PLOTLINE
When a naval cruiser sinks in mysterious circumstances
in the North Sea, all aboard are lost. Rose is saddened to learn that the brother
of her friend, Keisha, was among the dead. And yet he appears to them as a ghostly
apparition, begging to be saved from the coming feast... the feast of the drowned.
As the dead crew haunt loved ones all over London,
the Doctor and Rose are drawn into a chilling mystery. What sank the ship, and
why? When the cruiser's wreckage was towed up the Thames, what sinister force
came with it?
The river's dark waters are hiding an even
darker secret, as preparations for the feast near their conclusion.
COMMENT
The sign of a gripping, exciting and intriguing novel is often the first sentence,
and, if you can gird yourself, the final sentence.
"How could something so big sink so fast?"
There in a single set of manipulated & randomised
vowels and consonants the reader is asking questions within 3 seconds. Sink?
Water. Big? Powerful. Fast? Sabotaged.
Steven Cole's previous contribution to BBC BOOKS , featuring
the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) was stunningly dark, threatening and
based upon elemental human fears but, unfortunately, was produced as an audiobook.
THE FEAST OF THE DROWNED is
set around the mysterious UK Naval cruiser, recovered from the North Sea and
towed to the very heart of the City of London from which 'ghosts' of the lost & drowned
appear tempting their loved ones to come to their aid. A modern-day tale of drowning
and love.
If you loved THE CHRISTMAS INVASION (2005), you will love
this. In fact, this story could easily transfer to television.
Naturally, the Doctor and Rose (accompanied
by "Defending of the Earth, Mickey
Smith) take charge with the Doctor infiltrating official government agency, and
Rose managing the "domestic" aspects (which, ironically, shows Rose a future-what-could-have-been
if she had resigned herself to be a bored shop girl instead of swaning off across
time & space).
Once the basics are clearly defined the
story accelerates from chips-in-foil-trays, to a secret underground science laboratory,
to the dissected skeleton of the 'ghost
ship', and a 007-speed boat race down the Thames.
Relishing every word, David Tennant's soft
and spiriting reading is immediate engaging as he, like a chameleon, switches
from 'his' garrulous and confident
Doctor to wide-boy Mickey Smith to the chillingly dry Crayshaw. And the cameo
from the newsagent shop owner is a absolute delight.
The script is as quirky as the television
series, with the Doctor particularly well pitched with the rambling and "talking-aloud" explanations
that at times head in a completely different and inconsequential direction.
You instantly forget that there is no loud sound
effects or interfering music as the story races to a gripping conclusion with
characters that you care about. Without well-written characters that have background & motive
and absorbing story listening becomes, often, tiresome where the sound of a boiling
kettle (and the aroma of freshly brewed tea) becomes more attractive. Thankfully, THE
FEAST OF THE DROWNED hooks
the listener/reader from page 1 scene 1.
The kettle remains cold, so a flask of prepared refreshment is recommended.