Dan

I have listened to and enjoyed many of Orson Scott Card's book by this creative team. While I enjoyed the books (with one notable exception), the performances and production have always been top notch. Until this book.

The recording and production of this book are the worst of any Card novel I've heard. Apparently no one could decide how to pronounce "Hegemon" during recording, but someone obviously went back in and overdubbed the pronunciation of that one particular word, over and over again. Plus the music was terrible cheesy, and the overall sound quality was not up to spec. Disappointing from a group I have known can produce top quality recordings.

The book itself is as beautifully spare and desolate as the landscape it describes. The text is relentless, and sets the tone for their slow march to the sea.

The narrator did a superb job giving voice to the characters, and I am even more impressed with him now that I have heard him read No Country for Old Men, which shows off his range even better.

This book started out as meast least favorite of the series, but has grown on me ever since. It's now my favorite and, in my opinion, is Adams' most creative Hitchhiker book. Martin Freeman is a top rate narrator. He is much more versatile in his voice acting than I would have thought, has unique voices for each character, and is highly entertaining. I highly recommend this book, or any of this series.