Tag Archives: audio

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Posted by melydia on July 24, 2012 3 comments

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (unabridged audiobook read by Roy Dotrice; 33.5 hrs on 28 discs): Eleventy-billion characters and the only truly interesting one is the dwarf. Sure, there were a few decently intertwined stories, but I really only paid attention when it was focused on Tyrion Lannister. His cynicism was refreshing amidst all the obsession over who gets to be king next. I liked this book far more than I’d expected, given that I tend not to favor political intrigue of any genre, but I don’t feel any particular desire to read more of the series.

A note on the audio: Dotrice’s voice is rather…um…moist. It was more noticeable with some voices than others, and at times I felt like I was listening to a grandfather with loose dentures. It didn’t help that I was listening to this book on headphones rather than in my car, where that sort of sound would probably be lost in the background. It wasn’t a problem most of the time, but it made certain words (like “breasts”) pretty jarring.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde

Posted by melydia on July 13, 2012 None comments

Lost in a Good Book (unabridged audiobook read by Elizabeth Sastre; 11.5 hrs on 10 discs): This is the second book in the Thursday Next series, and while familiarity with Jane Eyre was essential for enjoyment of the first one, I didn’t feel the same flailing desire for a list of prerequisites to understand this one. It deals a lot more with time travel and the perils of paradox, coincidence, and general literary shenanigans. Sure, an appreciation for Austen, Dickens, and the Brontes will certainly enhance your experience (mostly in the form of understanding more of the jokes), but I’m far from the world’s biggest Brit Lit fan and I still got a good chuckle from time to time. That said, I don’t see myself going out of my way to read the rest of the series. I suspect I don’t fall into the target audience quite neatly enough.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Posted by melydia on June 29, 2012 None comments

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (unabridged audiobook read by Bianca Amato; 14 hours on 12 discs): This is more or less the tale of a small apartment building overlooking an old London cemetery. On the top floor is Martin, a man with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder dealing with being housebound by his illness and the recent departure of his wife who moved away because she could no longer deal with living that way. On the bottom floor is Robert, a thirtysomething academic working on a definitive history of the cemetery for his thesis. In the middle was Robert’s lover Elspeth, who dies at the beginning of the book and leaves everything to her American twin nieces Julia and Valentina. Elspeth has never met the girls, and it’s worth noting that they are the daughters of Edie, Elspeth’s long-estranged twin sister. Shortly after her death, Elspeth is surprised to discover herself haunting her own flat, unable to leave. Most of the characters feel trapped in some fashion or another, and the ways they deal with it make up for the bulk of the story. I did not like the ending; I feel pretty unclear on what happened to Robert and I wish a little more had been said about Elspeth’s future. All the same, it was a reasonably interesting book, if not exactly what one might call exciting or even engrossing.

A note on the audio: Amato was fine, though sometimes her American accent came across a little strange to my native ears. Also, having a chapter titled “the end” on the last disc can be a little disconcerting to the listener, since many audiobook companies use those words to let you know the book has indeed ended!

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card

Posted by melydia on June 22, 2012 1 comments

The Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card (unabridged audiobook read by Scott Brick and a full cast; 18.5 hrs on 15 discs): The first half or so of this book is a novella about the life of Jason Worthing, a telepath born thousands of years before. Jason’s world revolves around Somec, a drug that basically puts people into suspended animation and is distributed out based on merit, not money, to preserve the “most valuable” individuals for future generations. The greater the value of the person, the greater the ratio of time asleep to time awake, with the Empress at the highest Somec levels: awake one day for every five years asleep. Like a pebble skipping across a pond, these people skip across time, and ultimately the human race stagnates, as the most innovative minds are never awake long enough to accomplish anything. This is also the story of Jason’s colony started from scratch, the colonists adults with the minds of infants. This part got a little preachy – one of the examples of how degenerate life in the capital city had become was how the citizens found defecation more offensive than fornication – but most of the rest of it was pretty good. The latter half was a bunch of short stories, some retelling tales from earlier in the book, others new stories of Somec. Though some of them were kind of interesting, the addition felt unnecessary. All in all, well, this book passed the time. It wasn’t especially engaging. I find Card to be hit or miss; this wasn’t a complete miss, but it wasn’t a hit either.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Posted by melydia on June 15, 2012 1 comments

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (unabridged audiobook read by Kate Rudd; 7hr 19min on 6 discs): I never expected to laugh so much during a story about teens with cancer. Our narrator, Hazel, is on oxygen all the time due to the fluid in her lungs, and her condition is undeniably terminal. One day at support group she meets the charming Augustus Waters; this is the tale of their relationship. And it is absolutely amazing, a story I treasured every instant of. Did I cry? Of course I cried. But I also left feeling so grateful to have known these characters for that brief time. This is also one of those books with a lot of reread value: lots of foreshadowing and symbolism that I look forward to spotting the second time around. Highly recommended.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Posted by melydia on June 12, 2012 2 comments

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (unabridged audiobook read by Michael Maloney; 5 hrs on 4 discs): Usually I like to have a sentence or two of synopsis to start off with, but the only thing I knew going into this was that it had something to do with the Holocaust. And honestly I think that was probably the best way. Bruno captured my heart, and frankly the end was a little traumatizing. While I can’t say that I necessarily liked this story, it was incredibly moving and a very important story. Definitely one to read by all, and a very good way to open the door to a conversation with children about the Holocaust. Definitely something that will stick with me for a long time.

