There are 4,107 reviews so far. To add a review of your own, click on the item in question, then click the Vote link.
| What: | The Lost Stories: The Elite (The Lost Stories audio dramas) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Monday 16 January 2012 |
|
| Rating: |  10 |
This would have made a very welcome entry into the eighties Who range on screen. I looked at the cover when I first got it through the post, and couldnt for the like of me think what the heck the returning foe could be, despite the fact that that brain thing looks like Dalek Khan! What a dumb git. So it was a well kept surprise for me at least when the foe was revealed to be a dalek. And one thinks the chocolate segment of the story is witty and fun, adding a little light relief to what really feels like a Terminator-esque kind of tale. This is gritty sci fi, and gritty would have been great to have seen back in the eighties, which was where the seires was going anyway. And as usual its great that Janet Fielding has decided to come back and do these big finish stories, just a shame it took her so long! But I can relish the fact that shes back now. And all the characters here are just grey and untrustworthy, which makes for great tension all along the road. And for once, the dalek itself isnt the most disagreeable character in the story. And its great that all these Lost tales are now being released on audio, and so far they have all been excellent, and well worth the wait....
 |  |  |
 | Not quite as original as all that.... |
|
| | |
| What: | The Lost Stories: Hexagora (The Lost Stories audio dramas) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Monday 16 January 2012 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
One recalls the story Singularity, with the aliens placing their minds in human forms while the human minds are left within carcasses, but if this missing story had have made it to the screen in the eighties, then yes, it certainly would have been something rather different for a change. And this story does have a lot going for it. It has a good alien race, strong and yet not overtly evil in anyway, and these sorts of characters always make for good drama. The Tardis crew are all on fine form, its always a such a treat to hear Janet back again in the TARDIS, unsettling the calmer Doctor and Nyssa routine. And this story also features the great actress Jacqueline Pearce, once again giving a classy performance as Queen Zafira. And this story isnt overly long either, which is also a plus, its a snappy, but highly engaging and intelligent tale which makes it yet another classy entry in the Lost Stories brilliant pantheon, Ive yet to hear a lost story I dont like....
| | |
| One loves the First Romana |
|
| | |
| What: | Ferril's Folly (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Monday 16 January 2012 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
Mary Tamm was the first and best Romana, thats all I have to say on the matter. And how great to have Mary again back to do another companion chronicle, and one that easily could have slotted into the key to time series with no problem at all. The Key to Time season was also one of the best of the original series of Who, and now to have a very cleverly done 7th story in that season is great. And Peter Anghelides certainly hasnt written a better story than this so far for the world of Whodom. And Romana is back in all her glory, with her usual razor sharp intellect and fearless streak. One loves the first Romana, did I mention that already? And one loves it when shes back in such a strong story as this one is. Madeline Potter is a great foil to Romana here, and her demise is both sad and nasty. Big Finish certainly know how to produce first class Doctor Who, far better than BBC Wales do with the new series at any rate....
| | |
| Never been such a well done homage.... |
|
| | |
| What: | The Many Deaths of Jo Grant (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Monday 16 January 2012 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
One recalls the Jon Pertwee era so well: the planetary rights stories, the miners strikes, the moral fibres of stories like The Silurians, and to get a short story that encompasses the best of all the best Jon Pertwee story themes is brilliant. And the Many Deaths of Jo Grant is a brilliant tale, and in my book, one of the very finest companion pieces to date.
Katy Manning does her usual brilliant job of bringing the whole thing to life, and here we get the brilliant cliffhangers, leading up to a surprising and different kind of ending. This would have fitted in brilliantly in the old series, and Im so glad to hear it now. We have such good bits thrown in all along the way in this very strong tale. Anyone who likes the plantetary invasion, the alien despot, the wacko spaceship and robots, or mind science will then love this one pieces. I certainly do. A great story, Cavan and Mark have surpassed themselves this time.
| What: | The Nightmare of Black Island (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | Jay Rogers, Boardman, United States |
|
| Date: | Saturday 14 January 2012 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
This was the first Dr. Who book that I have purchased. I thought it was awsome!
| What: | The Holy Terror (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | C G Harwood, Dunedin, NZ, New Zealand |
|
| Date: | Friday 13 January 2012 |
|
| Rating: |  9 |
This was my first exposure to Frobisher. And although I enjoyed the character I did not like the Brookland USA acsent they used for him. Other than that I enjoyed this whole story very much. The story is entertaining, with lots of surprises and plot twists and turns, with a lovely amount of humor (The bit at the start of the adventure is worth the price of this CD alone)
Yet again Colin Baker has shown us the 6th Doctor we should have got, and this is a adventure that he really sinks his teeth into. Well written by Robert Sherman and expertly directed by Nicholas Pegg who has a long history in Doctor Who
| | |
| Not the best, but not bad either |
|
| | |
| What: | Eye of Heaven (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | Matt Saunders, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Friday 13 January 2012 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
This is an interesting novel, because it's written from Leela's point of view. Nowadays we're too used to this because of the Big Finish Companion Chronicles, but this was a first for the novels. Mortimore doesn't get it right every time, but it's not that bad. Plus, it's a cracking story and idea, and that's got to be good. :)
| What: | Business Unusual (BBC Past Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | Matt Saunders, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Thursday 12 January 2012 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
At last we get Mel's story of how she met the Doctor, and it's very good. I won't give too many spoilers away, but the novel is a very satisfactory beginning for Mel. It's also good to have a nice story with UNIT in it. I very much recommend everyone read this, so that we can fully appreciate Mel. Then people should go and listen to the audio's that she's been in, and realise what a good character she could have been on TV.
