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BBC Doctor Who: New Series Audio Exclusives #2
Doctor Who: The Forever Trap
Catherine Tate reads this exclusive thrilling story, in which the Doctor and Donna are imprisoned on the Edifice - and become neighbours to a terrifying assortment of aliens.When the TARDIS is invaded by a holographic marketing scam, the Doctor and Donna find themselves trapped on the Edifice, a purpose-built complex of luxury apartments in space. Their new environs leave much to be millions of beings from across the Universe have been gathered to live side by side in similar apartments. Instead of creating neighbourly affection, it’s led to terrible battles being waged in the corridors and on the stairwells. The Doctor and Donna must cross the paths of deadly alien mobs as they search for the Edifice’s ultimate authority. Who - or what - lies at the heart of the incredible complex? What destructive scourge is eating away at the Edifice itself? And are the Doctor and Donna trapped forever in this living hell? Doctor The Forever Trap features the Doctor and Donna, as played by David Tennant and Catherine Tate in the hit BBC Television series Doctor Who . Written specially for audio by Dan Abnett, it is read by Catherine Tate.2 CDs. 2 hrs 21 mins.
63 pages, Audiobook
First published September 30, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
March 12, 2021
This is an audiobook that is based on the television series. It is a quick listen as it is a little over two hours long. In this one, the Tenth Doctor and Donna are ensnared in an elaborate time share and it looks like there is no way out.
The story itself probably isn't worth five stars but I enjoyed this so much. I believe it was a case of the narration adding to the enjoyment. Sometimes narration of an audiobook can add or lessen the experience of a book. This one is narrated by Catherine Tate who is the actress that played Donna. She absolutely slays the narration. Obviously, she is going to get her character right but her portrayal of The Tenth Doctor was awesome. She channeled David Tennant and the banter between these two characters made me laugh out loud several times. As for the story I did really enjoy it as the author uses ordeals like spam mail and time share commitments and puts them in a science fiction setting. I am a sucker for that kind of story and the reader can relate how tiresome these ordeals can be.
I am a fan of media tie-in stories if they are done correctly. This one is and that might be a case of the narration. It was a delight to listen to as I had no problem picturing the two main characters. The story also works for this universe as I could picture this being a one off episode during the season.
The story itself probably isn't worth five stars but I enjoyed this so much. I believe it was a case of the narration adding to the enjoyment. Sometimes narration of an audiobook can add or lessen the experience of a book. This one is narrated by Catherine Tate who is the actress that played Donna. She absolutely slays the narration. Obviously, she is going to get her character right but her portrayal of The Tenth Doctor was awesome. She channeled David Tennant and the banter between these two characters made me laugh out loud several times. As for the story I did really enjoy it as the author uses ordeals like spam mail and time share commitments and puts them in a science fiction setting. I am a sucker for that kind of story and the reader can relate how tiresome these ordeals can be.
I am a fan of media tie-in stories if they are done correctly. This one is and that might be a case of the narration. It was a delight to listen to as I had no problem picturing the two main characters. The story also works for this universe as I could picture this being a one off episode during the season.
September 10, 2016
3,5
The Forever Trap is one is one of the best (perhaps, the best) Doctor Who stories I've read/heard so far. It would have been a great episode.
Catherine Tate is an excellent narrator.
The Forever Trap is one is one of the best (perhaps, the best) Doctor Who stories I've read/heard so far. It would have been a great episode.
Catherine Tate is an excellent narrator.
June 21, 2015
beating your enemy by giving him an upset tummy, brilliant!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 28, 2023
Brilliant!! This was like watching an episode except told from Dona's POV. I loved it so so much! The sound effects! The voices! Everything was perfection!! If you are a Doctor Who fan, I suggest checking this audiobook out because it was brilliant!
June 18, 2017
Ah, the Doctor. And not only any Doctor, but David Tennant's Doctor. One of my two most favorite Doctors along with Christopher Eccleston and Tom Baker. Since I can't watch any more television shows featuring these Doctors, I'm forever grateful that I can still enjoy learning about their adventures through books. And not only that, but hearing them narrated by my most favorite companion EVER is the best! Sorry, Rose.
