Belgarath the Sorcerer

Belgarath the Sorcerer is one of the books that fueled my love of modern fantasy, so when I saw it released by Audible Frontiers I leapt at the chance to revisit the oddball immortal sorcerer and his world.

I can't recommend this book enough. It's meant as a prequel to Eddings's Belgariad and Mallorean series, but I actually read it before reading those books and still enjoyed it immensely. I missed some of the explicit and implicit foreshadowing, of course, but this didn't impede my enjoyment of this fantasy autobiography.

Unfortunately, this edition is hobbled by lackluster narration. Belgarath is an enigmatic character with a wry and sometimes acerbic wit. This comes through only occasionally in this telling. The original audio I listened to--I'm legally blind--was Recorded Books for the Blind's cassettes read by Roy Avers, and they were brilliant. I've also relistened to those recently, so it's not just my nostalgia talking.

By the way, the Audible Frontiers edition of Polgara the Sorcerer also claims to be narrated by J. P. Linton, with perfect female pitch. Either J. P. Linton has an INCREDIBLE vocal range, or one of the titles is mislabeled.

Don't get me wrong. I'm usually a big fan of Audible Frontiers work. This is just sadly the exception that proves the rule. The narration is certainly listenable, and I'd still recommend it if this is your only access to this great novel.

I can't tell you how much I loved David Eddings and his writings. What J.P. Linton has done to his work is nothing short of a crime! He is awful! The narration sounds like a cross between a 40 hour lecture by the most horrible professor you've ever had, and an arrogant, insincere preacher. For those of you who may have made the mistake of downloading this travesty, don't let it get you down on David Eddings. He's an amazing writer, and the Belgariad and Mallorean on audible are worth the downloads.

I love this story and have read the book many times. I picked this up because the other Edding's books were so well done. This one is not. The narrator puts emphasis in the wrong places, consistently pronounces names incorrectly, and on top of that it feels like he is talking to fast. He has no ability to separate voices when the characters are speaking so you often find yourself wondering who just said what. I was listening to this on a long trip and after about an hour I turned it off and drove in silence. If the only way you can get this wonderful story is to listen to it hear, then I guess it is better than nothing but not by much.

The narration of this person is so unbearable that its not even funny. When i tried out and listened to him i thought that it was not ALL that bad and it was after all great quality on the sound. But as i listened on i quickly noticed how truly horrible this man is. A shame indeed, i had to get another audiobook copy elsewhere wich is far far older than this but oh sooo much better. Stay away from this Narrator..

The first of two prequels to Eddings' Belgariad and Mallorean series is packed to the hilt with characters only mentioned in legend during the first two series. This tome fills in the gaps and expands on the rich world that Eddings built.

Unfortunately, this narrator has to be the worse I have ever heard on any any audiobook. He is downright painful and I had to fight to stay with it since this is one of my favorite novels in the fantasy genre.

Since there is no alternative, I still recommend this if you are a fan of the old wolf.

Oh what a terrible thing the narrator has done to this wonderful book. I have the all the other books in this series in audible format (as well as written!), and loved each and every one. But this is appalling, the narrator is boring, and worse than that there has been no attempt to make sure that the pronunciation is in line with the other audio books. It makes it almost painful to listen to, and the voice of "Silk" at the end is cringe-making turning him into a slimy character instead of the intelligent and witty person we all know him to be. The book is written from the viewpoint of Belgarath telling his life history, but the audible version makes him sound bored and arrogant. I have given it one star only because I know the story to be, in fact, well worth reading the book. I expected this to be 5 stars, instead I got 30ish hours of the worst audio book ever.

I exercise every day with Audible. I drive every day with Audible. I have listened to everything Frank Muller. Frank's death pained me so. He set a very high standard. I loved Dickens done by Muller, and King's Dark Tower was so good, even after Frank had to stop reading. I've now done 228 unabridged books on Audible done by many great narrators. Yes, I also read, but mostly when I go to bed at night. I consume a great deal of literature. This is the only book I've had to turn off. Too bad. We learned in choir to soften our "R"s. Linton wasn't there. Narrators do so much more than read. To the blind person who wrote another review. I hope you can get my message that I should have listened to you.

So far, great story...but this voice actor is horrible. Great voice...but his inflections and emphases are just weird. How many words in one sentence can you emphasize before it sounds ridiculous? Find out. He reads with a dozy cadence and a grandiose bass bellow. Cameron Bierle, who did the other Eddings novels, was not much of a treat, but he's a total Frank Muller compared to this guy. I'll get through despite to horrific narration, but I won't enjoy it.

The story is a fascinating exploration of the backdrop of the two prior series. The narrator is not as strong or interesting to listen to as the prior narrator, but neither is he as bad as many of the reviews state. It took approximately an hour to make the transition to this new narrator, but once done I was able to enjoy the story well enough. I well admit that his habit of ending declarative sentences on a upward pitch was annoying, but I was able to accept it as a foible and move beyond it. If a listener has enjoyed the two series, I would recommend this book.

I enjoy all of Mr. Eddings writings, but do not care for the narrator on Belgarath the Sorcerer. His pronunciation is so totally different from the Belgariad series that one can loose track of characters, places, etc., and it takes away from the enjoyment of the whole series.