Book Club: The Nightmare of Black Island

Books Book Club
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Time for another book! We are going to read together The Nightmare of Black Island

Please discuss below - no need to finish it first, discuss as you go along but please add spoiler tags for anything that could be considered a spoiler!

If you’ve previously read the book and want to join in the discussion, that’s great too!

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Just for fun, add your rating here:

Select your rating (out of 10):
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I remember this being a pretty traditional story - remote village, rain and thunder, tales of monsters in the dark. There’s a pub and a mysterious medical facility nearby. An enjoyable enough romp.

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I have read this and rated it 3.5/5 witch is my good but nothing special grade. I don’t remember the story at all.

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I started listening to the abridged audiobook (narrated by Anthony Stewart Head). I’m about halfway through, and I agree with what @deltaandthebannermen and @Tian say above: so far, it runs exactly like a traditional Doctor Who adventure. There are hints of Horror of Fang Rock here, with a remote location, a medical institution hiding alien secrets, Rose getting into trouble, and the Doctor slowly working out the truth. I thought it would feature the Sea Devils at first, but the aliens here are a different reptile species posing as humans.

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I finished the book, and it’s a very standard, safe Nu Who adventure.

The Nightmare of Black Island = 6/10

What’s there to say? It’s not a very memorable or spectacular adventure, but it gets the job done and can be atmospheric at times. Ten and Rose are good, the little girl is annoying, and Morton is a very stereotypical villain. Don’t really remember the other characters. I like the setting. Anthony Stewart Head is a fine narrator.

1 Like