Audiobook Review: Doctor Who - The Ring of Steel by Stephen Cole

Doctor Who - The Ring of Steel by Stephen Cole (Rating: 3/5)

The Doctor and Amy arrive on Orkney in the near future. The locals are involved in a protest against a power generating company over the erection of unsightly electricity pylons. As it turns out, these are no ordinary pylons and this is no ordinary power company. At the protest site, the road ruptures for no apparent reason, swallowing several demonstrators into the resulting chasm. Amy and the Doctor are separated by this incident. To make things worse, the pylons are coming to life . . .

Arthur Darvill’s steady yet compelling delivery of Stephen Cole’s prose is one of the highlights of this release. He certainly has some fun with the Scottish accents that, given the story’s location, are to the fore. He is also spot-on with the eleventh Doctor’s manner of speech. The descriptive prose is nicely evoked with plenty of alliterative phrases adding to the pleasing narration. The sound effects that accompany the narration give the story some additional oomph without becoming overbearing to the listener.





The story itself moves along briskly with the action kicking in very quickly from the off. Given that there are really only two prominent characters other than the Doctor and Amy in the story, the relentless pace seemed a little wearing at times. It would have been nice to have had one or two quieter passages that might have allowed some character development for the man and woman who help the Doctor and Amy in this adventure.

Overall, this is a well-written story with the descriptive prose being particularly enjoyable to listen to. However, the baddie is a disappointment and the story’s conclusion is, in my opinion, not particularly satisfying.