Doctor Who: The Silent Stars Go By

The problem with 11th Doctor books so far is that not one of them (except those read by Matt Smith) have even remotely captured the essence of this Doctor.

In fact some of them have sounded like they were leftovers from the 10th Doctors reign and I have been highly disappointed so far. I would go as far as to say that they have been extremely boring and I began to wonder whether to listen to anymore.


That having been said I downloaded this book expecting very little and was very pleasantly surprised. Not that this book does any more to capture the personality of the 11th Doctor but gradually the story and performance of the narrator reel the listener in.

The story has been detailed by other reviewers on this page so I wont bother to repeat them here but it was good to hear the reprisal of one of the Doctors old enemies with their identity hidden until roughly a third of the way through the book. I did hear one swear word which I thought was a little strong for a Doctor Who book but I was unsure if this is a sign of the times or decline in the standards.

Of all of the 11th Doctor books I have listened to so far (and I think I have heard all of them) this is the only one I would recommend.

I liked the way the narrator portrayed Amy's Scottish accent.

Michael Maloney really does a terrible job at voicing the Doctor. It is no where close to the 11th Doctor.

I really enjoyed this story. This is the first story I've encountered with the Ice Warriors besides the recent Dr. Who episode "Cold War."

I got a good deal on this audiobook because I purchased the Kindle book. I feel like I got a good deal even though the "Doctor" is not captured in the least. It is also hard to tell the Doctor and Rory apart in the narration. Otherwise it is a very good narration. Once again I like the story.

Fun, nalstalgic, clever

Character. He brings to life the Doctor, Amy, the Ice Warriors and all the new people unique to this story.

I love watching Doctor Who, but I haven't enjoyed the Eleventh Doctor as much as I had hoped I would. I think part of the problem is the show isn't quite as character-driven as it once was. But I think that's why I enjoyed this book so much. It fills in a lot of the gaps I feel the show has left, character-wise. The Doctor and Amy banter with each other and you finally get the sense that they really are best friends. You can see their relationship grow within the book and I really enjoyed that.

The story is also a very good one. Little revelations are had throughout so you're never quite sure exactly what's happening until the very end. I also really enjoyed how the language shifts depending on the point of view the story is being told from. The language is old-fashioned when told from the Morphans' point of view and more casual when told from Amy's or Rory's. I especially enjoyed listening to Amy's inner monologue and counting the number of times the word "stupid" came up.

Michael Maloney's narration was also very good, although the voice he uses for the Doctor seems off to me and ended up sounding unintentionally silly.

As the Doctor himself would say, "Brilliant!", "Clever" and "Exciting".

A lot of TV series have books/audio books on the market (ie Torchwood, Star Trek, and Doctor Who). Most are watered down episodes of our favorite episodes. This book brings an alien species not seen in the WHO universe since 1972. This audio had a good story that was not predictable. It had an ending that made me say, I didn't see that coming.

This story was of the same quality or better than most of the shows episodes.

The characters that he is reading for are well established. It never ceases to amaze me when the reader makes me forget am listening to a reader and not the actor am used to from the show.

I am not as clever or brilliant as the Doctor, so I would borrow the Doctor's line of An ICE Time Was Had By All

If you are a fan of Doctor Who, especially the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor, then this is a must have audiobook!

Geromino! I bought this purely on the basis of the author - and was not disappointed. Excellent Eleventh Doctor novel, with Amy and Rory Ponds/Williams. The Doctor is aiming to get the Ponds back to Leadworth for Christmas - but ends up on the wrong planet at the wrong time. Rory is quickly separated from the others. Abnett really clearly brings out the personalities of the Ponds, especially Rory, and the narrator particularly nails that personality. This books was as good as some of the recent TV episodes - actually better really as the length allows ideas and suspense to develop. Expect cliffhangers at the end of chapters. And cool monsters. And some nice classic Who references. Well worth the download. Suitable for adults, and older young readers.