called to the Hub. On his way in he notices that everyone is being particularly friendly and offering up interminable family history and preferences. He jokingly asks Jack if that's the reason they've been called in and it soon turns out to be true. Tosh and Ianto stay behind at the Hub to find the source of the disruption whilst Jack, Owen and Gwen, complete with protective wristbands, head out. They discover that most of the local population have turned into 'greeters' with some exceptions including PC Pratt who joins them. Unfortunately for Jack, he cracks his wristband and begins to succumb to the 'infection'. Can the team stop him going over to the friendly side and can they stay alive themselves? Paying homage to classic Trek, Jack pulls a Captain Kirk on the aliens to save the day.

Whilst the plot of Everyone Says Hello is fairly straightforward, Hidden is anything but simple and indeed the answers and details of what's occured remained hidden, at least to me. It begins with the crash of an Environment Agency helicopter with the loss of the pilot and passengers (I was a bit distracted by this as I used to work for the EA) which is shortly followed by two other accidents. Jack is upset when he hears about the deaths and strides out of the Hub leaving the rest of the Torchwood gang puzzled and unable to contact him. Ianto is sent out to a fertility clinic and Owen and Gwen off to an archaelogical find - the tomb of an alchemist who was working on having eternal life. The action then steps up with Ianto being chased in a car and later Owen and Gwen being shot at. Quite exciting stuff but the reasons behind it all do not make much sense in the final analysis.

Burn Gorman nails the accents of his fellow human team members and does a variety of Welsh accents credibly but he cannot or does not attempt to mimic Jack as played by John Barrowman. There's only an occasional hint of an American accent. Meanwhile Naoko Mori is able to capture Owen and does a very good Captain Jack but struggles with Gwen and Ianto and in a conversation between Gwen and Owen I couldn't tell who was speaking.

In conclusion, Everyone Says Hello is well narrated, easy to follow and amusing in parts. Hidden is convoluted, a mess of a story and the narration quality is a bit variable.

Review: The Miracle at Speedy Motors (audio book)

The Miracle at Speedy Motors by Alexander McCall Smith, read by Adjoa Andoh
(ISIS Audio Books, June 2008, CD ISBN:075312792X)

The Miracle at Speedy Motors is the ninth in the Mma Ramotswe, owner of Botswana's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, series. This time around Mma Ramotswe has the problem of who is sending her anonymous spiteful letters as well as tracking down the family of an orphan whilst associate detective, Mma Makutsi's problems are more domestic.

As usual this was a delightful listen, taking the listener straight into Botswanan culture and how people there are linked together; a story of family, friends and a country, hung over a framework of problems to solve. In the main, all ends happily though the author doesn't take the easy route with a matter concerning Mma Ramotswe's family.

I enjoy this series more with each passing book and have already ordered the next one, Tea Time for the Traditionally Built.

Adjoa Andoh has recently taken over the narration duties from Hilary Neville. Whereas the latter had a subtle way of distinguishing between the characters speaking, the former gives the characters much more easily identifiable voices. And, whether this is coincidence or not, to my ear her Mma Ramotswe does sound quite similar to the tv version of Mma Ramotswe played by Jill Scott.

(Adjoa Andoh is of course well known to Doctor Who fans as Martha's mother.)

The Euro Crime bibliography page for Alexander McCall Smith is here.

My Favourite Audio Books of 2008

I've listened to more audio books this year than normal. Partly due to my discovering the Doctor Who and Torchwood audio books range, as each book is only two hours long!

Leaving out the dozen or so SF listens, my favourites of 2008 are:

Francis Durbridge - Paul Temple and the Madison Mystery
Christopher Fowler - Ten-Second Staircase
Christopher Fowler - White Corridor
Christopher Fowler - The Victoria Vanishes
Deon Meyer - Devil's Peak (South African author in translation)
Aline Templeton - The Darkness and the Deep & Lying Dead

Paul Temple and the Madison Mystery is a 'full cast' radio play, lasting four hours. The Bryant and May series by Christopher Fowler is narrated by Tim Goodman, Devil's Peak by Saul Reichlin and The Darkness and the Deep & Lying Dead by Cathleen McCarron.

CrimeFest 2015 - Don't Miss It

As well as the Petrona Award presentation, look what else is going on at CrimeFest. I've been to every one, including the prototype which was Left Coast Crime, and I love it for its friendliness as well as its support of authors in translation. The hotel is swish, the staff super friendly and helpful and they will make pancakes for breakfast if you ask...

