Is there anything you would change about this book?
I would go back to Michael Page as the narrator. Sue Pitkin does okay when she isn't reading dialogue, but she can't read dialogue well to save her life. I can only listen to this book for short periods of time before I have to turn it off.
I got this audiobook despite the poor reviews of the narrator because I had the ebook already and it was only $2, but I would never waste a credit or pay full price for it. The book is excellent, but Pitkin was not the right choice at all. I feel like she'd do much better with something like Jane Austen rather than epic fantasy.
What did you like best about this story?
I enjoy everything about this story except the performer. It's a solid follow-up to the first book.
How did the narrator detract from the book?
Her speech is exaggerated, her attempts at different accents are awful, and it is clear that she didn't listen to any of the previous book. Conversations between characters are painful and unnatural. As an example, the voice she uses for the archivist's passages is stilted and overdone while Michael Page's interpretation was scholarly and thoughtful. I grit my teeth every time one of those sequences comes up when I used to enjoy them. I gave her two stars because I can at least listen to her for short periods of time, but I have to take a break after long dialogues.
Was Dryad-Born worth the listening time?
Reading time, heck yeah. Listening time... Just barely, maybe? It was better than not listening to a book at all, I guess.
Any additional comments?
Please, please, please, please bring Michael Page back.