Torchwood: Everyone Says Hello

Torchwood Audio Exclusives #2

by Dan Abnett, Burn Gorman (Narrator)

Outside the government, beyond the police, fighting for the future on behalf of the human race. The 21st century is when everything changes and Torchwood is ready. Led by the mysterious and enigmatic Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood delves into the unknown and fights the impossible...

Across Cardiff, ordinary people are behaving in odd ways: saying hello to complete strangers, and going out of their way to greet one another.Torchwood discovers that an alien communications field is gathering strength in the area. The team must find the device responsible and shut it off - before civil unrest engulfs the whole city.

Burn Gorman, who plays Owen in the hit BBC TV series created by Russell T Davies, reads this exclusive audio story by Dan Abnett.

Genres: Science Fiction, Doctor Who, Audiobook, Fiction, Media Tie In, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fantasy

Audio CD

First published February 4, 2008

Reviews

[KenazNYC · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should know by now never to expect too much from tie-in material, and yet, it remains disappointing when it doesn't pay off.

"Everyone Says Hello" is an awkward episode in the same way that "Random Shoes" is an awkward episode: it discards the traditional episodic formula and ends up suffering for it because it sort of sticks out as being a little too different. The story is not badly written, per se, and the dialogue written for Jack, Owen, and Gwen felt very true to character, but on the whole, it didn't work for me.

A significant portion of the story was given over to setting up the external situation, so we spent a lot of time in the POV of these extraneous characters and less time in the POV of the team. Tosh and Ianto are basically non-entities, stuck in the hub being tech monkeys, which I think is a total waste. There was barely any use of them at all, and absolutely ZERO characterization. They may as well have been referred to as "Nancy" and "Steve" for as much resemblance as they bore to the actual characters.

My other gripe is that a random Cardiff PC, "PC Tony," ends up attaching himself to the team in the midst of the bizarre city-wide crisis, and I really think that they could have used
PC Andy to fulfill exactly the same requirements of the story while giving us one more connection to the canon characters. And I kept wondering where Rhys was through all of this. For that matter, Rhys could have been slotted in to the "PC Tony" spot and given this more of the feeling of an ensemble of canon characters! As it was, there were just too many OC's to keep straight, and while I understand how it was necessary to the plot, it was distracting.

On the up side, Burn Gorman has a fantastic voice, and he gives an excellent and dynamic reading. His delivery of the team's lines-- especially Jack's-- are spot-on, and his narration was certainly the high point of this audiobook.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not made for audiobooks - I have such issues listening without the words in front of me. It's in one ear and out the other. Burn is what kept me trying - he really is a brilliant actor and narrator. He got me into the story with his accents (really awesome Welsh) and I could tell the characters apart based on his voices (although I disliked his Tosh). The story itself - it was okay. Owen was written well, but Tosh and Ianto definitely not. That was disappointing. It was, I think, better than his first attempt at a novel, though. And there were really spooky bits and really funny bits - the lasagna and Frisbees conversation had me laughing out loud!

I have the second one, read by Naoko. I guess I'll give it a try. They are great to knit to, because I don't have to worry about missing visuals. But that's pretty much the only reason I'd listen to any others.

[Rianne Werring · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burn Gorman is a good narrator. That is all.

[Emilija · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 50 Prompt Eighth Doctor Reading Challenge - Science Fiction & Big Ideas - 37) A Book Where Language Or Sound Is A Form Of Power

I found the first half of this novel really interesting, where they're setting up the plot and introducing the annoyances that come with the conversations chasing delays and problems with everybody saying hello and then listing their entire life to random strangers and as it's Torchwood, you clearly know that its going to be an alien or an alien device that came through the Rift (as this is the cause 95% of the time on the show), so the ending is not a surprise, though it has a pretty cool twist. However, the second half of this novel kind of got really boring compared to the first half, and I got a bit sad that Ianto and Tosh are basically cut from the plot and barely appear.

However, Burn Gorman narrated this story fantastically.

