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Reviews for Earthshock

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Ian Marter's weakest story novelisation

By:Matthew David Rabjohns, Bridgend, United Kingdom
Date:Tuesday 7 May 2013
Rating:   6

Ian was a great novel writer back in the day when the Target novelizations were coming out thick and fast. He had a way of fleshing out the action and giving the characters such a broader back story, and frequently making the baddies even nastier, or the horror more vivid. His particular heights in this regard were his brilliant The Sontaran Experiment, and The Ark In Space, and The Invasion. He brilliantly brought to life these stories with so much more darkness and nastiness than the screen originals.

But the thing wrong with Earthshock, or at least this audio version, I can sum up I two main points: 1: Firstly the Cybermen are described within this novel as being even more emotive and provoked than the TV serial, and yet later in the novel Ian still writes the ine the Doctor says with "Emotionless brains", and so the earlier emotive descriptions given to the cybermen jar even more here. 2: The cybermeen voices here are totally wrong. The prose writes, even if not very cyberman like, that the voices are heavy with anger and stuff, yet Nick's cyber voices are flat and so makes the novelisation's presentation of the Cybermen totally stupid.

But its not all bad, it has to be said. Once more the nastiness in places makes the screen version pale into insignificance. And the description of the caves and the cybermen themselves are great. Also the ending is a little different from the TV version, but just as poignant and good. Its just the emotionally portrayed giants that let this novelisation down. And the flat present series cyber voices. Not the best audio reading at all.



Why Briggs? Why?

By:Matt Saunders, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
Date:Monday 8 July 2013
Rating:   4

This is a very well realised audio, except for some reason Nicholas Briggs decided to voice the wrong Cybermen instead of the ones in the TV story. Now, I understand that he might like to suggest that the 80's Cybermen were not very good in Earthshock and beyond - but to do it in this audio reading is a true travesty. It wrecks the whole thing for me, because I know the voices are totally wrong - and yet Davison is excellent and the background noises are excellent. Why did you do this Briggs? Why? Very sad..



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