Fantastic listening

My children (ages 8 and 11) and I are veterans of children's audiobooks, and we have truly enjoyed the first three books of this series. It has the right mix of adventure, fun and swashbuckling to keep their interest high throughout. We will hold Mossflower near and dear to our hearts as the introduction to this wonderful world of stories.

20 people found this helpful

A GREAT story.

I've read these books before, but listening to them is a whole new adventure! I love the voices, they really animate everything. I adore these stories and will continue to download them and enjoy every bit of listening to them.

12 people found this helpful

Wildly varying recorded levels!

What did you love best about Mossflower?

The story and characters (as throughout the Redwall series) are wonderful, and the performers are topnotch.

What did you like best about this story?

It has satisfying ups and downs and a satisfying conclusion. I also like the combination of realism and humor Jacques includes in his books.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Multiple narrators: all excellent,

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Dunno, and I hate taglines for films anyway. Perhaps, "Never underestimate the Woodlanders!"

Any additional comments?

Yes, one BIG one: the recorded levels throughout the production are extreme, to say the least. I was always diving for the volume control because I either a) couldn't hear what was being said, or b) was wincing because of the extreme loudness. Certain characters were worse in this regard than others, such as always too soft or always too loud and shrill--Tsarmina, especially--but even the narrator, who you'd think would be at a consistent level throughout the production, was at times near-inaudible and at others louder than was comfortable (more diving for the volume control!). I hate to be so blunt, but it's a rather poor production, technically speaking. The first book in the series was not like this, and I'm hoping that the 3rd book in the series is more like that one, that is, with recorded levels more consistent throughout.

9 people found this helpful

Excellent story but a bit piercing

I want to say I enjoy full cast performances and this recording put some great talent into voicing some of my favorite childhood characters. My only warning would be to those listening on headphones or sensitive to sudden spikes of noise. Certain voice actors are prone to sudden and very loud screeching which while in character can be a bit piercing on the ears. Overall however I recommend Mossflower to newcomers of Jacques work and suggest life long fans give it a listen!

Thank you Brain Jacques and his team family and estate.

4 people found this helpful

Doesn't disappoint

Mossflower, like the rest of the Redwall books, is a fun story to listen to. You might enjoy it as much as your children.

3 people found this helpful

Muddy recording, but still fun

I recently listened to Mossflower written by Brian Jacques and narrated by Brian Jacques and a full cast.

Martin, a warrior mouse from the north unwittingly makes his way into Mossflower. Mossflower was once a free land, however, a wildcat called Verdauga Greeneyes, Lord of the Thousand Eyes, conquered it some time ago. As Verdauga grows ill, his daughter, Tsarmina, exerts more and more influence on the troops stationed in the Castle Kotir.

Under Tsarmina's direction the Thousand Eyes, troops sworn to the service  of Verdauga, grind the local wood beasts beneath their talons. Martin is captured by a roving patrol and dragged to Castle Kotir for questioning. 

The narration of this book will be enjoyed by some, but not others. Brian Jacques and his full cast deliver a fully immersive experience, right down to certain extremely thick accents that are hard to understand. The recording itself also sounds muffled at times and the volume can vary notably. 

Conclusion: This is a great YA novel in the Redwall series. For all intents and purposes this can be read as a stand alone book without previous knowledge of the series. I personally love the novels of Redwall and this was no exception. My only quibble is the narration and, despite the narration issues I mentioned earlier, I do enjoy the attempt to deliver a fully immersive story.

2 people found this helpful

I wanted to le this more than I did

I've wanted to read this series since I learned about it in elementary school! Each time I started to read it, it was too difficult to understand. In the 80's or 90's the was a cartoon about it that was better, but slow moving. I think after listening to this a few more times I might understand most of it.
The English accents give me trouble, and the narrator's tone was too... soothing. Maybe if I both read and heard the book I could follow along better.
That said, I'll probably get Red Wall at some point.

2 people found this helpful

Stick With It!

Mossflower starts off with a bit of world building and character introduction that had me questioning just how epic this story would be. By hour 2 I was hooked and enjoying with amazement the detailed tale being told. It is long but entertaining throughout.

1 person found this helpful

Performance

Some of the different voices were at different volumes. Also, you could hear Brian Jacques’ breathing, even when others were talking.

A cute children's story destroyed in production

The author's rich voice and pleasing accent could have been a welcome addition to this Redwall tale. Unfortunately, it was coupled with many production issues.

- heavy breathing while another voice actor reads
- occasional passages with slurring as though the narrator is inebriated
- significant volume fluctuations
- hollow, distant voices
- not great chapter transitions
- and some poor splices and crops

I think the story was alright, but it was a chore to keep digging for that enjoyment when production was at best distracting and at worst a garbage disposal the book was fed into. It would have been far better had Jaques simply narrated the entire thing himself and then perhaps let an objective third party edit and produce it.