Great book, narrator is horrible

Absolutely the worst performance I have ever heard on audible. The story was compelling and I put up with the narrator to get the story but I can't believe this was approved.

88 people found this helpful

Critique of the narration of "The Bone Collector".

The Narrator chosen for this work presents a near monotone delivery with the ends of many sequential sentences sounding nearly identical in delivery. Said sentences are for this reader enervating, monotonous, and distracting such that one loses one's place in what otherwise would be the ebb and flow of the narration of an otherwise most entertaining and well written book.

33 people found this helpful

Wonderful Story, Terrible Narration

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I struggled through this book because I love the story. I don't know if I can sit through it again.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Amelia was my favorite character. She is flawed but courageous and very smart.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Connor O'Brien?

Scott Brick, Norman Dietz, just about anyone but Connor O'Brien.

Was The Bone Collector worth the listening time?

If you love the story enough, yes.

Any additional comments?

I waited a long time for an unabridged version to come out. Hoping they rethink and redo the narration, until then I am stuck with it.

61 people found this helpful

Love the author, story but the narrator!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Bone Collector to be better than the print version?

NO! I had to listen to his voice.....aaaargh! He sounded like a low budget saturday morning cartoon voice.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Connor O'Brien?

Scott Brick or Edoardo Ballerini or George Guidall.

29 people found this helpful

Worst narration I've ever heard

What disappointed you about The Bone Collector?

Narrator pathetic, dry, dull, monotone, destroyed great book. Couldn't get past first 5 minutes of listening.

What other book might you compare The Bone Collector to and why?

None

Would you be willing to try another one of Connor O'Brien’s performances?

NO

What character would you cut from The Bone Collector?

Narrator

Any additional comments?

no

60 people found this helpful

I like Lincoln Rhyme. Connor O'Brien, I didn't.

The character of Lincoln Rhyme interested me because he was so unique. I loved that the author took a man who was disabled, made him angry and pathetic in many ways, but still intelligent and creative. I don't know if I have ever read another book where the protagonist is a quadriplegic, and I am so glad that I found this one. I hope that the author doesn't invent a miracle cure.

Like most of the other reviewers, I did not like the narration. It was monotone, slow and dull. It added nothing to the words on the page. I listened at 2.0 speed which made it slightly more tolerable.

16 people found this helpful

Read by a robot?

I'm not convinced an actual person narrated this book, it sounds more like some text to speech software was used. By far the worst narration I've ever heard.

Great story that I've been waiting for some time to hear. I should have waited a bit more I think.

45 people found this helpful

wow TRULY HORRIBLE NARRATOR

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I wish I had just read the book, the narrator was so overacted.

Who was your favorite character and why?

rhyme himself

Would you be willing to try another one of Connor O'Brien’s performances?

no

Do you think The Bone Collector needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I was very happy to see other narrators for the other Lincoln Rhyme novels if they had the Connor O'Brien was the narrator for all of them I would have stopped at this book

Any additional comments?

you really would be better off reading the book and then moving on to the other books, I just listened to the book again and could not even get through it to finish it this second time due to the narrator

28 people found this helpful

First and last time I’ll skip reviews before purchase.

I don’t know that the narration was entirely monotonous. He did seem to turn the last word in most sentences into a question, and made every character sound like a goofy cartoon. I’m guessing, based on the lack of natural cadence, that English is not the narrator’s first language. I’d pay for the book a second time if it were re-read by a natural storyteller.

11 people found this helpful

Narrated by my last car's GPS system

What did you love best about The Bone Collector?

The story and characters are great. A lot of depth. I enjoy Jeffery Deaver's books.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I actually saw the movie a long time ago, and loved it. Stumbled on Jeffery Deaver by way of the Katrhyn Dance novels, and then realized the tie in. So glad to have rediscovered this series! If you can suffer through the narration without thinking over and over "recaulating... recalculating..." it's worth it.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator's cadance is something short of awful. It makes it very difficult to listen to... there's no easy flow. It feels like a set of interrupted and totally separate thoughts. He has a similar feel to that of the old fashioned text to speech softwares.... sounds like Moviephone.

33 people found this helpful