Ugh. Terrible narration scars a great story!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

My children are crazy about Michael Vey! We have loved listening to the series on audible as we commuted to and from school. I find the stories enjoyable, as well, and this most recent installment was a much anticipated event for our carpool! However, this narrator is absolutely terrible! The first two books were fantastically performed and after getting used to a new voice, we even enjoyed book 3. This new narrator, though, is very hard to listen to. He has strange breaks in the way he reads - his voice goes up as if he is asking a question on each sentence. It gives a very 'Valley Girl' feel to all of the characters and makes his narration choppy and difficult to follow. And instead of somehow growing on you, as most narrators eventually seem to do, this one just gets more and more grating. I don't know what is involved in hiring a professional narrator, but this narrator on this book is *really* hurting the Michael Vey brand.

9 people found this helpful

STOP CHANGING NARRATORS

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes but only because we're in the middle of the series and the story is not over. The first two books were great and the 3rd was good.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hunt for Jade Dragon?

It's hard to remember one because the reader is very monotone through out the book

How could the performance have been better?

First you need to start with a narrator with the ability to bring the characters to life with some excitement and inflection and tell the story with some passion.

4 people found this helpful

A Worthwhile Read

Any additional comments?

The narration was better on this 4th installment than it was on the 3rd, but it does not beat Fred B. in the first two books. Also this book, while I found it worthwhile to read, just does not draw me in with a creative imaginative story as the first of the series did. Yet it is refreshing and entirely enjoyable to read a book where positive principles are woven throughout.

2 people found this helpful

the most awesome book in the world

The narrator was so good and everything is so cool and awesome thanks Richard Paul Evens!

1 person found this helpful

Griping

This book was much better then the last book. It keep me on my feet the hole time.

1 person found this helpful

Adequate story but sub pare narration

Awkward hesitations in the middle of sentences, as if turning a page to continue reading, distracted markedly from the story and made this book far less enjoyable than it should have been.

1 person found this helpful

This voice actor! Ugh! Story... I little less than what I was hoping

Seriously struggled to deal with his inflections. Did he think mimicking Christopher Walken was what each teenager, adult, good guy and villain needed to sound like? Drove me nuts. I powered through it because the story was worth it. Kind of an abrupt quick ending from climax to finish. Showed the kids could forgive a past enemy and work as a team while apart. And a beautiful perspective to autism.

1 person found this helpful

This was a chapter, not a book

Kinda disappointed. Really sketchy story, not particularly insightful or even that interesting. the Narrator was hard to listen to...he ....paused in ...every sentence, pretty....much. all women's part sounded like dippy valley girls or overly cutesy dingbats. with all the set up, oops- Jade was rescued 'off camera'- did the author just run out of time or steam. not sure I will read the upcoming books...

1 person found this helpful

Excellent Story/HORRIBLY Narration

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Keith Nobbs?

Fred Berman or Kirby Heyborne. Please try to stay with one of these two if at all possible.

Any additional comments?

The narration lacked any depth of emotion. It was as if he was trying to make everything light and whimsical and there are moments in the story that need a deeper almost darker voice. And did he not listen to any of the first three books to see how the characters were already voiced?!? Please do not use Keith Nobbs on any future Michael Vey books.

1 person found this helpful

Good story, bad narrator

What made the experience of listening to Hunt for Jade Dragon the most enjoyable?

Good story that progresses the series.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Keith Nobbs?

Fred Berman (books 1-2) would have been a far better choice. Keith Nobbs add strange pauses mid sentence very often. It makes the book hard to listen to, and sometimes you have to struggle to understand things as a result. The voice acting is better than Kirby Heyborne (book 3) but the odd speech pattern made the overall presentation worse.

Fred Berman was probably the best narrator I've heard in all the 42 books in my library.

1 person found this helpful