Book Review: Doctor Who: The Magic Of Angels

Author: Jacqueline Rayner
Title: Doctor Who: The Magic Of Angels
Publisher: BBC Books
Publish Date: Feb 2, 2012
Buy: Amazon

Book Blurb: 'No one from this time will ever see that girl again...'The Doctor, Amy and Rory round off a sight-seeing tour round London with a trip to the theatre. That's when things start to go wrong.The Doctor wonders why so many young girls are going missing from the area. When he sees Sammy Star's amazing magic act, he thinks he knows the answer. Sammy's glamorous assistant disappears at the climax of the act - but this is no stage trick.The Doctor and his friends team up with residents of an old people's home to discover the truth. And together they find themselves face to face with a deadly Weeping Angel.Whatever you do - don't blink!A thrilling all-new adventure featuring the Doctor, Amy and Rory, as played by Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill in the spectacular hit series from BBC Television.

Review: This is a BBC Quick Reads, so its only about 60 pages long. The plot with the reality star magician Sammy Star and the Weeping Angels is a good one. It is one I almost wished had been made into an episode, except I'm sick to death of the Weeping Angels.

I actually preferred the action in this story to that of the episode that finished off the first half of series 7.

So let's sum this up. The Magician has an Angel that is sending his assistants back in time so it looks like he's actually doing magic.

Good job Sammy, you wanker!

The Doctor, Amy and Rory discover his show on holiday in London while they are being tossed out of ever touristy thing they could visit.

In the show they meet two old ladies that are terrified of the monster.

So there are are characters.

The only ones that come across as they should are the two old ladies Kylie and Amber, who were victims of the show, but have lived long enough to come and see it as their aged selves.

GAH confusing..but it works.

What I hated was how The Doctor, Amy and Rory seemed like caricatures of themselves. They just didn't seem right.

The story itself is probably a more satisfying read for the younger crowd. I think older fans would simply be bored by it or annoyed at the way the characters are portrayed here.

Still, after the last episode with The Ponds, it is a nice tale to read to revisit them.

Rating: 3 flowers

Audiobook Review: Doctor Who Blackout

Author:Oli Smith
Title: Blackout
Read By: Stuart Mulligan
Publisher: Audiogo
Publish Date: Sept 8, 2011
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: It's November 9th, 1965. New York City is plunged into darkness, a taxi driver has bad dreams, and an invisible spacecraft hovers ominously above the skyline. As an extra-terrestrial disease sweeps the populace, Amy and Rory must sabotage the city's water supply to slow the spread of infection, and a dying Doctor holds another man's life in his hands. With death toll rising, and his companions stalked through the streets by alien businessmen, the Doctor is forced to make a terrible decision. How far must he go to save his friends?

Review: This is the first 11th Doctor audio book that I've listened to, and I have to say I was pretty impressed. With audio books, the story is made by the reader. If the reader isn't any good, the story falls flat. Stuart Mulligan did a great job reading Oli Smith's story to life. He captured the essence of The Doctor and his companions. The only voice that didn't quite feel right to me was Clint.

Clint was the taxi driver who was captured by aliens and is having bad dreams. He sounds like he's from the south and yet in the story he says he's from New Jersey. There aren't any southern accents in Jersey. (Some scary ones maybe, but not southern).

The story was set in NYC in the 60s, which I found rather appealing. I like when the Tardis ends up in places other than the UK.  It would have been nice to know what kind of aliens were poisoning the people of NYC, or rather using them as guinea pigs in a case study for a drug for their particular species.

I always enjoy listening to these, especially when the show isn't on, it helps me get over the Who withdrawal. This was a fun story and very well read. Mulligan  really did 11's voice very well. If you love all things Who, this is definitely worth a listen.

Rating: 4 flowers

The Doctor Reading Challenge

If you'd like to join me, you're more than welcome to read any of the published Doctor Who books, graphic novels, non-fiction, or other material.  And like most challenges, there are a few (ahem) levels to choose from:

First Doctor - read 2 Doctor Who books
Second Doctor - read 5 Doctor Who books
Third Doctor - read 10 Doctor Who books
Fourth Doctor - read 15 Doctor Who books
Fifth Doctor - read 20 Doctor Who books
Sixth Doctor - read 25 Doctor Who books
Seventh Doctor - read 30 Doctor Who books
Eighth Doctor - read 40 Doctor Who books
Ninth Doctor - read 50 Doctor Who books
Tenth Doctor - read 75 Doctor Who books
Eleventh Doctor - read 100+ Doctor Who books

All the usual rules apply...
*challenge runs 1 January to 31 December 2012 - any books must be read in the 2012 calendar year to count
*any format is allowed
*cross-overs between challenges allowed
*link your post/reviews from your blog, goodreads, shelfari, librarything or the comments section (no blog necessary!)
*no list is needed beforehand - you can choose as you go (or change your choices!)

I'm going to go for The Second Doctor because I only have 5 Who books and getting them is a pain in the bippy here in the US. Apparently the BBC doesn't realize there are plenty of Whovians on this side of the pond!!

1. Oli Smith - Doctor Who: Blackout