Jules Jones

Anyone want to beta-read this fanfic, then? 4700 words, Jack & Ianto go on a date and subtext ensues. You'll need to be familiar with Torchwood up to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and ideally the linked Who episodes (i.e. the attack on Canary Wharf and the Last of the Time Lords arc).

This is one of the series of Torchwood audiobooks read by cast members, and the first to be read by Gareth David-Lloyd. This one is only available as an audiobook, not in print. I bought it because I'd heard a sample of David-Lloyd reading an audiobook, and thought he was a good reader. It was well worth the money. The story's the usual competent tie-in work I've found with previous Torchwood books, and David-Lloyd is an excellent audiobook reader.

The story itself is set between series 2 and series 3, with references and foreshadowing that tie it firmly into the series universe for those who've seen the referenced episodes, without excluding those who haven't seen them, or overwhelming the story. The basic plot is standard monster-of-the-week fare for the Torchwood corner of the Whoniverse -- an alien castaway courtesy of the rift, its threat magnified by the meddling of local humans who don't understand what they're playing with. In this case it's alien insect larvae which feed on human emotions, and a vicar who thinks he's found a way to heal people of their sins and guilt. It's competently written, with a good look at love and the complexity of human emotions, but there's nothing particularly noteworthy here.

What does stand out is the characterisation, which is as good as you'd expect from the man who was script editor for the show. One thing which I particularly liked was that it showcases both the Gwen/Rhys and the Jack/Ianto relationships, while still acknowledging the attraction between Jack and Gwen. There are a lot of small details which build on what we've already been shown in the tv series, showing how the characters and their relationships are developing and changing. It's a particular joy to see the playful and affectionate side of both romances.

Gareth David-Lloyd does an excellent job of reading the book. He's a good reader when it comes to the mechanics of reading aloud, well paced and with good tonal colour. He's also very good at portraying the various characters already known to listeners from the tv series, getting most of them spot on in their dialogue. It's usually clear who's speaking, even without dialogue tags -- and you can tell the difference between narrator and Ianto's dialogue. He even mostly gets Jack's American accent right. I hope he's invited to do more of the audiobooks.

At two full-length CDs, it's a lot longer than a standard tv or radio episode, but with it being an audio book you'd expect that for the same basic story. I didn't feel that it was padded or too long. It feels about the same as reading one of the print tie-in books. Minchin makes good use of the format, taking advantage of being able to show interior monologue without crossing too far into telling rather than showing.

I enjoyed this a lot, and happily listened to it again a couple of weeks after the first time through. Definitely worth the attention of Torchwood fans in general, and very much recommended for fans of both Ianto Jones and Gareth David-Lloyd -- both the character and the actor are well served by this title.

Available as both CD and download.

LibraryThing entry
at Amazon UK
at Play
at Amazon US

Play currently have the Toshiko and Captain John figures for 8 quid rather than the list price of 10. This is slightly annoying to me, as I ordered my Tosh figure a couple of weeks ago when it was still a tenner. Even more irritatingly, one version of Donna is now only 3 quid, half the price I paid a couple of weeks ago.

The ergonomic workstation is now set up, so I can work properly on the computer without worrying about doing in my tendons again. Alas, it is migraine weekend, so I'm still not in a fit state to give a coherent version of my thoughts on Torchwood: Children of Earth. Am contemplating whether to pre-order the DVD set now or wait until the price drops in a few months -- it's not as if I've got around to watching anything but the extras, the greenhouse scene (er, several times) and Ianto's story in Fragments on the series 2 boxset yet.

(I didn't cross-post my LJ posts to DW this week, mostly because I really, *really* didn't want to risk that which should be under cut-tags not being under them.)

Not exactly the usual RTD "brilliant and then goes all to pieces in the last half hour", but even so, there was far too much piling on the manpain just for the sake of manpain. I have said more than once that Torchwood is essentially a bunch of Who fanboys and girls writing fanfic and conning the BBC into paying to put it on screen. Sometimes this is a good thing, and sometimes it is not. What they did with the five night mini-series format was absolutely bloody brilliant as a whole, but That Scene last night felt suspiciously like someone had a lovely idea for A Really Clever Thing To Do, and then failed to do the necessary work to make it feel like an organic part of the story it was grafted into. I've got a migraine, so I'm going to have to leave it until tomorrow to rant in detail about ( spoilers for S1 and S3 ).

Squeeeeee!!!!!

That is all.

A reminder that the series of three daily Torchwood radio plays on BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Play slot starts today. Torchwood -- Asylum is broadcast at 14:15 and will be available as a podcast for 7 days.

Ah. Somewhat late to the party, I have just discovered courtesy of ihazastopwatch that there is a trailer for series 3 up on the Torchwood website -- alas, I suspect only visible to folk in the UK, although I'm sure that there were bootleg copies on Youtube approximately 30 nanoseconds after it was uploaded to the Beeb website.

ETA: shriker_tam says that in the US you can see it on the BBC America website.

Um...
http://community.livejournal.com/ihazastopwatch/138223.html
*Guh*

I think the boys have heard about RPS, and are *teasing*...

(Also at http://community.livejournal.com/ihasatardis/1673684.html with further commentary.)

I listened to the podcast on the bus home last night -- not the ideal environment, especially when the woman sitting behind me started shouting into her phone in that "I'M ON THE TRAIN!" way so beloved of mobile phone users in a slightly noisy environment. So I really need to listen to it again. But in the meantime, I'm of the opinion that I'm glad I didn't pay for it, but I enjoyed it.

( Read more... )

So, not about to rush out and buy the CD, but still an enjoyable way to spend 45 minutes.