Doctor Who: Caerdroia

Big Finish: Monthly Range #63

by Lloyd Rose, Paul McGann (Narrator), India Fisher (Narrator)

Self-exiled to a new universe, separated from his TARDIS, opposed and manipulated by the Divergence and their agent the Kro'ka, the Doctor has been struggling to work out the nature of the cosmic game in which he's an unwilling pawn. Now, at last, he has a chance to find the answer ­ and regain the TARDIS!

Threatened and desperate, the Kro'ka abandons his behind-the-scenes machinations to confront the Doctor directly. But will both of them lose their way in the maze of the strange world in which they find themselves? A world in which a clock may have a cuckoo but no hands, a labyrinth imprisoning a paradox, and a Garden of Curiosities reveals something the Doctor has never seen before.

As the Doctor faces these challenges, Charley and C'rizz provide valuable help. But with the TARDIS itself at stake, the Doctor reaches deep inside himself to find some surprising new allies...
Chronological Placement
This story takes place after the 1996 Doctor Who TV Movie.

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

Audio Play

First published November 1, 2004

About the author

Lloyd Rose is an American writer and one of the few female writers of Doctor Who fiction. She also contributed to the reference book Chicks Dig Time Lords: A Celebration of Doctor Who by the Women Who Love It. She has also written for the American television series Homicide: Life on the Street and Kingpin.

Reviews

[Lady Nerd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply fantastic. Took me by surprise, didn’t expect it to be as humorous as it was while also being quite serious. The comedy was used brilliantly, and the themes and the atmosphere were just *chef’s kiss*

[Emilija · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 52 Book Challenge - Summer Olympic Mini Challenge - Closing Ceremonies - 1) At Least 4 Olympic Ring Colours On Cover

I think this is one of the better Divervent Universe audiobooks. A lot of them I've found boring and pointless, but this one was pretty humorous. I particularly liked the Doctor being split into three, and Paul McGann was on the top of his game narrating all three, and making it easy to know which one was which.

[Belisarius Carstairs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Caerdroia plays with some interesting concepts, but ultimately, everything just falls flat for me.

The unique splitting the Doctor (literally) and his companions allowed for some development of their characters as they explored this directionless, somewhat confusing story, and I'm talking as an enthusiast of absurdism.

[Noah Soudrette · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better divergent universe stories. The real highlight here is the splitting of the Doctor into three distinct personalities, which give Paul McGann a wonderful opportunity to show what an amazing actor he is.

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

so wonderful, whimsical, funny, clever, with a fantastic performance by paul at the heart of it. doesn’t get the praise it deserves by fans, probably because it’s a lighthearted and funny story and people tend to think that for some reason they are easier to write. which is mad. if anything, it’s probably harder.

anyway this is a gem, and lloyd rose is brilliant.

[Danny Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three McGann's, Minotaurs, a labyrinth, what more could you possibly want? 8.5/10

[Steven Shinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is definitely the best of the Divergent Universe arc out of what I've heard. The Doctor gets split into three, and we get a classic labyrinth with a Minotaur, plus Charley and C'Rizz trying to figure out what's going on with the people walking around them.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

When it comes to Doctor Who books I rather listen to them being read by the cast than read it of a book . So far I have listened to around 10 DW audiobooks where they were narrated by only one cast member, simultaneously impersonating the other characters ( just like a normal audiobook would be ). What I love about The Big Finish DW collection is that its an audio drama including sound effects, multiple narrators,and continuity among stories.

The Doctor, Charley and C'rizz continue to be manipulated by the Kro'ka while this time Kro'ka decides to take matters in hand himself and face the Doctor personally to get the Tardis. The Doctor being the smart guy he always is finds out the weak link in Kro'kas plans and decides to use it as advantage but things get a bit out of hand when they land in a place finding themselves in company of not one but three doctors ( no more details on that cuz *Spoilers *)
It had some good comedic moments and Paul Mcgann does a brilliant job handling the 3 versions at the same time keeping their personalities right intact.

[elise barber-wixtrom · Rating 3 out of 5]

"i think i'm going to go into a trance now. BYE!"
the schlorp schlorp schlorp of the kro'ka's footsteps gets me hooting and hollering every time. i imagine him looking like squidward

[Nicholas Whyte]

Caerdroia was the best of this run. McGann seems to be back into it, and indeed playing three different versions of his own Doctor is surely a stretching experience. The initial mental battle between Doctor and Kro'ka is a good scene too. The baffling streetscape of the shifting city, rooted in Lewis Carroll and Franz Kafka, is also well portrayed. It doesn't all make a lot of sense, but I found it a welcome up-tick in quality.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

About time I enjoyed one of these Divergent Universe stories. I was beginning to fear they'd never get back on track.

[David]

DNF

Not enjoying this series.

