Great Story, Not Fond of the Narrator

I keep coming back to these books because frankly I love modern fantasy, and I really dig Seanan McGuire's work. But to be honest, I'm really, really not a fan of the narrator who's been tasked to narrate this series. I keep coming back despite it, and I -will- keep coming back despite it, but her performances are so painful to listen to, it seems like she doesn't really get going until the book's almost over. (At which point you've either gritted your teeth through or missed most of the first 3/4, due to losing track or disinterest..)

And unfortunately MRK was particularly rough in this book, teetering back & forth between underacting & overacting, far too many bad (and frequently inconsistent) accents, bouts of choppy reading, mispronunciations (of everything but the Gaelic words herein, which baffles me), and generally poor character interpretation. (Her women being particularly grating to me, as they often come across as nasal, whiny or sound so air-headed I doubt they could survive Ms. McGuire's complex yet dangerous fae world.) To be fair, some of her depictions I do like have been her Duke and Duchess. (I just wish the Duke's accent had remained consistent in this volume, and that we heard more of the Duchess.) On the other hand, while I enjoyed her characterization of "Danny" in previous volumes, her rendition of that lovable character this time was so overdone and rock-mouthed I couldn't stand to hear him talk. (While often having serious problems w/understanding what he was saying...)

In short, I have no problem w/Ms. McGuire's writing. For me, the issue is entirely w/the narrator, and I just deeply wish she/the publisher would have chosen (and might still choose) someone else to take up the gauntlet of narrating this magical series. (Katherine Kellgren, perhaps..?) As a life-long listener of audio books (I'm visually impaired, and so have been listening to Talking Books from an early age) I've learned that some of the best books can be made absolutely ruined by bad narrators, while a good narrator can take even a blah book and make it positively epic. (That is, to the ear of the "reader.")
But.. that's the magic (and the danger) of audiobooks.

And that's just my 6 cents. :)

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Enjoyable.

The story is an enjoyable example of the recent fad in urban fantasy. Although in the first book I had a hard time getting used to the voice actor, I feel that she had gotten more comfortable with the characters and their voices in each book.

My only complaint about the story would have to be that everyone in Fairy seems so immature. Blaming Toby because she was there instead of the person who actually manipulated the events or the person who pulled the trigger so to speak.

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Another superb installment

This is going to be really short because I'm still reeling in awe of how good this book was. Without getting spoilery, we learn a LOT about Toby and her Mom, there is the requisite, but always satisfying Hero's quest, we get to a crossroads in the romance department and finally we get Seanan McGuire's elegant prose.

If you've never read UF (Urban Fantasy), this series is a perfect introduction--it doesn't get better.

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A great tale of urban fantasy adventure

If you could sum up Late Eclipses in three words, what would they be?

breath taking adventure

What did you like best about this story?

There are so many things to love about this story, the depth of intrigue and adventure, the complex cast of characters, the range of emotion....it is just a great tale.

Have you listened to any of Mary Robinette Kowal’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have only ever listened to Mary Robinette Kowal's performances on other October Daye novels. Her voices are consistent among the books. She does an especially good job of portraying emotion and creating distinctive character voices.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I definitely had trouble pressing pause when listening to this book. Between the story and the narration I did not want it to end.

Any additional comments?

This is a new favorite series of mine, thus far enjoyed primarily via audiobook.

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Can hardly wait for more...

I read a short story by this author in Home Repair: Undead Edition. Ordered the first book in the series and got truly hooked. Found myself staying up too late just so I could hear the next chapter. The whole set is great.

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Captivating

I'm never disappointed in these novels always on the edge of my seat during the twists and turns.

Keeps getting better

I'm part way thru this 12 book series and it just keeps getting better and better! I am hooked on all of the characters and the continuing story lines. The fact that they take place in the San Francisco Bay area is a bonus, it's my home town...what fun!!

I've never been big on stories of the fairy but this author is brilliant 👏

I heartily recommend starting at the beginning and really pay attention, as there are well placed clues that build into the next installment and will become clear as you read on.

I can't wait to get started on the next book!

Story is Good, narrator this time not so much

My only real criticism with this audio version is that I don't feel the narrator was as invested this time around. In the past, she's been consistent in her narration but this time she seemed to have trouble remembering which voice she used for some of the characters. The story was still good so it averaged out. I do hope the reader can remember how she voices each person going forward.

The plot thickens!

This book really took off! We learn so much more about the Fae, and about Toby herself!

I guess I'm invested now!

I guess I can say I'm officially invested in this series (since I've now finished book four). Toby Daye is exactly what I need out of a protagonist, even if she really is kind of her own worst enemy. I can see her struggling with her identity through the first four books, and I'm interested to see what she does with her new bounty of heritage. There's this weird part of me that both accepts Rayseline's treason, but also in the future hopes for her to have a redemption arc of sorts. I do feel like "Nerium" was a "Disney Book on a Shelf" (You can tell which book is going to get picked off the shelf because it's very obviously different from the other books), but I still kind of appreciated it in the end. I will say I'm not completely thrilled about the overwhelming reliance on manipulation in this series, but I don't entirely know what else I would expect from Fae. I did accidentally spoil myself on a couple of long-shot details, so I know what's coming to an extent.. but there are things following this book I'm hoping to follow up on and hopefully enjoy experiencing while they happen. I will say that I hoped for some small twist ending where Lilly was revived or came back in another form (but there's still five books so maybe?) Not gonna lie. I might consider hitting Danny up for a ride and a barghest! I also really enjoy Mary Robinette Kowal as the narrator for this series, and I appreciate them keeping it consistent. She has a really nice cadence to her voice that I can absolutely associate with Toby, and I love the voices she gives to other characters as well. She gives a really stellar performance!