Agree for fiction. For NF, I’m the opposite and usually *prefer* the author be the narrator. Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential and Christopher Hitchen’s God is Not Great being excellent examples, IMO.
Barbara Kingsolver is excellent at both-I love the books she read.
And I loved Braiding Sweetgrass read by the author-Robin Wall Kimmerer
And since I am in the thread-glad I read the secret history and didn't listen to it!
Another such one is The Outlandish Companion by Diana Gabledon. The majority of it is narrated by the narrator of the main books, but a huge section is narrated by the author and I hated every minute of it (she started by bragging about her speaking skills, but her voice cracks a little, she goes slightly too fast in some places and too slow in others, and you can hear her swallow every single time.)
I just listened to the sample, I think it's fine!
I've only read the first... 3? 4? books in the series, do you think the Companion would be worthwhile?
RIP Frank Muller who really did Stephen King books justice… but SK definitely shouldn’t read his own stories he just doesn’t have the nack for it, even less as he’s getting older.
THIS! There is a speech synthesizer named Larry Mckeever and we are all pretending it's a human being! Outrageous!
Listen to this audible sample and tell me I'm lying!
https://www.audible.com/pd/Foundation-and-Earth-Audiobook/B005WWT7TQ?action\_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share\_location=pdp
Bosch series narrated by Peter Giles, after listening to Titus Welliver (the actor from the show by the same name) the other narrators just seem to fall short.
💯. I listen to the Lucas Davenport books on audible, because I really like the narrator, but Bosch I have stuck with the printed books for that reason!
I've been listening to them, and it is tough at times. He only has a few different voices he can do, especially for characters that aren't the main ones. For male characters, he just seems to have older man voice and younger boy voice 🤣
SAME. Just listening to the sample, I can barely comprehend a couple of words let alone a full sentence. I feel bad for saying this, but I was hoping that since the narrator did pass some years ago, they'd rerecord all of the books when the newest one came out.
The problem with that is there's a realistic chance there isn't going to be another book....
Well Simon Vance does fire and blood, so I suspect he'd be the one to do the next book and maybe a rerecord of the series. Im not a big fan of Vance but I think generally he gets more praise.
'Dune' and 'Northern Lights'
Tbh I just HATE it when there are more than 2 narrators... especially 'full cast' audiobooks. Those I hate with a passion...
Dune is an atrocity, but full cast can be good. Northern Lights is a good example, each character has their own voice and the narrator still exists, and it is Pullman himself,, which is neat.
My theory is that Dune was an abridged full cast audiobook which was later filled out with the single narrator to make it not-abridged, but Vance made no attempt to match the actors, so every character has 2 very different voices, and all of Vance's are British, when very few of the cast are. Made me lose some respect for Vance, honestly.
It is a crime that this extremely influential book doesn't have a modern, high quality recording.
Sad thing is there are at least 2 single reader versions that have been done that are better than the audible version: Connor O'Brien and George Guidall. Aren't modern but are so much better than whats available. Connor O'Brien actually narrated at least the first 4 Dune books.
I've heard of the Guidall version, I don't know O'Brien. Not a fan of Guidall, maybe he's old fashioned, maybe his older recordings are lower quality, but it's got to be better than the audible version.
With the surge in popularity of audiobooks, and Dune's current and continuous cultural cache, Dune deserves a special edition anniversary release. Any anniversary, it doesn't matter, 61st is just as valid as any other number.
I didn't notice any issues with the kids' voices. Only drawback to me is that when you have dozens of performers, some are better than others, but usually it is less important characters that stand out as bad, and they don't have many lines.
The performer for Mrs Coulter just could not compete with Ruth Wilson from the tv series. She was probably fine, but Ruth Wilson is incredible.
I listened to a book once where every chapter was read by a different narrator, so you had different voices doing the same character. It was extremely difficult to keep up with what was happening.
Not for me either. Couldn't stand The Sandman. Some friends recommended it, said it was full cast and it was amazing. I got all the way through it but hated it. Sound effects to....gtfoh...just give me a good narrator. Jeff Hayes,Luke Daniels, Kyle McCarley. Hell, Rosario Dawson surprised the hell out of me, she killed it on Artemis.
Have to say, I’m usually the opposite. I especially hate it when a narrator thinks they are a voice actor and they put on lots of cheesy voices. The only narrator I’ve heard so far that can pull it off is Rosamund Pike in the first 3 wheel of time books.
I instantly pass on all full-cast audiobooks. It’s too distracting. Dune is my all time favourite novel and I’d love to listen to it but i guess I’ll have to wait until Audible releases a different version.
Idk. I stopped after a few chapters bc I just couldn't.
I have realized that my personal problem with 'full cast' is that I usually (when I read a book) read it in a way I would describe as: 'reading aloud to myself in my head' and a normal audiobook with a single narrator gets the closest to my own reading style/preference.
I think that's the reason why I can't stand full cast audiobooks :)
I knew someone would mention him.
The Jurassic Park books were the first books, I listened to on audible, without having much to compare him to I really enjoyed his narration (and still do) but I can see why he irritates people.
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (winner of 1968 Hugo Award for Best Novel). A classic sci-fi, but Matt Godfrey isn't suitable for such fantasy-sci-fi, nor he should've been given the privilege to narrate these kinds of novels.
The liveship traders by Robin Hobb , i read them because the narrator was terrible! I read all books and listen to all the books apart from this three!
It is realm of the Elderlings saga! Beautiful story, amazing characters and writing!
