[No Spoilers] New Audiobooks vs Old

2 years ago by Tm12 to c/discworld

Hey folks, I am curious how the community feels about the Penguin re-production of the Discworld audio books. I’d imagine people become attached to whatever they listen to first. I read Guards, Guards on my own, Men At Arms with Nigel Planer, and now am trying the new release of Feet of Clay.

Salvo 3 points 2 years ago

Some of the Nigel and Stephen audiobooks have absolutely woeful audio quality. Tony’s were always good quality but the Abridgements did result in a sub-par experience.

All the new Penguin Audiobooks have excellent production and audio quality and although some of the narrators performances aren’t very popular, they are very entertaining.

save

path: 0 15361168, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 4

starlinguk 2 points 2 years ago

My problem with Jon Culshaw is that his voice makes me fall asleep, so I keep missing stuff. He's not boring, just very relaxing. Unless he's doing Big Fido 😱

save

path: 0 15361168 15497279, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0

Tm12 2 points 2 years ago

I will say Bill Nighy seems completely disinterested with the footnotes.

save

path: 0 15361168 15361992, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 2

Salvo 3 points 2 years ago

You just described all of Bill Nighy’s roles.

save

path: 0 15361168 15361992 15363509, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 0

starlinguk 1 point 2 years ago

That's the point. It's supposed to be very dry.

save

path: 0 15361168 15361992 15497195, hotness: undefined, score: 1, children: 0

temporal_spider 3 points 2 years ago

The original versions are old favorites, despite the audio problems in some of them. I've listened to most of the Penguin versions. Some are outstanding, like Pyramids, read by Andy Serkis. Most of them are pretty good.

But a few are so terrible I can't bear to listen to them. Like Hogfather, read by Sian Clifford. She read the wizard voices in a falsetto to scratch glass. And Katherine Parkinson absolutely laid waste to Monstrous Regiment with her appalling rendition of Jackrum. So clear she Just Didn't Get It.

save

path: 0 15416034, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 2

starlinguk 2 points 2 years ago

Parkinson can't do accents or voices. She should have just read the book in her normal voice.

save

path: 0 15416034 15497224, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 1

temporal_spider 2 points 2 years ago

She should have read the book before recording it. It really felt like someone just handed her the first Discworld book she'd ever seen, and shoved her into the recording booth.

save

path: 0 15416034 15497224 15517307, hotness: undefined, score: 2, children: 0