[Elly · Rating 2 out of 5]

usually, i refuse to read spin-off media that isn't written by the actual writers or actors, as it has an unfortunate tendency to not only feel extremely out of character, but also tends to be pretty poorly written too-- it's similar to ghost-writing, i suppose, and churned out for a quick profit. as a result, it often feels wooden, devoid of a certain love/passion for writing, or for the character/world, that you see in 'normal' books.

and yep! these torchwood audios fit the type! some are definitely good, but they seem to be the minority-- most are very averagely written and the characters feel as though, if it weren't for their names, they could be anybody else at all. fairly disappointing :( but okay for background noise or to listen to before bed.

thoughts on this specific one:

- pretty bland
- outdated + unoriginal writing ("--one time a fight between two women in a shoe shop")
- started kinda eerie with the disturbing + unnatural reactions of the people, but became repetitive quite fast + was just plain boring by the end
- focused way too much on random characters that would appear for 5 minutes and then never again

[Ariadne . · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm getting into audiobooks thanks to Torchwood's novels and I have to say I'd listen to anything narrated by Burn Gorman. The voices he makes for the characters, the narration itself made it really enjoyable.

[Daphne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was one of the best of the Torchwood audiobooks I've listened to yet. Pretty darn freaky.

[Leila Anani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Burn Gorman reads this original Torchwood audio in which an alien communications device takes over the minds of Cardiff and makes everyone say hello.

The start of this is great. I love the premise and it gets quite creepy as you get zombified people saying hello and spilling their darkest secrets as society unravels around them. But the story never really rises beyond this - it's Torchwood - so we know the force behind it is going to be an alien come through the rift. Hey big surprise! the big bad's an entity's come through the rift. The nice glimmer of originality is the idea that it's dead and the automated system's taken over but that twist is a bit too little too late to make this interesting.

The other thing this seriously lacks is character depth/exploration. We don't get any background or relationship angst and Tosh and Ianto are particularly useless cut off from the action being stuck at the base trying to figure out what's going on.

Definitely one of the weaker Torchwood audios - it kept my attention and it's still Jack, Owen, Gwen, Ianto and Tosh doing their thing but its far from their finest hour.

[Ace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be the first person to admit that I'm not focused enough for podcasts, radio dramas, and/or audiobooks. That was, however, until I happened across a YouTube recording of the BBC 4 adaptation of "He Died With His Eyes Open," and Burn's delivery had me hooked. I ended up reading the book itself the next day, and had a feeling that it was his narration that had helped me focus.

I am pleased to say that my theory was correct! Found this on Audible, and I honestly felt like it was 2013 again and I was binging Torchwood after a rough day in class. Burn's intonation for near everyone was perfect, and I genuinely had a lot of trouble putting my phone away this weekend while listening.

Dan Abnett's story was well-paced, with enough rising tension and cliffhangers that I was quite literally on the edge of my seat at times. The resolution at the end also felt very akin to a Russel T. Davies' era kind of ending, giving me the best kind of nostalgia.

Can't wait to dive into more of Burn's audiowork, and perhaps, someday, I'll explore more of Mr. Abnett's as well.

Cheers!

[Rhys Causon · Rating 4 out of 5]

You wouldn’t think that a story that starts with a Milkman telling you about his life would be so gripping but somehow it was, even when the story decided to follow a random side character for a little while to show how everyday folk react to a situation the Torchwood 3 team go up against.

And the narration from Burn Gorman helped to keep the listener interested for lengthy stretches of time. I didn’t even realise how much I’d listened to at once until I wen to listen to it again, listened for five minutes and it finished.

[Trinity · Rating 4 out of 5]

Main Points:
- Equal parts hilarious and disturbing.
- Fantastic narration by Burn Gorman (his Welsh accent is particularly impressive).
- The story is clear from the start and gripping throughout.
- A good temporary addition to the team with the character of Tony.
- Slow build-up to the revelation of what the 'light' is and a close-call ending.
- Effective use of similes give a very polished description of events.

[Yvonne Alf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burn Gorman is such a joy listening to! He did an excellent job giving all those many characters in the story a distinctive voice and it's really fun listening to him while telling a story. The story iteslf was really interesteing and fast paced. Only the ending was a bit of a downer because the resolve was too quick and anticlimatic. Also it was a bit sad that Tosh and Ianto were left back in the hub, so this story concentrated mainly on Jack, Gwen and Owen.