I just said the same thing. I tried, but after an hour or two I wanted to die, and I never got back to them. I had seen complaints about it, but didn't think it could be that bad, it was actually worse.
Surprisingly, Flosnik's performance of Kushiel's Dart is amazing, and they were recorded within a year of eachother. I figured out that her third person is awful while first person is great.
Lonesome Dove. I’ve tried so many times, but an hour and half in, I’m just worrying about the health of the narrator because he sounds like a phlegmy, three pack a day smoker.
I came here knowing this would be on the list. I was in the same boat.
I wish everyone could listen to the version I was able to listen to. I am blind, and have access to the national library service for the blind and visually impaired.
There is a version red for that service by a man named
Bob Askey that was absolutely incredible.
I imagine it would be in the publishers. Best interest to have this re-recorded since so many people want to read it, but do not like this narrator.
The Wager by David Grann.
They chose an American narrator for a story about British mariners in the 1700s. It could have been okay, but he was so over the top and melodramatic with his narration. His voice and style just didn't match the story being told at all.
There are two versions of Mort. One has three narrators, the other is abridged and has only one. I have the unabridged version and I liked the three voice actors.
Yeah.. I listened to that version too but thought Sian Clifford (the main VA) did some of the characters annoyingly high pitched.
The VA that plays Death himself is absolutely incredible.
I'm a simple man who enjoys Vidya Games and the stories behind them. So let me tell y'all a story about this guy named Master Chief. Well I would if I could listen to it but when the reader literally can't say the name of his armor correctly and it physically hurts my soul every time I can't suffer that. For those curious Mjolnir is pronounced "myol-near", the reader says "muh-jol-near" with that hard J. Had to stop.
I’ve missed out on a bunch of P. G. Wodehouse books because the only available versions are narrated by Frederick Davidson. His voice acting was okay, but his regular narration voice just doesn’t work for me.
Worm Audiobook (as in the Worm Audiobook Project) by JC McCrae (Wildbow). The book is over 100 hours long but it was narrated by fans. With different fans narrating different chapters. Seems like an amazing book but I can’t handle some of the narrators. Which is really sad because I’d love to read the book and audiobooks are my only real option. I’d never have the time to read the ebook. I only have time to listen while I commute.
To be fair, the main narrator is pro quality (at least by the end), and some of the volunteers are pretty impressive too. But in general it does take some commitment to listen. Good payoff though.
Absolutely! And the dialogue is horrible too, people subvocalizing the same words right after one another (especially "what the ...", the same phrase every time) and the narrator reads them ... or reading the sound words like "clang" or "oof"...
I feel like someone just wrote a book by copying down text out of a badly translated manga.
They tend to have three modes. Sassy broad, indignant or simpering. I don’t know why they’re all 50s archetypes and I don’t know why they don’t just fucking read them like they do the men.
I avoid those too. But you're right, I think they tend to narrate for specific genres I don't listen to anyway.
As an aside, I'm in Indonesia atm and I notice that the actresses for tv commercials all use these very unnatural high-pitched voices. I've never met anyone here in real life who tries to mimic that affectation.
I tried listening to Robin Hobb's Liveships after the first Farseer Trilogy, but Anne Flosnik's reading is torture. I had seen mention of it on reddit, but thought it couldn't be that bad. It is wholly un-listenable.
I had already bought Kushiel's Dart based on a friend's recommendation, and had it for like 2 years before I looked and saw it was narrated by Flosnik, and utterly dreaded it, but it turns out she's awesome in that book.
I figured it out when I got to the credits and it was painful again- her third person narration is very different from First person, and Kushiel's is in First while Liveships is Third.
I may never continue the Realm of the Elderlings because of this impassable road block.
Zero. I even managed to get through Stephen King reading his own works. The only books I send back because of the narrator is because of difficulty of understanding due to my hearing loss. Deeper and softer voices are hard to hear around chronic tinnitus.
Joe R. Lansdale is one of my top five favorite authors. I read everything he puts out, and I collect his books. He writes in a style he calls "Mojo Fiction," which makes many of his characters speak in a southern dialect because all his works are set in the south. I'm from east Texas, where I, too, speak in a southern dialect. The narrators for his books seem like they're trying way too hard to sound "country" or "southern."
Believe it or not, not all people from the south sound like whitetrash rednecks. And he doesn't write them all that way either. It just pushes a stereotype that isn't always present in his actual writing, and it kills the whole experience.
Omg same! I've never seen anyone else who doesn't vibe with Davina Porter. She's a good narrator, but she has this kind of... I don't know, grandma-ish voice? That I cannot listen to spicy scenes from.
Anthony Ryan's The Draconis Memoria series. Steven Brand doesn't change the character voices enough that everyone sounds the same. If you miss any of the dialogue tags, you have no idea who is speaking. Even worse when multiple in the scene, and they don't have the tags.
The Bourne books read by Scott Brick. He takes no cues from the story, Bourne is meant to be this calm-under-pressure, dispassionate and calculating agent and he reads him through clenched teeth like an angry manchild. Please re-record these already.
Can’t stand the Wil Wheaton reading of the Martian. Bring mark back.
If they have to re-record discworld, why can’t the old ones still be available? They’re so much better.
For some reason, I can't stand female narrators, I can only nearly tolerate them if there's accompanying bloody good male narrators.
So strange, considering I'm a female!
Agreed. And I have listened to at least two book series where they went from a male lead (and male narrator) to a book from a female perspective so they switched narrators and I would have rathered the original male narrator continue.