A note on the audio: Maloney was quite good, being funny or sensitive as the situation required. This particular version also had a brief conversation between Boyne and his publisher, which was interesting but not strictly necessary. That is, I liked hearing about the book’s reception but I didn’t feel it added anything to my overall experience.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas

Posted by melydia on June 5, 2012 2 comments

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (unabridged audiobook read by Michael Page; 24 hrs on 20 discs): My familiarity with this story was limited to the Disney film and the sort-of sequel, neither of which have much to do with anything. Our hero, the young d’Artagnan, longs to become a Musketeer. While he is proving his worth, he befriends the titular Three Musketeers: Athos, Portos, and Aramis. I had not realized that most of the characters in this book are based (however loosely) on real people, but considering I knew pretty much nothing about any of them going in, it didn’t really matter. Most of this story deals with tracking down and defeating Milady de Winter, a character of uncertain origin and indubitable evil. I was surprised by two things, mostly: first, that the Musketeers’ taking on married women as lovers and financiers was a totally ordinary thing, and second, how often I laughed. This is, quite simply, an adventure story. People tend to be either wholly good or wholly evil, anyone the good guys kill is justified and anyone the bad guys killed is an outrage. In short, it’s a lot of fun, but don’t put too much thought into it.

A note on the audio: A lot of classics are no fun to listen to on audio because most of them were recorded before people figured out that voice actors are the better way to go when reading books for people. Thus, your chance of horrendous monotone is higher the older and more famous the book. So I was quite pleasantly surprised (thrilled, actually) to discover that this reader was just great. It made listening a real pleasure.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Silent Boy by Lois Lowry

Posted by melydia on May 29, 2012 None comments

The Silent Boy by Lois Lowry (unabridged audiobook read by Karen Allen; 3 hrs 57 min on 4 discs): I was kind of disturbed by this tale. It is told by Katy, a young girl at the turn of the century, about a boy named Jacob, the titular “silent” boy. He is what modern folks would refer to as mentally challenged, speaking no words but able to accurately replicate the sounds he hears, such as a grindstone in motion or a horse’s whinny. This is not a light read, and may be one that haunts me for quite a while. I can’t really say why without giving away the ending, but if you’ve read it, you probably understand what I mean. There’s no happy ending, and from the start Katy warns the reader that most would find this tale “too depressing”. And it’s not that, exactly, but it’s definitely sad. Well written, but very sad.

A note on the audio: I am often wary of movie actors as narrators, but Allen was fine. She didn’t really do any character voices, but her soft and husky voice lent itself quite well to the general tone of the story. That said, I think this book would be better read traditionally, as it was written based on a series of real photographs which appear at the beginning of each chapter. Being able to see those would, I imagine, add quite a bit to the realism.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel

Posted by melydia on May 22, 2012 None comments

Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel (unabridged audiobook read by George Guidall; 10 hrs 49 min on 9 discs): This is basically a biography of Galileo interspersed with letters from his devoted eldest daughter, a cloistered nun. The life story was of course quite fascinating, from his earliest publications to the trial by the Inquisition late in his life. His daughter’s letters, however, were less illuminating, consisting mostly of household minutiae and requests for money. Her repeated professions of love seemed to border on the passive aggressive, but I suppose that may have just been the translation. It’s too bad her father’s replies were lost; I would have liked to know what sorts of things he said to her. Still, this was a good overview of the life of a great man, and Sobel remains one of my favorite science writers.

A note on the audio: What can I say? It’s George Guidall. His name on a book guarantees it will be pleasantly listenable no matter what the subject matter. I know his voice well, and I appreciate that sort of consistency.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

Posted by melydia on May 4, 2012 None comments

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman (unabridged audiobook read by Anton Lesser; 6.5 hours on 6 discs): Sally Lockhart, recently orphaned, finds herself suddenly embroiled in a complicated plot wherein multiple people want to either kill her or save her. There are guns, and opium, and diaries, and shipwrecks, and over all it’s a pretty good whodunit. A little confusing at times, sure, but full of delightfully memorable characters.

A note on the audio: Lesser is simply marvelous. Seriously: he’s so good that I may go out of my way to listen to other books he reads, even if they aren’t normally my sort of thing. He’s just that excellent.

Also posted on BookCrossing.

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