Hi my hot cute girly and boy geeks, as promised, another book review.
I’ve read a couple of Torchwood books, well, read is a big word. As part of my recovery from my surgery I had to do a lot of walking and to keep me company I added a couple of audio books to my mp3 player, and this was one of them. The thing I love about the Torchwood audio books is that they include the original cast from the TV series as much as possible to read the books. This one was done by Audible and unfortunately only has Kai Owen (who plays Rhys Williams) participating in this project. The other audio books where narrated by just the one person, this is narrated by a couple of characters in the book. I think it’s a shame they didn’t get Eve Myles for the role of Gwen Cooper, although the voice actor who does play the role of Gwen, is really good and it sounds a lot like Gwen.
Oh, before I go any further. This book takes place before Miracle day and this review is gonna contain spoilers.
Goodreads description:
Gwen and Rhys must protect their daughter as they stand alone in the defence of the Earth – a “Torchwood: Miracle Day” prequel.
Amazon description: (seeing as the one from Goodreads is really short and doesn’t tell you anything.)
Gwen and Rhys are on the run. Rhys was hoping this meant a windswept cottage on a cliff top, but he’s had to settle for a miserable caravan in the isolated village of Rawbone. With the locals taking an unhealthy interest in their daughter, Gwen and Rhys start to realize that something is very wrong – something with echoes of a life they thought they’d left behind. As they uncover the village’s terrible past, Gwen discovers that Torchwood will never leave them behind, and now she and Rhys stand alone in defense of the Earth. And the children of Rawbone can only bring her closer to the secret forces that want her out of the way.
My thoughts:
So I listened to a couple of Torchwood Audio books already and I must say, this isn’t one of my favorites, together with Border Princess. I don’t know if this has anything to do with the fact that it was more of an audio drama then an audio book, or an audio book all together. But the other audio books I listened to where a lot shorter than this one. Most of them were between an hour and a half and two hours. First Born is over 6 hours long! And it is sometimes confusing listening to the different voices and parts being played by the narrators.
Although I love the story very much. And may I just comment on the fact that a lot of the Torchwood stories are the same? Again this is about children, creepy alien children that is to say. I love how throughout the story little hints are given, working towards the final endgame. For example, the stink thistles. You just know there is something wrong with them, but it isn’t explained right away. Another thing, the children. Seeing that they all look alike, your mind get’s all these ideas about what could be the cause of this, and when you learn what’s behind it. The only proper response you can give is, yep, Torchwood.
There are actually a couple of storylines in this particular story. All neatly woven into one. First of all, we have Rhys and Gwen on the run, after everything that 
happened with Children of Earth. Torchwood is no more, Jack is gone, and the rest is dead. And I really appreciate that in just about all the books, the remaining characters still look back at their fallen colleagues, keeping their memories in their hearts. But yeah, Rhys and Gwen are on the run with their daughter Anwen and end up in Rawbone to keep a low profile.
The other storyline is the creepiness of Rawbone. The people are strange, the children even stranger, all looking alike. I don’t want to say too much of this, because I don’t want to actually spoil the plot for people who haven’t read it yet.
And also we have a little subplot. Rhys, dealing with being a daddy and looking after baby Anwen and keeping Gwen away from bloody Torchwood. Kai Owen plays the role perfectly for Rhys. (James Gross did a marvelous job capturing Rhys as the character he is in this story.)
But as I said, not one of my favorite stories. The story is really long; we have too many perspectives from the different characters in the book and for me that is really distracting. I need to get my hands on the book so I can read it and see if my opinion stands or the culprit of my low rating is indeed the audio book.
If you are a fan of Doctor Who and Torchwood, I still recommend you read and/or listen to it. Otherwise, just pick something else.
My rate for this book is 6 out of 10.
Hope you enjoyed the review.
Lots of love, your hot cute girly geek, Mendy.
Hot Cute Girly Geek 