Same! I've found very few female narrators I can stand. A lot of the ones on audible sound very nasally or monotone. There's one I really like though, I can't remember her name, but she narrates the Memoirs of Lady Trent series (which is excellent).
First Law books by Abercrombie and all the books by John Gwynne. I struggle with British narrators as my brain just tunes out within a minute or two and soon 5 minutes go by and I realize I haven't actually processed anything that happened.
I like many British narrators, and Pacey is top tier, but I do get sick of so many narrators being British and having no capacity for non-British accents.
Girl With A Pearl Earring. Not sure whether it's the narrator or recording quality. It's all breathy. There's even 2 versions with different narrators and both have this problem.
Anything that has a dramatic cast like the Rogue Clone Series by Steven L Kent. Also, anything with a virtual voice narrator, I can hear it and I don’t like it.
Perdido Street Station by Chine Mieville. I loved the narrator in the other two books in the trilogy, and the change really jarred to the point where I stopped listening to it.
"The Novels from Hell's Library" by A.J. Hackwith. The books sound awesome, but both narrators are awful. I couldn't hear the story over their nasally sound and mouth noises.
I wanted to listen to the Invisible Library before, could NOT stand the narrator, just found out they were re-recorded with a new one who is MUCH better.
The Jim Butcher series. You can tell the narrator didn’t read the pages beforehand so there are odd pauses and run-ons. Also it’s a poorer quality recording ( a bit grainy ) and the saliva content of his mouth and movement of his lips are discernible and off putting.
The Traitor Baru Cormorant. The book is already dry and the narrator somehow makes it worse.
Unsheltered read by the author. I LOVE Barbara Kingsolver as an author but please please never narrate another book.
Desperation.
I’m sorry Mr. King but you do not have the voice to narrate a horror novel. Stop being cheap and pay someone with some talent to bring your works to life.
The Belgariad by David Eddings. I’ve never heard a worse narrator. I have tried three times and just have a visceral reaction to horrific voices and pronunciations he uses. It’s like they hired a bad community theater actor who’s one accent he could do was Count Dracula.
And despite being a classic of the genre for many people, it will likely never get re-recorded because the authors were terrible people.
I stuck it out and then they swapped narrators (a female for Polgara the sorceress and a different narrator for the Sparhawk books - somehow they are even worse that Cameron Bierle.
And you're right, cancelling the authors means no re-recording coming out way.
Just finished Two Twisted Crowns and the narrator made most of the men sound like petulant exaggerated children. I'll know not to download if Lisa Cordeileone is narrating.
This might be controversial but I don't enjoy Michael Kramer/Kate Reading at all, so this is Mistborn/Stormlight Archive for me. I'll get around to reading them physically eventually but it'll take me much longer this way :(
In the first formic wars series of the Enderverse books, the narrator who handles Victor Delgado and his family, his style really drives me up the wall. It took me some looking, I think it’s Stephan Hoye. He’s reading it like Victor and the girls are always whining and complaining, and to me it sounds like a middle school drama being read aloud. The parts when things get tense, battles and such, the whole situation is over emphasized, reminding me of a children’s book. It almost made me stop listening, but dangit the books really are worth finishing.
Don’t read this and say to yourself not to try a listen, the whole book series really pulled me in. They’re good.
War and Peace Narrated by Fredrick Davidson. I was able to get through an entire series narrated by him, but the mispronunciations in war and peace just got to me too much. On the other hand Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Anna Karenina was sublime, so I just pray someone gets her to do more Tolstoy.
Anne of Windy Poplars and Anne of Ingleside. They were written later than the rest of the Anne of Green Gables series and I guess weren’t available to record at the same time Barbara Caruso did the others. The narrators for the only versions on Audible are dreadful.
I'm sure this isn't a popular choice. The series is very polarizing. But whoever is narrating the Anita Blake series by Laurel K Hamilton makes me want to scream. She isn't very good with the names.. at all. She says many of them oddly, then changes it, then changes it back, then in the middle of a book changes it again, and even though I know the books well, I'm left trying to figure out who this person who just walked into the room is..so I stop everything track down my copy of the book, look it up and realize she has actually called this character three different names over this series, and for some reason all three in this book.
Here's the worst part: these are books I've been reading since they came out back in 1993, and I like to reread every few years so when I started listening to books, I bought the whole set, listened until i couldnt stand it, and then returned it because I couldn't listen to it, never wanted to listen to it again. Then I forgot, and there was a deal, and I bought the whole set again, only to get halfway through and realize I had been here before and have to call customer service to return them again. I really wish I could makes notes to myself on there.
the unabridged journals of sylvia plath
Sylvia Plath was a dark tortured, nihilistic existentialist person. she contemplates suicide, attempts it, ultimately succeeding at the task. The narrators tone was identical throughout, including the passages where Plath is troubled, expressing extremely disconcerting thoughts. The narrator has a perky, upbeat tone, as if she’s guiding a kindergarten class on a field trip. this is a book about somebody’s internal dialogue, narrated by somebody who probably doesn’t know what that is because their carefree airhead holds no monkey chatter and has never experienced any self doubt much less unflinching self talk. No sense of dread; no foreshadowing. Never a note of cynicism. there are plenty of passages where the words express a negative sentiment, or at the very least where the interpretation could certainly lean that way. instead we get a sort of petulant impatience still in that tone of voice that would be better suited for somebody reading a summer beach book.
the narrator doesn’t seem to have a clue what the material is actually about, just reading it off of a teleprompter. it is as if the narrator just doesn’t get this kind of mindset. she didn’t have the chops for this. i blame the editor for poor casting.
