Doctor Who: The Lost Flame
by Cavan Scott & George Mann; audiobook read by Clare Higgins (BBC, 2017)
An exaggerated scenario with a deus ex machina finale. A concluding serial that ties in but tenuously with the rest of the series. Clare Higgins handles the reading with aplomb, but once again Cavan Scott and George Mann have failed to deliver.
Doctor Who: An Apple a Day
by George Mann (Woodlands Books, 2014); audiobook read by David Troughton (Bolinda, 2015)
David Troughton’s reading brings a lot to this gentle Christmas ‘Seeds of Doom’ homage-cum-reprise. The Krynoid remains one of the Classic Series’ more memorable monsters, although again — as with the original serial’s RAF bombardment — the means of its defeat are rather unsatisfying.
Doctor Who: The Lost Planet
by George Mann (BBC Audio, 2017); audiobook read by Nicola Bryant
The Doctor, having carelessly created a universe-imperilling problem, defeats it by running away. (If that’s a spoiler, consider yourself saved.) Mann plumbs old depths; with Nicola Bryant reading it almost feels like we’re back in the mid-80s with Pip and Jane Baker.
Doctor Who: The Lost Angel
by George Mann & Cavan Scott; audiobook read by Kerry Shale (BBC, 2017)
The Weeping Angels, like the Daleks before them, have faded from show-defining monsters into one-dimensional ho-hum tripe. The bits with the Doctor work well enough — as one would expect — but whenever he’s absent the writing, characters and scenario simply fail to engage.
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.
Doctor Who: Engines of War
by George Mann (BBC Books, 2014)
This readable (if unproofread), epically themed yet superficial bridging novel evokes something of the classic series four-parters. For all the promise the Time War offers, John Hurt’s so-called War Doctor for the most part could (and should) have been Paul McGann’s Eighth.