Well, I just finished listening to the unabridged version of Xenocide. It was incredible. You know, I really like the way unabridged audiobooks make you really pay attention to the pacing of a novel, especially one you've read a number of times. I have the tendency to want to read faster when I know I am getting to a good part. But the everything is paced for a reason and the emotion built up is that much better. Olhado's conversation with Val about Ender's affect on him brought tears to my eyes, more so than if I skimmed up to that point.
And the readers are great. They ALL do well. John Rubenstein (Crazy Like a Fox, anyone) as Miro- his speech impaired voice is great. Scott Brick as Human and as Quim. Stephan Rudniki is great as Ender and as Han Fei Tzu.
And our host, OSC, shows up as Grego during the massacre. He is really good (duh!).
But the real stars are the women. Their voices are so incredibly beautiful and pure and (forgive me, please) sensuous.
Amanda Karr as Qing Jao and Jane is able to convey so many emotions so effortlessly. She did equally well as the reader of Investment Counselor in First Meetings (and her Italian accent was exact). There's something lilting about her pronunciation. And as Qing Jao, she conveyed the confusion and need to believe and pain at her father's rejection of the gods beautifully. [EDIT TO ADD: When she half-sings a poem of Han Qing Jao, the effect is quite beautiful)
Jennifer Castle- her name is not listed on the cover. As I was listening to the book there came the part where, after Quim died, the Ribeira family is meeting and basically dissolves. It's from Quara's perspective. And this female voice I had never heard before began to read. It was so light and simple and clear- it captured me. I checked to see who it was and there was nothing (a shame). But at the end of the book they listed the readers, though. I could listen to this voice all day. She also reads Ela just before Glass is planted using the Recolada as opposed to the descolada. The emotion is real and pure.
Gabrielle de Cuir- She reads for the Hive Queen and conveys exactly the alienness and arrogance you'd expect, but is still approachable. She also does Valentine (and to hear the banter between Val and Jakt at the beginning about abstinence in her voice is hilarious). I love her voice. She also did Wang Mu and did well. She did the entire Wang Mu scenes using a Chinese accent, not just conversation but also narrative (everything is from Wang Mu's perspective). And the accent was very accurate. But I have to say, I found it somewhat distracting. Not because it was off, because it wasn't, but because I kept being reminded that she was doing an accent and was fascinated in her changed pronounciation. It kept me from being as emotionally connected to the scenes as I might have. But that said, she is still incredible. Whether as Novinha, Petra or showing flirty banter as with Val and Jakt or John Paul and Teresa in Teacher's Pest, she is great.
Am I a dork for falling in love with women's voices?
I need to get out.
[ April 13, 2005, 02:34 PM: Message edited by: IanO ]
Posted by X12 (Member # 5867) on :
not a dork, just a good fan and a good listener. also, desperate.
Posted by IanO (Member # 186) on :
quote:also, desperate
Posted by Crotalus (Member # 7339) on :
I just read this thread bc it was referenced in another. As for you falling for women's voices, I can attest that you are not a dork. When I was in the Navy, back in '88, we were steaming with various European vessels. (This was before women were stationed aboard U.S. Destoyers.) Anyway, I was on the bridge during the middle of the night and the Officer of the Deck kept doing radio checks with a certain French vessel, simply because all of us on the bridge wanted to hear the female voice that kept responding. She was incredible. And it wasn't just because we had been out to sea for two weeks.
Posted by IanO (Member # 186) on :
Thanks. Female voices are indeed powerful. I was sort of poking fun at myself, though, with the dork comment.
Posted by Bella Bee (Member # 7027) on :
Voices are very important. I can't seem to be attracted to a guy unless I like his voice.
I know. I'm strange. It's okay.
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
Wow. Can't believe I didn't see this review back in April when you first posted it. This is the review that readers and producers of Audiobooks would KILL for. I'm forwarding a link to Stefan, so he can let the other readers see what you wrote.
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
You could do much worse than search for just about everything Ian wrote and read it. He turns out gold pretty consistently.
edit: Oh, and congratz to all. Audiobooks (and recorded lectures) are the things I miss most about my mp3 player blowing up. Now I have to run to the sounds of my own agony.
[ June 06, 2005, 10:31 PM: Message edited by: MrSquicky ]
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
Congrats to Stephan for the Audie award too!! That's a great honor and for such a book!!
Audiobooks are incredible. I have quite a collection (especially of OSC) and am always looking for more (I commented on other readers of OSC books in the Changing Style of OSC thread)- about a third of the way down.
But of course, the book has to be good first, to have any power. So thanks, OSC, for writing them.
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That's a great honor and for such a book!!