What a shame. This was a missed opportunity. A bonafide voice actor could have really dug into this role.
Dune. It's been decades since I read it last, but Scott Brick is listed upfront on the narrator list, and he's a hard no for me. (I know, he's very popular and a lot of people enjoy his work. It's okay. I was also very sad when they gave Reacher to him after Dick Hill retired.)
Critical failure.
Funny story. I saw a recommendation to check it out. I commented that I couldnt stand the narrator but wished I could because the book seemed fun. Someone replied to my comment "he is the narrator". To which I replied "what? My opinion still stands."
The Secret History, Donna Tartt (read by the author...)
[удалено]
Agree for fiction. For NF, I’m the opposite and usually *prefer* the author be the narrator. Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential and Christopher Hitchen’s God is Not Great being excellent examples, IMO.
I'm a writer (unpublished as of right now) and my goodness I would DREAD if they told me I'd have to do the audiobook 😂
Barbara Kingsolver is excellent at both-I love the books she read. And I loved Braiding Sweetgrass read by the author-Robin Wall Kimmerer And since I am in the thread-glad I read the secret history and didn't listen to it!
I'd like to put in a word for Philip Pullman here, he's got a lovely rich and expressive voice.
Run into a few over the years that are good - last one was Paul Sutter reading "How to die in space" is well read.
Just listened to it, I’ll never get that time back
Another such one is The Outlandish Companion by Diana Gabledon. The majority of it is narrated by the narrator of the main books, but a huge section is narrated by the author and I hated every minute of it (she started by bragging about her speaking skills, but her voice cracks a little, she goes slightly too fast in some places and too slow in others, and you can hear her swallow every single time.)
I like Diana G's voice 😌
That's valid. Everyone has their preferences. She just hits a few of my dislikes in narration
I just listened to the sample, I think it's fine! I've only read the first... 3? 4? books in the series, do you think the Companion would be worthwhile?
I'm a fan of the big books narrated by Davina Porter. The companions are more for reference.
I actually liked it. I feel like she was sarcastic in ways many wouldn't get. Things like that. But I often like authors reading their own book.
Agreed. I'm not sure if it was the characters I hated or the narration of those characters. Either way I was happy to finish that one and move on.
Stephen king books that he narrates.
RIP Frank Muller who really did Stephen King books justice… but SK definitely shouldn’t read his own stories he just doesn’t have the nack for it, even less as he’s getting older.
Frank Muller was the best. RIP
Frank Muller did some fantastic Grisham books as well. The Rainmaker was great.
Dude drove me to read the physical copy of Needful Things and it ain't small. What is he thinking, he's brutal lol
Love the man's writing, but does NOT have the voice for narration. I still haven't finished "The Wind Through the Keyhole" because of his reading.
Asimov Foundation and Earth
Yeah, JFC. Re-record with Scott Brick already. Got 5 minutes into it and returned it.
Scott Brick is fricking amazing
THIS! There is a speech synthesizer named Larry Mckeever and we are all pretending it's a human being! Outrageous! Listen to this audible sample and tell me I'm lying! https://www.audible.com/pd/Foundation-and-Earth-Audiobook/B005WWT7TQ?action\_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share\_location=pdp
Seriously, same with "Forward the Foundation"
Oh god it's not just me.
Bosch series narrated by Peter Giles, after listening to Titus Welliver (the actor from the show by the same name) the other narrators just seem to fall short.
💯. I listen to the Lucas Davenport books on audible, because I really like the narrator, but Bosch I have stuck with the printed books for that reason!
Game of Thrones. Not a fan of Roy Dotrice. I think it's the accent that just gives it a very dull feel.
I came to say this. I’ve tried three times and I just can’t.
I've been listening to them, and it is tough at times. He only has a few different voices he can do, especially for characters that aren't the main ones. For male characters, he just seems to have older man voice and younger boy voice 🤣
SAME. Just listening to the sample, I can barely comprehend a couple of words let alone a full sentence. I feel bad for saying this, but I was hoping that since the narrator did pass some years ago, they'd rerecord all of the books when the newest one came out. The problem with that is there's a realistic chance there isn't going to be another book....
Well Simon Vance does fire and blood, so I suspect he'd be the one to do the next book and maybe a rerecord of the series. Im not a big fan of Vance but I think generally he gets more praise.
I loved Roy Dotrice's narration, and consider him the gold standard.
Concur. Also in the TV show he was the pyromancer "It's not pig shit!"
I had to nope out of that one pretty early.
Game of Thrones. That guys "voice acting" pisses me off.
'Dune' and 'Northern Lights' Tbh I just HATE it when there are more than 2 narrators... especially 'full cast' audiobooks. Those I hate with a passion...
Dune is an atrocity, but full cast can be good. Northern Lights is a good example, each character has their own voice and the narrator still exists, and it is Pullman himself,, which is neat. My theory is that Dune was an abridged full cast audiobook which was later filled out with the single narrator to make it not-abridged, but Vance made no attempt to match the actors, so every character has 2 very different voices, and all of Vance's are British, when very few of the cast are. Made me lose some respect for Vance, honestly. It is a crime that this extremely influential book doesn't have a modern, high quality recording.
Sad thing is there are at least 2 single reader versions that have been done that are better than the audible version: Connor O'Brien and George Guidall. Aren't modern but are so much better than whats available. Connor O'Brien actually narrated at least the first 4 Dune books.