The Forever Trap begins with Donna and the Doctor aboard the Tardis. A mysterious man appears on the ship, something that the Doctor claims is impossible. The man is a salesman of sorts, advertising a luxurious apartment. Before they can learn much more about how he's come to be here, Donna accidentally touches the man which seals the contract he has proposed and they are whisked away to the Edifice.
The Edifice is a building which houses the likes of all manner of creatures and aliens regardless of whether they are friend or foe, or even if the environment is suitable to their lifestyle. As in water creatures who are unable to breathe air. The Doctor and Donna are horrified at the conditions they find these abducted creatures are living and they search for who or what is responsible. And as always, the Doctor's mission to put things right at rather all costs.
This isn't the first Doctor Who audiobook I've listened to, but I believe it is now one of my favorites. The story was interesting and mysterious, just the way I like it. But, also, I think the talented Catherine Tate's narration was one of the reasons I loved this story. She did a fantastic job at creating voices for these alien creatures and even the Doctor. And it was a delight to hear Donna's voice again with her snarky comments. A pure joy!
The Forever Trap begins with Donna and the Doctor aboard the Tardis. A mysterious man appears on the ship, something that the Doctor claims is impossible. The man is a salesman of sorts, advertising a luxurious apartment. Before they can learn much more about how he's come to be here, Donna accidentally touches the man which seals the contract he has proposed and they are whisked away to the Edifice.
The Edifice is a building which houses the likes of all manner of creatures and aliens regardless of whether they are friend or foe, or even if the environment is suitable to their lifestyle. As in water creatures who are unable to breathe air. The Doctor and Donna are horrified at the conditions they find these abducted creatures are living and they search for who or what is responsible. And as always, the Doctor's mission to put things right at rather all costs.
This isn't the first Doctor Who audiobook I've listened to, but I believe it is now one of my favorites. The story was interesting and mysterious, just the way I like it. But, also, I think the talented Catherine Tate's narration was one of the reasons I loved this story. She did a fantastic job at creating voices for these alien creatures and even the Doctor. And it was a delight to hear Donna's voice again with her snarky comments. A pure joy!
Read
January 2, 2024Currently updating my reads for the end of 2023, I listened to this and a bunch of other Big Finish Doctor tales (some twice) towards the end of the year, mostly because I was too busy thinking about other things to focus on new stories and the comfort of the familiar voices was a welcome relief from other stresses. Unfortunately I have left it too long to give any story-specific details, but I will inevitably listen to these many more times in future and will hopefully be able to say something more substantial. Suffice it to say that these are just excellent. Production quality is top notch and the storylines are as good and sometimes even better than the TV episodes.
June 17, 2014
4 1/2 Stars
This audio special is one of the best I've listened to so far, it is narrated by the fabulous Catherine Tate and doesn't waste our time focusing on random people we don't care about. Too often these books focus on random characters with the Doctor and his companion spending way too much time 'off screen'. The Doctor and Donna were very well written and the plot felt very unique and interesting. The other characters they encounter are interesting but not overpowering.
My absolute favorite part of this story is the creepy setting, an apartment complex that looks like it was designed by Escher.
Brilliant!
The story, narration, and sound effects made for a interesting and strange story. My only complaint is that I was a little disappointed with the reveal and resolution. Overall, a very entertaining MUST-READ!
This audio special is one of the best I've listened to so far, it is narrated by the fabulous Catherine Tate and doesn't waste our time focusing on random people we don't care about. Too often these books focus on random characters with the Doctor and his companion spending way too much time 'off screen'. The Doctor and Donna were very well written and the plot felt very unique and interesting. The other characters they encounter are interesting but not overpowering.
My absolute favorite part of this story is the creepy setting, an apartment complex that looks like it was designed by Escher.
Brilliant!
The story, narration, and sound effects made for a interesting and strange story. My only complaint is that I was a little disappointed with the reveal and resolution. Overall, a very entertaining MUST-READ!
December 31, 2020
Really love all these Doctor Who audiobook tie-ins and Catherine Tate is a great narrator for this one. I always find it so impressive when people can do the Tenth Doctor's dialogue so well because he has a very specific way of talking but it definitely comes through here. Also 'they're on a planet that is just one big building or complex or whatever' is one of my favorite Doctor Who story types.
