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Narrators you don't like?
Heidi *Listen. I'll just keep talking anyway. * wrote: "I get not liking someones voice but I don't really dislike any narrators. In fact, there have been quite a few narrators that I have disliked reading certain books and then I hear them narrating other books and like their narration for them. Sometimes the wrong narrator for the wrong book can make a difference IMO. Or it could be like real people in life - sometimes you meet someone whose voice kind of irritates you for some reason. Who knows! "I'm trying to imaging hearing a Dolly Parton or Nancy Grace narration.
Ali-ef wrote: "Heidi *Listen. I'll just keep talking anyway. * wrote: "I get not liking someones voice but I don't really dislike any narrators. In fact, there have been quite a few narrators that I have disliked..."The actress who plays Janice on Friends...that would get old pretty quickly. Or Fran Drescher.
I quite simply would not buy an audiobook narrated by Fran Dresher. Can you even imagine listening to that voice for hours.Speaking of TV people doing audiobooks, I listened to Roots: The Saga of an American Family narrated by Avery Brooks of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fame. I loved him in Star Trek. He's got a really nice, James Earl Jones kind of voice. Well, it turned out to be the only book I've had to play at 1.5x speed. He just dragged that book out like crazy. He wasn't terrible, just slow an monotonous.
Speaking of voices 'you' don't like (this is the universal 'you,' BTW, so I don't get a posse after me), after my reader and I spent about three months on turning my historical into an audio book, and it went live, within days, two 'reviewers' typed out how much they despised the narrator's voice. Both were very negative and they effectively killed sales of the book for months. Now sales are starting to tick up ever so slowly. But, I can't help but be suspicious about this. Maybe it's just my nature. In my opinion, Audible/Amazon should have looked into this, as I requested, but they will not, as 'customer is king.'
You raise an interesting point, Paul. Odd that there would be two damning reviews back-to-back, but I suppose it happens. The only thing I can suggest is that you might as Audible to look into whether the reviewers asked for their credit (money) back right away, or whether the book is still in their accounts?
This is exactly the same dynamic as authors being upset about bad reviews or low ratings. Once you put a product out there, it is no longer "your baby", it is an item I have purchased. I dislike spending good money on defective products. In this case, there is also an investment of time. My time consuming the product is just as valuable as the three months you poured into the product.
Be suspicious if you wish. It's not our job to be happy little marketing tools. And this comes from someone with an average rating of 4.21.
Be suspicious if you wish. It's not our job to be happy little marketing tools. And this comes from someone with an average rating of 4.21.
Sadly, damning reviews can be left for reasons that have made me a cynic when a book only has a handful of reviews. Author Sharon Delarose (who also narrates as Allie Mars) has two interesting blog posts on this topic. They can be found here: http://www.alliemars.com/entertainmen...And here: http://www.alliemars.com/entertainmen...
I had heard some of these stories before. In fact, it was a topic on the Iambik narrator boards early on when Iambik went into business.
In the interest of full disclosure, I narrated a book for Sharon Delarose.
I wouldn't worry too much this early on, Paul. Hopefully, the book will rise on it's own merits but those early reviews certainly don't help. :(
BTW, speaking of narrators you can't tolerate, I was surprised to come across a book recorded by the actress Melanie Griffith. I like her as an actress but she has a very distinctive and child-like voice. I listened to the sample for the book. She tried to voice a couple of characters but her voice is so overwhelmingly recognizable that it just didn't work. Because of this, I was very surprised to find out that she tried book narration.
Cheers!
Lee Ann (Claire)
Sandi wrote: "Speaking of TV people doing audiobooks, I listened to Roots: The Saga of an American Family narrated by Avery Brooks of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fame. I loved him in Star Trek. He's got a really nice, James Earl Jones kind of voice. Well, it turned out to be the only book I've had to play at 1.5x speed. He just dragged that book out like crazy. He wasn't terrible, just slow an monotonous."So you're a Star Trek fan? Have you seen the documentary that William Shatner did called "The Captains"? (It's on Netflix...) Holy guacamole, I think Avery Brooks is a bit... cuckoo-bananas.... It was really funny and a bit... wow. Well... yeah... you'll have to watch.
Kevin T. Collins--narrating James' Patterson's Mistress, which I just picked up at the library after having it on hold for 6 months. He sounds like he should be narrating children's books--sounds little more than a child himself!
I can't take this book seriously with his voice.
Okay, so I just started to listen to
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
, and just within the first paragraph--the first sentence, even--the narrator, Casey Holloway, did something that made me grind my teeth. The passage contains many repeats of the word "hadn't." But Holloway keeps pronouncing it "hatton." "If she hatton [done this]"; "If she hatton [done that]." It really grates. I hope she doesn't have to read the word "hadn't" for the rest of the narrative.
I'm having a similar problem. Martin Jarvis' narration of Lord of the Flies is excellent, but he pronounces "ate" like "ette" (as in 'they ette meat at the feast'). Very distracting!
I believe that's the way British people say "ate" out loud generally?