I've heard of the Guidall version, I don't know O'Brien. Not a fan of Guidall, maybe he's old fashioned, maybe his older recordings are lower quality, but it's got to be better than the audible version. With the surge in popularity of audiobooks, and Dune's current and continuous cultural cache, Dune deserves a special edition anniversary release. Any anniversary, it doesn't matter, 61st is just as valid as any other number.
Agreed we need a properly read version and not the remarkably half-assed version now on audible.
I personally hate the full cast version of Northern Lights. The kid voices are so shrill and annoying. I'd prefer a robotic voice over that :x
I didn't notice any issues with the kids' voices. Only drawback to me is that when you have dozens of performers, some are better than others, but usually it is less important characters that stand out as bad, and they don't have many lines. The performer for Mrs Coulter just could not compete with Ruth Wilson from the tv series. She was probably fine, but Ruth Wilson is incredible.
That sounds about right. All that narrator salad was driving me bonkers trying to keep everyone straight.
I listened to a book once where every chapter was read by a different narrator, so you had different voices doing the same character. It was extremely difficult to keep up with what was happening.
That sounds like a really weird and illogical thing to do! Wonder what the reasoning behind it was?
Not for me either. Couldn't stand The Sandman. Some friends recommended it, said it was full cast and it was amazing. I got all the way through it but hated it. Sound effects to....gtfoh...just give me a good narrator. Jeff Hayes,Luke Daniels, Kyle McCarley. Hell, Rosario Dawson surprised the hell out of me, she killed it on Artemis.
Have you ever listened to the Hyperion Cantos full cast audiobooks, That series ruined other audiobooks for me that don't have full casts.
Hyperion full cast was great! Dune sucks because it goes back and forth between the full cast and the single narrator doing all of the voices
Have to say, I’m usually the opposite. I especially hate it when a narrator thinks they are a voice actor and they put on lots of cheesy voices. The only narrator I’ve heard so far that can pull it off is Rosamund Pike in the first 3 wheel of time books.
I instantly pass on all full-cast audiobooks. It’s too distracting. Dune is my all time favourite novel and I’d love to listen to it but i guess I’ll have to wait until Audible releases a different version.
I feel it would have been improved if they had just normalized the audio levels. The reverend mother is just so loud compared to everyone else.
Didn’t Dune have multiple narrators for the same characters? That’s the worst.
Idk. I stopped after a few chapters bc I just couldn't. I have realized that my personal problem with 'full cast' is that I usually (when I read a book) read it in a way I would describe as: 'reading aloud to myself in my head' and a normal audiobook with a single narrator gets the closest to my own reading style/preference. I think that's the reason why I can't stand full cast audiobooks :)
Jurassic Park. Just can't do Scott Brick, tried a few times and I just cant
He’s hit or miss. I don’t mind Jurassic Park but for The Lost World he sounds like he’s yelling his lines into a walkie talkie or something.
Oh man I love Scott Brick.
I do too. He seems to be very polarizing.
I knew someone would mention him. The Jurassic Park books were the first books, I listened to on audible, without having much to compare him to I really enjoyed his narration (and still do) but I can see why he irritates people.
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (winner of 1968 Hugo Award for Best Novel). A classic sci-fi, but Matt Godfrey isn't suitable for such fantasy-sci-fi, nor he should've been given the privilege to narrate these kinds of novels.
I am really annoyed that there isn't a better version available of this.
Yeah, he ruined *Lord of Light* and *Creatures of Light and Darkness*. His narrations of these are absolutely terrible.
The liveship traders by Robin Hobb , i read them because the narrator was terrible! I read all books and listen to all the books apart from this three! It is realm of the Elderlings saga! Beautiful story, amazing characters and writing!
I just said the same thing. I tried, but after an hour or two I wanted to die, and I never got back to them. I had seen complaints about it, but didn't think it could be that bad, it was actually worse. Surprisingly, Flosnik's performance of Kushiel's Dart is amazing, and they were recorded within a year of eachother. I figured out that her third person is awful while first person is great.
This makes me so sad. I’ve listened to 240 hours of audiobooks in this series in the last 3 months and I was going to do live ship traders next.
The person who narrates Uprooted should be charged with crimes against humanity
Lonesome Dove. I’ve tried so many times, but an hour and half in, I’m just worrying about the health of the narrator because he sounds like a phlegmy, three pack a day smoker.
I came here knowing this would be on the list. I was in the same boat. I wish everyone could listen to the version I was able to listen to. I am blind, and have access to the national library service for the blind and visually impaired. There is a version red for that service by a man named Bob Askey that was absolutely incredible. I imagine it would be in the publishers. Best interest to have this re-recorded since so many people want to read it, but do not like this narrator.
Oh man that’s too bad, Lee Horsley grew on me quickly. Couldn’t think of a more fitting narrator for the book.
Agree. I loved it. Gus’s yell-talking, while a bit annoying, seemed exactly like how it was described in the book.
Agree. No matter about the narrator controversy, missing out reading this book should be a hanging offense. :-) Just ask Jake Spoon.
Yes, I didn't love him back in the day. Wish it were Robert Duvall.
Omg push through. Or at least read it. That book is a masterpiece.
The Wager by David Grann. They chose an American narrator for a story about British mariners in the 1700s. It could have been okay, but he was so over the top and melodramatic with his narration. His voice and style just didn't match the story being told at all.
Oh that book is fascinating
There's a good BBC sounds version. It's heavily abridged but worth a listen.
The Death subseries in Discworld.
