The House of Hades

The Heroes of Olympus, Book 4

By: Rick Riordan

Narrated by: Nick Chamian

Length: 17 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy's instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea's forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors from both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

They have no choice. If the demigods don't succeed, Gaea's armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.

©2013 Rick Riordan (P)2013 Listening Library

I am so angry about the narrator

Would you consider the audio edition of The House of Hades to be better than the print version?

Absolutely NOT.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I used to love Leo but when they changed the narrator they ruined all of the characters.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

This book has seven main characters and lots of different gods. The narrator from the first three books did such a great job with the voices that I identified them immediately and could see a great mental picture of their character. Also, it helped me to follow the story and keep track of who is talking. But now with this new narrator I am miserable and am having a really hard time keeping my interest and focus. It truly has ruined the author's story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I actually gasped in horror in my car once I realized the narrator changed. It made me feel like I was going through the mourning of a great loss!

Any additional comments?

NEVER NEVER NEVER change the narrator for a series of books! And with as many people as I have read having the same reaction as me you would think they wouldn't have had this guy narrate the last book as well! Honestly I'm so sad and disappointed!!!! I sort of doubt I will have time to ever actually read these books so I will either have to suffer for the next 30 hours having my ears accosted or I'll just give up on the series. I'm not sure which is worse! :-(

The House of Hades - narrator is terrible!

If you could sum up The House of Hades in three words, what would they be?

Book good, narrator awful!!

What did you like best about this story?

The undeniable trust between Percy and Anna Beth.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Nick Chamian?

Swanson...why would you all change narrator in the middle if the series. There should be some form of testing to ensure a balance between existing and newly selected narrators before changing midstream. I think Chamin should have known this wasn't a good role for him. Now when I see his name on any audiobooks, I will pass it over...Always!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes, I cried because I spent my money on a book that I just could not finish because if the terrible narrator.

Any additional comments?

Bring back Swanson!!!

The only way to listen to this guy...

is to listen to the story on 1.5x speed on audible. OMG, he is SO BAD. I of course finished this story last year when it came out, I was seriously disappointed then, and I feel this sense of doom every time I think about it. I'm writing this review now, because having waited for The Blood of Olympus for all this time, it will be out in a couple of weeks, and IT's THE SAME LOUSY NARRATOR!! I have not listened to any of Nick Chamian's work, I only know he is absolutely not the right narrator for this story.

I am so so so disappointed. Oh Joshua Swanson, where art thou?

narrator is not what i expected

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

Yes because I need it to be able to get to book 5

What did you like best about this story?

The story is great, just as all the others.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Nick Chamian?

Either of the two guys they have used before. This Nick Chamian's delivery is dry and unappealing. It sounds like the recording was his first time to read it through. Plus he doesn't differentiate the characters voices as well as the previous narrators did.
I'm confused why the narrator changed from book 3 to book 4.
I hope book 5 is not narrated by Chamian.

Narrator is awful!

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Nick Chamian?

It's not like the author is hurting for money; hire a professional voice. Jim Dale would of nailed it.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I really didn't take heed to what the other reviewers wrote. I figured they were way too critical. No; they are all correct, and more. I am not even halfway through the book, and I am getting bored. The narration is really killing the story for me. I find myself losing interest.

no seriously the narrator was awful....

How could the performance have been better?

I am so upset that they changed narrators... My six year old son noticed the difference right away and was so mad! As you read in previous reviews- he was robotic, paused much to long, and said certain words very oddly.
This guy needs to find a new line of work....

Any additional comments?

I love this series as does my son. Its a wonderful story with great characters, interesting locations, and fun greek mythology!

Good read+bad narrator=bad audiobook

Would you try another book from Rick Riordan and/or Nick Chamian?

My family has loved the Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles and Heroes of Olympus books. We eagerly await Riordan's final installment of the Heroes of Olympus, but won't get the audiobook if Nick Chamian is reading (or anything else he narrates)

What was one of the most memorable moments of The House of Hades?

My crushing disappointment as I realized, "No, this reading is NOT getting any better!"

What didn’t you like about Nick Chamian’s performance?

Mr. Chamian read this book with a near total lack of variety of inflection, and he seemed bored by the story himself.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The book itself is terrific...it's the narration that ruins this audio production.

HORRIBLE NARRATOR!!!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

FIRE THE NARRATOR!

I loved all the Rick Riordan "Percy Jackson" Books. And This series was really good, the narrator for books 1-3 was awesome and had a special voice for each character in the book. He kept my attention the entire time listening. But this Narrator was really bad, sounded like he had a sinus cold the entire time. And all his characters sounded similar and masculine.

What did you like best about this story?

It was a great story as usual for Rick Riordan. I love his books

Would you be willing to try another one of Nick Chamian’s performances?

Never in a million years. Sorry Nick you shouldn't be doing narration.

Do you think The House of Hades needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I would love to see another series from him.

Any additional comments?

Don't change narrators in the middle of the series.

Narrator needs serious work

Would you listen to The House of Hades again? Why?

yes, because I love the story

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The word emphasis was awkward, with strange words louder, example "Big House" had a huge inflection on "house". It got better as he read, which may have been because the story became very compelling, but the beginning was rough.

Great story...DON'T CHANGE NARRATOR MID-SERIES

What did you like best about The House of Hades? What did you like least?

As a story I liked all of it. Not sure if it was a narration error but some of the names read were wrong.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The House of Hades?

We finally see Percy learning to overcome his fatal flaw.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Nick Chamian?

Joshua Swanson. An even better choice for this series would be Kevin R. Free and Katherine Kellgren. Since this series is narrated from both male and female points of view it would be nice to have the two narrators.

Any additional comments?

Please Have either Josh Swanson back for Blood of Olympus or get the Kane Chronicles Narrators.