As a professional narrator, I listen to a lot of audiobooks, not merely for pleasure, but for research and to try to get some tips on performance (both what is great and....not so great). So, I decided that I'm going to start doing audiobook reviews on my blog! I know, there are a LOT of audiobook review sites out there, and they're all very important to our industry. They help us (narrators) know what listeners like and what they don't like. But, I'm going to review from a narrators point of view. I'll be talking not only about the things that 'normal' listeners talk about, but I'll throw in some technical reviews of the production - things like room noise, sound levels, differences in recording times of the book - that a non-narrator would probably not pick up on. My intent is NOT to cheese off my fellow narrators, but to offer an honest review, from a narrators point of view!
On the reviewers block this time: Disordered Minds written by Paul S. Huggins and narrated by David Ayers.
Synopsis: (From audible.com listing) The blurred lines between reality, imagination and the ethereal can be very fine. These six short stories test the limits. A disturbing letter, an extreme phobia, a calculating psychopath, a woodland hunt, a lonely hotel, and a search for family all feature in this dark compilation.
Thoughts - Story: Six short stories in the spirit of The Twilight Zone, or maybe The Outer Limits. The stories are most assuredly not main-stream tales, but more like the twisted rantings of a madman. And I mean that in a good way really. Somewhere between Poe, King and a bit of Rod Serling tossed in for good measure. Certainly creative and entertaining, but nothing overly horrifying. I enjoyed the stories. Author Paul S. Huggins has a true talent for this genre of storytelling, and seems to have a good grasp on writing calculating psychopaths and twisted, disturbing plot lines. And I mean that in the best possible way!
Thoughts - Performance: Not bad at all. David Ayers has talent, his delivery however, was a bit uneven. At times he was spot on, at others, seemed like he was unsure of what he was reading. He also rushed the pace in places that, in my opinion, shouldn't have been rushed, creating a bit of a disjointed feel to the reading. With is natural British accent, he lends an air of sophistication to the narration. With some coaching and practice, I can see Mr. Ayers excelling in audiobooks.
Thoughts - Technical Production: Well, now for the part of the review that most people won't even pick up on. Mr. Ayers, while possessing talent as an actor, has some problems with the technical side of audiobooks. An problem that plagues many narrators (myself included) who have gone to great lengths to overcome is the dreaded mouth noises. Pops, clicks, lip smacks, all the obscene noises that, when noticed, can really eat your brain away! Unfortunately, Disordered Minds has a plethora of these little devils. Also, I heard, not just once, but on several occasions, external noises, like a slight hum from time to time, loud rumbles (as if a vehicle was passing by, or perhaps the narrator bumped the mic stand creating the noise) and once, I'm not 100% positive, but I could have sworn I heard either voices or very low music playing (keep in mind I listen with studio headphones). Also, the audio seems overly processed. That is, perhaps too much compression, filters or maybe even gating is used to process the final audio, which can leave it sounding very mechanical and unnatural. The volume levels seem a bit off as well. One section is perfect, then the next is really loud. The peaks (the sections of audio that are louder then others, like when someone says a word that may have a tad more power to it) were off as well. In fact, almost to clipping levels (where the audio tends to distort). Now, it may sound like I'm nit-picking, but as a narrator I pick up on this stuff, and it does tend to take one out of the narrative. All things that are easily overcome with some training, or perhaps by outsourcing the editing/mastering to a qualified audio engineer.
Final Thoughts: All in all Disordered Minds is an enjoyable listen with the exceptions I listed above. For most people, those technical issues won't be an...well, an issue, but I'd love to see Mr. Ayers correct these things so he can excel in the business as I'm sure he can. As for the stories themselves, yep, I envision a great future for Mr. Huggins. He's a talented and creative writer.
Disordered Minds is now available on audible.com and iTunes.
Rating:
(Rating Scale is 1/2 to 5 stars)
As a professional narrator, I listen to a lot of audiobooks, not merely for pleasure, but for research and to try to get some tips on performance (both what is great and....not so great). So, I decided that I'm going to start doing audiobook reviews on my blog! I know, there are a LOT of audiobook review sites out there, and they're all very important to our industry. They help us (narrators) know what listeners like and what they don't like. But, I'm going to review from a narrators point of view. I'll be talking not only about the things that 'normal' listeners talk about, but I'll throw in some technical reviews of the production - things like room noise, sound levels, differences in recording times of the book - that a non-narrator would probably not pick up on. My intent is NOT to cheese off my fellow narrators, but to offer an honest review, from a narrators point of view!