[Reggie A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor Who is delightful again! This story revels in its own gimmick to fantastic effect. It knows what it is, it doesn’t try to do more, and it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.

One of the easiest listens— if not the easiest— of the whole Divergent Universe run, and a welcome reprieve following The Last.

Paul McGann is easily the stand out in this story for obvious reasons, but I was also really excited to hear Charley and C’rizz bounce off of each other without the Doctor nearby. In retrospect, his two companions getting into situations together was long overdue.

The music in this episode was a bit more sophisticated than usual, but I noticed a similar trend in The Last. Not sure if it’s just because I like the background tunes better in these episodes, or if there really has been an upgrade. Either way, this was a fun one to hear.

[Erys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a colorful, vibrant Doctor Who story! Lloyd Rose is such an amazing writer, and she conceived a great idea which fits the outlandish nature of the Divergent Universe. Sound design is amazing, the story is funny, the three Eighth Doctors are something great that rarely happen. Even to people who are not partial to the Divergent Universe arc, Caerdroia is almost universally acclaimed and I can see why. 9/10.

[Kelly McCubbin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story does just about everything that I dislike in absurdist drama. It invokes Alice in Wonderland over and over again. It tries to drape its structure of an internal logic that doesn't exist. It thinks that running around in circles is clever.
McGann is quite good in this and this sort of thing suits his Doctor, if only they'd think it through a bit more rather than just piling weird upon weird.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

次の世界に移った途端に意識を失ったドクター。疲れたのだろうとチャーリーとケリスはのんびりと構える。しかし、クロッカが躍起になってドクターを起こすのをみて、ドクターが意識がなければクロッカは力を持てないということに気がつき始める。ドクターはクロッカを出し抜こうとするが、怒り狂ったクロッカはドクターとチャリーとケリスを別の世界に送り込んだ時、ドクターが3人に増えてしまう。



　ドクターが追放されたこの世界に影響力が持てる可能性があるのがダイバージョンと大昔にここに追放されたラシロン、そしてドクターらしいということが判明。そうでなければ何の変化も起こらない無の世界であるらしいことがクロッカの口ぶりから。



　そしてついにターディスを取り戻すことに成功したドクター。 時間の存在しない世界なので時間を移動することはできないが、空間を移動することは可能で、今後は能動的にこの世界を探索することができる。３人に分裂したドクターが再び融合した時、なんとなくダークなドクターが人格の支配力を増したような感じもしたのだけれど、気のせいかな。気のせいだといいな。

[Finn Chamberlain-Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10

Add half stars, this was a ⭐⭐⭐1/2 star story.

I quite liked this one. It's nice that the plot moved a bit further in this one. Despite the divergent arc only being 8 stories, it felt so much longer because the overall story doesn't move very quickly. This was a lot of fun though as well, keep it we're big finish.

My next review will talk in depth about the divergent arc as a whole.

[SuperPiggy5000 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good! Three McGann's, Cuckoo clocks, and the Doctor stuck in an infinite maze of offices for every little thing lol. I also enjoyed Charlie in this story, I emphasize with her frustrations with the Doctor, I'm curious how that'll effect their relationship down the road.

Would recommend.

[Ellen Schoener · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this was fun.
Loved the three different versions of the Doctor... especially the evil one sent a chill down my spine.
Well done.

[Viola · Rating 4 out of 5]

A divergent universe story that doesn't make me miserable? wow

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one didn't hold my interest as much as I'd have hoped. It was weird seeing the Doctor being such a jerk to Charley.

[Stephen Higham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor who and the gang get trolled by a whacky demon from an alternate universe. I dug it. It was compelling.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bit of a mess narratively speaking, but it's still good fun.

[Plingsben · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could honestly listen to the Doctors and Kro'ka all day. It did feel like a relief to finally be in the TARDIS again.

[Tabitha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like it, but I didn't. It seemed too much with trying to keep track of which version was talking.

[AccidentalStu · Rating 5 out of 5]

3 mcganns in 1 audio 10/10

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story has a lot of moving pieces but this is one of the best of the Divergent Universe season. Also the pacing is crazy. Constantly something is going on.

[Frank Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfectly peculiar - the kind of story we want from the interzone, in the divergent universe.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10
Verdict: Recommended

This story is recommended because it leads directly into the finale of the Divergent arc. This story is mainly based around a pretty great concept surrounding the doctor, which I got a lot of enjoyment out of initially. However as the story went on, it became more of a gimic and it was clear that there wasn't a lot more past that. It's alright, but pretty dull in places.

[Devin Harvey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best part about this audio has to be Paul McGanns amazing acting, taking on three versions of the Doctor and keeping them significantly entertaining throughout the whole audio shows how awesome of an actor he is. This audio is a more comedic and odd audio, but kept my attention the whole time. Not my favorite of the Divergent Universe arc, but never the less, still a wonderful audio.