Doctor Who: Wheel of Ice

Im a huge DW fan and regularly listen to these audiobooks. This Doctor Who adventure features the 2nd Doctor and clocks in at 8-9hrs so i listened to this story in 1-2hr chunks but despite this i really enjoyed the story. David Troughton (son of the 2nd doctor Patrick Troughton) is a brilliant story teller who i find very engaging but for me, the real magic comes when David impersonates his Fathers voice (and although David already has that tobacco-y voice like his Dad,you close your eyes and it really is spot on....i can now see why Big Finish Productions have brought David on to play the 2nd Doctor in new audio plays).

Personally im not sure if this audiobook would appeal to DW fans who only watch the newer series but to fans of the entire series in general or the golden age of DW will thoroughly enjoy this story right until the end!

Baxter is a master of hard sci-fi where real science underpins the drama. Doctor Who has never much cared whether the science is realistic or not. So it's weird to hear the two aesthetics come together so well. The story has elements of the classic 2nd Doctor 'base under siege' storyline and a creepy monster in the 'blue dolls'. It really comes alive in the space it takes to explore the companions though - Zoe and Jamie are delightfully alive here in book form with character and complexity that the TV show didn't have space to give them. David Troughton voices the characters brilliantly with a very decent take on Jamie. However it is when imitating his father that Troughton excels. If someone had told me Pat Troughton was reading this audiobook himself I'd have believed it so good is David at capturing the rhythms of the 2nd Doctor. Super.

I love David Troughtons narration he sounds so much like his father(when he wants to) he also does a good job with Jaime as well. He does a very good job of keeping you interested with his quality narration. The book is well written or though I sometimes think the author goes a little over the top with his constant descriptions of everything & everyone around, yes you need a picture drawing to visualise the story but to much detail can become distracting from the story. it can sometimes seem slow but due to David Troughtons story telling keeps you interested. the characters are faithfully written & the 2nd doctor is brilliantly written you can almost see him as he was in the show the mannerisms & lines are perfect, this may be as much do with David knowing his fathers doctor so well, as with the writing but also the characters of Jaimie & Zoe are faithful & well written. the story is good & well written if a little long, as stated before this could be down to all the time spent describing everything but also I believe the story could be trimmed to make it more fast moving. I recently listened to a few Doctor Who audio books with David Tennant narrating these where only 2hrs aprox & moved a long at a better pace.

All in all really enjoyed this book & would love to listen to more David Troughton/2nd doctor stories but would prefer them in the style of the David Tennant ones.

I really enjoyed this story.It managed to capture the dynamic between the 2nd Doctor,Jamie and Zoe perfectly.The plot is never overly complicated,even when dealing with hard sci-fi ideas,so even i could follow it.To sum it up imagine a 60's Troughton story done with today's budget and special effects.A highly recommended listen.