ServoBadger Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 I want to try putting on an audio book while I paint to see if it helps. However, I've never bought an audio book before as I generally prefer reading to being read to. Does anyone have any suggestions for good novels that work well as audio books? I don't mind if it's 30k or 40k, I'm just looking for a good example of the format from BL. Thanks for any suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veterannoob Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 Oh man, Got them all. Just take your pick. If you want one surrounding the genre or army you're playing that works. The BL audio app is fairly new and has cheaper prices. Butcher's Nails is my fav audio, A Thousand Sons fav audio book. Eisenhorn trilogy is now even avaialble as audiobooks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDarth151 Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 If you want a novel that I think is genuinely improved by being turned into an audiobook, I wholeheartedly recommend Fear to Tread, by James Swallow. I will also second Butcher's Nails, because it's really good. Probably my favourite work by ADB. The Sigilite by Chris Wraight, also really good. Honour to the Dead and Raven's Flight are also surprisingly decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roomsky Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 I want to try putting on an audio book while I paint to see if it helps. However, I've never bought an audio book before as I generally prefer reading to being read to. Does anyone have any suggestions for good novels that work well as audio books? I don't mind if it's 30k or 40k, I'm just looking for a good example of the format from BL. Thanks for any suggestions. I'm sure it comes across as an odd suggestion, but I find that poorer prose works better in audio form. When I was going through The Beast Arises, I was using various formats (because reasons), and something like Abnett's I Am Slaughter was much more engaging read than listened to. Conversely, Annandale's The Last Wall was very engaging while listening but kinda meh while reading. So I would recommend maybe finding the novels by authors you usually like to avoid, but have heard the work itself is good. I would save the authors you like for proper readings, as they'll probably be less impressive when listening. If you want a specific suggestion, I find anything by David Annandale much better in audio-format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jareddm Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 I want to try putting on an audio book while I paint to see if it helps. However, I've never bought an audio book before as I generally prefer reading to being read to. Does anyone have any suggestions for good novels that work well as audio books? I don't mind if it's 30k or 40k, I'm just looking for a good example of the format from BL. Thanks for any suggestions. I'm sure it comes across as an odd suggestion, but I find that poorer prose works better in audio form. When I was going through The Beast Arises, I was using various formats (because reasons), and something like Abnett's I Am Slaughter was much more engaging read than listened to. Conversely, Annandale's The Last Wall was very engaging while listening but kinda meh while reading. So I would recommend maybe finding the novels by authors you usually like to avoid, but have heard the work itself is good. I would save the authors you like for proper readings, as they'll probably be less impressive when listening. If you want a specific suggestion, I find anything by David Annandale much better in audio-format. I never thought of that before but you're absolutely right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH79 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Always great to see another potential Audio fan coming to light! In terms of recommendations it depends on what kind of experience you're after as BL provide two very different formats with very different price points. An Audio Book features one single voice actor reading the entirety of a novel to you, nothing more nothing less. These can vary in length from 5 hours to upwards of 14 depending on the page count of the Novel (im looking at you Graham McNeill!). At the other end of the spectrum is Audio Drama's which feature a number of voice actors, music and sound effects. One actor will perform scene narration while the other's play different characters. These vary in length from 10 minutes to usually a maximum of 75 mins. Re books you might like The Horus Heresy accounts for over 70% of Black Librarys entire Audio Book / Drama output so there are some limitations as to what you can listen to. Finally, if you do download the Audio app i would have a real good play around with it before you buy anything through it. Reviews of it are damnable, it is riddled with bugs, has a broken player that loses it's place when closed and re-opened and offers no cross by functionality. If you've got iTunes or any other meda library organiser it's way easier to buy through the Black Library site and self manage on your PC or Mac... my Black Library iTunes collection is a master work of OCD driven joy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranwulf Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Talon of Horus is one of the BEST audiobooks in the range. First, Talon of Horus is realllly good. Second, it is read by Jonathan keeble, that adds SO MUCH to