Great story+translation, odd production

This review is essentially the same as my reviews for the other Carlos Ponce audiobooks currently available.
The story is great, of course. Chamber of Secrets is one of the weaker books in the series but it's still a ton of fun.

I'm approaching these audiobooks as a native English speaker and learner of Spanish. As a learning aid, I 100% recommend these audiobooks--the narration+accent is clear and comprehensible. I did the same when learning German (using the absolutely amazing Rufus Beck audiobooks from Audible) and got great results.

I've marked the performance down for a couple of reasons. First, Carlos Ponce does a great job with character voices, and puts good energy into his delivery, but tends to deliver almost all dialogue the same. I mean, if there's one thing J.K. Rowling is known for as an author, it's adverbs--every single piece of dialogue comes with instructions, so to speak. But whether Filch "screamed" or Hermione "whispered" or Dumbledore said "calmly", Ponce delivers them all roughly the same.

My second problem might not lie with Ponce, but with the production: the text is barely given any time to breathe. Scene changes within chapters (something happens, then we transition to our heroes discussing it in the Common Room or whatever) receive absolutely no pause/signaling, which can be really jarring. Momentous or climactic events are not read or edited dramatically, but almost rushed through. The entire scene in the Chamber of Secrets is very confusing for this reason. This might be on Ponce as the narrator, but (along with the same-y dialogue) it feels like a lack of production/preparation--like they handed Ponce the book and had him do it all in roughly one take, without allowing him to get a feel for the rhythm of the text.

This stuff might sound like nit-picking, but it's at the core of what separates good oral story-telling from great oral story-telling. Without the text in front of us, we are reliant on the narrator to give us a sense of when tension is rising or falling, and where the narrative climax falls. This isn't just for entertainment, but to actually make sense of the events as they happen. The Pottermore/Rufus Beck German editions of these books do a phenomenal job of this.

Overall, while I enjoyed this audiobook, it could have been a lot better. +1 for a Dobby voice that won't make you throw your heapdhones out the window.

14 people found this helpful

Excelente!

100 % recomendado, simplemente no podia para de escucharlo y ademas pa narracion de Carlos es extraordinaria...Bl

5 people found this helpful

Perfect Narration

My mother language is Spanish, and let me tell you something if you're listening this book for learn Spanish, is the best decision.

I've been listening this book while I work, and helped me to stay creative (I'm Graphic Designer). Although, I rather the physical book because the smell and the feeling, is a good option to stimulate the brain. If i could make something better for Audible will be a cheaper option to listen more books, because I think the prices between physical and audible book are close.

1 person found this helpful

Emocionante.

Nos gustó la narración y la historia. Mis hijas están muy emocionadas con la historia.

1 person found this helpful

Perfecto

El narrador va a un buen tiempo, su voz es tranquila, pero no aburre, una buenas combinación entre un libro maravilloso y una narración espectacularmente bien echa

1 person found this helpful

Muy buena

El narrador excelente, hace las voces de manera que te involucra en la historia con facilidad

Grandioso!

el libro es espectacular. Carlos es muy bueno, quizá le faltaría interpretar mejor algubos personajes ponerlr algo especial. Tom Riddle me quedó a deber.

loved it.

loved listening to it in Spanish. i already am obsessed with the books. Carlos ponce did an amazing job

Es una maravilla

Le recomiendo el libro a todos y es muy buen libro además grifindor gana la copa de las casas y jini es muy buena ayudante de tom redol
Y esta muy bien traducido

Las voces no son de mi agrado

Las voces empleadas para los personajes no son de mi total agrado (Parecen ser de marionetas). Me parece que la voz de Carlos Ponce solo debería usarse para locutar, no para los diferentes personajes.