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the one hand, I liked the premise of a zombified army of people greeting each other, as well as the twist that it’s done by a first contact protocol gone wrong and a dead alien. On the other hand, there was a lot of focus on original characters and aside from the sending of the gibberish message, Tosh and Ianto are stuck in the Hub and get little to do or shine in. Definitely suspect that it will one of the weaker audios of the series.

[Kevin Brazil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eeh. Might have been a good episode or two. But honestly, as an audiobook listening off and on in my car all week. I found it very hard to keep interested. So many random characters and no real progression of established characters or newfound inside to putting them in this situation. Just an ok time, nothing much more.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise sounds a bit boring, but once you get into it, it gets intriguing, then a bit exciting, then it ends. It ends pretty much right when you start thinking it's getting interesting and the ending? Not really very interesting sadly. A bit of a letdown.

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burn Gorman did well narrating, though I think Naoko Mori did better. This story was okay, definitely a Tosh and Ianto-lite story, which sucks for me -- Tosh and Ianto are my favorites. The exclusion of Rhys was odd, as was the inclusion of Officer Tom instead of Officer Andy.

[Michelle Gamboa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful reading. Three stars because the story is just ok.

[Michael T Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick goofy fun. Everyone around the Rift starts saying hello & giving information about themselves and ignoring their lives. Torchwood investigates.
Mostly I want more PC Andy Pratt.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Burn is a nice narrator more of that please

[Andy Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite an amusing idea reinforced slightly too many times. No character development: obviously we are supposed to know them from tv series. Audiobook version nicely wiled awayna long car journey.

[Seb Hasi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is split into two halves, what went well and was very interesting; and the poor elements.

I loved the initial concepts and that really made me keen to listen and see how the story played out. The second great thing was Burn Gorman’s narration as he really plays Owen with that mix of vulnerability yet cockiness, and does a pretty good impression of the rest of the Torchwood team.

The negative is really simple here and is a massive detriment to the story; it’s so boring. The actual developments with the story are so dull and go nowhere for most of the runtime, and even when we get to the villain reveal, it is incredible underwhelming. A generic baddie who retroactively makes all of the rest of the buildup pointless. The middling to fill the duration of the story is so dragged out and the side characters in the story have no personality, which makes it so hard to engage with elements of the story involving them.

Overall, for me personally I just couldn’t focus on the positives to the extent of ignoring it’s poorer aspects, and that left if feeling not really that great at all. It’s just a really slow listen that does not have a satisfying ending, and the only merit is you can engage with the Torchwood team thanks to Burn Gorman’s narration.

[osoi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Очередное торчвудское приключение, и читает снова Burn Gorman. Он удивительно тонко меняет голос, акцент и интонацию для каждого персонажа, в какой-то момент я даже стала различать героев просто на слух. Я считаю, это лишнее подтверждение его обалденности, и мне повезло, что после полноценно озвученных актерами аудиодрам я перешла на книжки в его исполнении )

Однажды утром люди по всему городу бросают свои дела, начинают здороваться друг с другом и выбалтывать малоинтересные (а зачастую и интимные) подробности своей жизни. Улицы превращаются в одну сплошную пробку, матери бросают своих детей в колясках, на некоторых умопомрачение не действует, а Торчвуд засекает покрывшее Кардифф инопланетное коммуникационное поле. И кое-кто из команды уже чувствует, как поле засасывает его в свои сети...

С Торчвудскими или Докторскими книжками всегда так — все хорошо, но есть одно НО. Здесь этим «но» стало непомерное количество сторонних участников, простых людей. Таксист, девушка на остановке, полицейский и прпр. Добрая четверть всей книжки посвящена им, в то время как про Торчвуд тут неприлично мало — они вступают в дело только ближе к концу, до этого довольно бестолково бегая по улицам.
Еще один момент: а где в этот момент Рис, а? Почему Гвен не бегает и не истерит? Может тот тоже попал под воздействие поля и забыл выключить конфорку?

В целом: типичный торчвуд, из которого получился бы отменный эпизод, очень уж живая картинка нарисовалась из-за большого количества второстепенных персонажей.

