Audiobooks

I don't know if anyone else is a fan of the Recorded Books audiobooks of the series, but I am a die hard fan! The narration is terrific and the characters come alive. I discovered the entire series when I checked Outlander out of the local library and loved it so much I listened to it 4 times in a row.

The Recorded Books version of the books are unabridged. There is another version that is abridged, but I have not listened to it, so I cannot recommend it. I hate abridgements, and when you cut something like Outlander, which unabridged runs over 20 cassettes, to only 6 cassettes, it just ruins the book to my mind. Davina Porter does a wonderful job on both Claire and Jamie's voices, so if you have not listened to the books, you might give it a try.

alcottarcre - I am with you on the abridged books. I listened to one for a different book once because the actor from the movie version recorded it and while he did a great job, the whole writing of it was different. There was one line that shocked me so I went to the book to find it but it was not there. I love, love, love the unabridged Outlander series CD's. They are great. I own them all. Highly recommended to all if you have the money or if they are at your local library.

- Jessa

Hey there -- I'm new to the group...found you by running a search looking for Voyager on CD (unabridged, of course!!!). So -- thought I'd pass on my findings to any who might want to save some time and energy. Just searching for "Voyager" "Audio" "Gabaldon" etc thru Google (and others) will inevitably return tons of sites -- NONE of which will lead you to unabridged CD sets of Voyager, with the exception of one where the price is $275 (wow!). Even on Ebay, the price is astonishing ($180+) and if you read the fine print it appears they are home made or downloaded copies as the "original packaging is not available." So I went directly to Recorded Books (you can buy them thru Amazon and others) and they "make to order" all the Outlander books at a fraction of the cost you can find elsewhere.

And just my two cents on narrators -- Davina Porter is fantastic -- even IF I were willing to listen to an abridged version of ANY book, I would feel guilty listening to anyone but her read an Outlander book!

#3 - I totally agree with you about Davina Porter. I have never listened to the abridged version of the books - I own all the Recorded Books versions. Anything else would pale in comparison, I fear.

I'm so excited -- the first audiobook in the series arrived yesterday. It's all I can do to finish the one I am currently listenting to (out from the library) before diving in!

#5 missylc - Hope you enjoy the audiobook! (I also hope you did not get the abridged version . . .)

Thanks, alcottacre -- oh no, I was sure to get the unabridged version. :o)

For Davina Porter fans, I came across the audiobook version of The Boleyn Inheritance at the library a couple of weeks ago. Porter is one of the narrators, who are all fabulous. I'm not finished with the book yet, but it's very good so far.

I'm another die hard fan of the audio books. I began borrowing the unabridged versions from my library on cassettee and then would just listen to them only in my car when driving around and doing errands. Then, I gradually began to acquire them on CD as they became available. There is an interesting explanation on Diana Gabaldon's blog (recently) about how the whole audio book for Outlander process began and the licensing and rights and so forth, and why there are abridged versions, and why only now are the unabridged versions becoming available outside Recorded Books. I now have all the unabridged CD's and I listen to all the CD's in my car commuting back and forth to work, and when I finish ABOSAA, I turn right around and pop in Disc 1 of Outlander and start all over again. I'll continue this until Book 7 is out, and then I'll actually read that one a few times, until I get the CD, and then it goes in my rotation. Davina Porter's Claire and I are old friends. I'd recognize that voice anywhere. I think she does a fantastic job with all the voices, but to me, she really is the voice of Claire. I'm currently listening to TFC, just passed the half way mark and the death of Betty. She really does an amazing job with all the characters!

#9 ktleyed: I totally agree with you regarding Davina Porter and the job she does on all the Outlander books. Even more for me than with Claire, she is the voice of Jamie. She does his Scottish burr perfectly IMHO.

BTW - I cannot imagine listening to these books as abridgements. I hate the concept anyway, but on these books especially. You would miss too much!

#10 alcottacre: Yes, I have to admit, she is the voice of Jamie for me too! How could I have forgotten that?? She is Jamie.

I think the only voice I really "don't" like of hers is Brianna's. I don't like the accent she uses for Brianna at al. It's hard enough for me to like this character, and Porter's voice always makes her sound so disagreeble and ornery. If her voice had been a little lighter and feminine I think I'd like it better, and give her less of a (how should I put it?) a Western accent, Brianna's voice sounds like she's some cowgirl from the Old West instead of someone who grew up in Boston in the 1960's! I think Porter has trouble with American accents, so they all kind of have this Western twang to them.

I also must admit (I'm on a roll here) that because of her Irish Stephen Bonnet accent, I hate all the other Irishmen she does the voices for - they all sound like Bonnet to me! LOL!

Julie

#11 - I agree about Brianna's voice. It seems the Porter just does not have a handle on how to get it across. Other than that small quibble though, I think she does excellently on the rest of the voices.