I just saw this thread and thought I'd let you all correct me if I am wrong. I listened to the Twilight books on cd and I enjoyed it a couple of years ago. Then I got my first "purchased" book on CD about a year ago and it was "Fifty Shades of Gray". I swear it sounded like the same girl that read all the Twilight trilogy to me and I had to give it back to Audibles. Too funny, I didn't even get to the juicy parts and knew I could not listen to her read smut to me. I might not have been able to listen to anyone read it, lol. I read the books myself and blushed.
I have a shelf called "Audio Assault", though not all of the books there are assaults - just somehow notable for the narration or production. The common grumble I find in my reviews is bad or inconsistent character voices or accents. Next grumble? The prospect of listening to a child/teen voice for the entire length of a novel. Naming names though, my Don't Ever Go There Again list contains CJ Critt, Deborah Hall and almost every single author, with Carrie Fisher and Ray Bradbury right a the very tip-top.
I am a fan of Scott Brick and Susan Ericksen. If a book is read by either of these people, I'll give it a try, whether it's my usual genres or not.
We're all different, thank heavens. Years ago I loved C.J.Critt's reading of Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees, Pibs in Heaven and Animal Dreams.
I'm a fan of both C. J. Critt and Susan Eriksen.
I have to agree with the fact that some authors should not be allowed to read their own books. I listened to Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly. It was painful. Every time he read the word cavalry he pronounced it calvary. Very distracting. Also, when reading some sentences, he emphasized the wrong words making it difficult to follow. If he really wrote the book, wouldn't you think he would know how the sentences were supposed to be read? On the other hand, I can't imagine anyone else reading David Sedaris's books. His delivery is so funny and just perfect.
Sara ♥ wrote: "Sandi wrote: "Speaking of TV people doing audiobooks, I listened to Roots: The Saga of an American Family narrated by Avery Brooks of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fame. I loved him in Star Trek. He's..."If you ladies like Star Trek you might enjoy the Frontiers Saga that starts with Aurora: CV-01. The comparison I keep making is to Star Trek. The first book was good and the author is definitely improving as he goes.
I was wondering what people who listened to Atlas Shrugged narrated by Scott Brick thought about Brick's narration. I heard that there is a better narrator for this book.
Anita wrote: "I have to agree with the fact that some authors should not be allowed to read their own books. I listened to Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly. It was painful. Every time he read the word cavalry he pron..."LOL. OReilly ... what can one say?
I tell you a book where I enjoyed the author. It is "Life after Life" by and read by Damien Echols. This is a gritty chilling book about a boy wrongly convicted for murder. It really is about him more than the trial. Amazing book.
He was part of what became known as the West Memphis Three. Echols reading his own words just adds to the book.
Kathy wrote: "I was wondering what people who listened to Atlas Shrugged narrated by Scott Brick thought about Brick's narration. I heard that there is a better narrator for this book."I though he did a fantastic job. His narration was the only way my short attention span was willing to endure a 63 hour book.
Jennifer (Wolf Queen of the Outer Regions) wrote: "I'm having a similar problem. Martin Jarvis' narration of Lord of the Flies is excellent, but he pronounces "ate" like "ette" (as in 'they ette meat at the feast'). Very distracting!"I listened to a version of Lord of the Flies narrated by the author himself, and he did something else that I found distracting. Prior to listening to that recording, I had only ever heard the word "says" pronounced "sez." Golding read it so that it rhymed with "haze."
I found his voice off-putting in the sample (in a way I can't even articulate), which is why I chose the Jarvis version.
Mirkat wrote: "Jennifer (Wolf Queen of the Outer Regions) wrote: "I'm having a similar problem. Martin Jarvis' narration of Lord of the Flies is excellent, but he pronounces "ate" like "ette" (as in 'they ette m..."I liked the Jarvis narration. It was hard to get because it isn't sold here in the states. I had read the reviews and knew to stay clear of the Golding reading.
If the US wouldn't keep extending the copyright, Lord of the Flies would be in the public domain and we would have a lot of professionals that could read it.
http://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdo...
We should change it back. The Copyright extension will expire in 5 years but those like Disney will attempt to extend it again.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/t...
Jennifer (Wolf Queen of the Outer Regions) wrote: "I found his voice off-putting in the sample (in a way I can't even articulate), which is why I chose the Jarvis version."I think I know what you mean. It didn't stop me from listening, but there was something jarring about his manner.
Forney_bill, I agree whole-heartedly on the "copywright" issues.
Stacy wrote: "I just saw this thread and thought I'd let you all correct me if I am wrong. I listened to the Twilight books on cd and I enjoyed it a couple of years ago. Then I got my first "purchased" book on CD about a year ago and it was "Fifty Shades of Gray". I swear it sounded like the same girl that read all the Twilight trilogy to me and I had to give it back to Audibles. Too funny, I didn't even get to the juicy parts and knew I could not listen to her read smut to me. I might not have been able to listen to anyone read it, lol. I read the books myself and blushed. "
The Twilight series was narrated by Ilyana Kadushin. Sample.
