Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

1ToeIn t1_j2140ly wrote

What do you all think of “full cast” audio books? Personally, I don’t like them. I prefer one narrator/reader. Full cast is one of those things that seemed like a good idea, but in actuality it’s unpleasant/difficult to listen to.

24

Thatoneguy0311 OP t1_j21hn0b wrote

I thought I would like it, but I am with you, not really a fan. I am also not a huge fan of music in the background that goes with the scene; it can be done well but I can also be done very poorly.

13

kratly t1_j21b16i wrote

I'm with you. It's too jarring to listen to. I've tried them a few times. There was even a book a few years ago that had really incredible cast lineup. I couldn't get into it.

​

By contrast, I didn't even necessarily like the Dutch House but I liked listening to it just because it was narrated by Tom Hanks.

5

asexualotter t1_j21j02p wrote

I'm not OP. But I prefer one narrator but I do like when they do different voices/accents. I don't have anything against audio dramas but if I'm listening specifically to an audio book I want one narrator.

5

Cultural_Elk1565 t1_j21bbzh wrote

World War Z really changed my mind. Mostly because there is one steady constant, max Brooks reading the interviewer grounded that book for me.

3

PaulBradley t1_j21nd8t wrote

I treat them as something different, I file them away with radio dramas like Sandman and the BBC LotR, I follow Dirk Maggs for ones that are done well, and I was looking forward to Sam.Mendes.Oliver Twist until I realised it's only 2hrs long.

2

Perfect_Drawing5776 t1_j23d38r wrote

Depends on the book and how it’s produced. I loved Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which is epistolary and each character was a different actor who read their own letters. The Historian, on the other hand, was an overproduced mess where if a character was reading a letter that recounted a conversation between two other people, you’d get all four voices-the recipient, the letter writer, and the two people overheard.

I hate sound effects but will admit to not minding the jazz bumpers in The Rivers of London.

2

pendragon_cave t1_j24pmls wrote

This is definitely hit or miss. My son and I are listening to a Redwall audiobook together (a youth/YA series set in a British style medieval countryside with animal characters). It has a full cast, occasional background music, and the author voices several of the characters. We are very much enjoying it but I don't think it would be a good fit for other types of books.

2