The Shadow of Saganami

By: David Weber

Narrated by: Jay Snyder

Length: 30 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

The Star Kingdom has a new generation of officers! And this elite group hand-picked and trained by Honor Harrington herself is going to be needed immediately, as their first assignment turns out to be more dangerous than anyone expected.

What was supposed to be a quiet outpost, far from the blazing conflict between the Star Kingdom of Manticore and the People's Republic of Haven has actually been targeted by an unholy alliance between the slaveholders of Manpower, the rival star kingdoms of Mesa and Monica, and the bureaucrats of the Solarian League.

The alliance stands to benefit if the Havenites defeat Manticore, and are preparing for a surprise attack from the rear to divide Manticore's forces, which are already strained nearly to their limits. With their captain, the young Manticoran officers will risk their careers, if not their lives, on an unauthorized mission to expose and counter the threat to their Star Kingdom. Follow their journey as they show what they're made of.

New York Times best-selling author David Weber begins a new series that will be a must-buy for the hundreds of thousands of Honor Harrington fans.

©2005 David Weber (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Mostly Enjoyable

So far two reviews precede this one. Interestingly, I must agree with both. I strongly advise the reader who got through only the first 45 minutes of the book to go back to where they stopped and restart listening. My experience was exactly the same and I nearly stopped listening at the same point. When the first woman's voice I heard sounded like Mini Mouse it was fingernails on a blackboard. When I realized that women played significant roles in the book, and that each was likely to sound like a cousin to Mini, I really had to work to keep going. Thankfully, the thought of wasting a credit kept me struggling and I did in fact finish the book.

I don't know what happened but about an hour into my listen, the female voices became less of an issue and the writing took over. I am glad it did. In the end, I found the book to be one of the better Audible purchases I have made. I have not listened to any of the "Honor Harrington" series but I will now. I did read the "March" series and thoroughly enjoyed it. I cannot say this book is better but it is most certainly on the same plane. Now, I must go back and select my next listen. Whichever I choose, I hope it can match up in terms of enjoyment and that perhaps Micky will have called Mini home.

Suggestions will be appreciated.

i couldnt finish and I really want to

I was used to listening to Ms. Johnson doing Honor stories. this narrator ruined for me the first time he did a female voice. I never got passed the first few minuets. I would gladly buy this title again if you got Ms. Johnson to read it.

Great Book

Great Book but a bad narrator. The narrator is just not right for this book.

The Narrator should NEVER do another book

The story is great! Yeh characters engaging and interesting. But this audiobook is one of the worse because of the narrator’s forced falsetto voice... I literally could not bare to hear him read any of the female parts. Jay Stryker should NEVER read female lines EVER EVER EVER again!

Good book, but bad female voices

How did the narrator detract from the book?

This is a good story but the narration is not good, all the young female characters sound like startled leprechauns.

Any additional comments?

If you enjoyed the other honourverse books I would recommend it though, despite the narrator.

Terrific story - very poor voices

The story is an excellent example of terrific writing that merges multiple subplots within a primary theme. Actually, it is what I have come to expect from David Weber. HOWEVER, the narrator significantly detracted from my enjoyment. The straight story narration is wonderful. The narrator has a melifluous style that is very enjoyable. BUT his voices are terrible for the males and totally horrid and unacceptable for the women.

Bad voices

Every time this guy does a female voice he ruins the story it’s like the sound of someone skinning a cat and it takes you out of the story. And they all sound the same as well. Find someone else to do the women’s voices PLEASE.

Narrator ruins the story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

the story itself is rather interesting.

Who was your favorite character and why?

don't have one

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jay Snyder?

absolutely not

Could you see The Shadow of Saganami being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Thats an interesting idea. They might be able to make this into a tv series.

Any additional comments?

Good book let down by a terrible narrator. And the only reason I would say hes bad, is because they way he reads the woman's parts. Every single woman sings soprano, according to his reading.

The Shadow of Saganami

I had completed all the Harrington series books before starting on the sub-series book. I wish I had read/listen to this book before I had read "At All Cost" and "Mission of Honor". The Shadow of Saganami apparently fits into the time line somewhere in the "At All Cost" story line. The narrator was not Jay Snyder but Kevin Parasal he just can not do women voices not all women have a soprano voice. Over all great story lots of battle scenes, espionage, political intrigue to keep me up all night and not get anything done all day.

Mixed emotions

I read this book when it was first published and truly enjoyed it. I was ecstatic when it was available here. I had my first letdown when the reader hit his first female voice. I had to stop working to see if I had inadvertently switched to a Monty Python recording. Most of the women in the book are made to sound as if they'd jumped right out of a Monty Python skit.
Don't get me wrong, the reader is truly talented for his male voice range, he should either put a lot of work on the female voices he does, or just quit trying to sound female. Other readers can do it, and for someone of his talents otherwise, it might be the best bet.
My other problem with the book has already been mentioned: the pronunciation of "Manitcoran." Apparently, I'm going to have to endure this for any of the "Honorverse" books that come out.
The book easily rates 5 stars. This is Weber at his best with complex plots and characters from all over the galaxy conspiring to bring harm to the star kingdom. I had to knock off 1 star for the reader. After listening long enough, you can get used to the cringe-inducing female voices and just enjoy the story.