Ryan

Excellent book--with production and concept issues

Revisado: 07-03-23

I'm a huge fan of Gross and Altman and their two-volume oral history of Star Trek. So, I was very much looking forward to this book. And for the most part, it's very good. Any fan of Star Wars will gain by listening to it, especially if they're interested in the franchise as part of cinema history--which, after all, is what you listen to an oral history of a film for.

But there are two issues to be aware of in deciding whether to listen.

First, there's one conceptual issue. This is an oral history; we're here to learn what the folks involved in Star Wars over the decades have to say about it. So, it's a little surprising how much authorial interjection there is. In the authors' similar Star Trek oral history, authorial commentary was limited to providing contextual detail only, bridging sections of the narrative. Here, in contrast, the authors actively review and critique the various films and shows, sometimes quite scathingly. This ends up being irksome as the joy of an oral history is learning about things, warts and all, from the mouths of the people who were there. The authorial critiques frustrate particularly because they are voiced as being blindingly obvious when in fact they are, naturally, very much subjective.

This tendency flows over into the interviewees' work, too: some sections become more like exhausting takedown of one film or another rather than examinations of how the film was made, which made me throw up my hands and think, "Well, I guess I'm wrong to be interested in that movie or to have hoped for insight there!" This could maybe have been controlled during interviewing or through editing.

Then there's also the production issue. For the audiobook version of Gross and Altman's Star Trek oral history, there was a voice actor for the authorial bits. Here, there isn't. Instead, the authors' words are simply voiced by the last voice actor to speak. So, the actor voicing George Lucas will be reading Lucas's words, and then suddenly taking about George Lucas in the third person. You can infer when the switch happens, but it's disorienting because we, the listeners, can't see the invisible line between interviewee's words and author's worxs. That seems like an easily caught issue that could have been addressed.

That said, this is still quite a worthwhile book, largely for its discussion of the original films and prequels. Like many works of this type, the closer you get to the present, the less insight you're going to get from people involved from the thing. But I really did enjoy the first half in particular. Just be aware of the issues above.

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Another strong entry in the saga

Revisado: 06-06-17

With every book, Flewelling offers stronger plot, richer characters, and a more fully realized world. I'll be sad when it ends. I was cautiously optimistic about this series at the outset, and now I can't wait for the next entry. If I have a criticism, it's that I'm not certain if revealing certain information early in the book increases the tension or lessens it, and whether it makes our heroes look a bit silly for not knowing what we know. Still, it was a page-turner, and I know I'll go back and read it again eventually. Recommended.

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A big jump in quality from the first two entries!

Revisado: 06-02-17

The first two entries in this series were interestingly plotted but often very clunkily written. It's clear that Flewelling grew greatly as a novelist in the years between writing the last Nightrunner novel and this one. Well-written, well-plotted, and has me looking forward to the next book!

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Helped me recall my books memories after the films

Revisado: 09-24-16

What made the experience of listening to The Hobbit the most enjoyable?

I've long ago lost my memory of Tolkien as a reading experience because of the Peter Jackson films. I love the Lord of the Rings movies, but the distinctive visual design overwrote my personal memories. I was surprised to find that Inglis's narration recovered the stuffy, sober, yet subtly humored images and memories I first had with them, long before the films (as best as can be hoped for). At first, I found Inglis's narration somewhat dull, but I soon found that in fact his approach matches the more personal, more humble, more owlishly academic feel I'd felt when reading them. It's so nice to enter this universe for what feels to me like a new first time.

What did you like best about this story?

It's The Hobbit. It's a story meant to be heard, given how the narrator always speaks to the reader directly. It's simply a classic tale.

What about Rob Inglis’s performance did you like?

Noted above.

Any additional comments?

Seek out Inglis's Lord of the Rings audio recordings, too.

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If you acclimate to the narration, it's enjoyable

Revisado: 09-24-16

What did you like best about this story?

The stories themselves are mostly very good, assuming that you like the peculiarly Victorian way of telling stories of the strange--a heavy dose of realistic and detail, a slow burn, and a delightfully eerie atmosphere. Personally, I love them. They're dated, yes (at least in terms of social politics), but read as literature of the era, they're usually interesting, at times fascinating, and occasionally gripping.

I did find these stories a little less rich and interesting than those in the "Ghosts, Werewolves and Vampires" book, probably because that one has more variety of ghoulish monster, as one might expect.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Dobson's narration matches the stories, but she sounds like she's always on the brink of a major revelation, which is weird. To be honest, however, it grows on you over time. She sounds as though she's reading the dramatic opening narration to an episode of television, which seems horribly grating at first. However, this is the second book of hers that I've listened to, and I have to say that her pace is good, her voice is not (to me) unpleasant, and if the undulation in her emphasis is uncomfortable at first, I now find it comfortable and somewhat effective for the genre. No, she doesn't do accents (much), but her approach is serviceable.

Any additional comments?

I recommend listening to Dobson in the preview (or in a couple previews for a couple books by her). If your reaction is something along the lines of, "Hm, I almost like this but eek, the rhythm of her delivery is really weird and akward," it might be worth a try. I've come around to it with time, and I got to listen to a lot of great stories not otherwise available by audiobook.

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A compelling book--frustrating narration

Revisado: 09-13-16

This is a solid collection of familiar classics and somewhat more obscure tales. Most are engaging and a few stand out as especially evocative, eerie, and gripping.

Dobson's narration is frustrating. She adopts a perhaps overly portentous voice that sounds like she's narrating a "This week on Random TV Show..." and doesn't really do accents. However, given that most of these stories are first person accounts, that didn't bother me as much as I expected. By the end, I didn't mind it. Still, it will be a deal breaker for many people, I suspect.

Overall, a worthy buy if using a monthly credit, especially given both the overall pricetag of this book and the wealth of content therein. But be sure to listen to the preview first.

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