Odd narration

I've been listening to Roy Dotrice's narration of the books for some time now, having read them all previously. It did take a while to get used to - I don't think he cares for women too much as he always seems to give them a whiny, wheedling tone, even the noble characters like Brienne of Tarth, who doesn't sound a bit like I imagined her. The regional accents are inconsistent and downright odd in some cases - Davos Seaworth = Captain Pugwash anyone? Almost expected an 'aaargh, Jim lad'. Brothers and sisters of the same family all having completely different accents, like Edmure Tully (Scots) and Caitlin Tully/Stark (English-not regional). And then Tywin Lannister suddenly morphs into Winston Churchill halfway through the book - very irritating. Despite this the books are terrific, and I am (mostly) enjoying the audio version - a little more consistency from Mr Dotrice would be a boon.

43 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Time to say goodbye....

I LOVE this series of books, and have read them all. I wanted to read them again when I discovered Audible and decided to buy these editions instead. The first two books were well done, I liked what Roy Dotrice was doing in giving the characters British regional accents based upon their location in the Westeros land... ie Lannisters being from the west had Welsh accents etc. But in this book Tywin Lannister suddenly morphs into Winston Churchill and it has driven me to distraction. Dotrice has always been a little inconsistent with the voices, but considering his age and the numbers of characters involved, this has been more than forgiveable. But now, I've had to go back to my e-reader, and am annoyed that I've bought up to the second part of book 4 already.

Lessons learned: Don't buy too far ahead of your listening in a saga of books; listen to the sample on the book's page to check that the narrator's voice doesn't rub you up the wrong way. I checked one on another series and will definitely avoid that, though the reviews thankfully warned of it too.

30 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Good Story, strange chapter divisions.

Whilst I have enjoyed the GRR Martins stories, there are a couple of niggling problems with the audio book, the first of which is why have Roy Dotrice chosen to make Tyrion Welsh when all of the other Lannisters are not?Was he fostered to a Welsh Lord as a child? The narrator clearly struggles to do any accents other than those of the British Isles, anyone from exotic lands seem to automatically be given an Irish accent,but on the whole it's fairly well read It's not the type of book I can listen to falling asleep, as there's so much going on in it, really have to concentrate, even when driving I find myself having to go back in places when my attention has wondered as I've missed something important.



My only other criticism is aimed at Audible, and that is the chapter divisions. Why are they so random? Some are in the middle of sentences, chapters are split into seemingly random intervals.This makes finding my place quite difficult if I am listening on my desktop or a different device. The whole series has this problem, it can take a good 5 minutes of listening time trying to find my last place if I change devices or have drifted off.

17 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Amazing book not the best voice over.

Ill start off my saying that the book is amazing, one of the best books I have read and part of perhaps the best book series I have ever read. The voicing was not the greatest though. I felt that it really took away from the immersion of the book with not great accents and tones of voice.

12 persone l'hanno trovata utile

A Storm of Swords

I really enjoy the story but the characters accents are terrible. To many of the characters are made to sound like country bumpkins. I also dislike the fact that each book is split into two.

9 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Great Story, Poor Audiobook

This really picked up after Clash of Kings. I thought this book would be a bore but it's my favourite in the series so far. I can't wait to see what happens next.
You really need an updated version of these audiobooks. Roy Dotrice is just not cutting it. he has a bunch of great voices but he messes up a few times and the editing around it is no good.

8 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Why the Change?!!

I'm loving this audio book but I wander why Roy Dotrice decided to change the voice of Tiewen Lannister? He has already appeared in previous books with a stern Welsh accent, in fact he started this book with the same accent. Bizarrely, he now sounds like Winston Churchill!!??!! A minor blip in an otherwise superb narration.

7 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Don't think I can cope

I have left a review after listening to each book. Sort of venting I think.I love the books themselves but struggle to listen to them Roy dotrice is beyond awful with his narration and his pronunciation is even worse. Ive somehow got through the names of pet tyre for peter. Bryeene brienne. and others but his accents are so bad I think my ears bleed. Davos is an ancient pirate. ... The whole cast is ancient even if they are age nine. Tywin who is a terrible Winston churchill. And theon who is a sort of michael caine all very very old. The girls and women are toothless old crones. Or village idiots. Or a combination of both. He doesent really trouble himself to try a women's voice. Much as I love these books I nearly weep each time I listen. I. Made the mistake of reading reviews for the next book. With horror I've read about the change ( again) in accents and pronunciation. I really think it would be better to quit now. These books are pricey and why pay to be tortured. It would be better to wait until these books are re recorded. But I don't think I will live that long as there are probably 500 plus reviews for each book most of which say what I'm saying , I wish audible would say if there are any plans to redo . I say in each review that I'm putting myself through this but still the last books have not been written? Or published so there is still huge disappointment waiting. How did Roy get the job? Was there no audition . Well I'm broken now. Thanks for nothing Roy

5 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Story good enough despite narration

I have a few short story collections and usually skip any that are narrated by Dotrice but since I'd bought this felt I had to give it a go.
the story is brilliant, I just find Dotrice's portrayal of 90% of the characters horrible. especially the female ones. next I'll buy a book narrated by Rupert Degas, anything, just to hear it done property

5 persone l'hanno trovata utile

A fine continuation to A Song of Ice and Fire

Would you listen to A Storm of Swords again? Why?

I would possibly listen to this once again, though in general I spend more time reading the books. I have slight bugbears with the pronunciation of certain names, especially that of Brienne. I also never really had the Lannisters in my head as Welshes that took a little getting used to. That said Roy Dotrice is no bad choice for any audiobook, it just takes some adjusting from how the characters were in my mind.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Storm of Swords?

I will not give away things! Even those who watch the TV show will miss things in the book and if they do read or listen to it they will find so much more.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I like the capabilities of Roy Dotrice to give characters different accents across a wide range of roles that A Song of Ice and Fire opens us up to. Some worked for what I had in mind, others however did not so well. Having previously read the books I had some voices for characters in mind. The Lannisters were never Welsh. I also think name pronunciation is something that should have been checked with George R. R. Martin before recording.

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

I ran through 11 hours in one sitting. As with the rest of the series there is always something happening and something you want to find out. Waiting for the next book has led me to go through them again, but like all readers of the series I'm looking forward to things still to come

4 persone l'hanno trovata utile