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speaker ampa
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its read by a full cast ( which is very rare), and i can read it while i am at work (being a graphic designer for the sun herald). But i am very Big audio book fan. i am now working on Shadow of the Hegemon , and a scanner darkly [Big Grin]
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JemmyGrove
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Were you referring to a specific book that is read by the entire cast? Did you deliberately omit the title of the book? You didn't mean Shadow of the Hegemon, did you? (I haven't listened to it on tape, so I don't know if it's read by a full cast, though that would surprise me.)
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BandoCommando
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OSC states in the postlogue of the 20th Anniversary edition of the "Ender's Game" audiobook that he considers the audio format to be superior to any other production/performance of his works. So, speaker ampa, you're not the only one, eh?
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RunningBear
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Aiya!!!!

which one has a full cast????

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Orson Scott Card
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Stefan Rudnicki's wonderful new productions of the unabridged Ender books (and many others - eventually all of them!)

Not really a full cast in the sense that every line of dialogue is read by an actor specific to that character. However, it IS full cast in that each point-of-view character gets an appropriate reader, and the books that have dialogue sections at the beginning (or, for that matter, email messages) get separate actors playing each part. It actually goes more smoothly to have a single reader handle narration and all dialogue in that section, and given the way I (and most contemporary writers) handle viewpoint, it's perfectly appropriate to the text. (To have a new actor for every line of dialogue would actually be distracting.)

Everything depends on whether the readers are GOOD and reading clearly at a brisk pace. No reader is perfect - there are words they don't pronounce properly, accents they can't do convincingly. But you ignore the slight flaws when the reader handles the narrative and dialogue well enough.

Language is still an oral medium - things we read are actually processed through the HEARING centers of our brain, and unpronounceable words stop us cold even when we're reading silently ... without moving our lips. <grin> So to HEAR the narration is a return to our earliest and most natural means of receiving stories. Unless we used to be like bees and got our stories through buzzing, dancing, and the smell and taste of pollen ...

Which is nothing against audio dramatization - I love that too. But it demands more attention, or a different kind of attention ...

What I don't understand is why they don't do audiobooks of graphic novels ...

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Orincoro
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My great uncle Louis La'mour wrote all his stories the same way. I once met a ranger in Colorado who said he knew Louis, and that he would often go to the trail where the story took place and write it in the very spot where he wanted the action to take place.

His son Bo directed dramatizations and readings of scores of his books and stories (he wrote something like 200 books in his life). My family grew up on these tapes as I'm sure many families do, but with a special pride that we had known the author. He had a raspy country-bush type voice, and he was a master folk-story teller. Many of the tapes were prefaced by him spinning some yarn about his travels somewhere, and that became something of the background of our family life on car-trips or vacations.

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speaker ampa
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all of the book i have so far from enders game to the shadow of the hegemon are all read by the same cast. i have them all in ipod bookmarble format. you can get them through audible or itunes.
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tmservo
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I'll tell you this, I am a big, big fan of the audio books. And find the audio books of Speaker of the Dead / Xenocide / Children of the Mind to be incredible works of readers theater.

The confrontation with Miro in Xenocide is some damn good drama that leaps off of the page and really comes to life when read.

The audiobooks are things I recommend on Audible.Com frequently. Absolutely top flight stuff.

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Orincoro
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There is something very forgiving about Stefan Rudnicki's speaking voice. He turns even the most sluggish sections into gripping, flowing drama.


The parts that really stand out are the "sum it all up" paragraphs that OSC includes in the beginnings and dndings of major sections in the books. Rudnicki delivering these sweeping statements about the state of the world, the people in it and the short, perfect description of the world situation really works with Rudnicki's voice.

I personally was brought to tears several times while listening to the last 10 minutes of Ender's Game, particularly the lines (paraphrased)

"There flashed into Ender's mind, a dozen images of Humans being killed by buggers, but along with the images, came a grief so powerful, he could not bear it, and he wept their tears for them.... We are like you, the thought pressed into his mind... We thought we were the only thinking beings in the universe, until we met you. And once we understood, we never came again. How were we to know- that we could live with you in peace? If we had kissed, it would have been the miracle to make us Human in eachothers' eyes. Instead we killed each other."

The reading is really incredibly memorable. [Smile]

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speaker ampa
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Mr. Card I have a few questions for you if dont mind.

1. As you stated at the end of Children of the Mind, there will be book coming after
Children of the mind, will the audiobook have the same cast?

2. Will you release the text version and the audiobook version at the same time? ( I know
some authors do this, suck as stephen king, but some dont such as Richard K. Morgan)

and one i dont think you will answer but that ok.

3. How long do we fans half to wait? Cus i am iching to find out what happens.

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JemmyGrove
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quote:
What I don't understand is why they don't do audiobooks of graphic novels ...
[Big Grin]
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Orincoro
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Ampa, all that stuff is covered in other threads... try to do a search
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ThePersonMan
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I also enjoy listening to the books from the Ernder Series. You can download them at audible.com. Hopefully, Pretty Boy and future OSC stories on IGMS are released as audio by audio renaissance (the company who does the audio books)
BTW, does anyone know Pretty Boy, when released (I know OSC is busy with the script and all) will be releaased as audio.

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CRash
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I don't think Pretty Boy will be audio because there's already an audio bonus for this issue--OSC's short story "Middle Woman".
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GodSpoken
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The audios are probably the best audiobook productions I have heard yet, and I listen to alot. I work mostly at a microscope all day, and when not, I am on the road.

Love them!!!

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