Doctor Who: Dead Air

BBC Doctor Who: New Series Audio Exclusives #7

by James Goss, David Tennant (Narrator)

Publisher's Summary

This is an exclusive, original adventure for the 10th Doctor, read by David Tennant. Featuring additional music and effects, Doctor Who: Dead Air has never been previously published.

Hot on the heels of a creature that exists through sound, the Doctor lands on a pirate radio station boat in the late 1960s. The creature has already killed some of the DJs, and the Doctor befriends the survivors. But then the lights go out, and a desperate race for survival begins. Who can the Doctor trust in the dark?

©2009 BBC Audiobooks Ltd; (P)2009 BBC Audiobooks Ltd

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

Audiobook

First published March 1, 2010

About the author

James Goss has written two Torchwood novels and a radio play, as well as a Being Human book. His Doctor Who audiobook Dead Air won Best Audiobook 2010. James also spent seven years working on the BBC's official Doctor Who website and co-wrote the website for Torchwood Series One. In 2007, he won the Best Adaptation category in the annual LA Weekly Theatre Awards for his version of Douglas Adams' novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.

Reviews

[Kimberley doruyter · Rating 3 out of 5]

am i the only one how gets relaxed listening to david tennant??

[Jim C · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short audiobook based on the television series. This one features David Tennant's Doctor and he is traveling alone. David Tennant is also the narrator of this book so you know his portrayal is spot on. In this one, the Doctor is facing off against an enemy called "Hush" who has the ability to control sound waves and make an area go to complete silence. This enemy has traveled to the 1960's and is on a boat that is a pirate radio broadcast station.

This is one of the better quick read audiobooks that I have heard. Once again, David Tennant does a wonderful job with the narration of the Doctor and the other characters. We all know a book can depend on its antagonist and I loved the antagonist in this book. In my opinion, the Hush was just as creepy as the Silence or the Weeping Angels from the television show. There were parts of this book that actually gave me the "creeps". The twist at the end was a surprise as I did not see it coming and it was well earned.

I have listened to several quick audiobooks from this universe and this one might be my favorite. It give me chills while I also learned about circumstances about this era and its radio broadcasting aspects. If you are a fan of this universe I definitely recommend this story.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tenth Doctor travels back in time to 1966 in pursuit of an alien weapon called The Hush. The weapon is drawn to sound. The Hush kills, and also cancels all sound...creating areas of absolute silence. He traces the Hush to a pirate radio station, Radio Bravo, broadcasting from a boat. The Doctor and the people running the station (Layla, Tom and Jasper) are all trapped on the boat with the weapon.Years later, in a wreck at the bottom of the sea, a recording of the Doctor's experiences on the boat is found. Unfortinately, they restore the recording and listen to it.

This Doctor Who audiobook is entertaining and exciting! Filled with sound effects and distorted audio to enhance the plot, the story moves along quickly, with suspense. David Tennant is narrating, and does a superb job! I have hearing loss, but was able to perfectly hear and understand him easily, even with all the extra distortions added as part of the story. This is a shorter story than most of them....at just shy of 1 hr 15 minutes, but a lot is packed into that hour+. The moments when the characters are unsure if they are speaking to another human or The Hush were all quite creepy. This is definitely another great audiobook presented by BBC Audio.

I'm definitely listening to more in this series. So far, each one has been just outstanding!

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant! David Tennant has a great voice for audio book narration, especially when reprising his role as The Doctor. I only wish it was longer.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Short. Narration was flawless, as always, but the story just didn't hold up to other Doctor Who works.

2.5 stars, rounded up. Because Tennant.

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[Trai · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Hello, I'm the Doctor, and if you can hear this, then one of us is going to die. If I'm lucky, you're listening to this on the boat ... Of course, if I'm not lucky, you're listening to this somewhere else, perhaps even at home, in which case it's too late. It's already escaped. And it's the end of the world."

The Doctor has landed on the boat Radio Bravo, a pirate radio station in the 1960s. It is staffed by Layla, Jasper, and Tom-O (not sure of the spelling on that last, given the format; I'm assuming it's spelled as it sounds), and they are in deadly danger. The Doctor is tracking the Hush, a weapon implied to have been made by the Time Lords during the Last Great Time War in order to defeat the Daleks. The Hush silences and devours any source of noise, and it just needs the boat's transmitter in order to escape and be beamed all across the world to bring destruction. The Doctor can't stop it alone, and it's up to him and Layla to track and defeat the Hush before it kills them and the rest of the world.

