Doctor Who: Ghosts of India (Audio)

by Mark Morris

read by David Troughton

-Doctor Who, Series 4-

(London: BBC Audio, 2009)

MP3 Audiobook, 68.9 MB, 2.4 Hours

ISBN: 9781408410240, US$11.95

ABCD Rating: ACQUIRE

From the Cover: India in 1947 is a country in the grip of chaos—a country torn apart by internal strife. When the Doctor and Donna arrive in Calcutta, they are instantly swept up in violent events. Barely escaping with their lives, they discover that the city is rife with tales of “half-made men,” who roam the streets at night and steal people away. These creatures, it is said, are as white as salt and have only shadows where their eyes should be. With help from India’s great spiritual leader, Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi, the Doctor and Donna set out to investigate these rumors. What is the real truth behind the “half-made men”? Why is Gandhi’s role in history under threat? And has an ancient, all-powerful god of destruction really come back to wreak his vengeance upon the Earth?

My Review: So, as you may or may not have already figured out based on the audiobook reviews on this blog, I am a Doctor Who fan, especially a fan of David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor. Now, we have started watching Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor and his adventures in the TARDIS with companion Amy Pond, and while I’m willing to give Smith the benefit of the doubt, and he’s not necessarily disappointed me, I still find myself comparing him to Tennant, and all-too-often I find myself needing a Tenth Doctor fix. That’s where these audiobooks come in … I can always get my Tenth Doctor fix in just about two hours and can enjoy every minute of it. Ghosts of India is no exception.

Author Mark Morris does an incredible job of conveying the madcap and manic energy of Tennant’s Doctor and counterpoints it with the elfin joie de vivre of Mohandas Gandhi, both of whom are perfectly balanced by the character of Donna Noble. Morris does an expert job of recreating all three characters and making them come alive on the page. Add to that a story that takes advantage of the confusion and chaos of the withdrawal of the British Raj and institution of India Home Rule is brilliant. I also loved the aliens in the story, all too often, the aliens in Doctor Who have their zippers showing (granted that that is more a symptom of the older series, and not as much of a problem in the recent Christopher Eccelston-David Tennant-Matt Smith revival) but these aliens were truly menacing. Truly.

I really cannot get enough of these Doctor Who audiobooks and won’t be giving them up any time soon. These audiobooks are absolutely perfect. They are the perfect mix of writers and readers, and in the case of Ghosts of India, reader David Troughton has a double connection to the Who franchise: not only did he portray Doctor Hobbes in the Season 4 episode “Midnight” but he is also the son of actor Patrick Troughton who portrayed the second incarnation of the Time Lord from Gallifrey.