The Day of the Troll

Nobody does the 10th Doctor better than David Tennant! When I saw that this Doctor Who audiobook was narrated by Tennant, I checked it out of my local library's digital site immediately. A 10th Doctor fix! Yay!!

This story was so much fun to listen to! A future Earth is a place of starvation, famine and wasteland. England is a barren, abandoned expanse, but a group of scientists are struggling in vain to plant crops. Not only are their efforts to grow food failing, but something much more sinister is lurking out there in the empty wasteland...waiting. Karl Bering and his sister, Katy, are out checking their experimental crops, when Karl is snatched away by something. Luckily, the Doctor appears (dah daaaaaa dah!) and carries her back to the facility. What took Karl? Will Katy be ok? And what is out there??

David Tennant is stellar as the 10th Doctor in this BBC audiobook! Every time something bad happens or a monster appears, he grins and says it's fantastic. ha ha! It's everything I loved about the episodes of Doctor Who he starred in! Once when a large monster is attacking the group it says "Comeeeeee with meeeeee!'' in this really spooky voice. The Tenth Doctor's reply?? "You ought to brush your teeth!'' LOL!!

As with most other BBC audio presentations, the production value is fabulous with neat sound effects added. Simon Messingham wrote a great Doctor Who story -- very enjoyable! David Tennant is quite talented as narrator. His performance is more acting than just reading. He voices all the characters wonderfully even doing a croaky voice for the monsters. Fab! I have hearing loss, but I was easily able to hear and understand Tennant's performance, even with all the sound effects and his accent. Just an enjoyable experience!

10th Doctor fans & those who enjoy Doctor Who will love this audiobook! At just over 2 hours long, it is a quick listen. I happily let the Doctor keep me company while I cleaned house. Luckily, no troll popped out of my linen closet. :) Well worth the time! Fun story!
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The Doctor arrives in England in 2073 and finds that the earth is starving. At a farm, scientists are trying their best to make crops grow again, but a mysterious "troll" is lurking under a bridge, preying on the staff. Quite an interesting story, this, which made me think that its author had recently read Alan Moore's Swamp Thing. For regular Whovians, this is a fairly "stock" Who-story (scientific base under attack) with a few unexpected twists and well worth a listen, especially since it's so brilliantly read by Tennant himself. ( )

Messingham is a good writer, Tennant is a good reader, and the story pushes lots of buttons and does it well - creepy monster under the bridge (the troll of the title), evil plant intelligence, freezing future Britain (listening to this during this week's snow was a bit uncomfortable), European government which has originated as a response to crisis, vulnerable kid who the Doctor has to try and save. All very good and recommended. ( )