GANESHi

Dull read for a pretty good story

Revisado: 11-01-16

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Almost stopped listening to this recording at the beginning because of the lackluster reading, which sounded as if the reader didn't care about the material, or as if she was going for the less-si-more approach. Didn't work. Stuck it out, though, and glad I did, because the story is actually quite good and very well constructed.

What other book might you compare Under Dark Sky Law to and why?

This book would have been better served by a reader more used to a film noir or Raymond Chandler-esque style; it has that feel, just going by the rhythms of the speech. To be fair, the reader does wake up about a third of the way into the book and it improves from that point on.

Would you listen to another book narrated by P. J. Morgan?

Can't say I'd be interested in listening to another book by this reader. Almost had the feeling she hadn't read the book before the recording to get a feel for it. That could be the director's fault or the reader. Anyway, it didn't grab me. Ron Perlman's read on THE STRAIN audiobook is the less-is-more style, but is one of the best recordings I've ever listened to. Being generous giving this reader three stars.

Any additional comments?

I got this book free in exchange for writing this review, and am glad of that, because if I'd paid for it I wouldn't be happy. That said, am very interested in other writings by this author; will keep my eyes/ears out for more of her work.

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Good book ruined by bad read

Revisado: 08-02-13

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

This is a pretty good book that does what it says it will do: Sets out portraits of the worlds countries at the time as they represented themselves and as they actually behaved. But the audio presentation is ruined by a reader and/or producer who has no idea how to pronounce the terms used or the names of people or places.
For example, the French centime is pronounced SAHN-teem, not SENT-time; a "row", as in tussle, sounds like, "Ow! You hit me", not Row, like your boat gently down the stream; Camille Saint-Saens is san-SOHNS, not sant sigh-ENS.
Simple words were mispronounced, like saying "pro-TESTS in the streets", instead of, "PRO-tests in the streets." Granted, the Qing Dynasty is not commonly known to be pronounced CHING Dynasty, but in the age of the internet wouldn't it behoove producers of audiobooks to check these things out? It's certainly not KWING Dynasty, as pronounced in this book; there's no "u".
My enjoyment of this book was ruined by cringing every few minutes at the continued, flagrant disregard for the listener's intelligence as regards simple knowledge of the proper pronunciations. But what can one expect when the makers of the product are ignorant themselves?

How could the performance have been better?

How hard can it be to simply check these things before recording? Otherwise, the reader did a serviceable job, his voice reminding me of the excellent Scott Brick.

Did 1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War inspire you to do anything?

This is the first time I have ever been inspired to write a review for an audiobook. Too bad it's because of the poor quality of its production.

Any additional comments?

I know the current trend is to eliminate the engineer and producer/director, and have the voice actor record and edit themselves without oversight, but if this is a product of this kind of system perhaps it should be reconsidered, and preferably abandoned.
Quality work needs the input of professionals of specific disciplines. Let the engineers record, the directors direct, the producers produce, and the actors act.
If this sort of shoddy product is the result of cheap budgets why do them in the first place?

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