Jarring change in Dotrice's performance

If you, like me, have been listening to the Song of Ice and Fire Series as read by Roy Dotrice, then odds are you've grown accustomed to not only the delivery, but the wide range of character voices that Dotrice handles so well. You've probably come to recognize some of your favorite characters just by the voice he uses to portray them. If so, you will find A Feast for Crows to be a rather jarring listen, at least initially.

First, a bit of history. When the audio release for this book in the series was first recorded in 2005, Roy Dotrice was not available, and the book was instead read by John Lee. Many fans were perturbed by this fact, and requested an edition read by the same actor as the rest of the series. After the HBO adaptation of Game of Thrones became popular, and the fifth book in the series had seen release, the books received renewed interest. Hoping to appease this new fanbase, Random House finally relented on giving the fans their long-requested wish. Thus, it was in early 2012, nearly 7 years after the initial release, that Roy Dotrice was brought into rerecord A Feast for Crows.

It would seem, however, that in that time Dotrice has forgotten which voices belong with which characters. For example, the characteristically obsequious tone of Petyr Baelish has been replaced with a rather out-of-place gruffness with a slight brogue. Moreover, pronunciations of names have changed significantly, generally moving from a read-as-written interpretation to treating the names as archaic written forms of modern names. Brienne's name has shifted from Brai-een to Bree-anne, and Petyr's name has shifted from Pit-tire to Pete-ur. While you will quickly grow accustomed to the changes, it nonetheless feels unnecessary; Dotrice should have been professional enough to review his previous performances to stay consistent with the latest edition.

As for the story itself, the spotlight of A Feast for Crows is placed rather differently than its predecessors. Entire story lines, characters, and regions of the world will go nearly untouched throughout this entire book. While this is made up for in the sequel (which is at least partially a parallel narrative), some readers may become bored with their favorite characters being thrown to the wayside. Still, the story lines this book chooses to follow are interesting, well-written, and add to the tapestry of interwoven plots that make the series so interesting to read.

Ultimately, if you've already read the first three books of a Song of Ice and Fire, you're unlikely to be deterred by A Feast for Crows. While Dotrice's performance is inconsistent with previous entries, the quality of that performance is no less admirable. And while the focus of the story differs from its predecessors, you will still likely find yourself involved with the happenings of Westeros.

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Character voices are way off

I love this series and feel that the narrator did a good job (not great) in previous books. However, like the rest of the reviewers, the voices are so far off that its a great distraction to this wonderful story. Arya Stark for instance sounds like an old crone, whats with that?! I feel this book should be corrected by this narrator and re re released to the loyal customers who read these books. Its not fair to us and its not fair to the Author. Lastly, I feel the editor (or producer) of the audio book should be taken to task. It doesn't seem like they even listened to this or else they would have picked this up in minutes.

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Dissapointed and insulted

You love the series, and you'll buy this... but do so with this warning...

This is purely a comment on Roy Dotrice and the producers of this "mummer's farce". He hasn't even shown enough respect for those of use who have invested over 100 hours listening to this series to even review the pronunciation of the characters we've come to love. The accents of the characters have changed so much it's confusing to follow a conversation.

Catelyn is no longer "Cat-linn" but "Kate-lyn". Petyr is not "Pet-ire" but Peter.

Any narrator worth their salt keeps track of the accents and voices they lend to their characters, when working on a series. It's a slap in the face to hear this second-rate reading of a fantastic tale.

Arya sounds like a shrivelled old woman... Jamie sounds like Arya of old...

Not happy Roy, I wish Audible gave refunds for unsatisfactory purchases.

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What happened to Roy?????

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

What didn’t you like about Roy Dotrice’s performance?

If you have invested almost a 100 hours of listening at this point to go on to book 4, be prepared for a disappointing shock! Roy Dotrice, one of the best narrators here, has totally changed course with this one! He pronounces names differently, and the characters voices! Characters we have come to love, like Sam, or for the love of God! Aria now sounds like an old crone!!! I have spent a lot on this series and am completely crushed by this, as a lover of audible books I now realize how important consistent narration is. Be Warned!!! you will have trouble paying attention to the story because of the change in characters.

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Great story, awful reader

What would have made A Feast for Crows better?

Consistancy in pronunciation and voices between this book and the first three. Roy Dotrice has read 100 hours of ASOI&F to me, and then changes up the way he says major character names, without some kind of forward explaining the change? It makes the book difficult to immerse yourself in.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Feast for Crows?

Having to stop the book and rewind in order to figure out who the author was talking about, because I didn't recognize the name.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Roy Dotrice?

I would have preferred Roy Dotrice, performer of the first three novels. Not this Roy. Dotrice imposter.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Anger.

Any additional comments?

If you're a huge fan of the series, there's little doubt that you'll purchase this book too. But if you're not sold yet, end the series with A Storm of Swords and save yourself the frustration.

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Dear Ice and Fire Junkie

Dear Ice and Fire Junkie

The popularity of the HBO series, Game of Thrones has enticed many folks to pick up and start plowing through the entire series of tomes from which the TV shows derive their inspiration. And, once you’re sucked in, it’s pretty much like quicksand. The brilliant acting of most, if not all, of the characters along with the masterful writing of their roles and place in this Tolkienesque saga makes us easy prey for this quagmire. But beware good reader, there is much more to this sticky wicket than a mere addiction.

