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Narrators you don't like?
Amy wrote: "I'm not a fan of Kirby Heyborne. I first heard him on Love Song of Johnny Valentine, and found him absolutely creepy. I attributed it to the fact that he was narrating the voice of a child, and tha..."I think Kirby Heybourne's a mixed bag. I did like him in Gone Girl and Heft, but in Wonder I thought he was annoying.
I like what I've heard of Kirby Heybourne. On the other hand, I think I've only listened to 2-3 of his books.
I am listening to DEVIL'S BRIDE by Stephanie Laurens.The narrator is Simon Prebble. Yes he may be a bit old for narrating Historical Romance, but he is a better choice than many of new female or male narrators many publishers or audiobook directors choose because the narrator may be paid on a smaller scale.
I do not like Kristin James at all. I listened to her narrate Bound by Duty by Stormy Smith and she sounded almost as if she hadn't even read the book before doing her narration. She stumbled over words and just generally sounded very amateurish. I saw where she had narrated 4 or 5 other books and wondered if she did a better job on those. I'm not going to waste my money to find out though.
Dacia wrote: "Wow Firecat - this is off subject, but I thought I was the only one who used audio books to make data entry go faster. Everyone at work looks at me like I'm crazy. Music is too repetitive for me ..."I am also that way, as is my daughter. Productivity increases and errors decrease. :)
Amy wrote: "I'm not a fan of Kirby Heyborne. I first heard him on Love Song of Johnny Valentine, and found him absolutely creepy..."I was just thinking the other day how much I like him!
I've listened to quite a few books he narrates and always enjoyed them...but he has always been the voice of a YA or adult male, so perhaps I'd feel the same about him doing a kid's voice.
I was listening to the Highland Guard series by Monica McCarty... They're medieval Scottish highlander books... The first three are read by Robert McNab, who does a great job, I thought. Really deep, masculine Scottish voice, but his women's voices weren't too bad either. And then.... DUN DUN DUN.... they changed narrators. Antony Ferguson. It's not that he's bad.... If he'd narrated them from the beginning, I might not have even cared... But he's English. And has a much high-pitched voice. And just doesn't put the same feeling into it. AND he doesn't pronounce things the same way! It makes me very sad.
I'll probably finish the series some day, after the wonder of Robert McNab's voice has left my memory.
My least favourtie is a UK actor called Simon Vance who has made a massive living out of narration, and always gets rave notices. I'm afraid I can't stand him. He's ruined at leasat two novels for me - though fortunately I'd read them first so he's not too imprinted in my head.I also generally dislike author narration - let's face it - there's a reason they're writers - it's because they're not actors! Donna Tartt's narration of The Secret History comes very close to completely ruining a brilliant novel.
On the upside, I recently listened to Joe Mantegna's narration of Mario Puzo's The Godfather. Completely blew me away.
Shannon Burgess narrated One's Aspect to the Sun and did a horrendous job with the male voices. Her normal narration was fine, but with male voices she just tries to send the gruffness over the top.The first three books of the Expanse series were narrated by Jefferson Mays, who is far above most narrators. He was preoccupied at the time of recording for the fourth book so the publisher chose Erik Davies. It is bad enough to swap one good series narrator for another good narrator, but it is brutal to replace a great narrator with a sub-par narrator.
I love the series, but had to absolutely force myself to listen without eye rolling all the asinine voices. Fear that they will use Davies again has prevented me from being able to get excited about the upcoming fifth book.
I generally agree with Susan's comments about authors reading their works--I love Anne Lamott, but could not stand her narrating her book about her son Sam.
OTOH, I loved the Veronica Mars series and LOVED the first book out last year--Kristen Bell did a fabulous job narrating. The second book in the series came out earlier this year with narrator Rebacca Lowman. She grew on me.