This time up, I'm reviewing a non-fiction title Optimize Your Site: Monetize Your Website by Attracting New Customers, written by Ronald Terio and narrated by newcomer Jason Rogers. I purchased this title myself, I do not know the narrator personally or am friends with him on social media, thus there will be no conflict influencing my review.
Synopsis: (From audible.com listing) Some might notice that you are getting tons of traffic but your sales are not coming in at all. The problem is that all visitors are not created equal. Some click and some don’t. Your visitors are probably on your site to read your stories and they really don’t want to click something and leave the site. Listen to this book and learn the strategies to your success.
Thoughts - Story: Well...another book designed to 'help you get the most out of your website'. Ok, the concept is good. I mean, who doesn't want to get the most out of their websites? Well, MONEY that is. This is a very short book designed to tell you how to actually make money from your website, like asking visitors for money through various 'support my site' organizations, linking to other sites and charging those sites for link throughs, or how to build a site to sell. Very basic stuff that is easily accessible with a simple web search. At $4, you kind of feel like you wasted some money because this is pretty much all information you can obtain for free. It's handy to have the info, but with a little work on your own, easily found.
Thoughts - Performance: When I was young, I was always taught that if you have nothing nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all. BUT...my job here isn't to make people feel good. My claim is to offer up an honest review, and that's what I'm gonna do! With that being said, Jason Rogers has a long way to go as a narrator. His voice is extremely one note, that is, completely ZERO emotion or even variety in his delivery. In fact, if it weren't for the consistent mouth noises (clicks, pops, mouth smacks) throughout the entire 24 minute audiobook, I would say with all certainty that this was a 'text to speech' software recording. Seriously. Sounds just like a computer talking to you. The tendency to O-VER PRO-NOUNCE each word is a death trap for new narrators, and Jason certainly delivers on that. This makes for a very unenjoyable listening experience. His performance is very monotone and lacks a decent pace. Every narrator can greatly benefit from a coach, and this narrator is definitely in need of coaching. All that aside, Jason Rogers could be a good narrator with some help from a vocal coach, acting coach, coaching on all aspects of the production process and some experience.
Thoughts - Technical Production: Where to start...well, the sound levels were actually ok. But that's kind of were it ends. Extreme mouth noise issues, the audio almost sounds overly compressed, very obvious punch in and out areas, pacing WAY off, the head of the audio (dead space before the 'performance' begins) is WAY too long, and the breaks between sections way too short. Some sections were louder than others, which is very off-putting and makes it difficult to listen to. At times, background noise can be heard, which again, is not a good thing at all. My advice to the narrator would be to seek the help of a professional audio person and have them evaluate his set up, and maybe even to evaluate his recording space and see if there are ways to better treat it for external noises.
Final Thoughts: All in all, Optimize Your Site: Monetize Your Website by Attracting New Customers is, at best, in written form, a PDF document that could be given away to friends, and, as an audiobook, not worth even a free review code. Mediocre at best as an informational audiobook, and not performed to what it should have been. However, with the training and coaching suggested, perhaps Jason Rogers will be a great narrator. And for the record, it's never easy giving a bad review, even on narrators I don't know personally. I take this seriously and only say the things I do because I am passionate about audiobook narrating, and want to see the industry thrive, and new narrators pointed in the right directions.
Optimize Your Site: Monetize Your Website by Attracting New Customers is now available on audible.com and iTunes.
Rating:
(Rating Scale is 1/2 to 5 stars)
As a professional narrator, I listen to a lot of audiobooks, not merely for pleasure, but for research and to try to get some tips on performance (both what is great and....not so great). So, I decided that I'm going to start doing audiobook reviews on my blog! I know, there are a LOT of audiobook review sites out there, and they're all very important to our industry. They help us (narrators) know what listeners like and what they don't like. But, I'm going to review from a narrators point of view. I'll be talking not only about the things that 'normal' listeners talk about, but I'll throw in some technical reviews of the production - things like room noise, sound levels, differences in recording times of the book - that a non-narrator would probably not pick up on. My intent is NOT to cheese off my fellow narrators, but to offer an honest review, from a narrators point of view!
