1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Like a movie in your head!, December 23, 2010
This review is from: Warbreaker - Part 1 of 3 (Audio CD)
This is the first Graphic Audio book I've tried. I was wondering how abridged their books are, but it seems that all of the content is there, but because it's performed as theatre, we hear the actors say the lines and we hear sound effects. Therefore, it's not necessary for the narrator (there is a narrator) to read "he said," "she replied," and "the door slammed." Thus, the listener may miss out on the structure of some of the author's prose and dialogue, but won't miss any of the plot. The Recorded Books version is over 24 hours long and the Graphic Audio version is about 18 hours long, but much of that difference is likely due to the speed of the narrator's voice, also.
I tested some areas of Graphic Audio's production against the print book and could detect nothing missing. For example, the passage I quoted in my review above goes like this in Graphic Audio's version:
Narrator: He reached into a pouch at his belt, pulling out the object within: a dead squirrel.
Nightblood: Ooh, Yuck.
Nightblood's voice, by the way, was suitably creepy. A different actor does each voice (they have a large acting staff) and mostly I found the voices appropriate and at least as good as those in the Recorded Books version (though I have to admit that I hadn't considered an Irish Brogue for Siri and Vivenna). There was quite a bit of background music (Celtic in this case, composed by their staff musicians specifically for Warbreaker). The music ramped up the drama while never getting in the way of the voices.
If anything, the theatre atmosphere draws the attention away from any defects in the actual writing style -- it is, as their motto indicates, like "a movie in your mind," so the "reader" is focused on the story and not the mechanics of the writing. This makes it really fun to listen to, but gives a reviewer the difficulty of not being able to adequately critique some aspects of the author's style. (Thus, if I listen to more of their audiobooks, I'll be sure to indicate this in my review.)
If you're picky about writing style and mechanics and feel the need to evaluate those in the literature you read, then it'd be best to stick with the print version or a traditionally narrated audiobook. If you're the type of reader who just wants a fun fantasy story (which, I suspect, is most of you), then you will find these productions to be really entertaining and I confidently recommend Graphic Audio's version of Warbreaker to you.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Really enjoyed this, February 26, 2011
This review is from: Warbreaker - Part 1 of 3 (Audio CD)
The acting, sound effects, and music really helped to bring out one of my new favorite fantasy books. My only critique is that I have to "pay attention" more than I do when listening to a normal audio book. It took me a good half hour to get used to the sound effects/ music, but now that I have I'tll probably be hard for me to go back to listening ot just one voice.
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