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

Great story, but.....

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

The book, yes, the audiobook, no.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Couldn't finish the audiobook.

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

Joshua Swanson or Jesse Bernstein

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

Any additional comments?

I couldn't listen to anymore than 5 mins of this audiobook. The narrator is terrible. Very dry, unenthusiastic and sounds like he's reading from a book. All of the other audiobooks on the series have drawn me in and held me captive. I've sat in my car waiting to hear what happens. I usually go back and forth for. The audio and the book, but I'll be sticking with the book only this time.

Terrible Voice Acting

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

I've listened to every single book in this series multiple times, I'm a fan. I'm not sure I can even finish this one. The story is great, the narration is dreadful. Dude is bored. Next to no voices. Not sure why they switch people, the other guys are great great, even their other works are great. And this is my first review, I just had to log in to comment on how bad it is and save others from it. Audible should pull this work until it's fixed, imagine releasing a book without being proofread, I can't imagine the guy that gave this a listen, and said, "Yeah, that will be ok".

What did you like best about this story?

It's Rick Riordan, it's the Hero's of Olympus

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

Joshua Swanson, his voices for each character were so well developed, and helped you understand the dialogue just by listening. With Nick, I can't tell who is talking most of the time.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

If you had the right talent, instead of the all wrong talent

Any additional comments?

First Review Ever, It was that bad

I really HATE it when narrators are switched

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

This narrator was fine for the Luke story, but be just hasn't been able to pull off the longer, and varied voices of this book. I would re buy the book for Swanson reading it.

I'd rather have waited a couple of weeks to have maintained the narration.

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

He doesn't have the amount of voices needed. His female voice sounds like a man trying to speak with a girls voice. It's just bad. I liked his reading of the Demi god diaries, so I don't think he's a bad reader, he's just not a good fit for this book

Any additional comments?

Please stop switching readers in a series that maintains the same narration. It's very distracting from my enjoyment.

9 year old cried about how bad audio is

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

My kids and I have been looking forward to this book for a year, they listen to the others all the time. My daughter was so excited to get the audio version today but that soon turned to tears on how bad the narration is. she asked to return it and read the book instead. Horrendous!

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

It is like listening to a dead fish, there is no life in his voice, he makes the book sounds bland and boring! Save yourself money and buy the book.

Any additional comments?

I wish this book could be returned, its audio ruins the whole story, we will be buying the book!

A terrible choice of narrator

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Sticking with Joshua Swanson, who did a great job with all three previous books, or if impossible, Jesse Bernstein from the Percy Jackson books, or pretty much ANY other narrator.

How could the performance have been better?

By being in any sense a performance, this was flat and lifeless from the start and a very bad surprise as I preordered it without paying attention to whether they switched narrators...

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

It is with all likelihood the continuation of a very enjoyable series, in written form or with a different narator.

Any additional comments?

Please, this is a best-seller series, DON'T ruin it with bad narration.
I would gladly buy this book if they released it with a better narrator, but this way, I will have to return it right now and pick up the ebook version instead.

why oh WHY!!

What disappointed you about The House of Hades?

The narrator is horrid! The voice is flat, you cannot tell who is speaking. Just Horrid!! I am not able to finish it. Plan on getting the book and reading imagining Joshua Swansons voices.

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

Total disappointment due to the narrator.

Any additional comments?

Bring Joshua Swanson and I will buy audio again....PLEASE

Joshua Swanson, where are you?!?

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

As is? No. If Joshua Swanson narrates the book, I would buy it again just for that reason.

What did you like best about this story?

Love the series.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He doesn't have an unpleasant voice, but his delivery is flat and he does a very poor job of bringing the characters to life. I'm sure he would be enjoyable in a different type of audiobook but he falls flat with the wonderfully detailed characters in the Heroes of Olympus series.

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

Not with this narrator, absolutely not.

Any additional comments?

I waited anxiously for a year for this new book and am very disappointed with the narration. I'm ready to run out and buy the actual book but I'm also hoping that a new version with Joshua Swanson narrating is either currently being recorded or will be recorded in the very near future.

New Narrartor is Horrible

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Although I am a huge fan of the story, this new narrator is horrible. He sounds stiff and robotic, and he pauses way too long for commas, giving a stilted quality to the audiobook. Basically, I consider buying this audiobook a waste of money and am going to just download the ebook and read it instead.

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

No, I am completely unwilling to try this narrator again. I have been looking forward to this for months, and he really ruined it. It was painful to listen to, like watching a kindergarten rendition of Swan Lake. He's reading a part where one of the main characters has "never been happier," but he has no emotion at all. It is how I would imagine a Vulcan would narrate an audiobook.

Any additional comments?

I am already invested in the series, and the story itself is great. But if I were new to the Heroes of Olympus series, based on the first chapter of this book, I wouldn't even bother. I even skipped ahead to several points in the book to see if the performance got better, but it never does. Every pause is too long, and the characters' experiences, joys and struggles are cheapened by the colorlessness of the narration.

This narrator is unsuited for series. Period.

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

Rick Riordan is always worth listening to and my family and I enjoy doing it together. The story is interesting, the characters are like family and its a sneaky way to sneak mythology into my children's education.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Percy and Leo are my favorite characters because they strike a cord within me. They aren't trying to prove anything to anyone, but will go the distance to help the ones they love. The other demigods like Hazel and Frank are up there too, but Percy and Leo are funny, affectionate, goofy and brave in their own ways.

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

He does not have the ability to recreate regional accents at all. He is a dry reader, and may be good for another series, but not this one. Poor Hazel would never even be considered Southern under his narration. Poor Leo, the funniest of the crew was boring and the only time he has a Spanish accent was when poor Nick had to read a Spanish phrase. I think that Nick should have turned this job down because he's only hurting his voice-acting portfolio. I would not have pre-ordered the audio if I had realized he was the narrator. I didn't like his reading in the Demigod's short stories and my family always skips his portion of the audiobook. He just doesn't have the enhusiasm/joy/energy that this series requires ... especially after Jesse and Josh's performances. Thoughts by my 10 year old: Well he is very flat. the only one who sounded good was Nico. I want the old narrator back. Leo always made me laugh when Josh narrated, but Nick makes him very boring. Hazel doesn't have an accent and doesn't even really sound like a girl.

Was The House of Hades worth the listening time?

To hear the next installment of the storyline, yes. To suffer through Nick Chamian's performance - NO! If I had paid attention and noted who the narrator was I would have stuck with the book this time around.

Any additional comments?

Get Joshua Swanson back for the next installment (if there is one). And maybe hire him to redo this mess.

Why switch the narrator?

What disappointed you about The House of Hades?

I can't even get into the story via audio book. Why was the narrator changed?

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

All of it. The bored drawl he would have saying everything except when he tried the voices.

Any additional comments?

I would like my credit back.