✅8/10 = VERY GOOD!

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time!

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY:

For this review, I listened to the abridged audiobook version narrated by David Tennant.

Stephen Cole tells a contemporary Doctor Who story about a naval cruiser sinking in the North Sea and killing everyone onboard, only for the ghosts of the dead to come back to haunt their loved ones in London. It’s equally a very modern Doctor Who story in concept and also something that could have come from the classic era.

The narrative relies on the mystery aspect of what has happened and why, as well as the emotional aspects of grief and how we handle it. The Doctor is focused on slowly solving the mystery and unravelling new layers of it, while Rose and Mickey spend time with their friend Keisha, who’s lost her brother in the accident, and other people involved in the tragedy.

David Tennant’s narration is lively and rich; his voices for the Doctor, Rose, and Mickey are spot on, and he puts great effort into the supporting characters as well. Mickey gets to be useful and isn’t bullied around, partly helped by the fact that Rose doesn’t get a lot to do; Vida is a particularly interesting character, while Keisha could have been given more space, especially since she is so strongly tied to everything.

The Doctor is perfectly written. We see his fierce and determined side, his chemistry with Rose and Mickey, and his fun quips and jokes.

Crayshaw is a good name for a villain, but the character itself gets lost in the mix. The same could be said about Jackie, who doesn't need to be here.

Cole writes a fast-paced narrative that feels very akin to the RTD era of the show. He also gets the humour and Ten’s quirky qualities down right. There’s plenty of scientific talk and oceanic terminology here, and it sounds fine and well. It all makes for an exciting but not particularly original narrative.

The alien presence here is fairly standard—we've met similar aquatic dangers before. Their motives and modus operandi aren’t too exciting, either. The water made is effectively scary, though, and used well during cinematic action scenes, especially towards the end.