EMPEROR: The Field of Swords, Book 3 (Unabridged)

Extra word on previous review

As the first reviewer said there is a real culture shock if you have listened to the first two in the four part series read by Robert Glenister, one of the well know acting brothers, and then move on to part 3 read by Paul Blake. The narrator has a speech impediment, nothing to be done about that, but unfortunately it makes it sound like a parody of the first two, like Michael Palin in Life Of Brian. I persevered but found my mind wandering every time the seemingly joke voice said one of the character names. It didn't get any better and it was the same in the fourth book in the series.

As well as the speech impediment, and the way he changed the pronunciations of the names from what seem the obvious way to read them, the narrator has the habit of forgetting which voice he is in. In the fourth book there is a scene of a female character looking at herself in a mirror and bemoaning the ravages of time. The way it is read is like a general making a speech to his troops on the eve of battle. Not at all suited to the material, and unfortunately this is a regular occurrence

My guess is the publisher couldn't get, or maybe afford, Robert Glenister to do 3 and 4 but I feel they could have done much better in their half time substitute. Like the previous reviewer I was very disappointed after a great first half and I would advise caution on the part of anyone considering parts three and four. The narration really does spoil good books.

40 of 41 people found this review helpful

Excellent despite poor narration

Being the third book in the series of four, this wonderful story was spoiled somewhat by a change of narrator from the first two parts. I gave the first two books a 5 star rating, due in no small part to the efforts of the narrator Robert Glenister. This new narrator appeared hell bent on changing Glenister's pronunciation of names (erroneously in my opinion) and made little or no attempt at different voices to distinguish the characters. It says a lot for the quality of Mr Iggulden's writing that I made it through to the end.

24 of 25 people found this review helpful

Good book ruined by narrator

After listening to the first two books excellently narrated by Robert Glenister I was really looking forward to this. It always takes a while to get used to a new narrators voice but I soon got used to Paul Blake. However, I am struggling to understand why he has to change virtually all the name pronunciations. This is well documented in other reviews. Why didn't he go the whole hog and change "Caesar" to "Cesaaar".
A real shame.

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Narrator

Such a shame, I really enjoyed the first two books but they have changed the narrator on the third one and I'm sorry to say he's terrible. I can't even listen to the whole book.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

who is this narrator!?!

I've never had this experience before, I've read nearly 200 books from audible and have heard people complain about the narrator spoiling the book but not until now. I bought all 4 of the books of this series in one go, the first two were absolutely excellent so by the time I get to the 3rd, the characters feel like my friends. Then all of a sudden this bloke turns up and starts calling Servilla; Sir Willa, Octavia; OctaWia, it takes me some time to realise Cabrera isn't a new character at all because of his pronunciation and he makes Brutus sound like a 50 year old drag queen instead of a battle hardened veteran in his late 20's. I'm already waivering and my mind wandering, there's no way I'll finish this book. You'd have thought the narrator would have listened to some of the previous books to see how the characters had been announced, shocking stuff

20 of 23 people found this review helpful

Spoilt by narrator

Where does EMPEROR: The Field of Swords, Book 3 (Unabridged) rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Way up in the list

What did you like best about this story?

The mix of fact and the private lives of the historical figures

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration is absolutely awful and you have to wonder why Paul Blake wasn't told how to pronounce some of the names i.e. who on earth is Carto (Cato?) Clowdius (Claudius?) He also fails to distinguish between the characters with any change of voice so that you are never sure who is speaking. One of the worst faults is his lack of understanding of where the punctuation should be i.e " The ground fell away. Below the line of trees ......." which also makes the story difficult to follow. Bring back Robert Glenister please!

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

In spite of the narration faults yes but only because of the superb writing

Any additional comments?

Conn Iggulden is brilliant with his blend of fact and fiction. Have not yet been disppointed with anything he has written.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Love the story but wish the reader wouldn't change

Epic tale set in ancient Rome. Hard to adapt to a new voice actor though

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Frustrated...

I didn't read the reviews beforehand but purchased this third installment simply on the strength of the first two which I thought were extremely well written and brilliantly narrated making the long commute to work so much more bearable (my thanks Mr Iggulden/Mr Glenister).

In hindsight I believe I would still have made the purchase however after eventually finishing this book I now fully understand the frustration of the previous reviewers. In fact I was so disappointed in the narration that I do not think I will be purchasing the fourth (unless I can find a version using a different narrator or find time to read the hard-copy).

In summary: Personally, the constant re-winding of the audio after realising that the names of characters and places etc are not new but simply old names etc being pronounced differently confuses and spoils an otherwise great book.

A real shame.

14 of 16 people found this review helpful

Excellent story. Prefer Robert Glennister narrator

This followed on excellently from previous book but I found it off putting changing the narrator.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Do not be of faint heart!

Having read some of the other reviews I ended up approaching this one with a little trepidation. Changing narrator mid-series is often difficult and in this case doing so and changing the way that some of the character names and Roman words are pronounced was always going to irritate some people. That said I am pretty stunned to see some of the very harsh reviews being aimed at Paul Blake. I think it was a mistake to change the pronunciation but ironically I think his are the most accurate. I had to smile as I pondered the mysterious “Sir Wheelier” in the book’s opening chapter for a while until I realized who “he” really was!

So, granted the change in pronunciation was bound to make the start of this book difficult for those of us who had enjoyed Robert Glenister’s performances in the previous two. That apart though I think that Blake’s delivery is very good and it matches that of Glenister. It’s just different and possibly more authentic.

On to the story and it’s an excellent continuation of the series. Perhaps a bit slower to really get going than the previous volume but when it does gain traction it’s excellent. Lots of the Roman intrigue we have come to expect and Caesar’s campaigns in Gaul are edge of the seat stuff. The changes in the characters are subtly revealed as the time passes. The boyhood friends are now men, they are hardened by experiences that would test the most robust of physiques and the toughest of souls. Blake delivers a much haughtier Caesar and maybe that’s why he was chosen. The main characters are now established Roman Nobilitas and boys no longer. Their friendship is tested beyond any kind of reasonable limits.

Quite simply it’s another excellent installment and I’m off immediately to book 4. The issues with the change of narrator have obviously irritated some but in my view they are minor rather than being decisive. Given the excellent “Good read” guarantee from Audible I would definitely recommend anyone who has enjoyed the first two books to give this a try and just be prepared to make an adjustment or two for the pronunciation. Rome demands it of you!

13 of 16 people found this review helpful