The Fifty Shades trilogy was narrated by Becca Battoe. Sample.
William wrote: "Scott Brick was the first to come to mind. He puts too much emotion/energy into it. I think it's almost always a mistake for the author to narrate his own work. A good narrator can make good wri..."
The problem with Scott Brick, is that I find hime to be a "Show off" during his readings.
The problem with Scott Brick, is that I find hime to be a "Show off" during his readings.
King Fan wrote: "William wrote: "Scott Brick was the first to come to mind. He puts too much emotion/energy into it. I think it's almost always a mistake for the author to narrate his own work. A good narrator c..."I find him comforting.
Tavia Gilbert narrated one foot in the grave by Jeaniene Frost. I really didn't like this narator he used the wrong english accent that irritated me throughout the whole book.
FYI, Tavia is very much a "she"
Although she gets better in later books, I have real issues with Marguerite Gavin's reading of The Hollows series. The first few books are a bit shouty, and she reads with a weird sing-song emphasis - like a kid reading aloud in class. Also she can't do an accent to save her life. But the worst thing - and I blame the producer as much for this - there are many, many mispronunciations. This happens throughout the series. Take note - chrysalis is pronounced KRISS-ah-liss, NOT kriss-SALL-is. That mispronunciation popped up about 20 times in the last book. In fact the audiobooks - especially the earlier ones - often sound like a "cold read" (no rehearsal.)
A quick visit to my Dictionary app reveals an alternate pronunciation -
kris-UH-lis
kris-UH-lis
I have an intense dislike of Lorelei King. I can't understand why she's won so many awards. Her readings are bland, and she only seems to have one character voice - this breathy little girl voice. I love Margaret Atwood, and before audible re-recorded them, ALL of her books were read by Lorelei King. Her voice was so unsuitable for Atwood's style that I gave up and resigned myself to never listening to an Atwood ever again. It's amazing how a bad narrator can ruin even a brilliant book.
I'm no fan of Lorelei King either, so share your confusion about her popularity.
No fan of Ms King either. I'm thinking a lot of you guys are State-side? Here in the UK she seems to have cornered the market in the American accent for radio broadcasting. Really don't get it - to quote Dorothy Parker, "she runs the gamut of emotions from A to B"!!!
I'm with you and Dorothy, Susan.
I'm in Australia, and she's cornered the market here too. Even if I liked her, I think having any one narrator do too many books is a problem. No matter how good they are, their voice is bound to pall after thousands of hours of listening to them.That Parker quote is fantastic, I'll have to remember it. She's got the right snark for any situation.
Aaaah Dorothy - that acerbic wit. Another fave quote of hers - very apt for a Bookclub site: "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force". How can you not love her!!
Jennifer (Wolf Queen of the Outer Regions) wrote: "I'm having a similar problem. Martin Jarvis' narration of Lord of the Flies is excellent, but he pronounces "ate" like "ette" (as in 'they ette meat at the feast'). Very distracting!"Just saw this, Jennifer. Yes - the UK pronunciation of 'ate' would generally be 'ette'.
I don't mind Lorelei but only listen to her once per year or so when the Stephanie Plum books come out so I don't get the overload of her you all are mentioning.
I listen to Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series. Lorelei King's narration is what keeps me listening instead of getting the ebooks. I haven't listened to anything else she's done, but she's perfect for Mercy Thompson.
Scott Brick. Scott Brick. And, oh, yeah, Scott Brick. Throw him a foreign term or anything that's not one the high-frequency usage list and he'll blow it. Just lazy and contemptuous of his audience: he never, ever looks up a pronunciation of anything he doesn't recognize: he just confidently blows through the phrase, making a mess of it. I also dislike Phil Gigante for similar reasons, but also for flat-out dumb "interpretations." In "The Boys of Summer," e.g., he doesn't have to try to do voice variations: it's non-fiction, he can just narrate expressively (and not hyper-emotively). Instead, he does Jackie Robinson in what might be called a "country" voice; anyone who's ever heard Jackie speak would find that sad, and perhaps worse. Gigante might have done 10 minutes of research.
Oh, that would enrage me, Paul.
Paul wrote: "Scott Brick. Scott Brick. And, oh, yeah, Scott Brick. Throw him a foreign term or anything that's not one the high-frequency usage list and he'll blow it. Just lazy and contemptuous of his audience..."Oh my god, I think I love you. :D
The few times I've heard Gigante, he seemed a good fit for the material.
John wrote: "The few times I've heard Gigante, he seemed a good fit for the material."Agreed... and for being a man with such a deep voice, his female voices aren't completely awful...
Nadia May - I believe aka Wanda McCaddon, Donada Peters, Margaret McKay, Ann Miles and Leonarda Stafford - avoid like the plague. Amazingly I believe she's been nominated for awards for her narration skills - but for me, I'm afraid she'd make Shakespeare sound like the telephone directory.
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Ok, should I fall into this trap and ask why? :)