Given the nature of the monster, this story was perfectly suited to audio. The creepiness amps up as the sound distorts at various points in the tale, usually as the Hush has done something dreadful. I kept flinching whenever it happened, so it certainly worked on me! (Keep in mind I was listening to this while walking in broad daylight, so it wasn't like I was listening in the dead of night!) It's a loving ode to pirate radio and good ol' cassette tapes. Think Pirate Radio (aka The Boat That Rocked in the UK) if the Doctor were on board.

The Doctor himself felt perfectly in character, something that was probably helped along by it being narrated in the first person by David Tennant. I particularly loved the instance where Layla and the Doctor have been reunited after the Hush's attempt to mimic the Doctor and manipulate Layla into fixing the transmitter, and Layla observes upon their reunion that she should have known it wasn't him, because the Doctor is so full of himself and the Hush's mimicry wasn't. That's the Doctor I know: conceited, yeah, but sweet and brilliant besides. We really get all of him here. The side of him that's sorry, so sorry when someone dies. The side of him that's a thrill seeker and really finds the hunt for the Hush fun, even when he shouldn't. And then, at the very end, the Oncoming Storm, the very dangerous, threatening side of him that only tends to come out when his companions are threatened. Oh, we do not want to have that.

The other characters were well-done if a bit flat; I excuse most of my normal concerns about this due to the fact that the story was only an hour long. Layla is given the most to do, and she was quite fun--I loved her easy acceptance of the Doctor's reveal that he's an alien, and how it caused the Doctor to reflect that he really should give medals for that sort of thing. I really enjoyed and chuckled through the early banter between her and the Doctor. Jasper and Tom-O were basically there to give us Red Shirts to worry about, but I did get the sense that the crew of Radio Bravo was a family and could see why the Doctor would really care about keeping them safe. Since the story was so short, I liked that it skipped over the expository bits about the TARDIS, the Time War, etc.--the Doctor just handwaves it away by assuming the listener would already know it. The little bits of metafiction made me giggle, although it takes a creepy turn at the end, as the Doctor is sure that no one would listen to the tape all the way through to the end (thus ruining his plans) after his warnings, and if they did, they're just stupid, aren't they? Well, mark me down as happily Too Dumb to Live!

It was a little story, but I enjoyed how it slotted into the Whoniverse. It takes place in Ten's final year, when he's traveling alone after the events of "Journey's End", but the previous companions weren't ignored; there were some sweet remembrances of Donna and another (presumably classic series) companion whose name I didn't quite catch. The implication that the Hush was a weapon in the Time War gave me chills and really lent credence to the fact that yeah, the other Time Lords aren't exactly good guys when it comes to winning the war. I really recommend this one to Who fans who just want a little more of the Tenth Doctor, or who want a deliciously creepy listen. It's fun but still scary: what more could you want?

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s the vashta nerada episode all over again holy crap. New favorite AND its narrated by David Tennant holy crap. Read it. Read it now.
My only complaint is that David narrated alone. It would have been slightly better with other narrators taking the other rolls.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

8 of 10 stars for this short Dr Who story.

[C.L. Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hearing David Tennant as the Doctor again is like coming home. From the very first few lines, I knew this was going to be wonderful!

Hello, I'm the Doctor, and if you can hear this, then one of us is going to die. If I'm lucky, you're listening to this on the boat ... Of course, if I'm not lucky, you're listening to this somewhere else, perhaps even at home, in which case it's too late. It's already escaped. And it's the end of the world.

I really enjoyed this short but oh-so-interesting story! The Doctor has tracked down The Hush to a small boat in the 60s that doubles as Radio Bravo. There, he meets assistant Layla along with two DJs, Tom and Jesper, the latter of whom Layla is sweet on. Layla helps the Doctor navigate the ship and try to stop the Hush from repairing the transmitter and engulfing the airwaves all over the world. Unfortunately, this is just one of many plans The Hush has for the Doctor, and not everyone makes it out alive. Brilliant twist at the end! I'm living for these audios with Ten's side adventures.

[Julianna Crisanti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! 100% doctor who, incredible. I loved every little bit of this book.

[Emily Wrayburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was going to be 3 stars but it got an extra one for how it ended. Very clever.

[Aaron Esthelm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun idea to include the reader in the plot by having it be a recording you arent meant to listen to

[Frank Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this so much. I liked the dodgy everything.

[Halley Hopson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!