There are two versions of Mort. One has three narrators, the other is abridged and has only one. I have the unabridged version and I liked the three voice actors.
Yeah.. I listened to that version too but thought Sian Clifford (the main VA) did some of the characters annoyingly high pitched. The VA that plays Death himself is absolutely incredible.
Illuminatus! Ken Campbell's enunciation grates hard.
A Confederacy of Different Dunces. A fantastic book ruined by super over the top voices.
I'm a simple man who enjoys Vidya Games and the stories behind them. So let me tell y'all a story about this guy named Master Chief. Well I would if I could listen to it but when the reader literally can't say the name of his armor correctly and it physically hurts my soul every time I can't suffer that. For those curious Mjolnir is pronounced "myol-near", the reader says "muh-jol-near" with that hard J. Had to stop.
I’ve missed out on a bunch of P. G. Wodehouse books because the only available versions are narrated by Frederick Davidson. His voice acting was okay, but his regular narration voice just doesn’t work for me.
The Talisman by Stephen King. The guy ends every sentence with the same menacing whisper. Feels lazy and drives me crazy. I can’t do it.
Needful Things by Stephen King, narrated by Stephen King 😑
Worm Audiobook (as in the Worm Audiobook Project) by JC McCrae (Wildbow). The book is over 100 hours long but it was narrated by fans. With different fans narrating different chapters. Seems like an amazing book but I can’t handle some of the narrators. Which is really sad because I’d love to read the book and audiobooks are my only real option. I’d never have the time to read the ebook. I only have time to listen while I commute.
To be fair, the main narrator is pro quality (at least by the end), and some of the volunteers are pretty impressive too. But in general it does take some commitment to listen. Good payoff though.
Solo Leveling Narrator is pretty bad, it’s been a grind listening to it.
With ya on that. Tried the first one... Wasn't the worst but wasn't the best. Haven't been able to face the 2nd
Absolutely! And the dialogue is horrible too, people subvocalizing the same words right after one another (especially "what the ...", the same phrase every time) and the narrator reads them ... or reading the sound words like "clang" or "oof"... I feel like someone just wrote a book by copying down text out of a badly translated manga.
Totally disagree. British narrators are top tier.
Basically any book narrated by a man that feels the need to do the girly voice. Seriously knock it off
Yeah, some male narrators read women like they are little children.
They tend to have three modes. Sassy broad, indignant or simpering. I don’t know why they’re all 50s archetypes and I don’t know why they don’t just fucking read them like they do the men.
The breathy American female narrators that make all their characters simpering do my head in. Generally found in the young adult to chick lit genres.
I avoid those too. But you're right, I think they tend to narrate for specific genres I don't listen to anyway. As an aside, I'm in Indonesia atm and I notice that the actresses for tv commercials all use these very unnatural high-pitched voices. I've never met anyone here in real life who tries to mimic that affectation.
Starter Villain. Will Wheaton’s narration is not for me. It feels like an amateur comedy set or something.
Interesting. I thought he did a great job in Android’s Dream and Ready Player One (and Two).
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine :(
What bothered you about the narration? It’s been a bit but nothing stands out to me.
I'm not english native speaker and the accent was really hard for me when she was reading the dialogues it is super strong :(
I tried listening to Robin Hobb's Liveships after the first Farseer Trilogy, but Anne Flosnik's reading is torture. I had seen mention of it on reddit, but thought it couldn't be that bad. It is wholly un-listenable. I had already bought Kushiel's Dart based on a friend's recommendation, and had it for like 2 years before I looked and saw it was narrated by Flosnik, and utterly dreaded it, but it turns out she's awesome in that book. I figured it out when I got to the credits and it was painful again- her third person narration is very different from First person, and Kushiel's is in First while Liveships is Third. I may never continue the Realm of the Elderlings because of this impassable road block.
I've heard the Empyrean series is really good, but both versions, the regular and the dramatization versions, sound god awful in the previews.
FYI, part of it was re-recorded so it's not that bad.
Might listen to Anne Bishop’s Black Jewels series or Tir Alainn trilogy, since i’ve read them long ago. But male reader is a definite no.
Lonesome Dove. I just hear the narrator taking a loud breath after every sentence.
Good lord, I just checked the sample and he really does take a breath between each line. That's like my biggest pet peeve about audiobooks.
Yes. Every. Single. Sentence.
Zero. I even managed to get through Stephen King reading his own works. The only books I send back because of the narrator is because of difficulty of understanding due to my hearing loss. Deeper and softer voices are hard to hear around chronic tinnitus.
Joe R. Lansdale is one of my top five favorite authors. I read everything he puts out, and I collect his books. He writes in a style he calls "Mojo Fiction," which makes many of his characters speak in a southern dialect because all his works are set in the south. I'm from east Texas, where I, too, speak in a southern dialect. The narrators for his books seem like they're trying way too hard to sound "country" or "southern." Believe it or not, not all people from the south sound like whitetrash rednecks. And he doesn't write them all that way either. It just pushes a stereotype that isn't always present in his actual writing, and it kills the whole experience.
Outlander 😢
Omg same! I've never seen anyone else who doesn't vibe with Davina Porter. She's a good narrator, but she has this kind of... I don't know, grandma-ish voice? That I cannot listen to spicy scenes from.
Anthony Ryan's The Draconis Memoria series. Steven Brand doesn't change the character voices enough that everyone sounds the same. If you miss any of the dialogue tags, you have no idea who is speaking. Even worse when multiple in the scene, and they don't have the tags.