For my first entry, I'm going to review Appetizers of the Gods: The Brothers Four, Book One by Basil Sands. Now, the interesting thing here is that not only did Mr. Sands write this book, he also narrates it. Which is pretty cool. Full disclosure: Basil is a friend of mine (from Facebook) and he did 'gift' me a copy of this audiobook. But do not be alarmed...even though he and are are friends, that will not influence my review.
Synopsis: Colin Farnsworth was a loser. Eking an existence from writing cheap sci-fi novels and the few dollars he makes at Fantasy Underworld card game tournaments, he lives in the house where he grew up. His only companion is Heimdall, a three pound Yorkie with big plans. Until, that is, The Brothers Four arrive on his doorstep looking for rooms to rent and with a giant troll in pursuit.
Colin's life is turned upside as he finds himself in a real world that is much stranger than the fiction he writes or the fantasy games he plays.
Leprechauns, Trolls, Faerie Folk, talking animals, and crazed municipal building inspectors galore: Welcome to the other side of Anchorage!
In a style reminiscent of Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, The Four Brothers series is relatively safe for all ages, at least those who know how to giggle.
Thoughts - Story: Ok, I'm a geek. I love stories that aren't necessarily in the realm of the real world. I love Douglas Adams (Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy), Piers Anthony (Xanth series), etc., and Appetizers reminded me a great deal of this type of creative and off the wall style. Without giving away too much, the story introduces us to four brothers - Leprechauns no less - that enter a young mans life and shakes things up quite a bit, for the better. The adventure that our hero Colin embarks on (with the 'nudge' of the brothers) is as comical as it is entertaining. Side note: As I mentioned, Basil Sands and I are friends (via social media) and through his posts, and his video podcast on YouTube (Voice In My Head), we were introduced to these four mischievous Leprechaun brothers who would pester Basil as he recorded, or in general caused havoc for him and his family. So, it's fun to finally hear them in their very own story, and to hear a bit about who and what they really are! The story is well written and very well voiced. Basil's command of accents is inspiring. He voices a British and Irish accent that could convincingly pass for the real deal. And, the way he voices female characters is also very impressive. With an eclectic cast of characters to voice, Basil really delivers on the believability scale. If you're a fan of, well anything entertaining, Appetizers of the Gods is an audiobook that you won't regret getting. And at just over two and a half hours, it's short enough to listen to in one sitting, and long enough to really hook you.
Thoughts - Acting: Yeah, well, what can I say? Basil Sands is an experienced narrator and actor, which is surely evident in this story. From the very beginning, his delivery 'hooks' you in and makes you feel right at home. As I mentioned above, Basils command of accents is impressive. He delivers a 'snooty' British accent with the same apparent ease as he does his 'Merican' and Cockney English accents. He also performs female voices quite well. As an actor, Basil is certainly a narrator I will listen to many times to pick up 'tips and tricks' for my own narrations.
Thoughts - Technical Production: Ok, this is were things are going to get a little different. As I said, I'm going to talk about things that most 'regular' audiobook listeners won't catch, notice or even think is worth mentioning. But, since I AM a narrator, I pick up on things....for the most part, the technical production of Appetizers is spot on perfect. There were a few spots where I could hear the clicking of a keyboard (maybe) as Basil was 'punching in' during the recording process. The audio levels are spot on perfect. No where in the audio could I pick up where one section may be a tad louder than another, or if maybe the narrator moved father from the microphone than at other times. All in all, it's easy to see why Basil is a successful audiobook narrator.
Final Thoughts - All in all, Appetizers of the Gods: The Four Brothers, Book One is a well written, well acted and well produced audiobook. I highly recommend this audiobook to anyone who enjoys the writing style of Douglas Adams, or maybe Terry Pratchett, or, for that matter, for anyone who enjoys a nice escape from reality via four very mischievous Leprechauns!
Appetizers of the Gods, The Brothers Four, Book One by Basil Sands is now available on audible.com and in iTunes.
Rating -
(Rating Scale is 1 to 5 stars)