May 22, 2014
Catherine Tate is a genius, and her reading is exceptional. She does an amazing job with Ten and it made me miss him - what a great team they were. This is a solid little story, alien and interesting and funny and sad, and Donna gets to save the day by being passionate and shouting a lot. Nicely done.
July 21, 2019
An enjoyable Doctor Who story about the tenth Doctor and Donna Noble getting caught up in an elaborate alien scam to bring conflicting people into an Escher-like apartment complex. An interesting mystery with some nice science fictional concepts. The audio book is narrated by Catherine Tate who played Donna. She does a very good job imitating David Tennant's Doctor.
January 6, 2024
This was a great 'brain break' for me while I was reading a much harder book. It was like watching a Dr Who episode in my mind, and there is nothing wrong with that. Bonus points that Catherine Tate was the narrator.
August 16, 2025
This was a fun read. Catherine Tate is a gem and obviously she did a good job reading Donna’s lines. But she also did a great job reading the role of the 10th Doctor exactly how David Tennant would say his lines.
January 25, 2024
Solid. The Doctor and Donna are kidnapped by an evil timeshare, basically. There's some imaginative stuff and some good satire -- I like that Donna clocked that HOAs and landlords are pretty much inherently evil long before the Doctor did.
Wish this hadn't been the second DW book I've read in a row that equates fatness with monstrous evil, though. Can we, perhaps, not?
Wish this hadn't been the second DW book I've read in a row that equates fatness with monstrous evil, though. Can we, perhaps, not?
September 25, 2025
Just your average Eldritch space horror with a modern twist of predatory scam advertising and HOAs.
Absolutely LOVED this one!
Absolutely LOVED this one!
April 2, 2009
A smooth talking and not entirely honest sales-hologram invades the TARDIS and tricks Donna Noble into a sales contract for a luxury apartment complex. If location is all three of the most important things in real estate, then the Edifice doesn’t have any of them. It’s somewhere in the midst of Outer Space, without any means of transportation out. Not only that, new tenants keep arriving without any provision for what they need to survive. Aquatic life forms are dumped on the carpet with nothing for their gills to breathe. Some of the more aggressive tenants are fighting for control of the Edifice, and no one seems to be in charge. Fortunately, there is a Doctor in the house.
Catherine Tate is such a gifted actress and mimic that her single voice presentation sounds like the highest quality full-cast radio drama. As the actress who plays Donna in the television series, it is little wonder that she does a good job voicing Donna’s part. The wonderful part of her performance is how closely she has captured fellow actor David Tennant's speech patterns when she reads the Doctor’s part. The sound effects are also excellent, and Dan Abnett’s original story even has a cliffhanger between discs one and two. Everyone involved with this project is to be commended.
Catherine Tate is such a gifted actress and mimic that her single voice presentation sounds like the highest quality full-cast radio drama. As the actress who plays Donna in the television series, it is little wonder that she does a good job voicing Donna’s part. The wonderful part of her performance is how closely she has captured fellow actor David Tennant's speech patterns when she reads the Doctor’s part. The sound effects are also excellent, and Dan Abnett’s original story even has a cliffhanger between discs one and two. Everyone involved with this project is to be commended.
August 25, 2016
I love Donna in this book. I just love it that she can go toe to toe with the Doctor and not back down, that she isn't smitten with him like all the other companions. Her sharp wit and even sharper tongue are really well written in this book.
July 29, 2016
Not the best Doctor Who audiobook I've listened but I loved to hear Donna again and there were some good moments in this adventure.
April 1, 2015
Well written fascinating concept. Loved it! Catherine Tate is an awesome narrator.
December 18, 2018
This is a great audiobook!
Catherine Tate is an awesome narrator. She does many different voices and accents for the characters. Her real voice sounds nothing like her character from the show, Donna Noble, so it distanced her from the story.
The story started out slowly, which I love in an audiobook. It was simple at the beginning, when the Doctor and Donna were sent to their dream house. It became more complex as the story went on, so I was able to follow the new information quite well.
This is another great Doctor Who audiobook!
Catherine Tate is an awesome narrator. She does many different voices and accents for the characters. Her real voice sounds nothing like her character from the show, Donna Noble, so it distanced her from the story.
The story started out slowly, which I love in an audiobook. It was simple at the beginning, when the Doctor and Donna were sent to their dream house. It became more complex as the story went on, so I was able to follow the new information quite well.