Here's the official press release for this year's event:

Lee Child, Maj Sjöwall, James Runcie and Sophie Hannah are among the top names set to speak at this year’s CrimeFest convention in Bristol, 14^th-17^th May. The UK’s biggest crime fiction convention will see over 400 authors, agents, publishers and crime fiction fans from across the globe descend on the city for a jam-packed four days, including over fifty curated panels and speaking events. The international Bristol-based event runs across four days at the Marriott Royal Hotel, and has been named as one of the best festivals in the world by The Guardian. The event has featured in The Independent’s ‘The 50 Best Festivals’ and is one of the most popular dates in the crime publishing calendar.

Lee Child, bestselling author of the Jack Reacher thrillers, will be in conversation with Maj Sjöwall, often considered the founder of Scandinavian crime fiction. Child described the opportunity to interview Sjöwall a ‘pleasure and privilege’. James Runcie, author of the Sydney Chambers mysteries, recently dramatised for ITV as Grantchester will be interviewed alongside Catherine Aird, the 2015 recipient of the British Crime Writers’ Association’s Diamond Dagger Award for excellence in crime writing. To celebrate 125 years of Agatha Christie, Sophie Hannah, author of recent Poirot novel The Monogram Murders and Mathew Prichard, Christie’s own grandson and Chairman of Agatha Christie Limited will be in conversation with John Curran.

Representing his CrimeFest co-hosts Myles Allfrey and Donna Moore, Adrian Muller said: ‘Every year we are told that the convention was the best one yet, which creates an enormous pressure to maintain the quality for the one to come. But a large part of CrimeFest’s success is due to the enthusiasm our delegates bring to the event. It is amazing how many of them sign up the preceding year without even knowing which authors will be attending. That kind of support is what keeps CrimeFest going.’

The convention also includes a Pitch an Agent strand, a literary agent speed-dating session where unpublished authors can present their ideas in a Dragon’s Den style session. Those wishing to pen their own crime novel can take part in a Crime Writing Day, which includes sessions with agents and editors, optional manuscript assessments and a workshop with bestselling crime writers M.R. Hall and William Ryan.

This year’s panels include ‘Crime Pays In Audio’ with Doctor Who companion Freema Agyeman representing narrators of audiobooks; explorations of sex in crime fiction and the Euro Noir phenomenon with Barry Forshaw; and, in association with the International Thriller Writers, Lee Child battles it out with Chris Ewan, Tom Harper, Zoë Sharp and Yrsa Sigurdardóttir to discover ‘Brains Or Brawn, Who Kicks Best Ass’.

For more information, to request a press pass or interview with a participating author or event organiser, please contact Becky Short at Midas PR on becky.short@midaspr.co.uk or call 020 7361 7860.

Favourite Reads - January to June 2008

Following on from Crime Scraps' top reads so far this year there're some comments from David Montgomery and Sarah Weinman on their 2008 experiences. My favourite five reads so far (January to June) are:

Catherine O'Flynn - What Was Lost
Yrsa Sigurdardottor - Last Rituals (review to follow)
Fred Vargas - This Night's Foul Work
Minette Walters - The Chameleon's Shadow
R D Wingfield - A Killing Frost (reviewed by Fiona Walker)

And a couple of audio books I can strongly recommend are:

Deon Meyer - Devil's Peak
Aline Templeton - The Darkness and the Deep

With the exception of Deon Meyer, all the authors are European. I rarely have time to read anything non European or non crime, though recently I have made a few exceptions for Doctor Who and Torchwood books/audio books as well as non crime author Xiaolu Guo.

Audio Book Interruptus

It's taken me a couple of cds to get into listening to S J Bolton's Sacrifice. But I'm hooked now and was merrily proceeding onto disk 5 (out of 12) when my cd player refused to recognise the disk. In vain, I tried it on a couple of other devices but it seems that the cd is defunct. I have the only book on cd version in Birmingham libraries and of course all the copies of the book are out on loan at the moment so it will be a few days before I can read the 30 or so pages covered on that disk.

So I'm not quite sure what to listen to next as I'll probably 'abandon' that one for a bit whilst I finish off Sacrifice. The choices are: P D James - The Private Patient (12 cds), Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker (8 cds) or I have some Doctor Who books to listen to (1-2 cds each) or the first part of The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (4 cds) which I bought a while ago but have been saving for the 'right' moment.

Decisions...