Tag: Audiobook

Doctor Who: Sleepers in the Dust by Darren Jones (Audiobook) #60Books

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Read as part of my 60 Books Challenge: A book based on a TV show.

Doctor Who: Sleepers in the Dust is an audiobook written by Darren Jones, and narrated by Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams).

The story is told from Rory Williams’ point of view. The 11th Doctor and the Ponds land on the planet Nadurniss, which is under quarantine. The planet had been deserted years ago, but a Nadurni-Human expedition recently returned – only to get infected with age-old bacteria that had been waiting in the dust.

With Amy in danger, it’s up to her Boys, Rory and the Doctor, to figure out what is going on.

The story itself works on a fairly basic premise, and as it’s Doctor Who, there’s a lot of timey-wimey stuff going on. What really makes this audiobook worth listening to is Arthur Darvill. While his Scottish impression of Amy needs a bit more work, his impression of Matt Smith’s Doctor is spot-on. Rory is his usual reluctant hero self, bumbling along as the voice of reason.

It’s definitely an enjoyable story for Doctor Who fans, made even better by Arthur Darvill’s narration.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

Title: Doctor Who: Sleepers in the Dust
Author: Darren Jones
Publisher: BBC / AudioGo
Release Date: November 1, 2012
ISBN:  978-1445891736

Doctor Who: The Angel’s Kiss by Justin Richards & “Melody Malone” (Audiobook) #60Books

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Read as part of my 60 Books Challenge: A sci-fi novel.

Doctor Who – The Angel’s Kiss was written by Justin Richards, but – to tie in with the show – Melody Malone is listed as the author.

Contrary to popular belief, this is NOT the same book as the one River Song reads from in the episode The Angels Take Manhattan.

The story follows Melody Malone, private detective. She gets a visit from a film star called Rock Railton, who believes he is to be killed. Melody gets on the case after he mentions “the kiss of an angel,” and puts herself in danger during her investigations.

Even though this is a Doctor Who tie-in story, the Doctor does not feature in this story. This is one of Melody’s cases, told from Melody’s point of view.

It’s a nice enough story, and the audiobook version read by Alex Kingston – who plays River Song aka Melody Malone on the show – is very intriguing. Alex Kingston uses her sultry River Song voice with a bit of an American twang – the story is set in the US after all – and it fits very well with that old-time Hollywood period and charm the story is based in. That being said, this is NOT a story featuring River Song – this story is all about Melody Malone, the female no-nonsense private detective with killer heels and drop-dead gorgeous red lipstick.

It’s a cool detective story as a standalone. It’s got girl power, 1930’s charm, and a supernatural mystery (the only thing that really ties it into the show). Unfortunately though, the supposedly bad-ass protagonist is limited by 1930’s gender roles and perceptions. It’s a good story, but could have been better.

My Rating: ♥♥♥

Title: Doctor Who: The Angel’s Kiss
Author: Justin Richards & “Melody Malone”
Publisher: BBC
Release Date: February 7, 2013
Pages: 80 (eBook version)
ISBN:  978-1471324055

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman #AtoZ #Audiobook

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This post is part of the 2016 April A to Z Challenge.

Did you know that London is split in two parts? And I don’t mean the cities of London and Westminster. No, it’s London Above and London Below.

London Above is the city most people know. The one with corporate jobs and ultra-modern buildings. But the London Below of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere is a whole different world, full of Rat-Speakers and shadow dwellers, with their own rules to abide and secrets to keep.

The version I am reviewing is the BBC Full-Cast Dramatization, although the print copy is just as marvellous. James McAvoy voices Richard, who by chance finds a way into London Below, where he discovers that what he only knows as landmarks, suburbs and tube stations are real people in the city underneath. There is an Earl at Earl’s Court – an old man with a tendency to go berserk – voiced by Sir Christopher Lee; Knightsbridge is guarded by actual knights, the Old Bailey is an old, kind man feeding pigeons played by Bernard Cribbins and Benedict Cumberbatch lends his voice to the all-too-real Angel Islington.

The cast also includes the likes of Anthony Stewart Head, Johnny Vegas, David Harewood, Sophie Okonedo and Neil Gaiman himself. And what a cast it is! This particular version is dialogue-only, as the voice actors do an amazing job of bringing the world below to life. Even without a narrator the story is easy to follow and all the characters are so well defined and different that not a single one of them seems flat or unimportant.

Neverwhere is urban fantasy at its finest. It takes a familiar place and turns it into something incredibly more complex than you could ever have imagined. The way Gaiman brings all the landmarks and places to life borders on genius and begs the question: why has nobody else wondered where such places as Ravenscourt or Knightsbridge got their names from? And if they were people, what would they be like?

Only very few people Above ever catch a glimpse of London Below or the people who inhabit it. They choose not to see. For them, some of the folk from Below look like homeless people, and the people Above are used to ignoring their problems.

Neverwhere is the perfect gateway story for those wanting to get more into urban fantasy. And whether you read it or listen to it – you’ll never see London in quite the same way ever again.

 

My Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Title: Neverwhere
Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: July 7, 2015 (originally published in 1996)
Pages: 336
ISBN:  978-0062371058

BBC Full-Cast Dramatization
Release Date: September 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-1471316470

#WeekendCoffeeShare: If We Were Having Coffee… On March 26

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Welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, a blog hop by the lovely Diana over at Part Time Monster. Every weekend we get together for virtual coffees and a little casual chat.

As a book blog, I will do my best to keep my topics bookish.

Have you read any good books recently? Can you recommend any? I am currently reading The Assistants by Camille Perri as an ARC. It’s a corporate story about embezzlement and education getting you no further than a PA’s job.

I am also currently still reading Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, as well as The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman. I usually have at least one eBook and one paperback at the same time.

What I really got into this year is audiobooks. It’s really nice to listen to them in the car,sort of like having someone in the car with you who is talking to you. So far, I’m on my 9th audiobook. Currently, I am listening to a full-cast production of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book (can you see a trend there?). I love this one! Narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi, with a cast including Robert Madge as Bod, Miriam Margolyes as Mrs. Owens and Mrs. Lupescu, Andrew Scott as Jack the Man, as well as Lenny Henry, Reece Shearsmith, Emilia Fox and Neil Gaiman himself.

What’s your opinion on audiobooks? Do you listen to them? Do you prefer a “proper” reading or a full-cast production with voices and sound effects?

Anyway, I’m on a bit of a deadline with one review, so I need to get back to it. But thank you for having coffee with me today! Check out the other Weekend Coffee Sharers as well!