Tag: Doctor Who

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Doctor Trap by Simon Messingham

Posted on by elishasbookreview
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*No Major Spoilers*

Sebastiene was human… once. He might look like a nineteenth-century nobleman, but in truth, he is a ruthless hunter. He likes nothing more than luring difficult opposition to a planet, then hunting them down for sport. And now he’s caught them all – from Zargregs to Moogs, and even the odd Eternal. In fact, Sebastiene is after only one more prize. For this trophy, he knows he is going to need help. He’s brought together the finest hunters in the universe to play the most dangerous game for the deadliest quarry of them all. They are hunting for the last of the Time Lords – the Doctor!

Rating: 4 out of 5.

One of my favorite underrated companions of the Tenth Doctor has been Donna Noble. I find her to be relatable and I can relate to her background and the way she grew up. So to see her included into a story outside of the main cannon makes he happy.

I enjoyed this audiobook, it was action-packed and full of the Doctor’s cleverness and quirks. The characters were loveable and enjoyable. Even though this is an audiobook you have to focus on, it still was a fun listen and had a great story behind it.

One of my favorite parts of this story is how Donna tries to find her own way to escape from Sebastiene’s prison. She kept knocking down doors, trying to find a way out of the hotel she was trapped in.

Overall, I would highly recommend this audiobook for lovers of Doctor Who, the Doctor Who novels and Science Fiction.

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: First Evidence by Ken Goddard

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*No Spoilers*

A down-to-earth forensics expert has just discovered a crime scene that is out of this world.

In criminal forensics, they train you to uncover evidence, no matter how brutal or bizarre the murder.

But what if one night you make contact with a crime scene so terrifying, no one on earth can explain it?

It begins at a chaotic crime scene in the deep woods of the Pacific Northwest–site of a reported shoot-out. Investigator Colin Cellars cannot find a trace of perpetrator or victim–or even confirm that anyone has been killed. As he doggedly pursues the case, he realizes there is far more at stake here than murder. Someone–something?–will stop at nothing to prevent him from discovering the truth. For the truth is not “out there.” It is locked away in Cellars’ own evidence file. The evidence points to a killer far outside Cellars’s experience–far outside any earthly experience. But who will believe one maverick cop?

This novel is different from other monster stories. This novel is a mystery, mixed with Sci-Fi, with a dash of romance. The mystery involving the disappearance of multiple deputies and citizens alike. It is up to Crime Scene Investigator, Colin Cellars to figure things out while not ending up locked away in a rubber room.

This thrilling novel will have you on the edge of your seat, waiting to see what the mystery is really all about!

My favorite part of this story was how it felt like Colin Cellars was the only one who knew the mystery went further than his fellow officers knew. It felt like no one was believing him, and in the beginning, I was questioning Mr. Cellars’ sanity myself.

If you thought the “shadows” in Doctor Who: Silence in the Library was terrifying, this novel cranks it up to 11. Shadows that appear will give you a new sense of uneasiness. Keep the nightlight on for this one!

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I would recommend this novel for lovers of horror, science fiction, and mystery. This novel keeps you hooked and invested from page one.

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Invictus by Ryan Graudin

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*No Major Spoilers*

Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time-traveling Recorder from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in Rome in 95 AD, Far’s birth defies the laws of nature. Exploring history himself is all he’s ever wanted, and after failing his final time-traveling exam, Far takes a position commanding a ship with a crew of his friends as part of a black market operation to steal valuables from the past.

But during a heist on the sinking Titanic, Far meets a mysterious girl who always seems to be one step ahead of him. Armed with the knowledge that will bring Far’s very existence into question, she will lead Far and his team on a race through time to discover a frightening truth: History is not as steady as it seems.

This Young Adult novel travels from Ancient Rome to a futuristic Earth where time travel is possible. I was intrigued by the plot of this story. I am familiar with Doctor Who so time travel is a genre I enjoy.

As a fan of Doctor Who when someone is born “out of time” that spells trouble. The laws of nature do not bend to our will. And when something is out of line, nature will correct itself no matter the circumstances.

I felt like the romance between Far and Priya, the ship’s doctor was natural. She and Far had a friendship before the Invictus first launched. Far would short-circuit medical droids because of his unnatural date of birth. So Priya would arrive and troubleshoot the problem, and that’s how they first met.

