Discworld Audio Books

[Zephyr]

Yay! Thank you!

Yeah, unfortunately I didn't do so well in my German classes in school, and where I live doesn't see any reason to learn a forn language unless it's Spanish and even then I can sort of muddle through a type of gutteral Tex-Mex and I seriously doubt they did any European copies of Tex-Mex language versions of DW books.

In other words, English is my only language.

 

[snk89]

Wow. i find it surprising that people prefer Stephen Briggs to Nigel Planer. Ive listened to all the books till Carpe Jugulum. Except for 3, all the books are read by Planer and they are so vivid, colorful. Each and every character's voice seems just right (well maybe magrat and agnes are a bit off but not by much). I just started listening to The Fifth Elephant and i just realized... theres no more discworld for me. It feels like briggs is reading the books to himself and the character are so wierd. I think ill be better off reading the rest of the books with Planers voice in my head.

I obviously know im biased. After listening to 200 odd hours of the same person i cant imagine the characters any other way. At first i was like omg what the hell happened to Carrot and Vimes and VETINARI!!! Im really really disappointed. I know Briggs is a great supporter of Discworld, but even if he is a good narrator, why did they have to replace Planer after 20 books...

I guess im a little late but im new to discworld and i feel the magic ive built up over months is ruined... ahh...

 

[Cheery]

Wow. i find it surprising that people prefer Stephen Briggs to Nigel Planer. Ive listened to all the books till Carpe Jugulum. Except for 3, all the books are read by Planer and they are so vivid, colorful. Each and every character's voice seems just right (well maybe magrat and agnes are a bit off but not by much). I just started listening to The Fifth Elephant and i just realized... theres no more discworld for me. It feels like briggs is reading the books to himself and the character are so wierd. I think ill be better off reading the rest of the books with Planers voice in my head.

I obviously know im biased. After listening to 200 odd hours of the same person i cant imagine the characters any other way. At first i was like omg what the hell happened to Carrot and Vimes and VETINARI!!! Im really really disappointed. I know Briggs is a great supporter of Discworld, but even if he is a good narrator, why did they have to replace Planer after 20 books...

I guess im a little late but im new to discworld and i feel the magic ive built up over months is ruined... ahh...

With me it's the other way round I first listened to Stephen Briggs and then Nigel Planer. I like both, but Stephen Briggs a little bit more.

 

[Tonyblack]

I'm currently reading Thud! for the discussion on March 1st and I have the audio book of it, which I'm very familiar with. the trouble is, I keep hearing it in my head in the voices that Stephen Briggs does. While I think he's really good at reading the books and doing the characterization, I'm finding it a little intrusive when I'm actually reading.

Not sure if that makes sense.

Welcome to the site snk89!

 

[Doughnut Jimmy]

Welcome snk89!

I'm currently reading Thud! for the discussion on March 1st and I have the audio book of it, which I'm very familiar with. the trouble is, I keep hearing it in my head in the voices that Stephen Briggs does. While I think he's really good at reading the books and doing the characterization, I'm finding it a little intrusive when I'm actually reading.

Not sure if that makes sense.

Makes perfect sense to me Tony I get the same thing with reading books that I've heard the audiobook for

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

Welcome to the site snk89.

 

[Sjoerd3000]

Welcome to the site snk89

 

[Willem]

I've now listened to the first two parts of Unseen Academicals, read by Mr Briggs. I've decided that audiobooks aren't for me.
While Mr Briggs does a very nice job, I prefer the original voices in my head to his
I find I get distracted far more easily when listening to a book than when reading it... anyone else that has this problem?

 

[Tonyblack]

I find I get distracted far more easily when listening to a book than when reading it... anyone else that has this problem?

I certainly do - unless I'm doing something like cycling or driving, I find it very difficult to just sit and listen. I'm very likely to pick up a book or something.

 

[raisindot]

Wow. i find it surprising that people prefer Stephen Briggs to Nigel Planer. Ive listened to all the books till Carpe Jugulum. Except for 3, all the books are read by Planer and they are so vivid, colorful. Each and every character's voice seems just right (well maybe magrat and agnes are a bit off but not by much). I just started listening to The Fifth Elephant and i just realized... theres no more discworld for me. It feels like briggs is reading the books to himself and the character are so wierd. I think ill be better off reading the rest of the books with Planers voice in my head..

I guess to each his own. I'm listening to CJ now, and while I prefer Planer's Nanny and Granny to Briggs' renditions, I still feel that Briggs does a much better job of capturing the 'souls' of Pterry's characters, while many of Planers's vocalizations aim for making the characters "funny" but not "depth-ful." His vocalizations of Verence, Magrat, and Agnes make these characters come off as stupid, provincial rubes. Even Sean Ogg seems "smarter" than them.