This is another great Doctor Who audiobook!
December 8, 2022
Generally, I don't normally read (well, listen to) Dr Who books.
However, I had a spare credit from Audible going, and this was part of a BOGOF offer going on (and in a compilation of such stories), so I thought 'why not'?
Read/performed by Catherine Tate during the Donna-as-companion-era of the TV show, I could easily see this as being produced for such (with the occasional incidental music and sound effects aiding the immersion). However, I don't think it would have ever made the list of classic episodes of Dr Who: an OK listen, yes, but nothing spectacular.
However, I had a spare credit from Audible going, and this was part of a BOGOF offer going on (and in a compilation of such stories), so I thought 'why not'?
Read/performed by Catherine Tate during the Donna-as-companion-era of the TV show, I could easily see this as being produced for such (with the occasional incidental music and sound effects aiding the immersion). However, I don't think it would have ever made the list of classic episodes of Dr Who: an OK listen, yes, but nothing spectacular.
May 18, 2019
Normally I love Doctor Who Books, and normally audiobooks are the best. I loved Catherine Tate's narration and her imitation of David Tennant's Doctor-isms but aside from that I found the book to be lacking in clarity and plot. Now, that might have been because I listened to the book over months instead of a few days, or hours if I had actually physically read it... but still, I was somewhat disappointed by it.
February 24, 2020
Well, it sufficed as a short story for Kai and me to listen to on our trips to soccer practice. It's not much more than that though. These bite-sized Doctor Who stories can be somewhat entertaining, but they don't make much of an impact. Here the Doctor and Donna work to understand what's going on in "The Edifice" and, of course, there is some nefarious being behind it all that needs to be taught a lesson. Shrug. Witty retorts only get you so far.
March 20, 2020
Considering I finished this audiobook in the middle of a quarantine this hit a bit differently but I love the idea of a wonderfully renovated apartment with a working food replicator. Does anyone know if it does sushi? I have a serious craving. Once again The Doctor and Donna were in top form and this just flew by as I worked on a scarf to keep myself busy. It reminded me a bit of station 500 from the show but all in all was fun and original.
January 22, 2024
I love how the enemy was defeated!
I was very confused as to how aggressive the salesman or whatever it was could be.
The story was broken up (on Audible) like Act 1 and Act 2. It was just 2 chapters. That was different.
Story was compelling and all fit as strangely as DW episodes do. The actress, Katherine Tate (Donna Noble) really pulled me in the story faster. I love these audiobooks. All the sass. hahaha.
I was very confused as to how aggressive the salesman or whatever it was could be.
The story was broken up (on Audible) like Act 1 and Act 2. It was just 2 chapters. That was different.
Story was compelling and all fit as strangely as DW episodes do. The actress, Katherine Tate (Donna Noble) really pulled me in the story faster. I love these audiobooks. All the sass. hahaha.
September 22, 2018
I listened to this on auto book, because Catherine Tate was reading it. She did a incredible job! The story line was very sound with no loop holes, and the fact that I was listening to Catherine do her impression of the Doctor made me smile so broadly! A fast pace tale, that is a short read. Recommend for Doctor Who fans who really miss Donna.
November 11, 2017
This would have made an excellent "Monster of the Week" episode during the David Tennant/Catherine Tate era. Lots of great dialogue, and having Catherine Tate read the book as both Donna and the Doctor was perfect.
August 11, 2017
One of the best Doctor Who stories outside of the series that I've come across, although the ending was a bit rushed and weird. It would have been an excellent episode for the series though! Catherine Tate narrates brilliantly, if a little fast, and she naturally gets the characters spot-on.
March 4, 2018
Catherine Tate reads this wonderfully. She sounds like Donna, of course, but she also sounds like Ten when reading his lines. The story was interesting and the added sound effects made it seem like a missing episode of the show.
January 22, 2019
Now that was more my kind of adventure. Mainly focused on the Doctor and Donna themselves, with some quirky side characters thrown in, but never overtaking the story. A fun ride with excellent narration by Catherine Tate.
May 13, 2021
Donna Noble and the Doctor are at it again, this time, it's Donna who accidently sets things for a crazy adventure. Great addition to the Doctor Who series. Great listen, David does the BEST Donna Noble impression.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews