Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man

By: Justin Richards

Narrated by: Nicholas Briggs

Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1920s London, the Doctor and Rose find themselves caught up in the hunt for a mysterious murderer. But not everyone or everything is what they seem. Secrets lie behind locked doors, and inhuman killers roam the streets. Who is the Painted Lady and why is she so interested in the Doctor? How can a cat return from the dead? Can anyone be trusted to tell or even to know the truth? With the faceless killers closing in, the Doctor and Rose must solve the mystery of the Clockwise Man before London itself is destroyed....

Read by Nicholas Briggs, The Clockwise Man features the Doctor and Rose, as played by Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper in the hit series from BBC Television.

©2005 Justin Richards (P)2011 AudioGO Ltd

love this doctor

I loved the story characters and narrator, that is the best yet by far for fans of the ninth doctor

Like getting an extra episode of the tv series

Good narrator did an excellent job with the various London accents. The story was classic Dr. Who with a spooky set up solved by science and bravery. If you are between seasons, this is a good one to tide you over.

Really good story

I enjoyed this so much. Nicholas Briggs is a fantastic narrator (some of my favourite Doctor who audio books are done by him) and he does Christopher Ecclestone so well. It was nice to have a 9th doctor audiobook. The story is really good- like a murder mystery.

Slow build to a great end

Would you listen to Doctor Who: The Clockwise Man again? Why?

I would probably not listen to "The Clockwise Man" again. I tend not to reread books, and I didn't find this story compelling enough to break that habit.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The end was satisfying in that typical Doctor Who sort of way. Revelations were had, sacrifices were made, and the baddies were defeated.

What about Nicholas Briggs’s performance did you like?

Nicholas Briggs has a very distinctive voice and he brings a lot of life to the story. He is clearly mimicking Christopher Eccleston's voice when he voices the Doctor, which is good for the most part, but sometimes comes off a bit odd.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The second half of this book is great! It has tons of action and the foreshadowing and revelations are flawless.

Any additional comments?

It was early days for the new series when this book was published and Rose's character doesn't feel as solid as it should be. Her thoughts and actions in the first half of the book could have been done by any teenager. She isn't quite the Rose we know and love in the TV show. Her characterization solidifies in the second half of the story.

The first half of this book is slow, but the story needs the buildup for the ending to make sense.

Voices

Great book but the way The Doctor’s voice sounds makes me think of the 10th Doctor and not the 9th.

The Many Voices of Nicholas Briggs

I went searching for a Doctor Who story narrated by the actor who played the ninth incarnation, Christopher Eccleston (to put alongside my David Tennant and Matt Smith stories). The narrator, Nicholas Briggs, was just as good, if not better.

Don't get me wrong, at first, his Doctor voice sounded a bit like Bullwinkle with a northern British accent. But either it got better, or my ears got adjusted. In any event, I was fully into this story because Mr. Briggs (voice of the Daleks and Cybermen, and head of the fabulous Big Finish line of audio productions) simply has a wide range of vocal talent. While the story was entertaining and had a number of good twists, the real enjoyment in listening was hearing it come alive through the many voices of Nicholas Briggs.

Only thing better than Eccleston himself

Nick Briggs does the best impersonation of the Ninth Doctor next to the Ninth Doctor. After awhile I forgot I wasn't actually watching it with Eccleston reading the lines. The story isn't bad either, classic Doctor Who-ness, though I'll admit I listen just before going to sleep at night, and I've listened to it twice and never caught much of the climax because I fell asleep both times. But I'll keep reading it until I do.

Doesn't Get Proper Adventurous Till Halfway Through

I felt this story was okay. To be honest, it was probably a bit cerebral for me. The story is a twisty, turny mystery that takes up more than half the story laying out all the clues and back-story. From start to finish, the story began okay and then started to become convoluted.

It seemed as if it tangled within its own web. There's lot going on in this story. From the main plot, to mistaken identity, royal scandal, persons of questionable mental capacities, and political skirmishes. Funnily enough, that's excluding all the extraterrestrial stuff.

Another reason I had difficulty following the story was because of the large cast. There's a good amount of characters in this story and unfortunately, the narrator wasn't able to keep all the voices unique. Understandable though.

Would've made a great episode and I probably would've benefited better if I'd read this book instead. With a lot of moving parts in a story, print tends to stay with me instead simply audio.

Still, even with all my issues with it, it's still a great story. Once I slowly began to understand (I had to rewind a lot), I became completely immersed in the plot. I was switching between wincing and grinning as the plot spun to a close. I liked the way it ended. :)

While I wouldn't read it again, I'd definitely buy the book to read it. :)

Fantastic!

One of the better Doctor Who novels I've come across so far. The narration, by Nicholas Briggs, was wonderful, he captures 9 perfectly!