Khayon with his voice, and the way he voice his characters. In fact, anything with Keeble makes the story worth it: Scars and Brotherhood of the Storm, Helsreach, Master of Mankind, and of course, Prince of Crows (he made Sevatar even more awesome with the perfect voice for derision and sarcasm). Ran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH79 Posted March 22, 2017 Share Posted March 22, 2017 Talon of Horus is one of the BEST audiobooks in the range. First, Talon of Horus is realllly good. Second, it is read by Jonathan keeble, that adds SO MUCH to Khayon with his voice, and the way he voice his characters. In fact, anything with Keeble makes the story worth it: Scars and Brotherhood of the Storm, Helsreach, Master of Mankind, and of course, Prince of Crows (he made Sevatar even more awesome with the perfect voice for derision and sarcasm). Ran I have to admit Keeble really does knock it out of the park each and every time... I've just started my second listen to Nemesis (surprisingly awesome book!) and his performance as Erebus is spine chilling in those opening moments! While i was really hoping for a return to Martyn Ellis for Magnus's novels, having Keeble doing Master of Prospero is going to be great given his track record... lets just hope there's some continuity and he gets The Crimson King too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluntblade Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 I do wonder if The Soul-Severed actually does justice to the Kakophoni. Hoping a prose version appears soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karden00 Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Know No Fear is a fantastic audiobook. So is Vengeful Spirit. But I think Betrayer was far and away my fav audio. Crrrrreeeeature!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A D-B Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Honour to the Dead, though it's an audio drama, and not an audio book. I went from avowed disinterest to loving them and collecting them for long car journeys. And while this isn't the place for specifics, some of the xenos ones are very good, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluntblade Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 AD-B, can you tell us if Binary Succession and Soul-Severed will find their way to the page? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R_F_D Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 I think it's guaranteed that they will appear in print with the commitment (I think it's that) to produce all HH in all formats. Cue frothing & foaming at the mouths about new numbered book releases with no "new" content ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeritorA Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Honour to the Dead, though it's an audio drama, and not an audio book. I went from avowed disinterest to loving them and collecting them for long car journeys. And while this isn't the place for specifics, some of the xenos ones are very good, too. Titans action was precious! Still waiting for the official Nemesis Titan model to arrive from GW or FW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandlemad Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 In terms of recommendations it depends on what kind of experience you're after as BL provide two very different formats with very different price points. An Audio Book features one single voice actor reading the entirety of a novel to you, nothing more nothing less. These can vary in length from 5 hours to upwards of 14 depending on the page count of the Novel (im looking at you Graham McNeill!). At the other end of the spectrum is Audio Drama's which feature a number of voice actors, music and sound effects. One actor will perform scene narration while the other's play different characters. These vary in length from 10 minutes to usually a maximum of 75 mins. This is an important distinction. Audiodramas do have a shorter run-time and generally faster pace, so they might a little less suitable for a lengthy painting session. With an audiobook of a lengthy novel you can kind of zone out for a few sentences and it's not the end of the world, whereas audiodramas have very little... downtime. Hard to find a way to avoid sounding like I'm devaluing the authors' work but it's a different form, maybe like the difference between a short story and a novel. If you are interested in audiodramas I cannot too strongly recommend Fabius Bile: Repairer of Ruin. Give the sample a listen. It's a masterpiece of gross sounds and jovial insanity on the part of the voice actor, either Ian Brooker or Steve Conlin. This version of Bile has now infiltrated my head, so I cannot read his dialogue elsewhere without hearing it in this voice. Does anyone else find that they catch different things in listening to an audiobook than in reading it on the page? Something about focusing your attention, it seems to change the pacing, which might contribute to what Roomsky said about authors coming across differently on audio. There were large chunks of Master of Mankind - the sisters of silence tithe stuff in particular - that stuck with me much more in the audiobook than the printed version. It could be interesting to try an audiobook as a 're-read', see if it's a fresh experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH79 Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 I have to second your thoughts on Repairer of Ruin, Fabius now only has that one accent