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Bad format for this book + horrible production = FAIL
Up until now I was worried that I would uncritically accept any book in audio format. I am sad to report that the most expensive one I've bought to date, Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver, is the one that proves me wrong.
Some Neal Stephenson books lend themselves well to audio format - I listened to Snow Crash before I read a print version of it. I should have known that Quicksilver, of a style akin to Cryptonomicon, would not. The large cast of characters and continual flashbacks do not work well in the audiobook format, where it is difficult to go back to things you might have missed previously. That alone would make me grumble, but I have gotten past it in the past - I listened to not only David Weber's Off Armageddon Reef, but the sequel By Schism Rent Asunder, political sci/fan with many warring kingdoms, most of whose names start with a C, and a cast of at least as many characters, whose names start primarily with Cs as well. So while not all books are ideal for audio format, I can get over that.
Add to that that this is the worst production I've heard yet. The primary narrator, Simon Prebble, could use lessons in enunciation, and rather than being quaint his British accent is obfuscating. Those two things together would lead me to be upset with this audiobook, and might or might not lead me to write a bad review.
The final straw that makes me irate enough to consider asking for my money back is the manner in which they executed the abridgment. When I audioread Snow Crash it was an abridged version as well, and while listening to it I never knew. I had no clue whatsoever where the abridgments were, and had it not been printed on the cover I would not have even known it was abridged. The editor's choice of what to remove had no impact whatsoever upon my listening experience. When I subsequently read the print version of the novel, I realized what had been omitted, and yes the editor's choices did affect the interpretation of the book, as the parts removed primarily related to the mystical aspects of the novel.
In this production, instead of seamlessly removing sections less central to the main plot, the editor chose to *summarize* sections of the novel. As in the narrator saying "a summary of pages 63-69 is as follows..." and "a summary of pages 84 to 149 is as follows..." Yes, in the first two chapters of the novel I've already had both of those. Yes 78 of the first 149 pages of the novel were removed. yes, that's more than 50%. If I wanted the fucking Cliffnotes, I would've bought that instead, and it wouldn't've cost me thirty bucks.
I want my money back.
Some Neal Stephenson books lend themselves well to audio format - I listened to Snow Crash before I read a print version of it. I should have known that Quicksilver, of a style akin to Cryptonomicon, would not. The large cast of characters and continual flashbacks do not work well in the audiobook format, where it is difficult to go back to things you might have missed previously. That alone would make me grumble, but I have gotten past it in the past - I listened to not only David Weber's Off Armageddon Reef, but the sequel By Schism Rent Asunder, political sci/fan with many warring kingdoms, most of whose names start with a C, and a cast of at least as many characters, whose names start primarily with Cs as well. So while not all books are ideal for audio format, I can get over that.
Add to that that this is the worst production I've heard yet. The primary narrator, Simon Prebble, could use lessons in enunciation, and rather than being quaint his British accent is obfuscating. Those two things together would lead me to be upset with this audiobook, and might or might not lead me to write a bad review.
The final straw that makes me irate enough to consider asking for my money back is the manner in which they executed the abridgment. When I audioread Snow Crash it was an abridged version as well, and while listening to it I never knew. I had no clue whatsoever where the abridgments were, and had it not been printed on the cover I would not have even known it was abridged. The editor's choice of what to remove had no impact whatsoever upon my listening experience. When I subsequently read the print version of the novel, I realized what had been omitted, and yes the editor's choices did affect the interpretation of the book, as the parts removed primarily related to the mystical aspects of the novel.
In this production, instead of seamlessly removing sections less central to the main plot, the editor chose to *summarize* sections of the novel. As in the narrator saying "a summary of pages 63-69 is as follows..." and "a summary of pages 84 to 149 is as follows..." Yes, in the first two chapters of the novel I've already had both of those. Yes 78 of the first 149 pages of the novel were removed. yes, that's more than 50%. If I wanted the fucking Cliffnotes, I would've bought that instead, and it wouldn't've cost me thirty bucks.
I want my money back.
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Honestly I cannot imagine trying to absorb it in audio format.
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If I were you, I _would_ ask for my money back. Seriously.
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I was asked afterwards to fill out a customer satisfaction survey, and said that my opinion of Audible.com was unchanged from the experience - basically when I listened to this production my opinion of them plummeted, but when they restored my credits it restored my confidence in them. Had they not I probably still would not have quit their service b/c I haven't seen anything with better (or even comparable) selection, I just would've stopped recommending them to others.