Doctor Who: The Deviant Strain

By: Justin Richards

Narrated by: Stuart Milligan

The Novrosk Peninsula: the Soviet naval base has been abandoned, the nuclear submarines are rusting and rotting. Cold, isolated, forgotten. Until the Russian Special Forces arrive - and discover that the Doctor and his companions are here too. But there is something else in Novrosk. Something that pre-dates even the stone circle on the cliff top. Something that is at last waking, hunting, killing... Can the Doctor and his friends stay alive long enough to learn the truth? With time running out, they must discover who is really responsible for the Deviant Strain... The Deviant Strain features the Doctor as played by Christopher Eccleston, together with Rose and Captain Jack as played by Billie Piper and John Barrowman in the hit series from BBC Television. It is read by Stuart Milligan, who played President Nixon in the 2011 TV episodes ‘The Impossible Astronaut’ and ‘Day of the Moon'.

A great story

A great tale of the Doctor in a remote location with strange goings on. Of course, that describes just about every Doctor Who story, but this one raises the bar and is quite well performed.

couldn't get through it

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I'd like to change the narrator. It did seem like he was trying, but he simply wasn't getting the accents right. It would have been better to not do them at all. I still could have listened to the story.

What was most disappointing about Justin Richards’s story?

I can't say about the story, I only heard 20min of it.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Stuart Milligan?

No. Would found out if he can accurately copy the diverse accents BEFORE completing the project.

Good story, TERRIBLE narrator

Would you try another book from Justin Richards and/or Stuart Milligan?

I would buy another Justin Richards book, but I would NEVER listen to Stuart Milligan ever again if he was the last audio reader on earth.

How could the performance have been better?

If someone, anyone else read it. Note to BBC Audio: NO MORE AMERICAN READERS!

Any additional comments?

I'm about two hours into the book and I had to stop and write this review - while I'm enjoying the story, I have to say that just because Captain Jack is in the book is absolutely no excuse for having an American reader. Especially one who has hands down the WORST British and Russian accents humanly possible. The fact that he's even trying to do accents is an insult to accents everywhere. I probably could have eventually (and against my will) adapted to Milligan's American voice if he didn't attempt the accents, but this is SO awful, I'm not sure how it even got made - much less, why the BBC hired him AGAIN to read another Dr Who audio (Blackout). But I guess I'll put up with a lot for Dr. Who because I am enjoying the story enough to finish the audiobook. Zero stars for Milligan (if only negative stars were possible) and four stars for Richards

An interesting story... Horrific narration

This story depicts Jack, the Doctor and Rose answering a distress beacon. The signal takes them to Russia and of course there is a mystery to solve. The story is fine and entertaining enough. Unfortunately the narrator is so off target and his accents so terrible that I nearly quit as soon as I started. The Doctor sounds more like Doolittle than Who. Rose's accent waivers all over the British Isles and Jack's is passable. The Russians in the story often sound more Mexican than Russian. I don't know if he was unfamiliar with the characters, was not given enough time to prep, or this is just not a good venue for Stuart Milligan. I have to say that without a doubt this is the worst voice work I have ever encountered in a Dr. Who audio book which is really to bad because Milligan has a very nice voice when not trying to do the characters. I tend to listen to Doctor Who books repeatedly while driving. I like a familiar story in the car. This one I got through twice, barely.

A good story

I couldn't stop picturing the Eleventh Doctor throughout the story, otherwise it was pretty good.