Doctor Who: Borrowed Time
by Naomi A. Alderman (BBC, 2011); audiobook read by Meera Syal.
When the Doctor takes Amy and Rory to witness a bank’s collapse, they find it’s been offering more than just money for loan… This belaboured parable of compound interest isn’t without merit; it just takes up more time than it can repay.
Pigs Have Wings
by P. G. Wodehouse (Doubleday, 1952); audiobook read by Jeremy Sinden (AudioGO, 1994)
The era of Blandings Castle may be well and truly bygone, the language with which Wodehouse describes it may not endear modern writers to their prospective publishers, yet Wodehouse’s charm is undeniable and his weaving together of plot strands constitutes a masterclass.
Doctor Who: Paradox Lost
by George Mann (BBC, 2011); audiobook read by Nicholas Briggs
In an otherwise fairly nondescript Eleventh Doctor adventure, Mann introduces two minor characters with potential for future appearances: Professor Angelchrist, an early twentieth century gentleman adventurer; and Arven, a soft-spoken AI from future London. Of less interest is the dismissively-dealt-with titular paradox.
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
by Douglas Adams (Pan, 1980); audiobook read by Douglas Adams (BBC, 1990)
Like the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy before it, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe is a satirical explosion of SF ideas, its brilliant droll humour being marred (this time around) only by Adams’ determinedly facetious approach to prose narrative.