Oh! Kristen didn't do the second one? :(
Susan wrote: "My least favourtie is a UK actor called Simon Vance who has made a massive living out of narration, and always gets rave notices. I'm afraid I can't stand him. He's ruined at leasat two novels fo..."He's good, but I'm no raving fan of his.
Susan wrote: "My least favourtie is a UK actor called Simon Vance who has made a massive living out of narration, and always gets rave notices. I'm afraid I can't stand him. He's ruined at leasat two novels fo..."Simon Vance is very hit or miss. The first two books I listened to him narrate bored me to tears. The books were slow themselves and his narration was slow and monotonous. Then, I heard him narrate The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks and was amazed that this was the same narrator I had written off. (The only reason I got the audio is that it was brand-new and a credit cost less than the ebook.) He did such a good job on that book. He also did a fabulous job reading the part of Jonathan Harkness in the Audible Studios version of Dracula.
So, I agree with you about not understanding the total adoration for Simon Vance, but he does do good work with the right material.
Sandi wrote: "Susan wrote: "My least favourtie is a UK actor called Simon Vance who has made a massive living out of narration, and always gets rave notices. I'm afraid I can't stand him. He's ruined at leasat..."I thought he was great on the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, but hit or miss beyond that.
Oh, yes. He was good for that... Although the books could have used some serious editing. Posthumous publishing can be tricky that way...
Trish wrote: "I generally agree with Susan's comments about authors reading their works--I love Anne Lamott, but could not stand her narrating her book about her son Sam.
OTOH, I loved the Veronica Mars serie..."
I am super bummed Kristen didn't read the second book and plan to just read it in print. I am ok with Rebecca L. - she narrates all Rainbow Rowell's books but I can't see her as Veronica.
I really like Vance, but I can see how he'd be better for some material than others. I first encountered him reading Larssons Millennium Trilogy, and thought his style matched the somber tone of the novels perfectly. I also enjoy his Dickens narrations - he's pretty much perfect for them. But i can imagine he wouldn't suit some material.Personally I have a hard time with Patrick Lawlor. There's something about his accent that grates on me. And sadly, he narrates one of my favourite authors - Peter Straub.
I know Scott Brick polarizes people, but I'm actually in the middle. I think he tends to overdramatize his readings, but some material suits that style, I think. I quite liked his readings of the Justin Cronin Passage books, for example.
Patrick Lawlor is a favorite of mine. To each his own, eh?
I am desperately trying to get through Jo Nesbo's, The Son narrated by Gildart Jackson. His narration is like a robot. It is terrible. I have read so many great reviews of the book. Yet the narration is torture. Has anyone else heard him?
I believe I have liked his reading something nonfiction a while ago, but cannot recall what it was.
John wrote: "I believe I have liked his reading something nonfiction a while ago, but cannot recall what it was."I listened to two books Gildart Jackson narrated, both written by Richard Holmes: Falling UpwardsFalling Upwards: How We Took to the Air and Age of Wonder The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science and enjoyed them both, subject matter and narration.
Melany wrote: "I am desperately trying to get through Jo Nesbo's, The Son narrated by Gildart Jackson. His narration is like a robot. It is terrible. I have read so many great reviews of the book. Yet the narrati..."Yes, and I struggled with the narration as well. This is one book that I would have enjoyed more if I had read it in print.
I have come to the conclusion that I am ruined. A string of bad narrators has me believing that Robert Petkoff who narrates all but one of the 15 books in the series "Immortals After Dark" by Kresley Cole has ruined me for most other narrators of late. http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fant...
http://www.audible.com/pd/Romance/Wic...
So far, H.Bellus narration of "Tripp", Brenda Rothert narration for "Now and Then", K Golland narration for "Temptation", Michelle Pillow narration for "Fighting Lady Jayne", and Laura Wright narration for "Eternal Hunger" are just a few in a long line of audibles that I currently purchased that have been disappointing.
I guess it just feels frusterating since there are so many books I wish that were on audible that I am also afraid if they were I would hate the narration.