in my head... "greedy guts!" lol! The actor is Ian Brooker, he also voiced Kyme's short story Chirurgeon which further brainwashed me into believing that he is Fabius It's been about 20 years since i painted any GW models, but i can imagine that as you say Audio Drama's would not help you reach a mental state of zen, they're good for when you're out and about, at the gym, in the car, doing the gardening etc etc... really showing my age with those examples! Re noticing different things i tend to find that it is my emotional experience of events that is so so different when read in my head vs being heard from a professional voice actor. For example in Pratorian of Dorn when Silonius first awakens, the panic conveyed by Keeble is so much more convincing than when i read it. Grimaldus and the Helsreach Crusade's last stand, the sheer insanity and nightmare reality of those moments are some of the most memorable to me thanks to the voice work (and amazing writing!)... "Until the end Brothers!". Still gives me chills. Then at the other end of the spectrum if you take Warmaster (easily one of the best Drama's Heavy Entertainment produced for BL) it is not until you read the short that you actually catch certain lines of dialogue that are near impossible to hear when Horus's senses are assaulted by a hundred messages at once. Reading Warmaster in my view is quite unfulfilling but being able to see clearly all of the messages was very eye opening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeritorA Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 In terms of recommendations it depends on what kind of experience you're after as BL provide two very different formats with very different price points. An Audio Book features one single voice actor reading the entirety of a novel to you, nothing more nothing less. These can vary in length from 5 hours to upwards of 14 depending on the page count of the Novel (im looking at you Graham McNeill!). At the other end of the spectrum is Audio Drama's which feature a number of voice actors, music and sound effects. One actor will perform scene narration while the other's play different characters. These vary in length from 10 minutes to usually a maximum of 75 mins. This is an important distinction. Audiodramas do have a shorter run-time and generally faster pace, so they might a little less suitable for a lengthy painting session. With an audiobook of a lengthy novel you can kind of zone out for a few sentences and it's not the end of the world, whereas audiodramas have very little... downtime. Hard to find a way to avoid sounding like I'm devaluing the authors' work but it's a different form, maybe like the difference between a short story and a novel. If you are interested in audiodramas I cannot too strongly recommend Fabius Bile: Repairer of Ruin. Give the sample a listen. It's a masterpiece of gross sounds and jovial insanity on the part of the voice actor, either Ian Brooker or Steve Conlin. This version of Bile has now infiltrated my head, so I cannot read his dialogue elsewhere without hearing it in this voice. Does anyone else find that they catch different things in listening to an audiobook than in reading it on the page? Something about focusing your attention, it seems to change the pacing, which might contribute to what Roomsky said about authors coming across differently on audio. There were large chunks of Master of Mankind - the sisters of silence tithe stuff in particular - that stuck with me much more in the audiobook than the printed version. It could be interesting to try an audiobook as a 're-read', see if it's a fresh experience. Fabius Bile: RoR - indeed. While reading Primogenitor I do imagined he talked with that voice :) 'Does anyone else find that they catch different things in listening to an audiobook than in reading it on the page?' - exactly. Sometimes I imagine one thing, and then reading the script I saw that it was not the thing I imagined. Beauty of the audio and bad headphones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDarth151 Posted March 23, 2017 Share Posted March 23, 2017 Honour to the Dead, though it's an audio drama, and not an audio book. I went from avowed disinterest to loving them and collecting them for long car journeys. And while this isn't the place for specifics, some of the xenos ones are very good, too. See? A D-B and me agree on something. This is basically a Christmas miracle come few months too late, now you know you need to buy that one. Honour to the Dead deserves special recommendation for sheer majesty and terror it invokes due to great sound effects for the Titans. Also, one of the best works of Gav Thorpe in the Heresy line, with well written and likeable characters. An excellent thing to listen to on a long walk in a summer storm, speaking from experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrannicide Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Can't get enough of the audio version of Legion. Totally sublime. I think I'm on my fourth or fifth listening. EDIT: I'm bummed that GG isn't audio supported. Would be a blast to knock out some listening while driving around all day for work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeritorA Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Honour to the Dead, though it's an audio drama, and not an audio book. I went from avowed disinterest to loving them and collecting them for long car journeys. And while this isn't the place for specifics, some of the xenos