How much can an audiobook narrator impact a character’s personality?

Submitted by JB_Chi t3_zm4dvx in books

This time last year I listed to Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and narrated by Ray Porter. I am currently listening to We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor, also narrated by Porter. As I listen to We Are Legion I keep getting distracted by how similar the main character is to the one in Project Hail Mary. This made me wonder, is this just coincidence or is there something about how Porter narrates that impacts the character’s personality past the author’s writing style? What do you all think? Have you experienced this with other narrators?

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modernhedgewitch t1_j096of1 wrote

So, I have both versions of Harry Potter on audio. Jim Dale, US version and Stephen Fry for UK.

I can not listen to the US version ever again because he makes Hermione so whiny. This is the best example I can give. It can impact it quite a bit.

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JB_Chi OP t1_j09a6sv wrote

Thank you! I love this example. Also, I’ll need to find a UK version of Harry Potter as I’ve only heard the US so far

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bofh000 t1_j09aynh wrote

You really are missing out. Find the Stephen Fry version, I heard it uncountable times on a loop just for Stephen’s voice and narrating nuances.

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Jiggidy40 t1_j090mmg wrote

You listen to The Martian? With RC Bray as the narrator?

A great audiobook narrator changes the experience. Especially if they are polished enough to do different voices and accents.

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JB_Chi OP t1_j0921yd wrote

I haven’t listened to that one yet, but it is on my TBR list.

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[deleted] t1_j097mmx wrote

Upvote for the R C Bray reference - by this point I’ve chosen audiobooks based mostly on the fact he was the narrator.

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Jiggidy40 t1_j09crrl wrote

I never considered looking for other books read by him because I associate his voice with The Martian. It seems like it would be weird to hear him in another context!

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[deleted] t1_j09f2td wrote

Then you’re yet to experience Skippy the Magnificent! If you’re into SciFi you may want to look up Craig Alanson’s ExForce (the fifteenth (and last in the series) book was recently released). It’s pretty unsophisticated stuff but strangely compelling all the same, and I’ve always had the impression R C Bray narrated the series because he enjoyed he performance as much as anything else. Alternatively, if you’re looking for rather more serious scifi, The Fear Saga by Stephen Moss is another of my go-to R C Bray listens.

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Formal_Technology828 t1_j0axgwl wrote

with the martian

R.C bray's read ' venkat'

Will whetstones read Ven-kat....what?...

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ActonofMAM t1_j0boqjy wrote

At least Wil, and/or his audio director, knew not to pronounce sysop (system operator) as "SY-sop" or ASCII (ASS-key) as "A-S-C-two." Apart from that, I find both audio editions very well done.

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bythepowerofboobs t1_j091dvq wrote

These books have very similar prose and mostly take place from only one pov so its easy to find similarities. I personally think PHM was influenced pretty heavily by the Bobiverse books. I do think Ray Porter was the perfect narrator choice in both cases though.

My favorite narrator right now is Steven Pacey. He is the best narrator I've listened to in terms of making every character he reads unique and has certainly heavily influenced (in a very good way IMO) the way I think of the characters.

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JB_Chi OP t1_j092lzx wrote

That makes a lot of sense. I am loving Porter in the Bobiverse and he was great in PHM.

It is so weird that you mention Pacey as I just got done re-listening to the First Law Trilogy. He is one of my favorite narrators.

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Eldritch50 t1_j0941vk wrote

Yes, Pacey is awesome. Did such a great job with Glokta.

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VulkanCurze t1_j0b4f5o wrote

Was just thinking of Steven Pacey. I just got the The First Law trilogy a few days ago and been listening to the first book and he does a very good job with all the different voices and none of them are painful to listen to like some narrators.

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jefrye t1_j0939jh wrote

More than you might think (unless you're listening to a bland narrator, but that approach seems to be out of style for obvious reasons). You're listening to a performance, after all, and any performer brings their own interpretation to the role, regardless of how careful they are to follow the direction given by the author in dialogue tags and context.

Think about watching musicals or plays performed by a different cast and how different they can be. Or think of movie adaptations or remakes (depending on how much was changed); for instance, you can find YouTube compilations comparing the same scene in different Pride and Prejudice adaptations, and they're saying the same dialogue and going for a similar effect but the characters' personalities feel very different.

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brademerika t1_j093h5s wrote

I listened to the same book with two different narrators. I really enjoyed the first narrator. The second narrator was abysmal. It was so bad I'm certain if I had listened to him first I would have abandoned the audio book.

It was the case of a British author and there being a British version and a US version of the audiobook; even though both narrators were British.

Frankly, I was shocked at the difference. I assumed there would not be a big difference.

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sweetdawg99 t1_j093lxs wrote

Probably depends on how the character is written. For example in the Dresden Files books the main character has a very sarcastic humor, which the narrator (done by James Marsters) does to perfection. So much so that when he wasn't available for one of the novels a different narrator was used, and he did a decent job, but the difference was so jarring that they ended up bringing Marsters back in to re-record that novel for the sake of consistency (and it probably helped sales to some extent as well).

