Dorian Gray
So recently (Id say around late spring/early summer) I started listening to the Big Finish range Dorian Gray
Being a Big Finish fan since the end of 2013 I had known about the range for awhile but I wasn't too interested. While I enjoyed the novel I didn't really think an entire range with Dorian as the main character could be that interesting.
However I decided to give it a chance this year because it was on sale for a very low cost. I thought why not? (Big Finish sales are dangerous things).
Despite getting good reviews I of course never expected to love this series as much as I do now. With most other ranges I wait for more sales to catch up; with Dorian I couldn't wait and I ended up ordering and preordering everything that was available. At this point I can't even wait to get to work (where I usually listen to my audios) to listen to the newest release.
It definitely was not at all what I expected. For one thing Big Finish's Dorian is way more compelling a main character than I could ever believe played beautifully by Alexander Vlahos. Most of the series is narrated by Dorian in 1st person (hence the confessions in the title) This ends up making Dorian somewhat sympathetic compared to the novel version. He shows vulnerabilities & feelings we don't get from the novel character.
This doesn't mean Dorian is "good" he's still makes many mistakes and hurts many people (unintentionally or not) also the fact that we hear the stories through his POV we can't entirely say if he is always a reliable narrator.
In this story Dorian is immortal and the tales take place during all time periods and in many different locations. We see how the world changes around Dorian while on the outside at least he remains constant. (Note: The 3rd series is not narrated and all the stories take place in the modern time and lead into one another)
There is a horror/supernatural element to the story but it has a strong element of the human condition too and that is what makes the stories so fascinating.
Of course I would recommend it but not without warnings. As it says on Big Finish main page this is not for children. I can't even begin to give trigger warnings because there are probably so many. But I never feel the story is excessive or just trying to shock you. At times it takes you to dark places but beyond those moments of darkness and terror there is beauty, meaning, and hope.
Being a Big Finish fan since the end of 2013 I had known about the range for awhile but I wasn't too interested. While I enjoyed the novel I didn't really think an entire range with Dorian as the main character could be that interesting.
However I decided to give it a chance this year because it was on sale for a very low cost. I thought why not? (Big Finish sales are dangerous things).
Despite getting good reviews I of course never expected to love this series as much as I do now. With most other ranges I wait for more sales to catch up; with Dorian I couldn't wait and I ended up ordering and preordering everything that was available. At this point I can't even wait to get to work (where I usually listen to my audios) to listen to the newest release.
It definitely was not at all what I expected. For one thing Big Finish's Dorian is way more compelling a main character than I could ever believe played beautifully by Alexander Vlahos. Most of the series is narrated by Dorian in 1st person (hence the confessions in the title) This ends up making Dorian somewhat sympathetic compared to the novel version. He shows vulnerabilities & feelings we don't get from the novel character.
This doesn't mean Dorian is "good" he's still makes many mistakes and hurts many people (unintentionally or not) also the fact that we hear the stories through his POV we can't entirely say if he is always a reliable narrator.
In this story Dorian is immortal and the tales take place during all time periods and in many different locations. We see how the world changes around Dorian while on the outside at least he remains constant. (Note: The 3rd series is not narrated and all the stories take place in the modern time and lead into one another)
There is a horror/supernatural element to the story but it has a strong element of the human condition too and that is what makes the stories so fascinating.
Of course I would recommend it but not without warnings. As it says on Big Finish main page this is not for children. I can't even begin to give trigger warnings because there are probably so many. But I never feel the story is excessive or just trying to shock you. At times it takes you to dark places but beyond those moments of darkness and terror there is beauty, meaning, and hope.