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Rain, violence and death, it's another regular week in Cardiff
for the Torchwood Team. Operating outside of the law, the
team investigate aliens incursion. Now, beneath the canopy
of ever-present rain, the people of Cardiff are dying. What
links the rain, starfish and the unexpected deaths? Can Captain
Jack and his team stop the killing before Cardiff becomes
a drowned city?...
Another Life
is the new audio book from the original novel by Peter Anghelides
- who already has a long history with Doctor Who, from
Moving On, his first published short story. His novel
Frontier Worlds was voted Best Eighth Doctor Book in
1998 and the Ancestor Cell was voted in the top ten
best genre novels in 2000. He has also contributed to Big
Finish's Short Trips series and wrote a Sarah Jane
Smith audio adventure for them.
The book has been, once more, ably abridged by Joseph Lidster
and is narrated Captain Jack himself, John Barrowman. Although
the majority of Barrowman's work has been in the theatre,
it seems that with his various appearances he has not been
off our screens for any length of time over the last two years,
and he is set to make a return to Doctor Who this year.
Of
the three audio books on offer Another Life comes over
as the weakest plot. It's not that it isn't well written or
narrated; the problem comes from the central plot device being
too generic, its very similar to Fallen (1998), as
well as a number of other films/shows, which also have a body-hoping
killer. To be fair to Peter Anghelides, this may be a consequence
of having his book condensed, loosing some of the subtlety
and nuance of the plot. In the author's note he highlights
that, although happy with Lidster's work, certain elements
had to be sacrificed, including the intriguing thought that
Gwen may be doing something dodgy with a strangers hairdryer.
Makes you almost want to go out and get the book as well.
The
story plunges you straight in at the deep end with Torchwood
on the trail of a particularly gruesome murderer, who bites
out the back of his victims heads. One of the things which
is disconcerting is that without the preamble of the investigation,
the tracking down of the killer seems a little too pat as
Jack gets Toshiko to use her computer skills to track down
him down. This all seems a little implausible until the confrontation
between Jack and the killer is used to explain this apparent
plot hole.
Torchwood, being a more adult orientated show, is able
to push the envelope of acceptability; in a way that Doctor
Who would never be permitted. So, expect particularly
graphic descriptions of murder and mutilation, as well as
a colourful use of the English language, for anyone who has
read the book or listens to the audiobook let me know where
I can get a pair of those shoes for my other half (you'll
know it when you hear it).
Overall this release is well written and well read, a nice
addition to anyone's Torchwood collection.
Charles
Packer
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£15.19
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£9.49
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£13.99
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£10.99
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£12.07
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All prices correct at time of going to press.
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