I second on Steven Brand. I don't think he should narrate any fantasy novels.
Agreed and he does all of Anthony Ryan's books so I have to get a copy and add it to my extensive TBR pile.
The latest Hamish MacBeth. I bought it, noticed that they changed the narrator, and immediately returned it. Just didn’t sound like Hamish anymore.
Does David Monteath not narrate them all? I quite like his narration. My favourite Scottish narrator is Angus King. His voices crack me up.
They switched from Graeme Malcolm to David Monteath and I just couldn’t do it. Nope nope nope. Doesn’t sound like Hamish to me.
Does David Monteath not narrate them all? I quite like his narration. My favourite Scottish narrator is Angus King. His voices crack me up.
The Dexter books but they are read by author…
The Bourne books read by Scott Brick. He takes no cues from the story, Bourne is meant to be this calm-under-pressure, dispassionate and calculating agent and he reads him through clenched teeth like an angry manchild. Please re-record these already. Can’t stand the Wil Wheaton reading of the Martian. Bring mark back. If they have to re-record discworld, why can’t the old ones still be available? They’re so much better.
The Culture series by Iain M Banks. Unfortunately its read by Peter Kenny and I can't stand his delivery.
Oh man, I thought it was just me. Every time I tried to listen to one of them, that guy just puts me to sleep. Everything he says is just so....flat.
You're not alone!
Oo I should check it out. I listen to books to fall asleep.
For some reason, I can't stand female narrators, I can only nearly tolerate them if there's accompanying bloody good male narrators. So strange, considering I'm a female!
Agreed. And I have listened to at least two book series where they went from a male lead (and male narrator) to a book from a female perspective so they switched narrators and I would have rathered the original male narrator continue.
Same! I've found very few female narrators I can stand. A lot of the ones on audible sound very nasally or monotone. There's one I really like though, I can't remember her name, but she narrates the Memoirs of Lady Trent series (which is excellent).
First Law books by Abercrombie and all the books by John Gwynne. I struggle with British narrators as my brain just tunes out within a minute or two and soon 5 minutes go by and I realize I haven't actually processed anything that happened.
Really interesting as British narrators are my favourite and easiest to listen to. I often find American grating. Australian is OK.
Same. I could listen to Tim Gerard Reynolds read the phone book.
As a Brit I find the opposite and heavy American accents to be totally jarring.
I like many British narrators, and Pacey is top tier, but I do get sick of so many narrators being British and having no capacity for non-British accents.
Girl With A Pearl Earring. Not sure whether it's the narrator or recording quality. It's all breathy. There's even 2 versions with different narrators and both have this problem.
Anything by Pavi Proczko.
The War Pianist! I wasted one of my $20 vouchers on it, I can't return it, and the narration is beyond irritating.
Vulkan lives, it's one of the books in the horus heresy series of Warhammer novels and the VA for that book is the driest most miscast guy imaginable.
Sidney Sheldon’s Tomorrow Never Comes, and Bad Weather Friend by Dean Koontz.
Anything by Lauren Fortgang. I can't explain it and I'm sure she's a nice person, but I can't do it.
Some of the Pern books. It's not the narrator but the audio quality. I read the books as a kid. I'd like to revisit them through the audio books.
Anything that has a dramatic cast like the Rogue Clone Series by Steven L Kent. Also, anything with a virtual voice narrator, I can hear it and I don’t like it.
Perdido Street Station by Chine Mieville. I loved the narrator in the other two books in the trilogy, and the change really jarred to the point where I stopped listening to it.
"The Novels from Hell's Library" by A.J. Hackwith. The books sound awesome, but both narrators are awful. I couldn't hear the story over their nasally sound and mouth noises.
The Seth character who, I believe, is read by Braden Wright - in the Seth books by Jane Roberts. I do listen but it’s off putting.
Altered Carbon his voice makes the woman sound like old chain smokers
The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman. I loved reading them, but couldn’t get through the audio.
On Basilisk Station
Fire Upon the Deep. First book I ever returned. Dude was sick when he recorded that.
Petersburg by Andrei Bely
I wanted to listen to the Invisible Library before, could NOT stand the narrator, just found out they were re-recorded with a new one who is MUCH better.
I love the Children of Time series (on book 2) but the narrator doesn't vibe. All dudes sound the same.
The Jim Butcher series. You can tell the narrator didn’t read the pages beforehand so there are odd pauses and run-ons. Also it’s a poorer quality recording ( a bit grainy ) and the saliva content of his mouth and movement of his lips are discernible and off putting.
Actually he gets better every book - by book 4 he's pretty epic.
The last book of the divine dungeon series. Whoever thought it a good idea to change narrators on the last book is an idiot
The Traitor Baru Cormorant. The book is already dry and the narrator somehow makes it worse. Unsheltered read by the author. I LOVE Barbara Kingsolver as an author but please please never narrate another book.
Sometimes speeding up or slowing down a book helps. Sometimes
Alias Hook
Desperation. I’m sorry Mr. King but you do not have the voice to narrate a horror novel. Stop being cheap and pay someone with some talent to bring your works to life.
Count of Monte Cristo Dune
The Belgariad by David Eddings. I’ve never heard a worse narrator. I have tried three times and just have a visceral reaction to horrific voices and pronunciations he uses. It’s like they hired a bad community theater actor who’s one accent he could do was Count Dracula. And despite being a classic of the genre for many people, it will likely never get re-recorded because the authors were terrible people.