This was actually great. Definitely my favorite of the Doctor Who novels I’ve listened to via audio!

[Bry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an adorable short story in the Doctor Who Universe of the 10th doctor played by David Tenant. And the audiobook was actually read by him. Which, let's be honest, was the sole reason I bought it!

The story was about the Doctor arriving on a pirate radio ship off the coast of Britain during the 70s to capture a creature who fed on silence and was trying to take over the Earth. It was an engaging and slightly creepy story, but mad edit the best was David's take on the various characters and their unique voices.

It's only about an hour long and I wish it had been longer and more fleshed out, but it was like watching an episode of the original show. I totally enjoyed it and really loved getting another taste of David's version of the Doctor. This is a must read for any Doctor can who wants more!

[Bryce · Rating 3 out of 5]

I promise this review won't just be girlish gushing about David Tennant. Well, not entirely. Maybe just a little.

Oh my goodness, I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.

Ahem.

Having never listened to a Doctor Who serial before, I'm most impressed at how the author/producers took full advantage of their medium, playing with static, volume and audio quality to enhance the tone of the story and add to the creepiness. I think this story could only be an audio drama; visuals would have taken away from the misdirection and twists.

As a book-book, though... There's no real character development. We don't learn anything new about The Doctor, we don't see him change. This story can only properly be appreciated in the larger context of the television show. Non-fans need not apply.

Luckily I am a fan, Ten is *my* Doctor, and I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.

[Jasmiina F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg, this was so creepy... I rarely get scared while listening a story but while listening this I was scared. And it's not like I listened this at night in my bed, most of the time I was on the bus on my way to work. I think David Tennant has an excellent voice and he can change it nicely for other characters.

[✨Susan✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr. Who to the rescue in this BBC radio production with sounds and music. A sound creature is killing people and it is up to the Dr. to capture or as a last resort kill the sound creature before it gets to everyone else including himself. Dose Dr. Who outsmart the beast???

[Robin Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

David Tennant was enjoyable to listen to, and the story was creepy and suspenseful. But the plot was a little odd, and I'm confused about how it ended.

[Owen Townend · Rating 4 out of 5]

An invigorating little nightmare that only audio could provide.

Doctor Who: Dead Air plays well with the audiobook form, purporting to be a lost tape retrieved from the sunken shipwreck of Radio Bravo, a Pirate Radio Station from the 60's. Of course, something alien and nasty has found its way onboard this confined vessel, and maybe the tape too.

Cue the arrival of the Tenth Doctor, enlisting the help of DJs Layla, Tommo and Jasper in the hunt for The Hush, a sentient Time Lord weapon that has gone rogue (not the first, I might add). The Hush seeks out sound and devours it, keeping just enough back to lay fiendish traps for more prey. Though Radio Bravo's transmitter has been disabled, the Hush can still muster plenty of cunning and cruel tricks.

Goss's storytelling is usually great and I would say this is one of the more creative Doctor Who adventures he has penned. It's also got one of the bleakest endings I've seen (or rather heard) in a long while. Then again, when pursued by a relentless sound-based monstrosity during a power cut, it's lucky if anyone survives. For a moment there, I wondered if the Doctor would even make it out in one piece.

David Tennant performs Dead Air and does a brilliant job. Not only does he managed to balance four different voices including a feminine Scouse accent, he even conveys dialogue naturally while simultaneously singing 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat'.

My one bugbear with this story came when a passage switches from the Doctor's perspective to Layla's, with the Doctor still narrating. It seems unlikely that he would know exactly what she was thinking, particularly as they were separated at the time.

This aside, Doctor Who: Dead Air was a sonic triumph for me, especially for a project not helmed by the inestimable Big Finish Productions. The plot is claustrophobic but characterful and the performance is gripping from start to finish. I recommend it to Whovians, audiobook enthusiasts and those who adore vinyl records.

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sound creature that was created during a terrible war, the time war most likely, flees to a pirate radio ship where it hides and waits for the Doctor. This is a good setup and has some very Moffaty moments such as how people will die and become able to speak only becoming just sounds. And it was creepy at times, at one point it was downright scary. But it was only creepy at times, and it was often kind of dull. I also didn't buy that the Doctor would be foolish enough to set up the situation he does at the end. It was decent enough, but it could have been tighter and scarier.
Also, while the sound effects were good I feel as though Bigfinish has kind of spoiled me and no one else really compares.

[Rebecca Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick and easy listen on audible, a little over an hour long.

