Aileen

I've read the Spirit Ring by Lois McMaster Bujold. Bujold is one of my very favorite writers. This is a really good book.

The narrator, however, is simply appalling. Her performance is clueless and hammy. Truly an embarrassment to listen to. I have rarely heard such a terrible performance. I simply can't get past the first five minutes of the book without cringing and hitting the pause button. Why would they choose such a talentless actress to narrate this, or any other book?

This is my first Pendergast novel and I really enjoyed it. The story is good - not great literature by any means, but engaging, interesting, and it all hung together pretty well. The narration is good except for a couple of characters. Dude, if you can't do Scottish accents, don't try. Also really unclear why the Japanese American scientist is given a posh English accent. Other than those two characters, the narrator found a really good voice for the various characters that really worked well.
I guess I could pick apart lots of the plot and characterisation, but really this is just a light thriller which shouldn't be taken too seriously. I enjoyed the insight into the workings of a museum and also the science was interesting - I have no idea if it was in any way credible or plausible, but it sounded convincing.
I'd definitely recommend this one.

This was an enjoyable romp. The hero was really quite loveable and I enjoyed Heyer's deliberate inversion of the reader's expectations around the apparent romantic lead - who turns out to be a 'cad.' The heroine was okay but nothing very engaging.
The narration was top notch.

I don't really know if this qualifies as 'urban fantasy' as such. It is a fantasy in an urban setting, but the tone is light and engaging, not dark and mysterious. I prefer light and engaging, and this delivers. I love the main character protagonist and most of the minor or secondary characters too. I found this funny, smart, imaginative and really interesting.
the voice narration is good too. Really, a winner and strongly recommended.

I really like this style of mystery - police procedural, interesting protagonist detective, set between the wars in England. I thought the main character was really quite well drawn. However, I found the story somewhat confusing and the mystery itself implausible and almost irrelevant. I liked all the ingredients, but for me the story itself was not interesting. Also, all of these characters who take on each others' identity. That whole thing didn't work for me, and didn't seem to have any point or plausibility.
The main character is very interesting and likeable. I was hoping for more involvement with his sister, who only appears in one scene but is also engaging. I might try number 2 in the series, eventually. An okay listen, but not as good as i had hoped. Nicely narrated, though, except for the terrible attempt at a scottish accent Xb

I loved this book in hardcopy, so I thought I'd take a chance on the audio book. I loved the narration and the whole experience of listening to the story rather than reading it. I've reviewed the book in Goodreads, where I talk about how clever and savvy the writing is. Of course that holds good for the audio version too. I did not always agree with the voices chosen for characters - for example, the evil characters are given a spanish accent (?) by the narrator, some of the characters are given scottish or irish accents. Perhaps I just didn't pick up the same hints in the text. Anyway, this is quite a trivial quibble.

I have read reviews of the book that really take issue with Kvothe's uncanny ability at everything he turns his hand to. I mean everything. I think this would be grating in some books, but it never jars me with this book. Maybe that's because it is set up from the beginning that he is a hero's hero. Also, we are shown major character flaws - his impatience, his inability to trust others, his arrogance - so he does not seem perfect at all.

Also he is the classic unreliable narrator, and this is lampshaded quite a lot throughout. The form of first person narrative is enfolded in the structure in a way that continually points out that the story is told by Kvothe and only from his perspective. I love that narrative structure. I think it isl really clever and it works for me.

If you haven't read this book or heard of it, I would recommend it as a great story. If you are a fantasy reader, the pleasure of it will be in watching all those standard tropes and devices being both used and gently mocked.

I started reading this series years ago when only books 1 and 2 had been released. i was riveted but got frustrated waiting for each installment and gave them away. I'm really enjoying listening to them now. the narrator is fantastic - so many different voices and characters. Some of them are, for me, not quite right, but the major characters are brilliant.
If you haven't been introduced to the series before, I can strongly recommend the audio version - with one reservation: the maps and genealogies the are available in book form really help to anchor the story. With so many characters and so much sweeping action, it can be a little confusing without these resources. Especially because audio doesn't really allow you to go back and pick up a detail you might have missed.

I do enjoy Dorothy Sayers. This collection was a little hit and miss. Not crazy about Montague Egg, myself. I really enjoyed the Wimsey stories.

I would LOVE to listen to some Wimsey books read by someone other than Ian Carmichael. He monopolised the movie and audio versions of Wimsey. I've always found him very ordinary and cliched. As a narrator, one of his favourite characterisation techniques seems to be to suck air in through his teeth after every sentence. Perhaps he might have thought it sounded appropriately nobby for Wimsey - but he does it for every character! I think he was quite untalented and managed to carve out a career playing upper-class buffoons because he was always playing himself. Okay, not very insightful or charitable. But please won't someone think about re-recording these books using another narrator? Please?

I had huge problems following the action in this book. Most of the time I had no clear idea what was going all. So much unfamiliar nautical jargon, combined with somewhat careless and muffled narration, just meant this was all a bit baffling. I have listened to a lot of Hornblower on audio without this being a major problem.Yes, sometimes listening to Hornblower I get a little lost. But I was basically lost from go to whoa on this one.
I thought Robert Hardy would be wonderful, but his voice is a just a little too phlegmy and fruity for comfort. He sounded like he was having a bilious attack most of the time. I found him hard to understand. His voice is very plummy and it kind of annoyed me.
I think I will try to get my hands on the hard copy of these books, which have been highly recommended to me several times.

This audiobook was a wonderful experience. The story is absorbing and well-plotted. The characters, especially Matthew Shardlake, are beautifully drawn and believable. It is very difficult to balance historical authenticity and sympathetic characterisation. The main character's rather modern sensibilities and values are made more credible by his physical disability, which casts him as an outsider in Tudor London. For me, Sansom got it exactly right in that regard. I know nothing of the author's background, but I am convinced he is deeply knowledgeable about the period.
The setting is England during the reformation. The main character is committed to the new order and works for Cromwell. His beliefs and values are shaken by the implications of what happens in the course of the novel. I found the political and domestic intrigue very interesting and absorbing.
I loved the book, and the narrator is simply perfect. His voice, accent and characterisation all got it right. For me, it was the perfect form for the content. I love narrators who are able to suggest dialogue by opposite-sex characters without descending into parody - the deep grumble by a female narrator, or the embarrassing falsetto by the male narrator. Anton Lesser was able to give real depth and consistency to a whole raft of male, female, adult and adolescent characters.
I recommend this audiobook wholeheartedly.