Customer Reviews

Torchwood: In the Shadows (2CD)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Joseph Lidster's In the Shadows (an original Torchwood audio book) contains a few good ideas, but on the whole the production is more annoying than it is entertaining. The plot involves a religious zealot who receives in the mail a book of matches labelled "Lucifer." The zealot soon discovers that striking a match sends someone he perceives as a sinner to "Hell" (an extradimensional space where time travels much faster than normal), and he goes around like a serial killer punishing the wicked. The idea's not bad and there's some nice atmosphere, but some flaws in the execution really undermine the story. First, the serial killer has the incredibly cliched habit of humming a children's nursery rhyme in a slow, "creepy" way. This was repeated to the point of nausea. Second, the origin of the Lucifer matches is never explained (there's some speculation it may have been an experiment by the now-defunct Torchwood One, but why test the device out by mailing it to an unsuspecting stranger?). Third, the story ends with another cliche, the "this killer has been stopped, but there's another one out there!" ending. And finally, Eve Myles butchers the recording by trying (and failing miserably) to give Captain Jack an "authentic" American accent that actually comes out as a weird, strained, cracking nasal falsetto that most closely resembles a middle-aged blue collar guy doing an impression of the Queen of England. That last line might not make any sense, but trust me it's bad.

I have listened to a few of the Torchwood series audiobooks and I find them to be very entertaining. In the Shadows is definitely one of my favourites.

There are mysterious bodies appearing out of no where, a very creepy and disturbing (yet tragic) antagonist and intriguing metaphysical questions. What is hell? Does it really exist?

I enjoyed the insight into the main Torchwood character (sending Jack 'to hell' was morbidly fascinating) and I loved how the author dealt with the nature of Jack and Ianto's relationship.

Unfortunately, I could not give this a 5 out of 5 because the mystery of the medium that is used to send people to 'hell' is never solved. We are left with questions that should have been answered but were rather addressed by asking more questions.

In the end however, it seems very much like a Torchwood episode and the various point-of-views help to make for a very enjoyable story.

If you love Captain Jack Harkness, then get this audio because there is alot of focus on his character here.