The concept of this story was pretty interesting. Loved that it was like a journal entry for The Doctor. This would also make a good episode, especially with the call backs to former companions.

[Aric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I think David Tennant is my favorite incarnation of The Doctor so it is pleasant for me to have him revisit the character. The presentation is good but however, I think the story misfires a little.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My only major complaint with this story is that given that this story is set in a 60s pirate radio station on a creaky old ship in the middle of a storm, with a monster that eats sound, it's a real shame that they didn't go for much more lush sound design. Admittedly, doing it really properly, complete with licensed period music, would probably have been prohibitively expensive. Still, it seems like a missed opportunity.

That aside, this is quite an enjoyable story. I was rather taken with Layla, the designated companion-surrogate for this adventure, from the moment she casually borrowed the Doctor's sonic screwdriver to butter her toast. The plot is pretty simple, but the tension builds throughout and the story doesn't drag. And while I've heard it opined numerous times that having the Doctor as the first person narrator of a story is a bad idea, Goss pulls it off here, with a little help from a clever framing device.

There are a few things that don't really make sense if you think about them too hard - starting with the idea that the Time Lords would have created a weapon as senselessly indiscriminate as the Hush. But if you don't think about that too hard, this is a nice little ship-under-siege story enlivened by some period color and some clever touches.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1411672.html

David Tennant reads James Goss's excellent Doctor Who novel, Dead Air, set on a pirate radio ship off the southern coast of England in 1966, where the Doctor is dealing with a mysterious entity called the Hush, which exists as an organism based on sound alone; it absorbs its victims and turns them into sound patterns - if they are lucky. It is tremendously creepy and enjoyable, and Dark Hints are dropped which one can interpret as tying into the Tenth Doctor's final story; also Tennant is an excellent reader - the whole thing is done in character as a first-person narrative from the Doctor's point of view, but he conveys the other characters very convincingly too. This is very strongly recommended.

[Red · Rating 5 out of 5]

We begin The Doctor landing on a boat used for pirate radio following a monster called The Hush. He gives various warning about not listening to the story and that he or we are going to die.
I found the story compelling and well read, I began listening to this while doing other things soon enough I was gripped and it's all I could focus on.
Listening on vinyl with the additional cracks and pops made the slightly immersive listening even more so making me slightly regret listening so late but worth it all the same. It gives the feeling of Midnight and the first-time I saw Blink. Almost feeling like found audio being included in to the story, though the feeling of 'oh god what have I just released' did come over me as the story was finished

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must admit since the year of the specials I've really quite gone off David Tennant's doctor. But I've found I really enjoyed this story anyway. It was very atmospheric and the first person narration really suited the story. It made sense, sounded like the Doctor talking (and not just cause David was doing the voice) and the reason for telling the story worked really well. (Rather than some audiogo which sound just like the actor reading the book). The story was spooky and the other characters were very good. The monster suitably threatening and the end a nice twist. I'd recommend this one.

[Kerry · Rating 2 out of 5]

David Tennant's performance was great, but the story itself was pretty . . . well, dumb. The "bad guy" didn't really make all that much sense to me, and they do a whole "if you are listening to this recording, it's all too late! The world is doomed!" thing that wasn't in the least bit scary. However I did learn about the existence of British pirate radio in the 1960s, and how that led to changes to BBC radio (in that they started actually playing pop music) so that was good! I like learning things.

[Richard Guion · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Doctor Who audiobook! This was great, narrated by David Tennant, the setting is a Pirate Radio ship off the coast of the UK in the 1960s. Tennant always sounds goofy to me as the Doctor, which is fun, but he does a smashing job on the accents of the other characters on the ship. If you've seen the movie, Pirate Radio, you will remember Bill Nighy in that - one of these people sounds just like him. Tennant is wickedly talented. It's a short audiobook, just over 1 hour, but now I think I am hooked on Dr Who audiobooks.

[Vitor Frazão · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graças aos audiobooks este ano tenho sido exposto a uma quantidade impressionante de boas histórias whovian. Por isso quando digo que nenhuma de entre essas dezenas me encheu tanto as medidas como esta é uma argumento de peso.

Tudo nela está perfeito: a voz de Tennant, numa das poucas histórias que é narrada na primeira pessoa pelo Doctor; a "monstro", uma arma sónica que se torna self-aware; a acção passar-se num radio pirata britânica nos 60's; o final e, acima de tudo, o meio que escolheram para transmitir a história. Daquelas "leituras" da qual se sai completamente satisfeito.