*Note* Now there is a discussion piece, 1. Narrators worth listening too and 2. Book you wish were in an audible.
I guess our definition of "narrators worth listening to" would be very different. To me, an audiobook will always be a better experience than a print book. I have tried both (and text to speech - UGH!) and have a strong preference for the audio format. A narrator would have to be really, really horrendous for me to abandon the book.
I find it a shame that I can't listen to a book by a favorite author because of the book. I would love to listen to Catherine Coulter's FBI series with the English FBI agent, but because of the male narrator, I choose not too.I'd love to listen to the DARING TO BE series by Nora Roberts, but because I truly dislike the narrator I can't listen to that series either.
Yeah... Sandra Burr.... She drives me kinda crazy too. She's just too monotonous... Like she's not into the reading at all. If the book is really compelling, I can add my own feeling to it in my head, but if the book is dragging at all, the narration makes it fairly unbearable...
Sara ♥ wrote: "Yeah... Sandra Burr.... She does me kinda crazy too. She's just too monotonous... Like she's not into the reading at all. If the book is really compelling, I can add my own feeling to it in my head..."Sara,
I'm not really sure what it is, but I don't think she has much of range in where you can distinguish her voice between it being mail or female.
I am not crazy about Joyce Bean, or Stephanie Brush who reads the Margret Coel series with the Wind River Series with Fr. John O'Malley & Attorney Vicki Holden. But I will take them over Sandra Burr.
There are a few male narrators I dislike, but not as much as I dislike Macleod Andrews. He's terrible. In my personal opinion.
Jennifer, agree with you about text to speech. Never. I realize some people need it if they can't read print books and have no alternative. But personally I'll never listen to them while I still have a choice. Same with abridged audio. Just say no.
We are SO lucky to be living in a golden age of audiobooks. Early on a lot of books were narrated by authors or other not-so-professional readers. And there was rarely a choice of narrators. As long as we keep consuming audiobooks, whether purchased or from libraries, quality and quantity should keep increasing!
Mara wrote: "I find it a shame that I can't listen to a book by a favorite author because of the book. I would love to listen to Catherine Coulter's FBI series with the English FBI agent, but because of the ma..."I feel the same way about J.D. Robb's audiobooks. Susan Erickson is fine except when she tries to talk as
Eve's second in command. It is an absolutely nauseating voice,consequently I don't listen to them anymore. It was a good series, too.
I am not a fan of George Guidall as a narrator. I think I just don't like the sound of his voice. I prefer British readers (ex. Simon Vance, John Lee and the late Robin Sachs)as narrators.
Diane wrote: "I am not a fan of George Guidall as a narrator. I think I just don't like the sound of his voice. I prefer British readers (ex. Simon Vance, John Lee and the late Robin Sachs)as narrators."I like George Guidall; he became the voice of Tony Hillerman's Chee/Leaphorn books for me. But I know what you mean - you can't always explain why a voice leaves you cold, you just know that it does.
You know what has been driving me crazy lately? Narrators who pronounce certain words the CORRECT way when I prefer the second pronunciation option. Srsly! I keep looking up these "mispronunciations" and finding out the narrator is actually RIGHT! Angst... who pronounces angst "ahhngst"? That's just WEIRD!! But apparently correct, so I don't have a leg to stand on with my complaining... Is that a northern or north-eastern thing? Where are Merriam and Webster from? Up there?
I struggle with Dick Hill even though everyone seems to rave about him.
I just thought I'd check this discussion out. I'm an author who is in final review of my first audio book. Right now you guys have me running scarred. I'm doing my own recording for a couple of reasons, ONE I enjoy it; I'm sort of a techno geek and two it cost a bundle to have a pro read it. Yes you can 'royalty share' but it is hard to get a good reader unless the book is on the best seller's list. Oh well, I'll take my best shot and come here a while after release and take my lumps. This is the first of my books to go audio, so we'll see how it goes.
