The Guest of Honor

By: Irving Wallace

Narrated by: Roddy McDowall

Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

U.S. President Matthew Underwood is dangerously indifferent to his job until he meets the female head of tiny Lampang, falls in love, and becomes mired in Lampang's internal politics when the affair topples by the hand of a jealous First Lady and a nosy reporter.

Most famous for his role in Planet of the Apes, English born American actor Roddy McDowell grew up in the motion picture industry, he featured and starred on television and in more than 100 films.

©1989 Irving Wallace (P)1989 Dove Books-On-Tape, Phoenix Books

Roddy McDowall does it again

Roddy McDowall is best known for his talents in film, but most people aren’t aware of his talents as a narrator for audiobooks. He occasionally got some squeakers, as he would occasionally get in film and TV; and this book would quite easily be one of them, if it weren’t for his abilities as a performer.
The book itself seems to have been choppily abridged and it’s rather obvious that this was jarring for Roddy, as he seems to struggle with his reading, (which is not characteristic of his narrative talents at all). Yet, he still manages to somehow hit the performance out of the park!
I admit I’m only a couple of chapters in and I haven’t finished the book yet; but, I truly believe if anyone else had read this book, it would have sank like a stone.
Roddy totally saves it, and I think his performance, though obviously achieved with difficulty, was one of his best despite the flaws in the abridgment. I also greatly enjoy the moments of silence in the audio, when you can hear Roddy breathing, shifting in his chair, or turning a page. I know that sounds strange as most people find that annoying, but it makes the book feel more like it’s being read to us personally. Roddy McDowall has been dead for over 20 years and I’ve been a great fan for nearly as long as he’s been gone, so those moments that normally would be edited out bring him back to life for me, and adds a special something to the book that no one else could have achieved.
For Roddy alone, I give the overall book, and his performance 5 stars; because he is and was marvelous. For the rest of the book, particularly due to the choppy abridgment, I knocked off a star.
But Roddy was great. He made a book that would have been tough to follow, very enjoyable to listen to. I highly recommend this if you’re a fan of Roddy’s. It’s worth it, trust me.