Doctor Who: Night of the Humans

By: David Llewellyn

Narrated by: Arthur Darvill

"This is the Gyre - the most hostile environment in the Galaxy" 250,000 years' worth of junk floating in deep space, home to the shipwrecked Sittuun, the carnivorous Sollogs, and worst of all - the Humans.

The Doctor and Amy arrive on this terrifying world in the middle of an all-out frontier war between Sittuun and Humans, and the countdown has already started. There's a comet in the sky, and it's on a collision course with the Gyre . . .

When the Doctor is kidnapped, it's up to Amy and 'galaxy-famous swashbuckler' Dirk Slipstream to save the day.

But who is Slipstream, exactly? And what is he really doing here?

A thrilling, all-new adventure featuring the Doctor and Amy, as played by Matt Smith and Karen Gillan in the spectacular hit series from BBC Television.

©2010 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2010 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Who Knows What This Sounds Like?

What would have made Doctor Who: Night of the Humans better?

What would have made Doctor Who: Night of the Humans better? Being able to listen to it would be a good start. You see, I'm a Linux user, and rather annoyingly Audible doesn't work with Linux. I don't know why. Probably something to do with DRM. It's a shame because I enjoy the Doctor Who stories and I think Arthur Darvil is a brilliant actor. You should follow him on twitter maybe. He's great. I'm sure he's great in this but civil disobedeance is only allowing me to give it one star (actually, no, I can be disbediant and lovely, I've given it five - its not the books fault audible don't want my custom) as I can't seem to get the file to play without iTunes or a Kindle. Neither of which I own. I know this review probably doesn't help you much, in fact you're probably quite annoyed by it. One lonely, dyslexic man venting a hollow rage at an unfeeling corporate website. A bit like an embarrasing old aunty making a fuss in a shop over a refund. It's not dignified I'll grant you that, but this is what we're reduced to. It was free, if that's any use to you. I got a free credit for signing up. I was quite looking forward to hearing this story.There's another person reviewing this who seems to hate all Doctor Who audio books and physical books. I quite like them. Sometimes you get them on BBC Radio 4 Extra. Since we're chatting, who's your favourite doctor? Mine is Sylvester McCoy, closely followed by the incumbant Matt Smith. Oh, I'm going off on a tangent now, there's another question...

Would you ever listen to anything by David Llewellyn again?

I would love to listen to anything by David Llewellyn even once. Honestly. I'd pay money to. Happily. I've no idea who he is but I'm sure he's great. Unfortunately Audible haven't built a Linux client so the book I downloaded was uselelss. I got it to open in Audacity but it was a long series of hisses, the occasional beep and just, static. I was worried that there might be some sort of crazy Who monster living in the static. If David Llewellyn wants to turn that into a story he's more than welcome to. Possibly a bit too close to the recent Aliens in the Wifi TV episode, but as long as it's an Audible audio book I'll never know. I hope he sees this. Hello David. Audible are stopping me from paying to hear your work. Would you mind having a chat with them about it? Thanks love.

How could the performance have been better?

I'm sure the performance could not have been better if they tried. I bet Arthur Darvil acted his little heart out. You know, when his character first appeared I wasn't sold on it. Like a milky version of Micky, I thought. But then as the series went on, and the story grew, and Rory developed as a person I began to become very fond of him. I'd credit that to Arthur as much as the writers and directors. I think he gave what could have been a bit part some weight. But then I sell shoes for a living so it's not like I'm the best person to judge the quality of an actor. Other than I guess I always believe him. I never felt he was acting. Which I guess is the real key to acting properly. Like I say, I don't know. I'm a salesman. I sell things. I wish Audible would sell me a book I could listen to... I have some money here... Look *holds up money to the monitor*

What character would you cut from Doctor Who: Night of the Humans?

I'm sure they're all terribly valuable to the plot. I bet David (I fell like we're on first name terms now), yeah, I bet David worked hard with his editors and friends and proof readers to make sure the story was trimmed of fat. I don't know. As I've said Audible don't supply this story in a Linux freindly format. This is a protest at Audible, by the way, not at this book. I'm sorry if this review dents to the success of the book. I wish the book well and I hope everyone who worked on it and is due money from it gets rich. Heck, I'd even give you money to listen to it if it were technically possible. I mean, it is technically possible, it's just that Audible haven't bothered to make a Linux client, so I can't listen to it. *sigh*I really want to listen to this book now.If you're not on Linux and you want to do these guys a favour, buy this book and tell me what it's like. I mean, don't tell me the plot and poil it, and don't copy out chunks of text because that's what DRM is for, just, maybe, I don't know, encourage Audible to develop a Linux client so we can all listen. You know what I'd cut from it? DRM. But I totally understand why you can't do that.