Self-narration can work, but when it often doesn't it's really bad. In your case, it'll probably be fine.
In all honesty, I'm no James Earl Jones. It will interesting to make one of my books audio. I love listening to audio so it will be interesting to see how it goes. Thanks for the encouragement.
I rarely read nonfiction but am currently listening to The Mayor of MacDougal Street: A Memoir. I'm finding the story interesting, but the narrator is making it almost impossible to enjoy with his lackluster, drone-like style of narration. My question: Is there a fundamental difference in narrating fiction vs. nonfiction? Is one harder to do than the other?
I've been going through all the Michael Connelly books since watching the Amazon Prime series "Bosch" when it came out. Many of them are very well-narrated. I especially liked Len Cariou who is of course an excellent actor to begin with. However, Peter Giles, who narrated one Bosch book and 3 or 4 of the Mickey Hallers is just a terrible narrator, who seems to model himself on the "In a world..." ham acting trailer style. He pauses in the wrong places, over-emphasizes opening consonants all the time so that he often sounds overly dramatic or even angry, speaks in a kind of phony husky Clint Eastwood style, even mispronounces the same word more than once (renumeration for what is obviously remuneration). He doesn't really seem to have much awareness of what he's reading, as if he hasn't read the story in advance actually. He is slightly better at acting different characters, but it's the actual story narration that he is awful at. Fortunately, the last Bosch book was well-done (if a bit monotonous) by Titus Welliver. The first Mickey Haller, "The Lincoln Lawyer" narrator, Adam Grupper was quite good as well. Obviously, I really hope that they drop Giles from any future Connelly books. Please, please Mr. Connelly!
shows how individual tastes are as i think peter Giles is great and love the mc books he narates.
yeah I'm another one who can't get on with Simon vance. I've not heard his girl with the dragon tatoo readings as we get a different version here in the uk but haven't rated him on other things I've listened to.
Mara wrote: "I am listening to DEVIL'S BRIDE by Stephanie Laurens.The narrator is Simon Prebble. Yes he may be a bit old for narrating Historical Romance, but he is a better choice than many of new female or ..."
Listen to him do The Day of the Jackal. Flawless. Perfect match of voice and material.
Bobby wrote: "Listen to him do The Day of the Jackal. Flawless. Perfect match of voice and material. ..."Yes. Wonderful story, excellent narration.
My favorite HARRY BOSCH narrator is Len Cariou(?) I believe he plays Tom Selleck's father on CBS' BLUE BLOODS.
I really like Scott Brick and Susan Ericksen. I think they both do a good job of both male and female voices. I don't mind Dick Hill, but his female voices are a bit off. I really can't listen to George Guidall, while many of the books he reads are good, I have a very hard time listening to him. He sounds like he has to much spit in his mouth or sometimes a mouthful of marbles...sorry but he keeps me from listening to many books as he is too much for me.
Karen wrote: "I really like Scott Brick and Susan Ericksen. I think they both do a good job of both male and female voices. I don't mind Dick Hill, but his female voices are a bit off. I really can't listen t..."See John? I'm not saying a thing about Scott Brick.
I don't like Frederick Davidson's narrations very much. I will listen to them if necessary; they aren't terrible or anything. I just find that his voices for the characters often seem just a bit off or wrong to me.
I just had to switch from the audiobook to the print version of Sophie's Choice. This is the unabridged production on CD, recorded in the 80s, not the newer abridged Audible one. (I'd like to know why anyone would want an abridged audiobook but that a different rant for another thread.)Anyway, this narrator has the WORST, most unnatural southern accent I've ever heard. It's like listening to Foghorn Leghorn channeling Rhett Butler.
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Then I listened to My Sunshine Away. In this case, some of the voices were women, and the problem persisted, although less so. But overall, there's just something about his voice that makes my skin crawl.
ETA: It's amazing how personal one's taste in narrators is. I see that some people consider Heyborne a favorite. Chacun à son goût!