Anthony Pirtle

Very enjoyable if obviously early attempt at a 15th Doctor story

Revisado: 06-28-24

Georgia Cook is a talented author who's been writing for Big Finish for a couple of years now, so it's no surprise that she can both put together a great story and make it's protagonist sound authenticity like the Doctor. My only criticism is that he doesn't definitively sound like the Fifteenth Doctor, apart from the use of his trademark "honey," but that's not really Cook's fault cas this was obviously written before the current season was finished. Still, it's quite a good listen. Millie Gibson may not be the most experienced narrator, but it's fun to hear the young actor tackle different roles, including that of her costar.

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Two out of three ain't bad.

Revisado: 12-31-23

The first story, Imaginary Friends, feels like a celebration of the black and white era of Doctor Who, which is an odd choice for a collection aimed at younger readers (or listeners), but it's very effective. The second story, "The Cradle," deals with some mature themes (racism, sexuality) that are obviously personal to the author, and is probably my favorite of the three. The third is a comparatively bog-standard Doctor Who adventure.

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Reverse School Reunion

Revisado: 12-14-23

Something that has happened more than once in the television show, but most prominently in the episode titled School Reunion, is that a current companion meets a former companion of the Doctor's and has to cope with the knowledge that they aren't as special as they used to think they were. This audio tells a similar story with the twist that instead of meeting a previous companion, Clara meets a new one which the Doctor acquired without mentioning it to her. This plays well into the codependent dynamic that the Doctor and Cara have in Series 9 of the TV show, which is where this is set.

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A wonderful lecture series

Revisado: 12-05-23

Professor Harl is an enthusiastic teacher who clearly knows his subject and is eager to share it in as much detail as this lecture series will let him get away with. This can be a bit overwhelming as a listening experience, but I would encourage listeners to just allow themselves to be swept away by the narrative and not worry too much about memorizing the details. It's not like there's a quiz at the end.

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The narrator is fine, but she's no Mary Beard.

Revisado: 11-19-23

I love Mary Beard's television presentations on Rome, and I was looking forward to hearing one of her books go into more depth on the topic. SPQR certainly does that, covering the topic from the myths of Rome's founding to the establishment, laws, and eventual demise of its republic, and finally surveys some of its most famous emperors. I can certainly understand the comments of those who say it's occasionally hard to follow. This is especially true during the chapter "Fourteen Emperors," which bounces around between said emperors, focusing on themes rather than biographies. It helps if you're already familiar with the general timeline and prominent figures. If you're not, it's easy to get lost, especially while listening to the book instead of reading it. The narrator is part of the problem here. I gave the performance 4 stars because she does a fine enough job, but she lacks Beard's oratory flair.

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Hilarious history

Revisado: 11-12-23

This survey of England's rulers from the fictional Arthur (though Mitchell prefers to call him a lie) to the last of the Tudors is at the same time delightfully irreverent and full of Mitchell's trademark rants (he actually spends several minutes at the beginning of the chapter on William I complaining about the death of James Bond, but this shouldn't surprise anyone who knows Mitchell's comedy). I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys medieval history but doesn't take the topic too seriously to laugh at it.

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A wonderful resource for Second Age material.

Revisado: 11-26-22

Brian Sibley has, with this book, attempted to stitch together a chronology of the Second Age of Middle-earth. It doesn't include every one of Tolkien's writings on the Second Age (much of the conflicting stories about Galadriel and Celeborn are missing, for example). Instead, using the Tale of Years from the Lord of the Rings appendices as a guide, it tries to describe all of the major events of the age, drawing on material from The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The History of Middle Earth, Tolkien's letters, and even the recent The Nature of Middle Earth. The result is a very satisfying chronology, if not actually a narrative, and a great reference book for anyone who is curious about the events of the Second Age and either does not own all of the many books this draws from or just wants all the pertinent information in one convenient volume.

The reading of the book by Samuel West is very enjoyable to listen to, as long as you don't mind Sibley butting into the text with various references and suggestions for further reading. West's voice is a great match for the material. It's a shame that his father Timothy wasn't available to read the notes, as was the case for the last few Tolkien books the Wests read together, but Sibley does a good enough job in his place.

In short, if you enjoyed the audiobook versions of Beren and Luthien, The Fall of Gondolin, and Unfinished Tales, you will probably enjoy this one too.

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Mediocre production mars great story

Revisado: 07-14-19

The script is pretty good stuff, nothing amazing, but I could see it working in the late 80s or early 90s, at the tail end of the cold war. The production, however, is not Dirk Maggs' best work. The actors also sometimes sound miscast, bored, or are doing awful accents. Still, it was free, and decently entertaining.

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A Legend by a Legend

Revisado: 11-01-18

This is an epic story in every sense of the word, with themes as old as literature itself. It will be an easier experience for those that have already read and enjoyed The Silmarillion, as they'll already be familiar with the plot, setting, characters, and intentionally heroic style of prose, all of which might catch more casual Tolkien fans off-guard. However, reading The Silmarillion is by no means necessary as long as folks what they're getting into. This is also a much darker novel than those who've only read The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings might be expecting. However, it's well worth reading (or listening to), both as a major piece of Tolkien's legendarium and as a powerful stand-alone story. The audiobook's narration by the late Christopher Lee lends proper weight to the novel, as well as making it easier to navigate the many difficult names.

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Life, the Universe, and the Doctor

Revisado: 01-19-18

Anyone whose read Adams' third Hitchhiker novel will recognize this story, since it's basically that story, only longer, slightly less funny, significantly more interesting, and featuring a different bunch of heroes, namely the Doctor, Romana II, and K9. I always thought Life, the Universe, and Everything stuck out from Adams other books as being a more straightforward adventure than the rest of the Hitchhiker novels. It makes sense, then, that it was originally a Doctor Who story. That said, this is not at all as straightforward as most Who adventures, but it is a great read nonetheless.

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