Any additional comments?

I would really appreciate a Linux client for Audible so that I could listen to this book.If you're not going to make one can you delete my account please and I'll find a physical copy of the CD in the shops. And to everyone else, if you're not happy about something in retail you should make a massive fuss like an old lady who had a bee in her bonnet and you shouldn't care if you don't look cool becuase cool people all look the same and do the same things. It's us hopeless nerds that make it interesting.

A fun listen, but...

What did you like best about Doctor Who: Night of the Humans? What did you like least?

This story unfortunately felt more in love with the idea of Doctor Who and it’s nuances than actually written in the style and voice of the show and the characters. Still, despite the Doctor and Amy not quite feeling like the Doctor and Amy (and more like caricatures), it was an interesting premise with moments of originality and humor and poignancy. Llewellyn’s own original characters were quite good, and brought to life brilliantly by the talented Arthur Darvill. Actually, I awarded this audiobook version an extra star just because his narration is absolutely wonderful. But ultimately, even he couldn’t make the Doctor sound like the Doctor, and isn’t that kind of the whole point?

Was Doctor Who: Night of the Humans worth the listening time?

Definitely. It wasn't the best story, but if you're looking for a fun Doctor Who fix to fill the long void we fans have ahead of us until S8, then this will do the trick.

Worth listening to while sleeping and working

Whovians should listen to this story. The narrator was engaging and the story is great to listen to.

To Quote the Ninth Doctor...Fantastic!

Now, I haven't listened to every Doctor Who audiobook out there, but I have read enough books and listened to enough audiobooks to know a good one when I hear it. Although the science behind it isn't top-notch, it doesn't detract at all from the story, after all, when is Doctor Who scientifically stringent?

Since the Doctor and Amy get separated rather early on in the story, the narration switches back and forth between the two parties, which the author uses well to build suspense at critical points in the plot. Additionally, I applaud Llewellyn for writing the characters so well to form, especially the parts from the Doctor's point of view, which fit the Eleven's character so perfectly.

The narration was, if anything, even better. Arthur Darvill absolutely NAILED the Doctor's inflections, and when I say nailed, I mean it! He put plenty of character into every voice and even sounded great when reading the parts that were told from Amy's viewpoint! The Scottish accent was done well, even if it wasn't completely held through the whole performance, but the fact that she was discernibly Scottish was an improvement from other audiobooks I've listened to of late. Honestly, after listening to this audiobook, I want to hear Arthur Darvill read more audiobooks...a performer at his finest!

Overall, a very, very good read/listen. I actually listened to this one twice in a row, for sheer enjoyment of the story and the quality of the production.

Enjoyable listen

It's a typical Doctor Who space/ western melodrama (space opera or horse opera? Or morality play? I can never remember the term). I'm listening to hear a good guy against the bad guys and the good guy is going to win in the end and that's what I get. Lots of different little subplots to keep you entertained, like the old 6 part Doctor Who serials.
Amy and the Doctor are themselves, which doesn't always happen in the books depending on when the book was written versus when the latest series is out and the characters' personalities are developed.
Arthur Darvill is a very good narrator. He changes his voice to appropriate accents to give each character distinction (you can tell them apart and don't get bored listening to him).
If you've never heard of Doctor Who, there are a few references to previous history but not a lot and they don't detract from the story.
If you like science fantasy, you will like this one.

Great audiobook!

Really enjoyed this one. One of the best I've listened to with the 11th doctor as the protagonist. Great performance by Darvill.

Cliche Ridden - ok if you are missing the show ...

Was pleasantly surprised how well Arthur Darvill narrated this story. Other than that, whilst this was a fast moving story (once past the tedious introduction, bear with it, it gets better) it is juvenile fiction, with the characterisation written with a thick brush, and little subtlety. The landscape was definitely alien, and well defined, and the action jogged along nicely, but this is not going to win any awards. However, if you are looking for a Doctor "fix" in between series it passes the time pleasantly enough. If you despair of sorting through the Doctor Books on Audible I recommend going to wikipedia and searching for "Doctor Who audio books". You will get a complete listing by series.

Awful

Ok, I have listened to just about every Dr. Who audible book. Frankly, not one single book was worth the time or money but this one is just so beyond stupid, that I just don't get why Audible continues to bother and doesn't demand that some decent stories be written.