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tchansen t1_j0963ue wrote

Previously, my favorite narrator was Wil Wheaton for many of the characteristics listed above. He’s lost the #1 spot (for me) to Andy Serkis whose narration on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings was so amazing and entertaining.

Wil’s a strong second place though.

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bofh000 t1_j09be21 wrote

Yes, Andy Serkis is amazing.

I’m now listening to The Witches Abroad, the new version with Indira Varma and Bill Nye. They are incredible too. Indira Varma too is a narrating genius.

My other faves are Miriam Margolyes and of course Stephen Fry. I am very pleased audiobooks are getting such a premium treatment :)

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VelociRache1 t1_j0agvn4 wrote

Wil Wheaton made Ready Player One a fun adventure. His love of nerd culture really helped make the protagonist Wade likeable through his impressions of diffrent classic media. Plus he gave the pretty blank love intrest more personality with line delivery. I tried to actually read the novel and Wade comes off as such an asshole without Wil giving it his all. I even got Ready Player Two on audio book cause Wil was back to narrorate. But even he couldn't save that dumpsterfire of a book.

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hgaterms t1_j09e4i3 wrote

> is this just coincidence or is there something about how Porter narrates

I think it's coincidence. I'm currently listening to "The Apollo Murders" and Ray Porter narrates that too, but the protagonist (at least for the first half) isn't anything like Ryland or Bob. but the voice is making me think it is.

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hello_from_ontario t1_j097gwo wrote

100% for the good or the bad! It's a delicate balance especially when there are many frequent/main characters.

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bhbhbhhh t1_j097rod wrote

Toby Longworth narrates the Gaunt’s Ghosts books with many Welsh and Russian accents. Makes the book feel that more real.

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SuccessfulLoser- t1_j09kmlq wrote

I read and heard Kite Runner when it first came out.

Reading the book took me into a fascinating journey into a new culture and place. Listening to the audio version was equally fascinating as I could follow-along with the intonation and tone of the reader.

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damsirius12 t1_j09uhd3 wrote

I search by narrator now. Simon Vance is an absolute magician when he narrates…..

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RickMacd1913 t1_j09vw2n wrote

Frank Muller, is far and away my favourite audiobook narrator of all time! He’s done a lot of Stephen King. The Dark Tower, The Green Mile and Different Seasons in particular were outstanding. He is absolutely outstanding at imbuing a character with life and a depth far past the written word.

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Lord0fHats t1_j09zw37 wrote

The Narrator of the first Magnus Chase book is... I don't know the words. I don't like being rude but the cadence of his speech and the way he pronounces things as a whole combine to make it sound like he's trying to narrate someone with a severe mental handicap. He notably did not reprise his role as narrator for the second or third books. I don't think the character is supposed to come off like a young Asgardian Forest Gump. That was all the odd way the narrator read the story.

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Wizecoder t1_j0a8r4y wrote

Absolutely. Just finished The 4 Percent Universe a few hours ago, it is a non-fiction book but since it is narrated by Ray Porter, it almost feels like it is a fiction, and it gains a bunch of the feel and personality of Project Hail Mary.

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AntiWokeGayBloke t1_j0agvsj wrote

I’ve immediately quit a book because the voice actor and sound quality were not vibing with me. Especially if it’s someone iconic or crossed over in pop culture. This is totally a thing.

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jakobjaderbo t1_j0aqjul wrote

In the city watch series by Terry Pratchett there is a big troll named Detritus. He is part of many books and different narrators give him a very different personality. Some narrators make him sound like a bumbling oaf, others like a mean drill sergeant.

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lisondor t1_j0b3ne0 wrote

It's a two edged sort. I generally avoid Audiobooks of authors like Murakami, but prefer Fantasy in format.

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ActonofMAM t1_j0bof5z wrote

Bob from the Bobiverse and Grace from PHM are indeed very similar characters. It's not just Porter.

RC Bray did an audio version of "The Martian" some years back. It had to be re-recorded for rights reasons, and the voice actor that time was Wil Wheaton. I've listened to both, and it really didn't change my view of Mark Watney much.

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[deleted] t1_j0c9itt wrote

During my grade school years I was fortunate enough to have two teachers (4th Grade - Mr Paradise, 5th Grade - Mr Benjamin) who liked to read aloud to the class every day. I know that you mentioned audiobooks specifically, but narration/readers can really have an impact on the story and bring the characters to life. I had those teachers back in '76-'77 and I remember the books and derails of the stories like it was yesterday.

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Griffen_07 t1_j0co8az wrote

Lock in by Scalzi has two audiobooks. One is by Will Weaten and one by Amber Bensen. The characters feel completely different between the two versions. The words haven’t changed but the approach has.

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lucia-pacciola t1_j0crss5 wrote

For me, Harry Dresden is and always will be James Marsters.

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[deleted] t1_j08youk wrote

[deleted]

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JB_Chi OP t1_j091tuj wrote

I get what you mean, but this goes beyond the characters just having the same voice. Their inner thoughts and dialogue are so similar to one another it’s as if Weir was writing it. That led me to the question, do the authors just have similar writing styles or is Porter’s narration having an impact on the character’s personalities.

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