Emily K Wagner

Disappointed

Revisado: 11-20-21

After the fantastic job Serkis did with the Hobbit, I had high expectations for LOTR, and maybe they were too high, because this simply doesn’t measure up.

The Tom Bombadil chapter is Exhibit A of how easy it is to slip from the comical into outright farce.

The character performances are average, at best. The hobbits are just okay, and I particularly dislike Aragorn. The story has barely reached Weathertop, but I think I’m giving up and going back to Inglis.

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Fantastic performance, fantastic book, win/win!

Revisado: 11-11-20

The Hobbit is a classic, and this recording performed by Andy Serkis will go down as a classic as well. It's worth it just for the Riddles in the Dark chapter, as you'd expect from the actor who brought Gollum to life on screen. (Serkis even got the inflection correct on the "What have I got in my pocket?" line, which so many other performances mess up.) But the rest of it is equally good. I don't know if Serkis was doing it intentionally or not, but his Thorin Oakenshield and Bilbo Baggins voices sounded very like Richard Armitage and Martin Freeman, who were a couple of the few bright spots in the otherwise forgettable films. I've always enjoyed the Rob Inglis narration of the Hobbit. Now I have a second version to enjoy.

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Good book, good narration.

Revisado: 12-12-19

I like and dislike this book, all at the same time. Sayers' writing is fantastic, as always, but seeing Lord Peter struggle with his conscience and the aftereffects of his war experience is uncomfortable. I am glad that Sayers went on to write a couple more short stories so we could see Peter and Harriet more settled and happier.

The narration is very good. Ian Carmichael makes the characters real. My only complaint is that I could wish for more of a distinction between Peter's and Harriet's voices, as it wasn't always obvious which one was speaking.

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Classic Bertie Wooster

Revisado: 06-14-19

Thank goodness for Jeeves, or poor Bertie would be permanently in the soup!

The narration by Jonathan Cecil is very good. The voices are perfect.

My only complaint is occasional smacking noises. Not enough to put me off wanting to listen to more, however.

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Fun book, fantastic narration

Revisado: 06-01-19

I'm still not sure whether like steampunk novels - anachronistic technologies have always fascinated me, but I have no interest in zombies - but this was an enjoyable introduction to the genre. Blaylock can write!

The audio performance by Nigel Carrington was top-notch. All of the characters were distinctively voiced without being over-the-top absurd (even though I couldn't always keep their names straight). And he did a great job of conveying the atmospheric writing without making it melodramatic cheese.

My only criticism of the audio performance is that it needed longer pauses for breaks in the text. There were a number of times where the narration sailed on, and it took me a few seconds to realize that the scene and characters had shifted somewhere else.

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Excellent book, superb narrator

Revisado: 04-02-19

I have enjoyed reading Trollope since I discovered him in college ages ago, and listening to him in audio is even better. Especially with a superlative narrator such as Timothy West. West doesn't just perform the book. He brings it to life. I will be looking for more of his work. Lots more.

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Great book, poor narration

Revisado: 01-09-19

If this is your first exposure to Charlotte MacLeod and Peter Shandy, do yourself a favor and read the print book instead.

This is one of my favorite Peter Shandy books. It's a complete departure from the rest of the series, being a fantastical and hilarious journey into English/Welsh mythical past, rather than a straightforward mystery set in modern Massachusetts. However, this quirkiness is what makes me love it so much.

Unfortunately, the story is almost spoiled by the poor narration by John McLain. He clearly has not heard the correct pronunciation of a number of words. "Buffet" meaning a physical blow is pronounced completely different than "buffet" meaning a spread of food. And I will have to check my print copy to find out what word he means instead of "adroit." There are also odd pauses and inflections that make me wonder whether the narrator even knows what he's saying at times.

I'm soldiering on, because I love Charlotte MacLeod, but I may not bother with any other audiobooks in the series. And I would certainly not choose any other audiobooks by this narrator.

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