Dissapointing Narration of a Classic Favorite

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Paul Boehmer?

I would have loved to have heard this narrated by Micheal Kramer or Dick Hill or really, almost anyone else. I'm really having a hard time understanding why anyone would go to the trouble of creating a whole new recording and not put in the effort to find a competent reader. The pace is jerky, and comes off almost as an advanced automatic reader program. The dialogue is better than the narration, but this only makes the entire performance more jarring as it switches between dialogue and narration. Another reviewer used "Shattner-esque" to describe the delivery, and I thought that was absolutely spot-on.

Any additional comments?

This book is a classic favorite for a lot of people, so it is very disappointing that a competent voice actor could not have been assigned to do the reading.

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258 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

COULDN'T FINISH LISTENING

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Love this book - but will not recommend ANYONE to listen to the audiobook version. I'm so very disappointed and upset that I wasted a credit on it. :(

How could the performance have been better?

I've read this book several years ago and LOVE the series, but I was absolutely disappointed with the audiobook by this reader. I had to stop listening. It was so very poorly read that I couldn't listen to the book itself. When others say "Shatneresque" quality - they truly weren't kidding. Why would anyone hire this person to read an audio book for them? I've never stopped listening before, but I just couldn't continue. It was so distracting. I only gave one star for performance because it wouldn't let me leave it with "0" stars.

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251 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Shatner-esque reading distracting

What disappointed you about Dragons of Autumn Twilight?

The narrator randomly changes tempo and inflection between words. The voices are a little better than the story, but the Shatner-esque style of this narrator burns through even during his heaviest intonations.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Paul Boehmer?

Michael Kramer would have been excellent.

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

Disappointment. This narrator makes it very hard to concentrate on the story.

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Bland Performance Ruins Great Story

Why is Paul Boehmer getting work narrating fantasy? I suffered through his inept performance of Brent Weeks' Way of Shadows Trilogy. I purchased the Dragonlance Chronicles out of love for the story and in hopes that Boehmer had gotten better. No such luck. Boehmer gives us a lesson in diction and pronunciation rather than a dramatic performance. His voice characterizations are weak and often don't fit the character as described in the text. Many are so similar as to confuse the listener about which character is speaking. His pacing is awkward and does not match the action or pace the story demands (i.e. scenes of relaxed conversation are performed with the same level of emotion as scenes of combat and suspense). He punches every word in a sentence as if he went to the William Shatner School for the Dramatic Arts. Arrgh! I love these books but cringe every other minute as I listen to Boehmer's precise recitation of each consonant in every word! I long for a performance of the Chronicles by Steven Pacey or Roy Dotrice, even the original reading by Peter MacNichol was better.

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Poor Narration

What didn’t you like about Paul Boehmer’s performance?

Paul makes the story way to choppy. His narration is very bumpy and makes listening to the story very difficult. After about a couple hours I just couldn't listen anymore.

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Don’t be deterred

I mostly write this review because I have seen a lot of comments that really criticize the narration. As a book that I read many years ago and enjoyed it was one of the first I ever looked for on Audible. I didn’t get a copy because of these reviews.

Years later I did get a copy, just to give it a try for myself. Granted, I understand why some people have been critical of the narration. It is a little inconsistent, the pace isn’t always appropriate, and there are times when the word emphasized seems completely out of place. I get it. But, it wasn’t THAT bad. It did not prevent me from enjoying the story. You could argue that it could have been better. Sure. Still, the vast majority of the book was just fine and what wasn’t perfect didn’t detract from the story, in my opinion.

It has always seemed to me that Dragonlance books had a reputation as second rate fantasy, and somewhat juvenile. But I find those by Weis and Hickman to be well written, in a fairly intricate world that is interesting, often suspenseful, surprising, and sometimes even funny. I think the books only get better as you read through the series.

If you like stories with dragons, dwarves, elves, magic, and wizards, along with a little humor you should give this a try. Don’t let the narration comments stop you. Just know that it isn’t perfect and enjoy the story.

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81 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Classic book; terrible narration

Would you listen to Dragons of Autumn Twilight again? Why?

No. Not until they decide to get a competent narrator.

What did you like best about this story?

Classic fantasy based in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. Descriptive language and colorful characters.

What didn’t you like about Paul Boehmer’s performance?

He reads like a robot and emphasized every syllable in every word. He reminds me of some of the folks on NPR..not in a good way.

Any additional comments?

Do not waste your money on this audiobook until they get a proper narrator. Buy a physical copy and read it in your own voice, you will be much happier.

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Painful

The narration made this book unlistenable!! Very monotone, it felt like the narrator was reading a children's book!! Pass on this one.

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Painful to listen to

The story was very good, but the narrator had a lot of weird pauses in his reading. It was like random commas were thrown into the book and he was having to adjust for them.

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Great book. Poor performance.

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

The book was great. The BOOK. It was great when I first read it back in the 80s. This audio performance, not so much. The narrator's attempt to add more drama is a failure. The pauses and stops make the story choppy. If it were a boat ride, I'd be sea-sick. He mispronounces half the names in the books.

What did you like best about this story?

The book, itself, is fantastic. You get a variety of characters and personalities and the scope is epic.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Paul Boehmer?

Anyone that can read and speak English as their native language.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Dragons of Autumn Twilight?

None.

Any additional comments?

As previously stated, the books are fantastic but I wouldn't be able to recommend this audiiobook unless it was re-recorded with a new narrator.

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46 personnes ont trouvé cela utile