Books on CD
For my birthday Mr Wol bought me a copy of 'Fool Moon' by Jim Butcher read aloud by James Marsters on CD. This is book 2 of 'The Dresden Files' that are a sort of cine noir, fantasy sequence of books with Harry Dresden, the only wizard listed in the Chicago phonebook, as our lead character. These books are damn good fun, for anyone who likes either mysteries or fantasy, but they are hard to describe without spoilers so I won't. I have now read the first three.
Having the book read aloud to me though is a real exercise in patience. For a start it is not material suitable for DD's ears so I can't really listen when she is within earshot. Plus I am a fast reader and an inveterate skipper ahead. Now I am being forced to experience the book at spoken word pace and no skipping of descriptive passages or speed reading of the exciting bits and it is being brought home to me how much of both of those I obviously do. Big chunks of the book are brand new to me in spite of the fact that I only read it about a fortnight ago. If I had had to draw a graph of the shape of the book, which scenes took up what proportions of the book, I would have been so far out. One particular scene that is very fast paced and action packed takes up nearly a whole CD out of the total of 8 to itself. I read it so fast (there aren't many pauses for breath) I thought it took less than a chapter - not a full three.
James Marsters has a very nice reading voice. It is odd to hear him speak in his own accent and there is very little of the Spike about the mannerisms at all (although the ghost of William the Bloody Awful Poet does put in an appearance in an unexpected place). Obviously in one of the two roles he is showing some real acting abilities. So far my only complaint is that he pronounces 'shone' as 'shown' (presumably he is part of the lets-kill-the-strong-verb 'shined' generation - gah!). The humour of the Dresden character is beautifully brought out too. After all what is cine noir without the wisecracking hero?
Having the book read aloud to me though is a real exercise in patience. For a start it is not material suitable for DD's ears so I can't really listen when she is within earshot. Plus I am a fast reader and an inveterate skipper ahead. Now I am being forced to experience the book at spoken word pace and no skipping of descriptive passages or speed reading of the exciting bits and it is being brought home to me how much of both of those I obviously do. Big chunks of the book are brand new to me in spite of the fact that I only read it about a fortnight ago. If I had had to draw a graph of the shape of the book, which scenes took up what proportions of the book, I would have been so far out. One particular scene that is very fast paced and action packed takes up nearly a whole CD out of the total of 8 to itself. I read it so fast (there aren't many pauses for breath) I thought it took less than a chapter - not a full three.
James Marsters has a very nice reading voice. It is odd to hear him speak in his own accent and there is very little of the Spike about the mannerisms at all (although the ghost of William the Bloody Awful Poet does put in an appearance in an unexpected place). Obviously in one of the two roles he is showing some real acting abilities. So far my only complaint is that he pronounces 'shone' as 'shown' (presumably he is part of the lets-kill-the-strong-verb 'shined' generation - gah!). The humour of the Dresden character is beautifully brought out too. After all what is cine noir without the wisecracking hero?