The most awful narration

I bought all three books in this series but I am not sure if I can handle listening to this narrator for another two books. He is deadpan, slow, completely lacking in any animation, and seems unable to convey different characters through tone. I realise that this isn't about the book itself, but a poor narration kills an audiobook for me.

I highly recommend that you listen to the preview before buying this or other books in the series and see if you can handle listening to this robotic monotone for 60+ hours.

6 people found this helpful

Should have been great

A really good story that builds a world facing the real issue of global warming.

The characters are interesting and the plot moves at a good pace. If you ever wondered what global warming might do to the earth, sit back and enjoy this treat.

Unfortunately the narration is the worst I've come across by a mile. I had to speed up the reading just to get through. 1.25x worked ok.

Listen to a sample of this book before you download. Ask your self can you really put up with 12 hours of this guy infecting your brain.

I actually think that this guy might be a computer program narrator?

3 people found this helpful

Promising start

What did you like most about Forty Signs of Rain?

I really enjoyed the whole story. I liked the fact it didn't just focus on one person or group, but looked at how events affected things all around the world. The characters were all sympathetic, and believable.

What other book might you compare Forty Signs of Rain to, and why?

I can't really compare it to anything else, as this isn't really my usual genre at all. But it was a really pleasant surprise. It wasn't as preachy as I imagined, and the different characters really held my attention.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

I really didn't enjoy the narration. The pace was too slow for the drama, and the tone was almost robotic. I also didn't enjoy his female voices, I thought they were a bit cliche ridden.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The Inevitable Future - unfortunately I think this is where we as a species are heading.

Any additional comments?

I look forward to listening to the next two books in the series. I really enjoyed this story, and want to find out how things end.

2 people found this helpful

should be abridged or skip to book two

Firstly, if you have never read Kim Stanley Robinson before take my advice don’t read this read the Mars Trilogy which him at his spectacular elegant articulate best.

Secondly, the narrator is not good; monotone in style and unemotional. Which given Kim Stanley Robinson likes to talk copiously about science and philosophy really undermines the book. It end up sounding more like a dull university lecture.

Thirdly, Kim starts the introduction of book two by basically saying

“you could of skipped book one”

so … AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

If however you liked the mars trilogy and are interested in science, research, Washington politics, global warming, how animals in zoo’s are saved from flooding, what it is to be a Mr Mom and have about 14 hours of your life to use up….

Yeah I didn’t think so

Nevertheless however, I should point out it does have good writing and some pretty interesting ideas if you could find a nicely edited abridged version that would be the way to go

1 person found this helpful

Good story, poor narration

Good story, bad narration but I ajusted to the narration fairly quickly and it didn't spoil the story for me. Am currntly listing to the second in the serries which unfortunatly has the same narrator.