What a performance by the narrator

Very nice book and the narrator did an amazing job with it but sometimes the background music got too loud.

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very enjoyable

Read this many years ago and listening to it now is like meeting an old friend. The immersive background music only enhances the experience

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Enjoyed this book just as much as reading it!

This is one of my favourite series of books so knew I would enjoy it. Plus, the backing track was actually quite nice too!

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brilliant classic fantasy with genre surprises!

LOVED this book to my very soul. it's chonky classic fantasy with modern flairs. I was surprised at just how much horror was in this, and it was properly creepy imagery! the narrator was fantastic although sometimes the music/sound effects were a bit random but sometimes it was perfect!

if you love classic quest fantasy but with modern hooks, this is one for your shelf!

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One of the best fantasy novels

A great novel. I have read this series twice and not tired listening to it now as an audio book. True, it starts off slow, but only to paint a beautifully detailed picture of Osten Ard and the Characters. The author's language is beautiful and evocative without loosing tension in the plot. If you love fantasy books with a lot of fast action, this might not be for you. It is like drinking a well matured, complex flavoured wine instead shots of vodka.
What I found a bit frustrating (and have given therefore only 4 stars on total), was the use of music for dramatisation. First it is unnecessary in my opinion, especially if the language is so evocative, and secondly it becomes difficult to understand the reading especially at the climaxes (music gets louder and more intense). I hope, the producers have ditched it in later books, although I doubt it.

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1 person found this helpful

Background track spoils a good performance

The story and reading were excellent, but my enjoyment was spoiled by the background sound track which often distracted me ( by being too loud).

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1 person found this helpful

Ignore the negative reviews!

There are a lot of complaints about the pace of the book and the narration, very unfairly in my opinion. This is a true epic and takes time to set the stage, but it's not padding and we'll worth it. I read the series many years ago. It is wonderfully crafted and unlike a lot of fantasy releases of late doesn't try to do LOTR in 8 hours. it is rewarding and I really appreciated the narration of Andrew Wincott who matches the material beautifully. I was not a big fan of the music and sound effects but even they grew on me. this series takes some work in the same way as Erikson's Malazan book of the fallen. Though very different in tone, fantasy by numbers it is not. Please give it a chance and stick with it, you will be totally invested and well rewarded!

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2 people found this helpful

Background noise with story attached

This is one of my favorite books but I found myself annoyed at this audiobook since the background noises were often too loud to hear the story or even when not overpowering they were at best distracting.
Find another version without these SFX, is my advice!

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3 people found this helpful

Distracting

I should have listened to a sample. The music is nothing but a distraction, and the 15 minutes that I managed to listen to seemed highly generic.

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6 people found this helpful

I wish I could've focused better

My friend has hyped about this series for years to me and the actual books are together so long to read so I thought the audiobook could be the answer.

So when I found these books here, I was so glad I bought all the books at the same time. At first, I thought the background noises were nice additions but I soon realized I couldn't focus the story at all. I tried to find if I could've adjust the background noises but I didn't find any way to do so. Because at times the music is so loud compare to the narrator, I couldn't hear what the narrator was saying.

I think I'm just gonna listen all the books to get some kind of picture of the story and read the actual books when I get better time to get to know the story better.

In the end, I think the narrator did amazing job and I think the background music and noises weren't necessary. They were nice and they could work, if they were adjustable so I could put the music down to focus on the story.

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