What do you think?
Rate this book
Torchwood Soho #1
Torchwood Soho: Parasite
Enter the world of 1950s Torchwood!
Gangsters are vanishing from the streets of Soho, there’s a deadly Nazi secret on the loose, and something’s moving in the smog. Norton Folgate should be sorting this out, but the Torchwood agent is in disgrace. Who’s going to save London this time?
1. The Man From Room 13
2. Meet Mr Lyme
3. The Mould
4. The Spread
5. The Dead Hand
6. The Liberty of Norton Folgate
Gangsters are vanishing from the streets of Soho, there’s a deadly Nazi secret on the loose, and something’s moving in the smog. Norton Folgate should be sorting this out, but the Torchwood agent is in disgrace. Who’s going to save London this time?
1. The Man From Room 13
2. Meet Mr Lyme
3. The Mould
4. The Spread
5. The Dead Hand
6. The Liberty of Norton Folgate
Audiobook
First published August 20, 2020
1 person is currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
James Goss
222 books176 followersJames Goss has written two Torchwood novels and a radio play, as well as a Being Human book. His Doctor Who audiobook Dead Air won Best Audiobook 2010. James also spent seven years working on the BBC's official Doctor Who website and co-wrote the website for Torchwood Series One. In 2007, he won the Best Adaptation category in the annual LA Weekly Theatre Awards for his version of Douglas Adams' novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 11, 2020
Abbiamo conosciuto Norton Folgate (interpretato da Samuel Barnett) nel 2016 in Torchwood: Ghost Mission, una delle prime avventure in solitaria dell'allora PC Andy Davidson (un Tom Price che migliora di audio in audio).
Da quel momento i due sono stati praticamente inseparabili, sia nel XXI secolo che negli anni '50 del 1900, periodo di provenienza di Norton.
Come in tutte le loro avventure, anche in Torchwood Soho: Parasite la missione di Norton sembra essere quella di creare caos, fare doppiogioco e cercare di mettere nei guai amici e collaboratori. Mentre ad Andy resta il compito di mettere tutti e tutto in sicurezza.
L'audio è composto da sei episodi di trenta minuti l'uno, sulla falsariga dei serial della serie madre di quell'epoca. La storia è unica e l'evoluzione è dinamica e piena di colpi di scena.
Adoro entrambi i personaggi e il nuovo arrivato, Gideon Lyme (interpretato da Joe Shire), si incastra benissimo nel menage abituale dei due.
La solita speranza è che non si tratti di un episodio singolo. In assenza di Yvonne, Torchwood One ha bisogno di Norton Folgate.
Da quel momento i due sono stati praticamente inseparabili, sia nel XXI secolo che negli anni '50 del 1900, periodo di provenienza di Norton.
Come in tutte le loro avventure, anche in Torchwood Soho: Parasite la missione di Norton sembra essere quella di creare caos, fare doppiogioco e cercare di mettere nei guai amici e collaboratori. Mentre ad Andy resta il compito di mettere tutti e tutto in sicurezza.
L'audio è composto da sei episodi di trenta minuti l'uno, sulla falsariga dei serial della serie madre di quell'epoca. La storia è unica e l'evoluzione è dinamica e piena di colpi di scena.
Adoro entrambi i personaggi e il nuovo arrivato, Gideon Lyme (interpretato da Joe Shire), si incastra benissimo nel menage abituale dei due.
La solita speranza è che non si tratti di un episodio singolo. In assenza di Yvonne, Torchwood One ha bisogno di Norton Folgate.
February 1, 2021
The Man From Room 13 - 2 stars
Meet Mr Lyme - 2.5 stars
The Mould - 3.5 stars
The Spread - 3 stars
The Dead Hand - 2.5 stars
The Liberty of Norton Folgate - 3 stars
Overall - 3 stars
Meet Mr Lyme - 2.5 stars
The Mould - 3.5 stars
The Spread - 3 stars
The Dead Hand - 2.5 stars
The Liberty of Norton Folgate - 3 stars
Overall - 3 stars
June 10, 2023
After the events of Torchwood: Goodbye Piccadilly, Norton Folgate thought he was on top of the world. Well, at least on top of Soho. Well, at least on top of Torchwood. Well, at least on top. Alas, that was not the case.
(1) The Man From Room 13 - I adore Norton Folgate, don’t get me wrong, but where’s Andy? I mean he IS on the cover. They have such delicious chemistry. I miss the Andy-Folgate Show. In any case, this was deliciously campy and enormously funny. Off to a 4/5 start.
(2) Meet Mr Lyme - This was wonderful. Great messages about race in the Whoniverse corner of Torchwood. There’s also some truly surprising twists in here that I really wasn’t expecting. I probably should have. But ... you know ... Torchwood ... expect the unexpected and all. And then THE ENDING! That’s it: 5/5!