Before you get too heavily invested in this series, if you haven’t already, you owe it to yourself to pay attention to the negative reviews of Books 4 and 5. Among those reviews, the breakdown in narration after Book 3 is particularly egregious. I am generally a fan of Roy Dotrice. He is not my favorite narrator / performer but he is unquestionably a very good one but mostly for playing the roles of older men. The characters of young men seem to present Mr. Dotrice with something of a challenge and that of female characters, especially young ones, a challenge that is unsurmountable. That being said, Mr. Dotrice’s contribution to the powerful and stunningly produced first three books in this series was not insignificant. There were parts in the writing of those that seemed to drag on and on too long but they were still made entertaining by the narrator. In Books 4 and 5 there were many more dull, uninspired passages that were also made less entertaining by the narrator.

And, that being said, what in the heck is up with the changes in pronunciation of names and the voices of their owners? Was anyone paying attention to the editing and production of these last two books? I don’t know if it was Random House Audio or Audible who dropped the ball here but it all starts with Roy Dotrice. He’s the common denominator here and has to be aware of this huge distracting shift that took place between books and has to have the most responsibility for better quality control.

As far as the story goes, I will repeat here some of what I wrote in a review of Book 1. While I loved a lot about the writing in the first installment, I cared so much about the characters, to have so many of these good and honorable protagonists tortured and killed, I thought that I did not need to continue beyond Book 1. But, continue I did and was not sorry after Book 2. I enjoyed the third installment but things slid downhill in all respects after that. There are characters that I am still interested in and wish to know about their fates, even a couple of the villains. But, will I invest 2 more credits in this series? Me thinks not, at least not at this time. It is not That great.

Oh, and lest I not forget, the ending. This was the worst ending of any book I have ever picked up. If an author lacks so much imagination that s/he cannot satisfyingly end a book even if it is not the last in a series then me thinks the author's imagination needs work. I believe that authors owe it to their readers to finish a book and not just entice their readers to buy the next installment. Shame on you GRRM.

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Amazing and yet disturbing

I understand what everyone else have to say about the narration by Roy Dotrice. That being said I wasn't as disturbed as others were. The difference in Arya's tone is poignant yes but it isn't that mind boggling to understand. He still has that ability to capture you and after the original... shock, you once again are able to ease yourself into the book and the wonderful narration.

George R. R. Martin keeps twisting the story all over the place... As with the other books you WILL find parts of this book that leaves you saying 'Why?!', 'Seriously George?' and 'No!!!' You do see where these happenings seem to fit in the overall plot but at this point I am almost afraid of continuing to listen the book (not that I will actually stop) because I am concerned as to who he might kill next or what other twist he might throw in my face. At different points in the story you really don't know who is the bad guy/woman and you honestly don't know who to trust. At this point I am just saddened by what's going on with the Starks in general and I don't see where or how they will truly recover. I am honestly at the point now though that I would really want the good guys (whoever they are) to actually have a happy ending and the bad guys (again whoever they are) their just rewards.

Overall a great listen and a necessary listen if you are into mature fantasy literature. Just... prepare yourself.... This one too is shocking....

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Is Aria auditioning for a Lucky Charms commercial?

Every time Aria speaks in this book I find myself expecting to hear her refer to the old god's as "magically delicious". This new voice is a complete departure from her voice in the first books.

And while Roy Dotrice's apparent inability to remember how he pronounced a name not only in other books but even earlier in the same paragraph is distracting, the story itself is as solid and well written as I have come to expect from Martin.

Dotrice chooses to use a mix of both his former pronunciation and the new in this book, most notably as follows.

CAT-lin and KATE-lin

Bry-EEN and BREE-en

Pee-TYR and PEE-ter

A-ria and ARI-er ("I've lost my Lucky Charms")

If he decided to pronounce Catelyn as Caitlin I could adapt but he switches constantly between the old and new pronunciations so it is difficult to become settled into listening to the tale.

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Decent story, unfortunate narrator.

I love this series, and I love audible; but this is the first George R.R. Martin book for which I selected the audio version. While I simply could not put down the paperback books in this series, I could not finish listening to this narration.

I do think that the story itself is a little weaker than the previous three - two of my favorite characters, Arya and Tyrion, fade nearly into oblivion as the action pounds along, and we spend way too much time, in my humble opinion, on plot background and exposition. And why does Daenarys mostly vanish? What happened to her? Seems like she might be important, what with the dragons and all. We spend a tremendous amount of time inside the heads of folks with, from my perspective, less significant insights and back-stories, such as Brienne and random members of the Greyjoy clan.

However, the weakest part of this book is the narration. There is very little vocal differentiation between characters, and his rendering of the female characters is almost impossible to listen to. They sound like crazy old women. I have switched over to the paperback version of this book, which I am enjoying rather more. Although I almost always prefer to listen to audiobooks, and I have a serious audible addiction, this is one series I'll be completing visually instead.

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Depressing!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This story really lags in places and introduces a TON of new characters while completely igoring some of the most interesting characters from the previous books. The author crushes all hope whenever possible and gives the reader nothing, and no one, to cling to. I find myself having no reason to continue to follow the plot. Expect all respectable characters to die a brutal death and all evil or deeply flawed characters to succeed, if only for a short time. All of the characters are severely injured whether it be physical pain or emotional pain, no one is safe! This book is filled with pain, sadness, injustice and detailed descriptions of each.

What could George R.R. Martin have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Martin could allow a decent character to achieve a goal once in a while. Readers like to relate to the characters and he brutalizes every one of them which makes the reader feel brutalized, hopeless and ultimately DEPRESSED!

Which character – as performed by Roy Dotrice – was your favorite?

I enjoyed several characters until Martin savaged them and then killed them off. He really knows how to detach his audience...brutalize or murder their favorite characters. It's easy to let go of the plot when that happens.

Did A Feast for Crows inspire you to do anything?

This book inspired me to search for a different author.

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