The other romance between Far’s cousin Imogen and the ship’s engineer Gram felt forced and awkward. They are polar opposites. Gram felt like an android from the many sci-fi movies. Stiff, robotic, genius as he plays Tetris and has a collection of solved Rubick’s Cubes. Imogen is bright, dying her hair a new neon color every day. She’s the ship’s historian, and she loves to have fun and party hard.

So for unnecessary romances, I only found one of them unnecessary. I wish they could have remained good friends and grow in that way.

This novel is fairly well-paced. Action-packed, and keeps you on your toes by trying to figure out what’s going on with the mystery of the unusual girl Elliot and her secrets she was keeping from the Invictus crew.

This novel is 400+ pages. If you prefer shorter novels, then you’re out of luck with this one. However, if you enjoy audiobooks, the flow of the novel made the over 400 pages go quickly.

Overall, I thought this novel was good. It was action-packed with plenty of time travel and world building. My only downside was the one unnecessary romance, and a few nitpicks. Other than that, I felt like this was a good, well written, Young Adult novel for any age to enjoy.

Posted in Audiobooks, Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Holy Terror by Robert Shearman

Posted on by elishasbookreview
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*No Spoilers*

The TARDIS lands in a forbidding castle in a time of religious upheaval. The old god has been overthrown, and all heretics are to be slaughtered. Obviously, it isn’t the sort of thing which would happen there every day – just every few years or so.

And when the Doctor and Frobisher are hailed as messengers from heaven, they quickly become vital to opposing factions in their struggle for power. But will they be merely the acolytes of the new order – or will they be made gods themselves?

An evil destructive force is growing deep within the crypt. And the pair soon finds out that they will be lucky to escape their new immortality with their lives.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I am still learning about some of the Classic Doctor Who Doctors. I am not familiar with the 5th-8th Doctors yet. However, I still enjoy reading their spinoff stories.

This audio drama was very interesting. I could imagine the whole story as if it was an actual episode. It was well-acted and written.

My favorite character was Frobisher. He was full of good humor and took a major roll in this story. I was a little disappointed when it seemed like Frobisher was overshadowing the Doctor.

One of the instances where I felt Frobisher was overshadowing The Doctor was when the other characters in the story put him into Kinglike and Godlike power over their Kingdom, with that, I found it to be surprised that they didn’t put The Doctor in that position instead since The Doctor is always the main focal character of most of the stories.

With everything that happened in this story, I found it to be well written and the ending wrapped up quite nicely with no loose ends.

If you are looking for a good Doctor Who story, this is your audiobook. I would also recommend this novel for lovers of science fiction and short stories. This audiobook is about two hours long, so it’s a quick listen if you need something to listen to while waiting on another book.

Posted in Book Reviews, Novels

REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Monsters Inside by Stephen Cole

Posted on by elishasbookreview

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*Many Spoilers Ahead*

The Doctor and his companion, Rose Tyler, land on an alien planet where the ancient pyramids are being built. Before they can even leave the TARDIS, they are captured and arrested for trespassing. However, things as always are suspicious, and it’s up to Rose and the Doctor to fix things and save the universe.

***SPOILERS START***

I am a fan of Doctor Who, I’ve watched the rebooted version up to season 7, and I’ve watched the Classic episodes. I have read several of the novelizations and audiobooks. I’m not sure if I was expecting too much from this, or if it was just executed poorly. The villains, the Blathereen, even though they are the rival family of the Slitheen, still was predictable. Any Doctor Who fan would know where this story was going and fast.

Their plot was to take over the Justice planet system, and build a transportable wormhole so they can destroy other planets and sell the scraps for profit. A similar plot was used in season 1 of the Doctor Who 2005 reboot.

I enjoyed this novel, I love the 9th Doctor. Christopher Eccleston did a “fantastic” job as a reintroduction to the Doctor character. He is grizzled and battered after the Time War, so he is darker and edgier than his earlier previous incarnations.

The novelizations are usually a way to tell a Doctor Who story that might be difficult to tell on TV. Some call it glorified fanfiction. So to see this predictable of a plot disappointed me.

I would recommend this if you’re starting with the Doctor Who novels. It has familiar characters and villains that have appeared on Doctor Who before. The Slitheen and the Blathereen are very similar in goals and motives. So the slight name-change doesn’t make much of a difference.

Learn more about the Slitheen here

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Read My Other Doctor Who Reviews Here!