To compare the difference Briggs's and Planer's style on a apples to apples basis, compare the way they vocalize Igors. In TOT, TFE and beyond, Briggs vocalizes them with a mixture of the classic horror movie Igor inflection but adds a level of erudition and sarcasm that portray them as beings of immense sophistication, wisdom, and, yes, even humanity. Compare this to Planer's Igor in CJ, who comes off as a slurring, stupid monster. That's the difference, I think between the two readers.

But, as always, YMMV.

J-I-B.

 

[raisindot]

I'm currently reading Thud! for the discussion on March 1st and I have the audio book of it, which I'm very familiar with. the trouble is, I keep hearing it in my head in the voices that Stephen Briggs does. While I think he's really good at reading the books and doing the characterization, I'm finding it a little intrusive when I'm actually reading.

Not sure if that makes sense.

That's the definition of a great reader--one who plants the "voice" in your head when you go back to re-reading!

J-I-B

 

[The rat]

Yeah, just iTunes US. Not a lot of selection as far as stuff that didn't originate here that's not already mainstream. Not sure how to sign up with other nation iTunes or I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Use Audible.com. They have the better recordings and are sometimes cheaper that iTunes. Also, if you look at iTunes that are the Audible.com recordings, but they do not translate well onto iTunes. My copy of Night Watch and Soul music that I download from iTunes is so faint even turned up all the way on my home speakers I can hardly hear it. never had a problem with Audibles.com. I get all my audiobooks from there now.

 

[The rat]

I like Nigel for the 'feel' of the Discworld. he has just the right comic edge in his voice for the stories, and some of his voices are spot on. HIs Nanny Ogg , Colon, Nobby and Vimes are just as I imagined them. HIs Detritus is good to as the un-educated early watchman.

But as Detritus got 'smarter' Briggies DT is much better, and the same goes with his Vimes. Nigel's Vimes had the street wise drunkered while Briggies' Vimes is the rough edged aristocrat that he has grown into.

I do not like SB's Colon. He sounds too stupid, but his Nobby is just like Nigels so no loss there. I do agree that SB's reading is sometimes too flat but his range of all the different speices is GREAT! The best to show this work is 5th Elephant with all the WWW, Vamps, Dwarfs. Also good is The Truth with Otto which I LOVE!

I Love SB's Lut-ze which is excatly how I imagnied him to sound like.

Either way both have advantages and dis-advantages. Both help me get through the long nights at work and doing the house work as well.

 

[mspanners]

Audible.co.uk...

I have now placed a complaint with the ASA about their miss selling of Terrys books in the UK, they advertised His entire Collection on one of their Banners....... but in fact do not have Three titles in UN-abridged formats, they do not tell you this when you sign up....

I would not recommend them to anyone wanting Terrys collection in full.



Thats Audible.co.uk...not sure about .com.

 

[Zephyr]

Use Audible.com. They have the better recordings and are sometimes cheaper that iTunes.

Fabulous! Thanks so much! Will definitely check into it.

Yeah, my first audiobook was Thud!, so Briggs was my first DW reader. After several other Briggs books, it was hard to listen to Planer. He sounded like a stoned old guy with a carrot stuck up one nostril. Just didn't do it for me, you know.

 

[raisindot]

Yeah, just iTunes US. Not a lot of selection as far as stuff th

Use Audible.com. They have the better recordings and are sometimes cheaper that iTunes.

+1 on that. Also, if you look hard, you can find coupon codes to sign up for a two week trial of Audible and get two downloads for free. If you don't like it, you can cancel and still keep the downloads. Not that anyone should use this to get "free" audiobooks of course.

J-I-B

 

[N1v3n]

I've only heard Briggs and Robinson, and much prefer Briggs. Audio books are great for the mp3 player.

 

[Tonyblack]

I've only heard Briggs and Robinson, and much prefer Briggs. Audio books are great for the mp3 player.

Welome N1v3n!

 

[N1v3n]

I've only heard Briggs and Robinson, and much prefer Briggs. Audio books are great for the mp3 player.

Welome N1v3n!

oi oi!

 

[mspanners]

Audible.co.uk ( .co.uk and not com, no experiences there. )

Just updating for anyone who may be thinking of joining up to collect the full unabridged woks here.......... don't bother as they STILL have not updated the Three missing Unabridged books in the Discworld series and I have been badgering them to get them from day one of this thread, I even requested a contact address from them so I could complain to the head of Amazon or whoever is responsible for the site and have been blanked. I am at the moment getting The Tolkien Books but when I have finished I will most likely cancel my subs to the site.

Go else where or get the ones they have and then get :-

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents

Night Watch

The Wee Free Men

else where. I would not recommend this site at all.