| What: | Hunter's Moon (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | Hessel Hoekstra, Maassluis, Netherlands |
|
| Date: | Monday 9 January 2012 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
This is a typical "okay"-story. Neither very bad or good. The story is good and original. The high pace in the book keeps you reading, but the characterization is less than other books.
| What: | Made of Steel (Quick Reads books) |
|
| By: | C G Harwood, Dunedin, NZ, New Zealand |
|
| Date: | Thursday 5 January 2012 |
|
| Rating: | 8 |
I went into this with a very open mind, Dr Who in less than 100 pages!!! If it was anybody other than Terrence Dicks I would be very worried. He turned a simple concept in to a very enjoyable read, and I love the fact that he answered the question of what happened to the cybermen made on earth before the Battle of Canery Warph.
This book is funny in places and you can really get the feel that The Doctor is still morning over his loss of Rose. And when they start talking about Martha cousin and was the Dr there when she died as absolutly brilliantly done by Dicks.
My only criticism is that I would have loved to see what he could have done with this if he had been given another 100-150 pages to fill.
| | |
| A good story but nothing new |
|
| | |
| What: | The Mind of Evil (Target novelisations) |
|
| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Thursday 5 January 2012 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
On TV 'The Mind of Evil' was one of the better Season 8 stories, with a plot that fully involved the Master instead of him feeling simply an afterthought, and two menaces in the Keller monster and the revolting prisoners.
Terrance Dicks' novelisation sticks closely to the script, which I prefer to a total re-write which ruins the plot. Dicks' writing style is totally accessible but as happens with many of his Target novelisations it at times seems formulaic (which is understandable when he ended up writing over 60 of them!). However at the end of the day these were children's books and never meant to be cutting-edge novels, so in that respect they have totally fulfilled their function - oh, and the cover art is brilliant: very ominous and a great likeness of Roger Delgado!
| | |
| A cracking read but too samey |
|
| | |
| What: | The Evil of the Daleks (Target novelisations) |
|
| By: | Huw Davies, Taunton, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Thursday 5 January 2012 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
I have never seen or listened to 'The Evil of the Daleks' but now I would certainly like to after reading this! Peel's prose can seem a bic formulaic and samey at times but he certainly knows how to draw a reader in and keep them hooked. Action sequences, which can end up as unitelligible in print, are portrayed concisely which keeps the story going. That's not to say this is too tightly written - indeed this is a big book and Peel lets the plot and characters develop in their own time.
The story itself, conceived by David Whitaker, is an extremely good one, and Peel doesn't tamper with it, while embellishing it where he can. This is an entirely enjoyable read but if you're looking for a cutting-edge, out-there writing style you aren't going to find it here - and thats the only reason 'The Evil of the Daleks' doesn't make a perfect 10 for me.
Wonderfully affecting
| What: | The Janus Conjunction (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | Abigail Cohen, .........., Australia |
|
| Date: | Monday 26 December 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
From the first page to the last, the plot of "The Janus Conjunction" is exciting, clever, intriguing, mysterious and fresh. Many of the the EDA novels I've read have parts that are uninteresting or confusing and I have longed to skip over them to get to the good parts, but that never once happened in this book. The reader is immediately immersed in a fast moving, thrilling scenario, and the pace never slackens throughout until the very final page. Trevor Baxendale writes so well for the Doctor and Sam, and I am very impressed by this novel and recommend it fully to all DW fans. It's just such a shame that more of the series aren't written to the same high standard! One of my favourite EDA novels so far - a five star read!
| What: | The Janus Conjunction (BBC Eighth Doctor novels) |
|
| By: | Emma Bowman, Sydney, Australia |
|
| Date: | Monday 26 December 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
Excellent EDA!
| What: | Tales from the Vault (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Matt Saunders, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Tuesday 20 December 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
I really like the idea behind this, and it works very well. Unfortunately, it is let down completely by the terrible acting of Yee Jee Tso. Sorry, I know he was in the TV Movie, but this guy couldn't act very well in Excelsis Decays or Real Time. Oh well, the rest was great and Daphne Ashbrook was impressive. Nice idea, Big Finish, and it does work well...
| What: | The Glorious Revolution (The Companion Chronicles audiobooks) |
|
| By: | Matt Saunders, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Saturday 17 December 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
It does take rather a bit of time to get used to these Companion Chronicles. However, with Frazer Hines, it's much easier to listen to these audios, because he does such a great impression of the 2nd Doctor. This is one of my favourite periods of history too, so I enjoyed this even more - especially because Jamie is connected to this Jacobite world. Well done Big Finish. :)
| | |
| Grips like an Ice Warriors claw! |
|
| | |
| What: | The Silent Stars Go By (BBC prestige novels) |
|
| By: | Stuart Green, Brighton, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Monday 12 December 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 9 |
Grips like an Ice Warriors claw!
| What: | The Doomsday Quatrain (Big Finish: The Monthly Adventures) |
|
| By: | Matt Saunders, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Thursday 8 December 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 7 |
a little confusing at times. However, I enjoyed it thoroughly and it's good to hear Sylvester again. :)
| What: | Dead of Winter (BBC New Series Adventures novels) |
|
| By: | Stuart Green, Brighton, United Kingdom |
|
| Date: | Wednesday 7 December 2011 |
|
| Rating: | 10 |
A novel novel
