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Voices  By  cover art

Voices

By: Ursula K. Le Guin
Narrated by: Melanie Martinez
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Publisher's summary

Legendary fantasy author and Newbery Award winner Ursula K. Le Guin transports listeners to exotic, fantastic worlds.

Voices stars the people of Ansul, a town of scholars and traders conquered by the marauding Alds 17 years ago. When poet Orrec arrives in town, however, the people begin to garner the courage to rebel against their overlords.

©2006 Ursula K. Le Guin (P)2006 Recorded Books LLC

Critic reviews

"Le Guin's superior narrative voice and storytelling power make even small moments ring with truth." (School Library Journal)

What listeners say about Voices

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    71
  • 4 Stars
    47
  • 3 Stars
    28
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
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Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    53
  • 4 Stars
    21
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    5
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Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    55
  • 4 Stars
    31
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    1

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

good book spoiled by awful reading....

This may be a "young adult" novel, but the reader reads it with the voice that adults use to imitate a 6 year old when reading to 6 year olds. The narrator of this novel is supposed to be 26 years old; a strong person with a lot of suffering in her background. The reader gives her a kind of breathless, mincing, naivete, with inappropriate emphases on every third word, irritating beyond belief. I'm not going to be able to finish listening. It only gets stars at all because of Le Guin.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

A bit disapointed

Though as always there are qualitys in Le Guins work, this was a bit disapointing. It might be that Martinez, whom I believe has a god reading voice, overdoes the sweet, mystic tone in her voice and therefore makes this story more a romance than it actually is.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Narrator Ruins a Good Story

What would have made Voices better?

I listened to and loved the first book of this series, being a huge fan of Usual K. le Guin. Unfortunately, the narrator has made it impossible to listen to this book. She speaks so slowly and with such a saccharin intonation, that I just couldn't listen to it. I realize this is a book for "Young Adults", but surely, anyone older than six can listen faster than this. The narrator’s voice is childlike and insipid. I guess I'll just have to read the book.

Would you be willing to try another book from Ursula K. Le Guin? Why or why not?

always

How could the performance have been better?

Speak in a norma ltone of voice and at a normal speed. She speaks way too slowly.

Any additional comments?

Rerecord it with a good narrator please.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

reader is BORING

I think this could be a good book, but I have tried to listen 3 times and get so lost in the boring, almost monotone reading that I can't get past an hour. I do not think I will try listening again (gifts is about the same)

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

egad, my ears hurt

I love Ursula k LeGuin's writing, but the voice actor was distractingly painfully annoying to me, way too saccharinely girly melodramatic voice/reading, I don't think I'd have found it non irritating if I was 5. (for the record, voices like Melanie Griffith's also grate on me). Unfortunately I'd made the mistake of clicking Buy without listening to the sample. oops. bad me. YMMV, but listen to the sample first.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book -- Bad Reader

If you could sum up Voices in three words, what would they be?

Read in hardcopy

What did you like best about this story?

Ursula K. Le Guin

Would you be willing to try another one of Melanie Martinez’s performances?

NO

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but I couldn't past five minutes.

Any additional comments?

The reader sounded so....sweet. She would describe horrible events as if talking a toddler's birthday party. She would probably be great at reading children's books.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Skip, if you want to. The third is the best!

The story was fun--I don't regret reading it, but it was a little disappointing after the first. Since this series is unique to me in that I did not read them in order, I can also say that it paled compared to the third. If you only have time for one book in this series, read the third one (Powers) since it can completely stand alone and is, without a doubt, the best in the series.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Long

The previous book was far too short, this one makes up for the lack by dragging on without really going anywhere (failing to go anywhere might be the actual theme of the story). This book is mostly world building, which normally I like, except nothing much happens in this world until the last third or so of the narrative, when all the conflict gets fortuitously solved by a string of unrealistic events with which our main character has precious little to do. The character is an oracle so her failure to ever do anything is explained as part of her nature, which doesn't make it any less boring.

The main flaw of this book is the main character, whose name I can't remember even though I finished listening to the program yesterday. She has a great deal of ambition and motivation but never acts on any of it. Her role in the book is to simply be present in the city where a revolution (if you can call it that) takes place. Not present at the actual pivotal events of the conflict, oh no, but available to hear about them second and third hand. Except at the "climax" of the book when her voice is used by an oracle, maybe, it's a little unclear.

The reader is bad. Not the worst I've heard by any stretch, but she actively takes away from the story, making it even harder to like the all ready lack luster protagonist. If you're absolutely desperate to find out what happened to the main characters from the last volume, as I was, get this book in paperback, preferably used.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Haunting, melodic

"Voices" is a coming of age story, a young adult novel, an owner's manual for the democratic process, and a metaphysical journey. Also, an extremely entertaining listen you'll want to continue to the end, and play again and again to catch the nuances. Superbly narrated by Melanie Martinez.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So glad I found this!

This is a sweet, glad story. An old fan of UKL, since, in the 1970s, I found first the Left Hand of Darkness and then the Earthsea Trilogy ( love the humor if calling that a trilogy, as Leguin herself joked about, in book 5, having titled book 4, Tehanu as ‘the last book of Earthsea’ ) — this little series was a surprise to me. I see some classic LeGuin echos—some themes from her book “the Telling”, and some from Earthsea, and other short stories, but it’s also new and a unique piece of world building. And it has more HOPE than much modern sci fi/fantasy. A lonely girl finds friends, family and knowledge. A struggle for freedom doesn’t end in horrors or something too idyllic to be credible. It was just a pleasure. And the narration was very expressive, though I made the speed a bit faster than my norm to compensate for what my ear felt was just a bit too dramatically slow. Hope everyone else enjoys this as I fid ! On to book two.

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