Posted by randa on 17:23:07 7/30/2001 from 209.69.88.85:
I remember you saying that you planned to get the audio recording of TAS. Have you had the chance to listen to it? If so, how is it? are the voices good?

Posted by Nick on 21:09:58 7/30/2001 from 172.188.142.119:
Yep, I've bought it an' everything- but I've been waiting for the perfect day to listen to all of it at once. I have listened to it a bit, though. I can't wait to get to the end and hear how it all goes...

At the beginning, there's cheesy music that sounds like the background track on a website, (not the sort of epic, hair-raising, tear-tugging stuff you *want* there to be) and someone spends 5 minutes reading various quotes and passages from famed lit.

Pullman's voice isn't as I remembered it, quite, but it's still nice, easy to get used to, and clear 'n stuff. Like I keep saying, he's a very good speaker.

Lyra's voice is pretty much what you'd expect: not-too-strong-but-distinctly-Victorian-ish, young-girl-Oxfordy. I can't really describe it further than that. The actress who plays her speaks very well, anyway.

Will sounds old, though- 14ish- but still good. Pan sounds... Gosh, Pan hardly ever says *anything* in TAS... maybe that's why Northern Lights is just as good as TAS in my mind: he speaks more. (Hm). He doesn't sound bad when he does speak. (There's my pessimsism). He sounds fine.

Basically, it's well-cast, but all of the voices conflict with my personal immagination slightly or significantly- and everyone else's, of course- it's impossible for them all to be *perfect*. And there's the fact that you can't really buy an audiobook and listen to it in the car or something. Nothing beats a good heavy book, which is why I'm reading along.

Incidentally, if anyone *else* wants to burn £30 on the cassettes (not essential, but interesting) -perhaps you'd like to join me in asking Cavalcade (the guys that record it) why on earth they put it on 10 hissing, fragile, wipeable cassettes, rather than 2 or 3 CD-quality CDs, hm?

The *best* reason for buying the Audio version is you get to hear the correct pronunciation for *everything*, though.

Posted by Willover on 2:42:28 3/9/2002 from 206.214.133.23:
I actually thought they were quite good. Though (if you haven't heard them, you won't know what I'm talking about) I thought that Steven Webb did a better job than Peter England, and I've always been wondering why they cut him out of TAS (if anyone knows why, PLEASE tell me!) Joanna Wyatt was terrific, that's all I can say. The rest of the cast was great, and I think Philip Pullman read it wonderfully.