Doctor Who: Sleepers in the Dust

BBC Doctor Who: New Series Audio Exclusives #20

by Darren Jones, Arthur Darvill (Narrator)

The TARDIS touches down on Nadurniss, a planet under quarantine. A joint Nadurni/human mission has recently landed on the planet to survey it for possible re-colonisation. Two millennia have passed since the Nadurni Empire fell at the end of the Prokarian War, and Nadurniss seems to be a lifeless, barren world - but a mysterious illness is infecting the Nadurni, and now the whole team is in danger.
The nature of the infection becomes clear when the the sickest Nadurni dies and an amorphous creature emerges from its dried-up body. A shambling mound of bacteria, acting as one being - a Prokarian - it has been on the planet all along, sleeping in the dust.
As the Prokarians attack, Amy is infected. The Doctor can do nothing to help her until he realises that the cure could lie in the past. He and Rory must travel back more than 2000 years to try and save her life...

Genres: Doctor Who, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Time Travel, Aliens, Fantasy

1 pages, Audiobook

First published November 1, 2012

Reviews

[Jim C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an audiobook based on the television series. It is a quick listen as it is a little over an hour long. In this one, The Eleventh Doctor, Amy, and Rory travel to a planet where a dead virus has come back to life and forces everyone on the planet into quarantine.

This is my first book of 2021 and I am pleased it is off to a real nice start. I have listened to a bunch of these short story audiobooks and this is one of the better ones. The actor who plays Rory, Arthur Darvill, narrates this audiobook. I have listened to another one of his narrations in this universe and he excels with the narration. I love his portrayal of the characters (of course he would get Rory right). As for the story it fits perfectly for this universe as it has the sci-fi element and also a timey-wimey resolution that this universe is known for. I also liked how this story brought back a species used in a recent audiobook that I listened to. I could picture this story as an episode during The Eleventh Doctor's run.

Like I said, these are quick reads (listens) that entertains the listener. I enjoyed this one a lot as I immediately felt like I was back in this universe with these characters that are no longer on the show.

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

This short audio adventure for the Doctor and his companions is narrated well by Arthur Darvill, the actor who played Rory when Matt Smith was the Doctor. Sadly the story is an average entry in the world of Doctor Who. It passes the time, but nothing more.

[shelby ✼ · Rating 3 out of 5]

suddenly I can focus on an audiobook when arthur darvill is reading it

fun little bite sized story!! had it on while I played a game and it felt like a bonus episode of the show!!

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great Doctor Who short that had me from beginning to end. I particularly loved that Rory takes the lead here since he's one of my favorite companions. Even cooler, Arthur Darvill, the actor who portrays Rory on the show, narrates the story fantastically. I'm going to have to listen to more narrated by him.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 Stars

Decent. What really sets this story apart is that we get a first person narration from Rory the Roman.



So if you're Team Rory, you will probably end up liking this a lot more than I did.

Anyways, the story seemed somewhat lackluster to me. Something bad happens to Amy and the Doctor and Rory need to make it right. I usually enjoy interaction between the Doctor and Rory...



and while there were a few good lines it just felt a little flat. Rory's characterization was on point, mostly due to the fact that Arthur Darvill did the narration but there was a spark missing. I felt disengaged and disinterested. The story felt just a little to lackluster and predictable.

Ultimately forgettable.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent Doctor Who story and Arthur Darvill is now my favorite Doctor Who narrator.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Melenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audio Book via Audible: Loved it

[Tori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than many in the novel-spin-offs-of-TV-show genre, perhaps because this one is narrated by one of the original actors, and also is only an hour long - so more of a radio drama feel than a full book. But the shortness also means there isn't really room to flesh out the story, and everything felt rather rushed.

[Eli Seibert · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story works in a vacuum, but personally I am oh so very tired of the time traveler trope of “known mystery or disaster in the past, let’s go see what caused it. Whoops! I caused it by trying to change it”
Maybe I’ve absorbed too much doctor who and comic books over the years but it’s just so overused and cliche at this point, and I can see it coming from a mile away.

[Isha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5, as always a banger thanks to arthur darvill, also appreciated the perspective change with this story being written in rory’s perspective, and the look back to the uh… aliens whose name i cannot spell, what a nice ending.

[lina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ audiobook 🎧

I had no clue there was a rory focused book out there so this was right up my alley. Lots of fun adventure and witty dialogue, plus really great sound effects and music to really cement you in the environment. i love you rory pond 😗

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good adventure with an interesting concept surrounding the price that comes with the Doctor's meddling with time.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one I had a hard time keeping myself interested in... I did enjoy the end though.

[Lola Marguerita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully narrated by Arthur Darvill - story is a roller coaster with lots of fun twists.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to the version read by Arthur Darvill who did a great job as narrator. Another great episode of a doctor who adventure!

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing premise. Fairly enjoyable.

[Susan Chacko · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was like an episode of Doctor Who. Literally. I think it was under two hours or so. The Doctor, Amy and Rory land on Nadurniss, the home planet of the Nadurni which had been abandoned since the last Prokarian war 2ooo years ago. The Prokarians are a kind of bacteria that remained dormant in the dust on the planet. When a joint Narduni/human mission was exploring the planet, the Prokarians infected them. The Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in the middle of this. When the Prokarians attack, they infect Amy. The Doctor and Rory travel back 2000 years to find the cure for the infection.

As in the case of Doctor Who episodes, the whole plot got very exciting and sped up towards the end. I quite liked this one.

[osoi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Я готовилась влепить второй книге Даррена Джонса единицу вслед за первым его опусом, но мне неожиданно понравилось. Такое ощущение, что первая книга была для затравки, а во второй автору дали развернуться по полной и показать все, что он умеет. А умеет он многое: от первоклассной драмы-ужастика до хорошего временного парадокса.