(3) The Mould - And they’re naked! LOL How often is Andy going to end up naked with Norton? Answer? EVERY BLOODY TIME! LOL Too funny. This chapter is just hilarious shenanigans! Another 5/5!
(4) The Spread - Okay, a bit of a breather as the pace slows down - but the hilarity continues. The story elements are coming together, maybe, and the story progresses and Folgate really tries to solve some stuff and save some guys. 4/5 - if you’re interested (personally, I’d don’t care anymore, I’m giving this thing 5-stars - this audio-play is just simply brilliant).
(5) The Dead Hand - A bit of back story to flesh things out a bit. Nice stuff. Really well written and the usual excellent soundscape work from Big Finish. 4/5 and now ... sorry about the pun (not really) ... the Big Finish!
(6) The Liberty of Norton Folgate - OMFG! Frelling Brilliant! Norton Folgate and Torchwood Soho FOREVER! 5/5 ... no, actually 10/5! TEN! TEN! TEN! Where’s the next adventure with Folgate and Lyme? Come on ... get with it! More Torchwood: Soho! NOW!
This whole thing is a wild ride of campy hilarity that really offsets the rather horrific menace faced by Torchwood Soho. Without the campy antics this would have just dissolved into one endlessly grim sequence after another. The humor and shenanigans keep things lively, fun and enormously entertaining.
(1) The Man From Room 13 - I adore Norton Folgate, don’t get me wrong, but where’s Andy? I mean he IS on the cover. They have such delicious chemistry. I miss the Andy-Folgate Show. In any case, this was deliciously campy and enormously funny. Off to a 4/5 start.
(2) Meet Mr Lyme - This was wonderful. Great messages about race in the Whoniverse corner of Torchwood. There’s also some truly surprising twists in here that I really wasn’t expecting. I probably should have. But ... you know ... Torchwood ... expect the unexpected and all. And then THE ENDING! That’s it: 5/5!
(3) The Mould - And they’re naked! LOL How often is Andy going to end up naked with Norton? Answer? EVERY BLOODY TIME! LOL Too funny. This chapter is just hilarious shenanigans! Another 5/5!
(4) The Spread - Okay, a bit of a breather as the pace slows down - but the hilarity continues. The story elements are coming together, maybe, and the story progresses and Folgate really tries to solve some stuff and save some guys. 4/5 - if you’re interested (personally, I’d don’t care anymore, I’m giving this thing 5-stars - this audio-play is just simply brilliant).
(5) The Dead Hand - A bit of back story to flesh things out a bit. Nice stuff. Really well written and the usual excellent soundscape work from Big Finish. 4/5 and now ... sorry about the pun (not really) ... the Big Finish!
(6) The Liberty of Norton Folgate - OMFG! Frelling Brilliant! Norton Folgate and Torchwood Soho FOREVER! 5/5 ... no, actually 10/5! TEN! TEN! TEN! Where’s the next adventure with Folgate and Lyme? Come on ... get with it! More Torchwood: Soho! NOW!
This whole thing is a wild ride of campy hilarity that really offsets the rather horrific menace faced by Torchwood Soho. Without the campy antics this would have just dissolved into one endlessly grim sequence after another. The humor and shenanigans keep things lively, fun and enormously entertaining.
March 26, 2023
This is a single three-hour story although, for some reason, split into six individually titled episodes. Although nominally the first in a new series of stories featuring the 1950s version of Torchwood, it is actually a direct sequel to the earlier release Goodbye Picadilly which it would certainly help to listen to first.
This time, Norton Fulgate is the primary viewpoint character, although Sgt Andy does also play a major role and there are a couple of extended flashbacks where we see events from the perspective of other characters. Fulgate is certainly developing here; we get to see a more sympathetic side of the character than before, although he remains manipulative and prone to innuendo. Indeed, it's probably the latter and the oblique references to sex that are the main reason for the "adult" rating of this story - one of the other characters does face some racism, but there's nothing too explicit and the central threat is probably no scarier than much of what we get in Doctor Who .
There's a good mix of drama, action, and social commentary (it's kind of easy to take a pop at '50s London when one character is gay and another is black) with plenty of references to the pop culture of the day to set the scene. There are also quite a lot of one-liners, not all of them courtesy of Fulgate, which prevent things from getting overly bleak and serious. It's a strong story taking advantage of its unusually long run-time to bring in a lot of detail and I look forward to seeing where Goss takes these characters next.
This time, Norton Fulgate is the primary viewpoint character, although Sgt Andy does also play a major role and there are a couple of extended flashbacks where we see events from the perspective of other characters. Fulgate is certainly developing here; we get to see a more sympathetic side of the character than before, although he remains manipulative and prone to innuendo. Indeed, it's probably the latter and the oblique references to sex that are the main reason for the "adult" rating of this story - one of the other characters does face some racism, but there's nothing too explicit and the central threat is probably no scarier than much of what we get in Doctor Who .
