Customer Reviews
bloody brilliant job - By: tv is my friend, 04 Aug 2008 
while this isn't the best storyin the history of the new who novels, it certainly kept my interest. i thought david tennant was FANTASTIC at the accents & mannerisms of each character, especially the doctor (of course) & as donna.
i purchased this after series 4 ended to cheer myself up & this book did the trick. if you want to spend some time with donna & the doctor & enjoy a good story, i highly recommend this.
Masterfully written `military' Doctor Who story - By: L. Green, 25 Jul 2008 
Barcode: 9781405678193
Throughout Doctor Who's history `military' stories have cropped up many times. The classic situation being the Doctor & his companion finding themselvesin the middle of a conflict between two factions. It's his inquisitiveness & dislike of violence put up against the brash actions of the military forces that make for such powerful storytelling & with `Pest Control', writer Peter Anghelides shows how this concept works just as well on audio.
Take the recent series 4 of Doctor Who for example - In that alone you had the Sontaran two-parter as well as the Doctor's Daughter - both encompassing strong military themes. Thus, `Pest Control' fits very well into the overall feel of series, alsoin the way it encompasses the grander scale & darker feel of that series. What you immediately notice though is that within the audio format, there is complete freedom to create wondrous worlds & alien races without limitations of budget & this really shows here, the story having an epic feel to it.
Things kick off with the Doctor & Donna landing on a desolate, war-torn planet, caughtin a conflict between the centaur-like Aquabi & the human soldiers, the insectoid Serfians being introduced shortly later. The human soldiers are the key focus here, ranging from the down-to-earth grunts, a sneaky reporter type, an uncaring leader & downright sinister medical advisor. Each is exploredin fascinating detail, tempers obviously reaching fever point as differing attitudes bounce off each other. Donna herself even gets conscripted up into the armed forces!
On the whole, this is quite a gritty story, featuring themes of racism, descriptions of injuries (neck broken, limbs almost severed), a pretty high death toll & plenty of destruction on a large scale. Another important theme picked up on by the Doctor himself is the very best & very worst that humans can showcase & this idea becomesin many ways the crux of this story.
Of course, as Doctor Who always does so well, this grim backdrop is perfectly balanced against lovely little dashes of lightness with loads of great comedy moments from the Doctor & Donna featuringin this story along with some quaint references to Star Trek & Harry Potter too. It's also interesting to note that that the two actually spend most of this story apart (a good two-thirds at least). This works to the story's strength though, allowing the characters to play to their own personal strengths & really shine.
Another important part of Doctor Who is its absorbance of various influences & working them into new, exciting visions. In `Pest Control' there's a whole host of touchstones, ranging from previous elements of the show itself (there's even a giant robotin this story) to classic sci-fi films like Aliensin the way the insectoid aliens burst out from the unwitting human hosts as well as the clear conflict within the human military itself.
This story flows really well, hooking you right from the start & is excellently paced. Maybe because it was written specifically for audio, this story feels cinematic by the & before long you've reached the terrifying track 11 of part 2, kickstarting an awesome finale.
In terms of production, David Tennant as an absolute joy to listen to as he narrates, conveying the Doctor just as well as he does on TV as well as supplying us with voices for a whole host of memorable supporting characters. There's also lots of nice atmospheric backing music & little touches of sound effects that just really bring out the realismin this story like the scary hisses & clicks of the Serfians.
So, allin all, whether you're a long time fan of Doctor Who or if this is your first taste of the show's audio range, you'rein for a real treat with this story!
A terrible waste of money - By: 8th Doctor Fan, 14 Jul 2008 
I bought this audio book because I enjoy David Tennant's readings. He does a wonderful array of voices & accentsin everything he does. However, the story was just awful. This author has never been a particular favorite of mine, but has beenin the past, passable. Tennant's talent wasn't enough to pull this tiresome, BORING story out of the morass. Don't waste your money on this one.
bugging out - By: Paul Tapner, 15 May 2008 a talking book doctor who cd. read by david tennant, who plays the doctor on tv. This runs for two & a half hours spread over two cd's. It's not an audio play, it's more like one of the current range of doctor who novels, being read out by someone.
The story involves the doctor & current companion donna arriving on a world where humans & a race of alien centaurs are fighting a war. strange things are happening to some of the humans, who are turning into monsters. the tardis is lost. & there's a big robot on the loose that seems intent on killing absolutely everything. can the doctor rescue the tardis, stop the war, & find out what's really going on?
This is not a classic story but it's fine for what it is, & hits all the notes you'd expectin regards to things that happen to the tardis crew. david tennant is an excellent reader & very good to listen to. he narratesin his normal tone, but does the doctor's voice for when that character is talking, & provides different voices for all the other characters. one of them I found slightly too comedic but the rest are very good. his impression of donna does slightly sound like her with a blocked up nose, but it's very good indeed.
there are roughly twenty two tracks on each cd but there are no part breaksin the story so it can be a bit long to listen toin one go. & whilst it's a bit slow to start the pacing does really pick upin the second half. so this is nothing special, but it's a good listen, & it's worth 4/5