Давно разрушенную и заброшенную планету Надурнисс решили реколонизировать, ведь с тех пор, как коварные прокарианцы выгнали оттуда надурней прошло достаточное время, а рассеянное по всей галактике коренное население этих самых надурней не против снова обрести дом. Все бы хорошо, но первую же экспедицию поражает неизвестный вирус, убивающий зараженных буквально за несколько часов. И кто сказал, что прокарианцы вообще покидали планету?

POV Рори и Артур Дарвилл в качестве чтеца добавили книге пару плюсиков. Все-таки Дарвилл маста-чтец, уловил и Доктора, и Эми, и второстепенных персонажей. А история с точки зрения Рори приобретает неведомо героические тона. Хе-хе, серьезно :)

Mild spoilers. ��южетно понравился наглейший твист с прыжком в прошлое, дабы изменить будущее (намерения, конечно, были самые благородные). Никто не сомневался, что подобное путешествие не останется безнаказанным, но последствия зашкаливают: война начинается именно из-за того, что кое-кому взбрело в голову совершить это путешествие. А парадокс, который ребята создают своими руками? Не люблю, когда в Докторе все держится на тоненькой ниточке возможности, что будет так, а не иначе, но ведь это половина успеха – надеяться, а не знать наперед, что оно точно сработает.

annikeh.net

[Conny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor Who: Sleepers in the Dust is an audiobook written by Darren Jones, and narrated by Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams).

The story is told from Rory Williams’ point of view. The 11th Doctor and the Ponds land on the planet Nadurniss, which is under quarantine. The planet had been deserted years ago, but a Nadurni-Human expedition recently returned – only to get infected with age-old bacteria that had been waiting in the dust.

With Amy in danger, it’s up to her Boys, Rory and the Doctor, to figure out what is going on.

The story itself works on a fairly basic premise, and as it’s Doctor Who, there’s a lot of timey-wimey stuff going on. What really makes this audiobook worth listening to is Arthur Darvill. While his Scottish impression of Amy needs a bit more work, his impression of Matt Smith’s Doctor is spot-on. Rory is his usual reluctant hero self, bumbling along as the voice of reason.

It’s definitely an enjoyable story for Doctor Who fans, made even better by Arthur Darvill’s narration.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2032663.html[return][return]This is an audiobook narrated by Arthur Darvill in the first person as Rory Williams. It has a lot of good things going for it, including two differently interesting types of alien, a nicely constructed time paradox, and not least Darvill's usual excellent performance as Rory reflecting on his odd relationship with the Doctor. There is a major plot implausibility, though, rather early on where Rory leaves a desperately ill Amy on her own in order to go gallivanting off with the Doctor looking for a cure; this seemed to me emotionally tone-deaf. Though not as bad as the treatment of River Pond's relationship with her parents.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really enjoyable one, this time told in the first person narrative by Rory and voiced by Arthur Darvill. There's some good Timey Whimey bits and we see the Nadurni again (who appeared in a previous audio story).

The Doctor, Amy, and Rory touch down on a planet Nadurniss which is under quarantine. A re-colonization survey team landed mere hours ago on the seemingly lifeless, barren word but have already begun to take ill. When Amy falls to the infection, the Doctor and Rory must work to save her using some smarts, some time travel, and some medical know-how. This was a good story, nicely plotted and Arthur Darvill reading this first-person Rory story really added to it. Like watching a good episode of the show.

[Julian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very basic and over used formula with no originality. I could probably find at least 10 stories (whether they are from TV, books or audio) with this exact story line, threat and eventual solution, just different characters.

Rory (or should I say Arthur Darvill) did an expert job and was this book's only saving grace. I wish I could hear more from him but maybe this wont be possible now that the TV series is getting into new companions.

This was a quick and forgettable read that only serves to pushes me firmly back to Big Finish. BBC have a lot of work to do to get up to Big Finish's high standard.

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't having any luck with audiobooks after loving Made You Up so I wanted a quick read and I thought Doctor Who....sure.. Arthur Darvill is the narrator, YASS!

I really enjoyed a story coming from Rory's perspective. I've tried reading a DW book before and it was more of a third-person narration so it never did appeal to me or it wasn't the right time.
I guess I miss seeing/hearing Arthur on my television more than I thought.
Like why did his character Rip Hunter have to leave Legends of Tomorrow? Scheduling I guess.

[Jenette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one, which surprised me. Generally my thoughts on the Doctor Who audiobooks are that while it was a nice read there wasn't anything special about it. This one, though, whether it was because it was Arthur Darvill reading a first person story from Rory's point of view, or just because it featured Rory so heavily, i really did enjoy it. The plot was pretty sound if you don't go looking too deeply at the science of it all and it had the same element of paradox that Moffat is so fond of with his Eleventh Doctor. Definitely a nice change from the ordinary instalments before.

[Brianna Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly i felt like i turned on the TV and just finsihed watching an episode of Doctor Who and its been to dang long lol! I loved this audiobook! It was a nice quick story of the 11th Doctor with the Ponds. You ever get that feeling when you could just listen to a voice for hours on end? Well that was the case for me with Arthur Darvill. He was so good performing this story.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sort-of sequel to Darren Jones's last Doctor Who audio, The Eye of the Jungle, and, in an unusual turn for this range, written in the first person (Rory's POV, since Arthur Darvill is the reader). Like The Eye of the Jungle, it's average overall, but well-read.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent narration by Arthur Darvill and a great story!

[Lulu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the Doctor and the Ponds. Read by Arthur Darvill!

[Katie-Jo Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty great :) I do love Rory <3