Okay, I admit it: I rather like Grayvorn. He's quite straightforward - you know exactly where you stand with him ... i.e. precisely nowhere! When I first listened to this, I thought Tony sounded remarkably like Tom Baker and I almost had to check the cover to see which Doctor is in this one. Now, this CD gives us a rather uppercrust sounding Tony who certainly sounds as though he had a wonderful time doing this. It really is good stuff and you'll find yourself getting involved in the story as well - always a bonus. Don't do what I did however ... I listened to this at work, in my lunch-hour via headphones, and work colleagues were a bit bemused at my occasional outbursts like "go on, Grayvorn. Slaughter them." You're guaranteed to be cheering on Grayvorn ... I love him to bits. Tony has the most incredible voice anyway (I don't really need to tell you that, do I? I'm sort of preaching to the converted here) but this series gives us the chance to listen to three different voices - this is the first: a poshish sounding warlord with a deeper voice than Tony usually uses - and, yes ... it's seriously sexy!

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The next part of the Excelis series gives us a soft, almost sibilant sounding Tony as the quite compelling Reeve Maupassant. I'm not going to give away any of the plot by explaining why he's called something different in this one - you're just going to have to buy the CD's and find out for yourself. Whereas Grayvorn was straightforward and understandable, Reeve Maupassant is a much more mysterious and shadowy figure - and that's how Tony's voice comes across. This will send shivers up your spine and there are definite "ohhh" and "awww" moments in this one. You'll find yourself liking Grayvorn ... but Reeve Maupassant you'll find yourself almost feeling sorry for in a way. It's weird - you'll find a few conflicting emotions. You're supposed to be cheering on the Doctor - and as I'm a very long-term Dr Who fan I definitely should be - but because Tony is playing the villain he has your full support the whole way.

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The final part of the Excelis series that stars Tony sees him this time as a complete and utter loon. That's really the only way to describe Lord Sutton! Tony is superb as ever - playing this character with a higher pitched, faster talking voice and it pays off wonderfully. He sounds unbalanced, in some places quite manic, and this leads to the most dangerous of the three "characters". He is quite chilling at times, something I always think is more difficult to pull off in an audio medium where you don't have the benefit of facial expressions to help. This one is the best of the three - Tony gets some quite brilliant lines and delivers them to perfection. Just listen to him going on about his precious "meat puppets"! You'll giggle in places but the overall effect is that of a threatening, resourceful and intelligent character who will give you shivers ... and I'm not talking nice ones here!

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TINGLE RATING:

Slightly different again - not an audio play this time. The Valiant is a "talking book" and Tony is the narrator. It's great listening to this through headphones because the overall effect is that of Tony reading to you. If you think however, that's all this is then you'd be wrong. You see, one thing I never considered when I sat down to listen to this was the fact that Tony would give all the various characters distinctive voices. It really is superb! As you get into this more, you know which of the characters are talking before you're told - that's how good Tony's voices in this are. And the female voices are quite marvellous as well. Once you get over the novelty of this, you will start to listen to the story ... which is okay. Well, I do watch all the various Star Treks, but I don't buy the books or collect the videos etc. Therefore, I would never have considered getting this if it weren't for the fact that Tony was reading it. The plot, therefore, whilst okay, isn't exactly earth-shattering. Certainly not enough to detract from the simple pleasure of sitting back and letting Tony's voice wash over you. You can order this from Amazon.

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Another talking book ... but this one is more entertaining than most. If you haven't actually read any of Dianne Wynne Jones books then I suggest you do so, but these audio cassettes are a very good introduction to the world of Chrestomanci (a powerful enchanter with nine lives). There are four stories here and my personal favourite is story number one: Warlock at the Wheel. A great character called The Willing Warlock (!) is exiled to a magic-less world where he gets into BIG trouble with a girl and her dog. Tony is brilliant once more: his voices all have different characteristics and are therefore more easily identifiable. Warlock at the Wheel is a fun story, very comical and you'll giggle aloud, I can assure you! The second story is Stealer of Souls - and as you can guess from the title, it's a bit more serious. This concerns Cat and Tonino, who appear in other Chrestomanci titles. They are kidnapped by an evil enchanter and have to try and thwart his plans. Serious it may be ... but it's still very enjoyable. The third story is Carol Oneir's Hundredth Dream and is about a young girl who has made a lucrative career out of dreaming. She finds herself suffering from Dreamers-block and is sent to Chrestomanci in the hopes he can find a cure. Just listen to Tony's voice as Carol - pure brilliance! The final story is called The Sage of Theare and concerns the "Sage of Dissolution" ... a person who threatens the existence of all worlds that have ever been. These really are fabulous stories ... made all the more enjoyable by being voiced by Tony - who seems to have a ball in reading them. As usual you can order this from Amazon.

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