[Chris Burd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've only recently begun listening to audiobooks - spending way too much time in my car each week. I frequently find listening to a book to be far too difficult - I just can't concentrate on what I'm hearing. However, Burn Gorman's narration is fantastic. He changes his voice in subtle but very distinct ways for each character - not just the things they speak out loud, but even slightly depending on the point of view being narrated. It makes it easy - and far more interesting - to listen to than a typical audiobook.

As far as the story itself, I thought it was generally well put together and the phrasing of each characters' words felt true to the television scripts. There was a lot of time spent listening from the point of view of other characters, which did become a bit tedious at times, however. They could have cut about fifteen minutes out of "setting the scene" through the thoughts of external characters.

Admittedly, my 4-star rating is probably more of a comparative rating against other audio books than the rest of my bookshelf as a whole.

[Virago · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really, really good. I wish this had been an episode! The plot was very captivating; I was genuinely curious about what was causing the populace to go bonkers. I was actually surprised that Jack's 51st Century genetics didn't leave him completely immune. I loved the characterizations of the team; they were spot-on. Jack was great (as always), and I really enjoyed Owen in this. I have no idea if it was because Burn Gorman was the narrator, or if he (Owen) was having one of those rare days where he wasn't a complete prat. Owen could grate on the nerves in some episodes, and made you love him in others. I think that was the charm of his character; you both loved and hated him. Gwen wasn't annoying in this either, which (in my opinion) was the case in many, many episodes. She was helpful, yet worried without being high-and-mighty or whiny. This was a very enjoyable book and I think any fan of Torchwood would enjoy it.

[Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this for the second time, whilst tidying my bedroom (audiobooks are great for relieving the boredom of housework, believe me!).

Burn Gorman does a fine job of reading 'Everyone Says Hello.' His Welsh accent is great and at times he sounds exactly like Ianto. He tries to ape John Barrowman's accent but it doesn't quite work, so he seems to give up for the rest of the story. Don't really blame him. If you can't do a decent american accent, it's not worth the attempt.

The story itself is quite good. Random people begin greeting each other and then going on to give peronal information about themselves out. I quite like this story as the 'villain' or 'baddie' in this story, isn't technically bad. I won't say anymore than that, you'll just have to listen to it to find out.

[Sato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three stars for the story plus bonus one for the great narration. I really like how Burn Gorman characterises each person in the story.

The story was quite enjoyable except that it sounded like I heard (read) a similar plot somewhere before. The idea of people being affected and preparing for something to come would be familiar in the scifi/horror genre, so I wanted a little more unique and unexpected end. Compared to the long and detailed chapters in the middle, I felt the ending was somewhat too easy. Or maybe the entire book was just too long - it'd be more exciting if it were as fast-paced as a TV episode.

[Cathal Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I don't usually do audiobooks, but since this is only available as one, I'm making an exception.
I'm not sure I'm the biggest fan of Dan Abnett's writing style. I didn't absolutely love this, but I did enjoy it enough to gladly listen to it again. I found the plot a bit trudging and shallow. I'm also rereading Border Princes by Abnett, and there's definitely some phrases and words he likes to repeat.
I mostly got this because it was read by Burn Gorman, who is bae, but I'll be honest, he doesn't have the best voice for reading books or short stories. Loved his different voices for all the team and the Welsh extras, but as a narrator, he just sounded a bit...bored.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are perfect stories for people who watch and enjoy the Torchwood series. The audio books are perfect for the ride to work (or any long trip) as they average about three hours apiece. Burn Gorman does a fantastic job narrating the novels.

The story itself is great and expands on the series, since the show is about 46 minutes an episode, the books can go more in depth to the characters and give more content than an episode can. Great fun overall.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 2 out of 5]

The neatest bit is the title - all over Cardiff, people start to greet each other and to confess all kinds of mostly boring yet intimate details about their lives. Of course, it turns into an alien invasion of the week story, competently enough done, and decently read by Burn Gorman whose Owen gets a fair amount of viewpoint character time. But not quite as zestful as some of the other Torchwood writing.

[Eri · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be frank, I didn't know what to expect from another Abnett's Torchwood story, but I found this one better than Border Princes (yay!), perhaps thanks to this one being audiobook, which requres less focusing xD (Shame on me. Right.)

It was some serious WTNV-ish stuff going on that creeped the hell out of listener in very good way. Overall, it was nice to listen to, but, except for closure, nothing memorable.