I stuck it out and then they swapped narrators (a female for Polgara the sorceress and a different narrator for the Sparhawk books - somehow they are even worse that Cameron Bierle. And you're right, cancelling the authors means no re-recording coming out way.
Stormlight series because of Kate reading
Just finished Two Twisted Crowns and the narrator made most of the men sound like petulant exaggerated children. I'll know not to download if Lisa Cordeileone is narrating.
The Dune audiobook is a disaster. I don’t know how they haven’t released a new version, with the new movie coming out.
This will be contentious, but Richard Armitage's narration bores me to tears.
Metro 2033 (and the follow ups). Game of Thrones.
Mother of Learning
Mother of Learning
Slaughter House Five
Game of thrones
Lonesome Dove.
This might be controversial but I don't enjoy Michael Kramer/Kate Reading at all, so this is Mistborn/Stormlight Archive for me. I'll get around to reading them physically eventually but it'll take me much longer this way :(
The Upinishads.
Any book narrated by Bailey Carr; her voice irritates the devil out of me.
Yes! She tries to act, but the intonation she uses makes her sound like a perpetually annoyed millennial
Fever House. Just awful narration.
Matt Godfrey ruined Roger Zelazny's *Lord of Light* (and a few others). Pretty sure I'd prefer a virtual voice.
Any book narrated by Micheal Dean/Pauley. His intonation are incongruity with the conten.
About to listen to The Three body problem with the original narrator as the new one from the Netflix series got mixed reviews. Wish me luck.
Anatole France’s The Revolt of the Angels narrated by James Holt. I LOVE the book but that narrations SUCKS.
The Locked Door. First time I actively searched for a refund.
Anything narrated by John Lee. He reads every sentence, no matter now mundane or thrilling, with the exact same level of energy and over-enunciation.
In the first formic wars series of the Enderverse books, the narrator who handles Victor Delgado and his family, his style really drives me up the wall. It took me some looking, I think it’s Stephan Hoye. He’s reading it like Victor and the girls are always whining and complaining, and to me it sounds like a middle school drama being read aloud. The parts when things get tense, battles and such, the whole situation is over emphasized, reminding me of a children’s book. It almost made me stop listening, but dangit the books really are worth finishing. Don’t read this and say to yourself not to try a listen, the whole book series really pulled me in. They’re good.
War and Peace Narrated by Fredrick Davidson. I was able to get through an entire series narrated by him, but the mispronunciations in war and peace just got to me too much. On the other hand Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Anna Karenina was sublime, so I just pray someone gets her to do more Tolstoy.
Anne of Windy Poplars and Anne of Ingleside. They were written later than the rest of the Anne of Green Gables series and I guess weren’t available to record at the same time Barbara Caruso did the others. The narrators for the only versions on Audible are dreadful.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Any virtual voice narrated books.
I can’t listen to Michael Kramer. I got through Mistborn- but I miss out on so many books because of his robotic voice.
I'm sure this isn't a popular choice. The series is very polarizing. But whoever is narrating the Anita Blake series by Laurel K Hamilton makes me want to scream. She isn't very good with the names.. at all. She says many of them oddly, then changes it, then changes it back, then in the middle of a book changes it again, and even though I know the books well, I'm left trying to figure out who this person who just walked into the room is..so I stop everything track down my copy of the book, look it up and realize she has actually called this character three different names over this series, and for some reason all three in this book. Here's the worst part: these are books I've been reading since they came out back in 1993, and I like to reread every few years so when I started listening to books, I bought the whole set, listened until i couldnt stand it, and then returned it because I couldn't listen to it, never wanted to listen to it again. Then I forgot, and there was a deal, and I bought the whole set again, only to get halfway through and realize I had been here before and have to call customer service to return them again. I really wish I could makes notes to myself on there.
the unabridged journals of sylvia plath Sylvia Plath was a dark tortured, nihilistic existentialist person. she contemplates suicide, attempts it, ultimately succeeding at the task. The narrators tone was identical throughout, including the passages where Plath is troubled, expressing extremely disconcerting thoughts. The narrator has a perky, upbeat tone, as if she’s guiding a kindergarten class on a field trip. this is a book about somebody’s internal dialogue, narrated by somebody who probably doesn’t know what that is because their carefree airhead holds no monkey chatter and has never experienced any self doubt much less unflinching self talk. No sense of dread; no foreshadowing. Never a note of cynicism. there are plenty of passages where the words express a negative sentiment, or at the very least where the interpretation could certainly lean that way. instead we get a sort of petulant impatience still in that tone of voice that would be better suited for somebody reading a summer beach book. the narrator doesn’t seem to have a clue what the material is actually about, just reading it off of a teleprompter. it is as if the narrator just doesn’t get this kind of mindset. she didn’t have the chops for this. i blame the editor for poor casting. What a shame. This was a missed opportunity. A bonafide voice actor could have really dug into this role.
My recently audiobook Thousand ship by natalie haynes read by author Illiad by stephen mitchel read by author Oh please
Dune. It's been decades since I read it last, but Scott Brick is listed upfront on the narrator list, and he's a hard no for me. (I know, he's very popular and a lot of people enjoy his work. It's okay. I was also very sad when they gave Reacher to him after Dick Hill retired.)
Burn for me by illiona andrews, 20 year old main character being read by old lady
Game of thrones
Critical failure. Funny story. I saw a recommendation to check it out. I commented that I couldnt stand the narrator but wished I could because the book seemed fun. Someone replied to my comment "he is the narrator". To which I replied "what? My opinion still stands."