Myssi

While I would recommend this book, I would suggest you download one of the other recordings. There are too many peaks and inconsistencies in the audio. In a few scenes you can tell the narrator went back and rerecorded the script, and it was edited back in with no regard to the older audio's sound level or her reading pace. In other scenes there is a slight echo, which is very distracting, and enough places to note where the audio skips.

I was very disappointed that none of Rhett’s adventures before GWTW, nor during the Civil War were portrayed in this book. From the synopsis I read, I thought this book would be about Rhett Butler, but his appearances are few and far between. New scenes with him are interesting, but brief. Scenes from GWTW are glossed over, and it seems like Rhett’s internal monologues are afterthoughts by McCaig. Character dialogue is very stilted, and often expositional.


The new character POVs McCaig introduces are flat, and so none of their emotional decisions carry any weight. None of the scenes that are supposed to be climactic have any buildup, nor do they have enough detail to make them exciting or engaging.


I am undecided if John Bedford Lloyd didn’t have much to work with, or just phoned it in; there were many occasions where I couldn’t tell the difference between the characters he was voicing, and I felt there wasn’t enough emotion portrayed. His pacing was also a bit off the mark.


I was unhappy with McCaig’s portrayal of Melanie and Belle, as his characterizations of them do not remain true to how they were portrayed in GWTW: Melanie is supposed to be a proper lady, but in this book she makes several comments that are at odds with this. Belle is supposed to be a strong, no-nonsense woman living on her own terms, but this book paints her as soft, pitiable creature.


The shift in POV and story events are schizophrenic, often switching from one even to another without any kind of transition, which led me to wondering in many instances if I had skipped a chapter. If you are a fan of GWTW, I wouldn’t recommend it.