Audiobook roundup
“The Midnight Line” by Lee Child, narrated by Dick Hill, Random House Audio, 13:06
Dick Hill is Jack Reacher for audiobook fans. Hill narrated the last 18 of the 22 books in this Lee Child series. Although he missed books two through four, he spoke at the genesis with the first Reacher book, “Killing Floor.” So it pains me to say this, but: It’s time for Hill to go. Somewhere around book 19, “Personal,” Hill’s voice developed a warble. With each successive novel, Reacher sounds less like a tough guy and more like someone’s uncertain grandpa. The problem is more of tone than age. There is little in the books to remind us that Reacher, who fights with the ferocity and experience of a 30-something brawler, is 57. But Hill’s narration turns him geriatric. While it is delightful to imagine pops taking on seven outlaw bikers, it strains even my very elastic credulity when it comes to Jack Reacher.
More problematic: It’s often difficult to tell who’s talking. Is it Reacher or the private investigator he’s teamed with? Is it Reacher or the general who runs West Point? They are frequently indistinguishable. You can regain a younger Reacher if you speed the playback to 1.25x on your smartphone, but that doesn’t fix the dialogue confusion. Hill is a celebrated narrator, with more than 500 titles to his name and three Audie awards. He’s earned his place among the great voices. But for Jack Reacher, his voice is great no longer. “The Book of Dust” by Philip Pullman, narrated by Michael Sheen, Listening Library, 13:07
“His Dark Materials,” Philip Pullman’s beloved trilogy about the indomitable girl hero, Lyra Belacqua, are full-cast recordings, feasts of memorable voices. Lyra’s scrappy breathlessness remains my favorite girl voice, and the rumbling Iorek Byrnison, my favorite bear. So what were they thinking, giving a single actor the “Dark Materials” prequel?
They were probably thinking: Michael Sheen is incredible. The actor is in taut control, using his voice to underscore the many dramatic moments faced by 11-year-old Malcolm Polstead and the scornful teen Alice Polstrow as they paddle a world turned to water, hoping to return the infant Lyra to her father. Sheen’s narration functions almost as a score, intensifying the peak moments, soothing the quiet ones. Also, “La Belle Sauvage” lends itself to a single voice: There is much less conversation than in the other books. But when dialogue is required, Sheen moves smoothly between voices, whether in intense talks between Malcolm and his daemon, Asta (humans in this England have animal souls that accompany them), or the squabbles of Malcolm and Alice.
The youngsters are under threat from Gerard Bonneville, a creepy man with a disturbing hyena daemon, and they are stalked by dictatorial religious authorities. Further, they face a far more familiar danger: the constant threat of a fussy baby. “Turtles All the Way Down” by John Green, narrated by Kate Rudd, Listening Library, 7:12
Narrator Kate Rudd is at her best when characters converse in John Green’s newest young-adult novel, “Turtles All the Way Down.” Green, author of the blockbuster “The Fault in Our Stars,” uses a mystery to tell the story of 16-year-old Aza Holmes. Aza has obsessive-compulsive disorder. She worries about germs. She reads and rereads the Wikipedia entry about the bacteria within us. Even kissing brings an overwhelming sense of threat. Yet her lifelong friend, Daisy Ramirez, understands her. Daisy is a talker, a girl of antic energy and imagination. Rudd makes Aza and Daisy familiar and vivid, far richer than the book’s central mystery: the disappearance of a billionaire. The girls determine to find the billionaire to earn a reward. But that story always feels secondary to the relationships between Aza and Daisy and Aza and Davis, the billionaire’s son. These are the heart and heartbreak of this book.
Sadly, the narration often falls short: Rudd sounds stilted when characters aren’t talking. She may be portraying Aza’s inner voice? Rudd is a veteran of hundreds of audiobooks and an award winner. But this odd choice — if it is a choice — is often grating. Relationships are what this book is really about, and only when they are in the focus does Rudd really shine.
Jenni Laidman is a freelancer.