ones are very good, too. See? A D-B and me agree on something. This is basically a Christmas miracle come few months too late, now you know you need to buy that one. Honour to the Dead deserves special recommendation for sheer majesty and terror it invokes due to great sound effects for the Titans. Also, one of the best works of Gav Thorpe in the Heresy line, with well written and likeable characters. An excellent thing to listen to on a long walk in a summer storm, speaking from experience. Sure. Legion, Honour of the Dead, Binary Succession are amazing for a walk, jim or a long trip by train Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH79 Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Can't get enough of the audio version of Legion. Totally sublime. I think I'm on my fourth or fifth listening. EDIT: I'm bummed that GG isn't audio supported. Would be a blast to knock out some listening while driving around all day for work. Oh hell yeah, David Timson has such a Shakespearean way of delivery. Unfortunately Legion was his last BL contribution, why they no longer use him is completely beyond me. His depiction of Fulgrim in the novel by the same name and Angel Exterminatus is so outlandish that it fit's the character perfectly... Perturabo too was incredible; short, hot tempered and similar to how he played Angron in Butchers Nails but with a modicum of control. Good listening times indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeritorA Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Can't get enough of the audio version of Legion. Totally sublime. I think I'm on my fourth or fifth listening. EDIT: I'm bummed that GG isn't audio supported. Would be a blast to knock out some listening while driving around all day for work. Oh hell yeah, David Timson has such a Shakespearean way of delivery. Unfortunately Legion was his last BL contribution, why they no longer use him is completely beyond me. His depiction of Fulgrim in the novel by the same name and Angel Exterminatus is so outlandish that it fit's the character perfectly... Perturabo too was incredible; short, hot tempered and similar to how he played Angron in Butchers Nails but with a modicum of control. Good listening times indeed Anyone know why Timson does not do HH or W40K for BL anymore? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH79 Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 I would assume it is a combination of factors such as budget, location and scheduling. Needless to say Timson is not the only voice actor they have dropped in recent years (to BL's detriment!) but as we know little of the actual process they go through to record audio's most of this is speculation. There is no doubt that BL's move to in house production was a two fold manovure, the first to give them greater creative and production control with complete internal accountability for quality and deadlines, the second quite simply would be cost saving. While the initial outlay to set up an audio production line may have been high they would easily stand to make their money back in a short period of time and save in other areas going forward. Heavy Entertainment for example formatted their Audiobooks and Drama's very differently to how BL does now. Each Book and Drama would have a unique piece of music to introduce it and finish it off, if you listen to any Audiobook / Drama from BL before roughly mid 2014 you will notice each has a different introductory piece of music. BL now reuses a few select piece's over and over with little variance. This may seem like a small thing but the royalty costs for a new piece for each and every release would certainly add up. Then there's the cost of the voice talent itself. Timson, Ellis and Barrett for example are all Veteran actors who may not fall within budget for BL anymore. Hell, Timson has well over 1k radio drama's for the BBC so you wouldn't expect to pay anything less than top dollar for his time. On the other hand maybe they all live near London and trecking all the way to Nottingham to record a session or two is not practical for their schedule of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeritorA Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 JH79 - thank you for clarification. Maybe it's just only me - but isn't it more downgraded today due to the case of voice talents not being afforded the pay, cause of BL 'less costly in production' policy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Truckin Posted March 24, 2017 Share Posted March 24, 2017 Honour to the Dead, though it's an audio drama, and not an audio book. I went from avowed disinterest to loving them and collecting them for long car journeys. And while this isn't the place for specifics, some of the xenos ones are very good, too. See? A D-B and me agree on something. This is basically a Christmas miracle come few months too late, now you know you need to buy that one. Honour to the Dead deserves special recommendation for sheer majesty and terror it invokes due to great sound effects for the Titans. Also, one of the best works of Gav Thorpe in the Heresy line, with well written and likeable characters. An excellent thing to listen to on a long walk in a summer storm, speaking from experience. Sure. Legion, Honour of the Dead, Binary Succession are amazing for a walk, jim or a long trip by train Just popped in to say thanks for recommending honour of the dead! Listenting to it at work - fantastic so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.