Another Life (Torchwood) [Hardcover]

Peter Anghelides (Author)

Book Description

Series: Torchwood | Publication Date: September 25, 2007

High-profile new Doctor Who-inspired drama created by Russell T. Davies. The 21st century is when it all changes, and you've got to be ready. Separate from the government; outside the police, beyond the United Nations; Torchwood sets its own rules. A team of investigators, using alien technology to solve crime - both alien and human. This new British sci-fi crime thriller, created by Russell T. Davies, sees them delve into the unknown. A group of people fighting the impossible. A terror hides at the bottom of Cardiff Bay - waiting, feeding, controlling... this novel is a brand-new Torchwood adventure.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter Anghelides has written novels, audios, and short fiction for BBC Books, Virgin Publishing, and Big Finish Productions. "Frontier Worlds" won Doctor Who Magazine's Readers' Poll, and SFX placed "The Ancestor Cell" in the year's Top Ten TV tie-ins.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Random House UK (September 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0563486538
• ISBN-13: 978-0563486534
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 5.2 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Peter Anghelides is an author and dramatist who has written licensed tie-in titles for several TV series: "Doctor Who", "Torchwood, and "The Sarah Jane Adventures". His novels, short fiction, spoken books, and audio plays are published by BBC Books, Big Finish, and AudioGo.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent effort!, January 25, 2007

By 

Sunnydale - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Another Life (Torchwood) (Hardcover)

The Doctor Who novels have disappointed me, ranging in quality from mediocre down to virtually unreadable. Those experiences led me to harbor no great hopes for novels about the DW spinoff Torchwood, but I had a promotional certificate soon to expire and rather than waste it, decided to take a chance on buying this book.

I liked it. A lot. The author captures the essence of the characters (his Jack is especially solid) and the story matches the tone of the series quite well. There's some excellent dialogue, notably in a few exchanges between Jack and Ianto. I could imagine it airing on the show. I could also imagine the plot forming a good episode.

Well done. I only hope the other Torchwood novels are near the caliber of this one!

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Looking forward to more books in this series....., February 17, 2007

By 

Dragashani "Eclectic" (Beyond the Sun) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Another Life (Torchwood) (Hardcover)

I'm a big fan of the newest version of the Doctor Who franchise (the 9th & 10th Doctors) and Captain Jack Harkness was definitely a favorite character from the 1st series, when I found out he was getting a spin off series called Torchwood I could hardly wait to see it. And therein lies the problem, I most likely won't be seeing it anytime soon. Anyways, when I saw that three books based on the series were being released I jumped at the chance to pick them up and so far with this first I am not disappointed. The plot involves the team trying to track down a murderer who just happens to be possessed by an alien. Oh, and lets not forget the missing containers from the nuclear plant or the mysterious, almost typhoon-like conditions centered over Cardiff.

Probably the strongest part of the book is the dialogue and interaction between the main characters as they try to track down the alien. The pacing, for the most part, is fast and the author literally pulls you into the story. The only downfall in my opinion, and the reason for the 4-star rating, is the fact that it does bog down a bit when one of the main characters, Owen, meets up with an old girlfriend while doing a spot of online gaming while stuck in decontamination, and decides-without bothering to consult Jack, his boss- to try and recruit her to Torchwood. It just didn't seem to ring true to the Owen character from earlier on in the book.

Other than that, the book's an absolutely brilliant read and I'm eagerly looking forward to reading the others. Hopefully they will measure up to the bar set by this book and not be so hit and miss as the Doctor Who books have been in being true to the characters as they appear in the shows.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Was Good, Bring More, January 23, 2008

By 

Cala Jane "Cala Jane" (Europe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Another Life (Torchwood) (Hardcover)

I'm too big of a Torchwood fan to pass on yet another possibility to read about my favourite characters.
Great idea and plot that just doesn't let you close the book. Nah-ah. I gave up my precious sleep just to learn how the book ends. Brilliant plottwists and suspense you can encounter in the best books in this genre.

The characters are portayed truthfully and the reader feels as if they were taken straight from the TV screen. Brilliant dialogue that fits perfectly with the pace of the story.

The book has only one flaw though. The character of Owen. It seems as if after Owen gets stuck in the Hub, the author is a bit lost and doesn't really know what to do with the character. And that makes the whole subplot of Owen's virual game, meeting a girl etc a bit out of place, boring... Uninteresting. That's the only reason why I didn't give this book 5 stars.