John Sheley

Great story, narrator a bit too dry

Revisado: 01-07-15

I had heard about the Dresden files for years, but just got around to reading the first one. My expectations were surpassed. The background is derivative (far, standard supernatural creatures, Lovecraftian horrors, secret wizard societies); but that accusation can be leveled at other, popular series (looking at you, Larry Correia and Charlie Stross). That's not a knock- I enjoy all of those. Jim Butcher does a nice job of integrating the hard-boiled detective story with the magical background. All the characters were written well, save Morgan, who came out pretty one-dimensional. The plotting is quick and tight, as befits a detective story,

James Marsters did a good job of narration. He is a little too quiet for me, but my main beef is that he plays Harry too dryly. I know it's appropriate for the character, but even when giving an inner monologue about how much he detests the things the villain is doing, the narrator's tone sounds like he couldn't care less.

Still, that's a niggling point that doesn't really detract from the audiobook. I enjoyed this first book and look forward to more of the series.

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Work of art

Revisado: 01-02-15

A perfect mix of suspense , humor, science, engineering . The details of his fight for survival are amazing. The narrator was great with different characters and presentation of humor.

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Decent, mainly for lensmen fans

Revisado: 03-04-14

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, as an introduction to the lensmen series. The language is dated and the prose is florid, but the series remains as one of if not the definitive golden age space operas. While the writing is getting more and more difficult for youngsters to understand, it's a good series for pre-teens. The characters are not exactly nuanced, and I find it hard to think of other stories with a more stark division between protagonists and antagonists as good versus evil. In comparison, the Harry Potter series is replete with moral ambiguity. Still, it's pulp and morality is as clear as the irresistable force of a duodec bomb. It's a rollicking story of the good guys versus the bad guys with the entire universe at stake.

What did you like best about this story?

I am not fit to answer this. Not because I can't, but I've read these stories since I was 9 or 10, and I am not even close to being able to be objective. I re-read all the books once every year or two, and it's like wearing a snuggie on a cold day while sipping tea. It's the scope, the lantern-jawed heroes, the eeeeevil bad guys that get theirs in the end.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Mr. McColm stumbled over a number of words. The prose isn't the easiest to read with all the run-ons, excessive adjectives, and general literary scene-chewing. However, some of the stumbles were on easy words.

The worst, as others have noted, is the voice he uses for VanBuskirk and all the valerians, apparently. Guys who are 6'8" and over 300 pounds should not be speaking in a weird falsetto. There are a lot of characters and a lot of aliens to give different voices, and Mr. McColm does a decent job most of the time. The Valerians, though, are a bad choice, and it does take fans of the series out of the story when they're around.

For the most part, the narration is servicable to good, and doesn't detract enough from the story to chase me away from the audiobook. There are times when I do shake my head, though.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but I am a huge fan of the series, so my opinion may be skewed. The action does flow pretty well, so there aren't huge sections of slow spots.

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