There's a good mix of drama, action, and social commentary (it's kind of easy to take a pop at '50s London when one character is gay and another is black) with plenty of references to the pop culture of the day to set the scene. There are also quite a lot of one-liners, not all of them courtesy of Fulgate, which prevent things from getting overly bleak and serious. It's a strong story taking advantage of its unusually long run-time to bring in a lot of detail and I look forward to seeing where Goss takes these characters next.
July 19, 2021
I'm a bit undecided how much I liked it. It is somewhere between bloody brilliant and convulted finish I would say.
Disk 1:
Setting up the story and introducing new characters. That was so well done. Gideon and Norton's boss both really interesting characters which were immediately very interesting. I also liked the 50's feel, spotliting racism and homophobia during that time period.
Disk 2:
Andy appears and all hell breaks loose. The whole disk is so much fun! I had to laugh out loud so often during that hour, it was just brilliant. And I can't believe they end up naked. Every. Single. Time they meet.
Disk 3:
This one was a bit disappointing for me, but maybe it will grow in the future. The first half is a flashback to how everything started and didn't include Norton or Andy. So while it was done in a vry good way I didn't really felt invested into the story. The finale was a lot better back then, even if it was maybe a bit too big - like with Goodbye Piccadily. I tend to lose the plot when too much happens at the same time.
Overall I enjoyed the box set a lot - Andy and Norton are such a great team-up!
Disk 1:
Setting up the story and introducing new characters. That was so well done. Gideon and Norton's boss both really interesting characters which were immediately very interesting. I also liked the 50's feel, spotliting racism and homophobia during that time period.
Disk 2:
Andy appears and all hell breaks loose. The whole disk is so much fun! I had to laugh out loud so often during that hour, it was just brilliant. And I can't believe they end up naked. Every. Single. Time they meet.
Disk 3:
This one was a bit disappointing for me, but maybe it will grow in the future. The first half is a flashback to how everything started and didn't include Norton or Andy. So while it was done in a vry good way I didn't really felt invested into the story. The finale was a lot better back then, even if it was maybe a bit too big - like with Goodbye Piccadily. I tend to lose the plot when too much happens at the same time.
Overall I enjoyed the box set a lot - Andy and Norton are such a great team-up!
November 1, 2022
After getting a taste of Sgt Andy and Norton Folgates relationship in Goodbye Piccadilly I picked up the first 2 sets of Torchwood Soho.
The structure of Torchwood Soho is very different to most other Torchwood releases where it tells one long story over 6 20-30 minute stories. This works really well and helps the story to be broken up into nice little listens as hour-long stories can get a bit tiresome one after the other.
The characters in this are really fun and the alien threat is new and interesting. Norton's character is so wild and entertaining as he manipulates situations into working out for him.
Lyme is probably my second favourite character here as he is like 1950s Gwen Cooper, being the one who doesn't know what Torchwood is but by the end of the story is roped into its mess and joins Torchwood, which is now just Lyme and Norton.
The structure of Torchwood Soho is very different to most other Torchwood releases where it tells one long story over 6 20-30 minute stories. This works really well and helps the story to be broken up into nice little listens as hour-long stories can get a bit tiresome one after the other.
The characters in this are really fun and the alien threat is new and interesting. Norton's character is so wild and entertaining as he manipulates situations into working out for him.
Lyme is probably my second favourite character here as he is like 1950s Gwen Cooper, being the one who doesn't know what Torchwood is but by the end of the story is roped into its mess and joins Torchwood, which is now just Lyme and Norton.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 5, 2023
It's a bit uncommon for one writer to do a whole series at Big Finish. It happens on occasion. I believe this is the first for me that's written all by James Goss. I know he's a terrific writer, I've read a few of his novels and have listened to even more of his Big Finish work. However, with Torchwood: Soho he's outdone himself. This is a brilliant, fun, exciting, and epic adventure. And I am happy to say, this is my favorite new series from Big Finish. I can't wait to catch up with the two following series. I am delighted to find three great gay male leads, all perfectly cast and acted. I'm giving this one my very highest recommendation.
August 29, 2020
Loved it.
This is a very clever story and will definitely benefit from several listens.
The plot itself is... familiar.
However, the execution is what sets this apart.
To say more would be to spoil things.
Very well done.
Plus, it has Andy in it.
This is a very clever story and will definitely benefit from several listens.
The plot itself is... familiar.
However, the execution is what sets this apart.
To say more would be to spoil things.
Very well done.
Plus, it has Andy in it.
September 7, 2020
It is the YEAR OF Sgt.ANDY!!!!
Could have been only four stars due to episode four's length. But oh well!!!
Could have been only four stars due to episode four's length. But oh well!!!
December 14, 2020
Norton is in 1950's london working for a side office of torchwood. A plague breaks out and he has to save the day.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews