Star Wars: Legacy of the Force #1: Betrayal

Very well done! Worth a listen!

Very well done for a Star Wars audiobook. Even though it is abridged, the 6 hour run-time leaves enough material to make this audiobook entertaining. That said, you can still notice gaps where, I assume, material was cut out for the abridgement. This can be annoying after a while. I won't beat around the bush, I loathe any abridgement and I would encourage people to complain to the publisher so that they will begin releasing unabridged versions of these books. Other than that, this book was excellent. Marc Thompson is one of the most talented narrators that I have heard. It is a pleasure to listen to him. The different character voices that he assumes throughout the book are executed flawlessly and I had to keep reminding myself that it was the same person speaking. The writing, sound production, and music were all top notch. I would give this 5 stars if not for the abridgement.

One last thing, stay away from any of the star wars audiobooks that are less than 6 hours in length. They are so butchered by the abridgements, that they are not worth your time or money. Quite a few of these are narrated by Anthony Heald and he is just plain awful. I found this out the hard way. Just remember, Anthony Heald = extremely poor narration. Jonathan Davis = Extremely good narration. Marc Thompson = Outstanding narration.

28 of 28 people found this review helpful

Abridged to death!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Wow, this is the first time abridging a book has resulted in it being completely incomprehensible. The reading jumps from scene to scene leaving out details that would have explained why the characters are now in this new location. I could barely make it through the first hour of this one before demanding a refund.

Please replace this one with an unabridged version.

What was most disappointing about Aaron Allston’s story?

The reader was good and they added some cool sound effects and of course Star Wars theme music. So no fault of the performers.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Marc Thompson?

yes

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Star Wars?

The opposite. Put scenes back until a comprehensible story emerges. Here's an idea: It's not that long a book. How about putting it all back?

50 of 53 people found this review helpful

Hack, cut, slash.

What disappointed you about Star Wars: Legacy of the Force #1: Betrayal?

A lot of hacking, cutting, to many holes, I felt as I was tossed under a bus.

Any additional comments?

Stop hacking and slashing books.

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

Too abridged

It seems that every Star Wars book is abridged and sound effects added, and this is no exception.

I have a well worn copy of this book that I've read at least 10 times, and my son has read as many times. So I thought I'd get the audible to listen to on a motorcycle ride.

The sound effects were much louder than the reading and became almost painful when they would BLARE in my helmet unexpectedly.

The story was so chopped up that if I hadn't read the book, I wouldn't have known why somethings were happening.

I won't be wasting my money on any more abridged Star Wars books.

28 of 34 people found this review helpful

Very Abridged

This was the first Star Wars book I ever read many years ago. I still remembered many points in the story that I enjoyed, whether they were character development, relationship building/defining between the characters, various events that fleshed out the story, or even insights into the mind of the "villan" and how they created the end result they desired. To my disappointment, most of the things I remembered having an impact on me were removed from this story.

If you're looking for (or can be satisfied with) a bare-bones plot version of a spectacular book, this is for you. But, if you want to understand not just how things happened but why, if you want to understand the characters, their motivations, and their emotions behind the things they do and the struggles they have, you'll have to read the book.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

No More Abridged Books

I've been a huge Star Wars fan since I was kid and saw the original movie for a friend's birthday party on May 29, 1977, but I don't think I'll be buying any more SW books...

A) The abridged versions are terrible. A big part of the SW universe is the description, most of which is cut out in the abridgement.

2) The current and future books are all in nine-or-ten part series. It seems like the authors and publishers are just stringing the readers along... A single story from beginning to end costs well over $100.

19 of 23 people found this review helpful

Going to read book...

Was it good? Yes. Marc Thompson was great, although he's usually spot on with Hans Solo and it wasn't quite as precise this time.

I need the omitted info to try and make better sense about the storyline. I hope unabridged versions come available one day.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Abridged sucks!

I would rate these as 5 stars if they weren't butchered errrr abridged. Need more story and more Marc Thompson, not less.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

It's abridged but really good.

It's good story and Marc Thompson does a solid job for an abridged book. I'll be picking up the following books.

Abridged

Either this author is terrible or there is way too much of the storyline taken out.