Great story+translation, odd production

This review is essentially the same as my reviews for the other Carlos Ponce audiobooks currently available.
The story is great, of course. Chamber of Secrets is one of the weaker books in the series but it's still a ton of fun.

I'm approaching these audiobooks as a native English speaker and learner of Spanish. As a learning aid, I 100% recommend these audiobooks--the narration+accent is clear and comprehensible. I did the same when learning German (using the absolutely amazing Rufus Beck audiobooks from Audible) and got great results.

I've marked the performance down for a couple of reasons. First, Carlos Ponce does a great job with character voices, and puts good energy into his delivery, but tends to deliver almost all dialogue the same. I mean, if there's one thing J.K. Rowling is known for as an author, it's adverbs--every single piece of dialogue comes with instructions, so to speak. But whether Filch "screamed" or Hermione "whispered" or Dumbledore said "calmly", Ponce delivers them all roughly the same.

My second problem might not lie with Ponce, but with the production: the text is barely given any time to breathe. Scene changes within chapters (something happens, then we transition to our heroes discussing it in the Common Room or whatever) receive absolutely no pause/signaling, which can be really jarring. Momentous or climactic events are not read or edited dramatically, but almost rushed through. The entire scene in the Chamber of Secrets is very confusing for this reason. This might be on Ponce as the narrator, but (along with the same-y dialogue) it feels like a lack of production/preparation--like they handed Ponce the book and had him do it all in roughly one take, without allowing him to get a feel for the rhythm of the text.

This stuff might sound like nit-picking, but it's at the core of what separates good oral story-telling from great oral story-telling. Without the text in front of us, we are reliant on the narrator to give us a sense of when tension is rising or falling, and where the narrative climax falls. This isn't just for entertainment, but to actually make sense of the events as they happen. The Pottermore/Rufus Beck German editions of these books do a phenomenal job of this.

Overall, while I enjoyed this audiobook, it could have been a lot better. +1 for a Dobby voice that won't make you throw your heapdhones out the window.

7 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Excelente!

100 % recomendado, simplemente no podia para de escucharlo y ademas pa narracion de Carlos es extraordinaria...Bl

5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Perfect Narration

My mother language is Spanish, and let me tell you something if you're listening this book for learn Spanish, is the best decision.

I've been listening this book while I work, and helped me to stay creative (I'm Graphic Designer). Although, I rather the physical book because the smell and the feeling, is a good option to stimulate the brain. If i could make something better for Audible will be a cheaper option to listen more books, because I think the prices between physical and audible book are close.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

Emocionante.

Nos gustó la narración y la historia. Mis hijas están muy emocionadas con la historia.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

Perfecto

El narrador va a un buen tiempo, su voz es tranquila, pero no aburre, una buenas combinación entre un libro maravilloso y una narración espectacularmente bien echa

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

Entretenida

Cómo siempre ha sido un placer revivir está historia.
Las narración es amena y divertida, aunque a veces las voces confunden un poco.
Sin duda, una experiencia que valer la pena

Carlos Ponce Keeps saying Harvey instead of Harry

I’ve listened to the first and part of this second book in Spanish and the narrator uses the wrong name here and there throughout the story. I even slowed it down to make sure I was not hearing things.

El mejor narrador

Sin duda alguna el mejor traductor. Me ha mantenido sin duda alguna a punta de pie, relata de una manera la cual es imposible no seguir escuchando .

facinante

me pareció fantástico el libro,desde el principio te quedas con la incógnita que pasará ,me gusta mejor que la pelicula

I can't stop re-reading over and over

I can't even remember how manny times I read this books and now I am listening them on Spanish, way better than the movies and now on my language.