Deborah

Narrator is bizarre, and off putting: Donald Duck does a British accent for the voice of Watson.

Revisado: 11-13-23

The narrator of this story made a ghastly choice in the voice he chose for Watson. It’s slurring, absurdly fusty, like a cartoon version of an aristocratic voice. In short, he gave Watson a huge speech impediment, with dramatic over use of “SH” sounds in almost every word - to the point that much of Watson’s dialogue is unintelligible. “Marbles in the mouth” in an understatement: think “Donald Duck does the voice of Nigel Bruce” - and you get the general idea…

In the stories, Watson originally hailed from Scotland. It would have been vastly preferable if he had faked some kind of mild Scottish accent.

I truly don’t know how this narrative got past the basic recording and sound editing process. One spoken paragraph in this odd, clownish voice should have elicited a firm, “Oh no! That will never do!”

The quality of the stories didn’t matter, as everything was just the struggle to get past Donald Duck.

Ironically, the narrator appears credible in regular dialogue. The pathetic fakery was entirely unnecessary.

Pass on this until it’s re-recorded.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Great Story.

Revisado: 11-05-23

A bit verbose, but worth the listen. It takes some time to get going, but it comes together in the end.

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Absolutely horrible narration. Many dismal, even shocking mispronunciations.

Revisado: 08-08-23

Audible really needs to find people who speak more expressively, for stories like this. Someone with an English accent is also really needed. An American narrating a Sherlock Holmes story, and doing his voice, is jarring. The narrator also needs to be able to do a reasonable range of vocal changes - otherwise, you can’t tell if it’s Holmes, Watson, or someone else speaking.

Most of all, narrators must be able to say common words without grievous mispronunciations! Some words were so badly pronounced, that only context could actually tell me what the word was supposed to be. There wasn’t one or two of them, but rather they occurred every couple of minutes, and sometimes more frequently than that. They just went on and on…

Doesn’t anyone at Audible listen to stories before they are signed off anymore? Errors like this, repeats, editing mistakes, and the reader stumbling over themselves, and restarting a sentence or paragraph, are now very common in many of the stories I listen to. Shoving a half baked production out the door seems to be the focus these days.

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Great - with a few caveats.

Revisado: 04-12-22

As a Sherlockian, I really liked this. As an actual historian, I did too. However, the author’s choice to often make this series aligned with very complex historical events required very long digressions into complex history and backstory. It’s fun for a historian - but likely quite a slog for those that just want to enjoy a mystery with their favorite Victorian detective.

It’s still well done - all in all. Would gladly read other Holmes pastiches by the same author.

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Quite Well Done!

Revisado: 02-12-22

Fun stories that were well crafted, and don’t grossly violate the canon. I would definitely listen to more SH stories by the same author - and narrator.

(So many pastiches do, which drives me nuts. If people are going to borrow and build on Doyle’s work, they should respect it.)

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

The Other Reviews Are Right: Appalling!

Revisado: 01-10-22

This whole audiobook is just… weird. Everything about it is off kilter: the story, the narration, and the writing structure/dialogue. This author might have been attempting a raunchy parody, if so, it should have been aimed at that audience. But… it isn’t. It’s a serious presentation.

I may be leaning towards being a purist, but I think a certain amount of respect for the canon is appropriate and necessary. The writer is borrowing an entire universe and character set after all. So when Watson especially is presented as a leering buffoon, snarky with Mrs. Hudson even, and we get his inner thoughts on her female attributes in locker room kinds of thinking - just at the very start - it doesn’t bode well.

And it didn’t.

We didn’t finish this one, and we’re very happy to walk away from it.

Give this one a pass!

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Good stuff - but where is Episode 3?

Revisado: 08-15-21

This is typical Fry level quality: informative, engaging, eccentric, and good fun! Stephen always makes you feel like he’s having a truly wonderful time, and he’s letting you in on his party - as a good friend.

He never disappoints.

However, episode 3 has been left off the list. Can you check into it, and add it back? When it’s Stephen Fry, you never want to miss a moment of the material…

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Simply Delightful!

Revisado: 08-24-20

This was a marvelous, sensual journey. It would be wonderful to have a life like this!

A tea drinker’s paradise...

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Good material. Would love to hear more.

Revisado: 08-09-20

The interesting stories of an interesting man. Some complain that he talks negatively of Trump, but as a man with a life steeped in history and politics - including a front row seat of several presidencies - he’s in a unique position to know the presidency, to understand what’s at stake, and to understand how far we have fallen under Trump. He says no more than the simple truth. Anyone as educated in the history and government of the US would most likely agree with him - and perhaps go quite a bit further.

Much of his insights on the 80’s and 90’s is missing. I would love to hear part two of this.

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Finished too soon! Need more!

Revisado: 03-16-19

This was a great addition the ongoing saga of Veronica and Stoker. They end up on a remote island investigating the disappearance of the bride of the local lord three years past. The action is slow to start, with a few diverting back stories that ultimately add depth and a bit more mystery to this story - and likely some future ones too.

More importantly for Veronica and Stoker fans, they finally begin to sort their attraction to each other, although it takes most of the book to get them there, and the process is rather frustrating for those of us who feel that they have taken too long already. Stoker also finally has it out with his brother Tiberius, but that too takes a long time - and the process is rather messy.

The end justifies the means as it were, and by the end of the book, things are just getting really interesting... then it ends right where and when you want more. My wife and I were left feeling satisfied, but very frustrated. Ms. Raybourn needs to start cranking these out faster - one per month would be just fine!

A fun addition to the series. BUT NOW WE NEED MORE!

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