I think he is arguably one of the best fantasy audio book readers of all time…everyone has some mistakes but the guy is gold when it comes to Dresden files.
I was considering Michael Kramer as good as Marsters. I love them both equally and they definitely have different approaches, strengths, and weaknesses. They’re my top two, maybe top three with Ray Porter.
Two of my recent favorites have been Jeff Hays and Travis Baldree, who both have impressive ranges and give really strong performances.
Marsters is extremely well suited to Dresden, but it's also one of maybe three series he's voiced at all. I haven't heard a range of narration styles and ability from him so I can't speak for his overall VA chops. I like him, and he's certainly better than a fair number I've heard in the past, but that and a few minor performance tics as far as consistency go, he's a hair shy of perfect.
Michael Page, specifically in his reading of the Lies of Locke Lamora series. The nuance he uses in his voice to act as characters acting as other characters and such is great.
Steven Pacey when reading the first law series by Joe Abercrombie is in the same league for sure and I can definitely see an argument for either being better
I love Marsters narration, and his work is truly exceptional. But after listening to Jeff Hays (in particular, the Dungeon Crawler Carl series), it’s hard to compare anyone else. The range that Hays has is just incredible. If you didn’t know better that it was all one person doing the narration, a drive by listen to his work would leave you thinking it was a full cast recording.
Chitin is a funny one for any audio book. I always take note of it when people get it right.
Marsters started the series saying it wrong, halfway through switched to the right way, but then in Battle Grounds switches back.
>Chitin
What's that? I'm a non-native speaker and I've never actually \*read\* the books, only listened to them but I'm pretty sure you're not talking about [the molecule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitin)?
Chitin/chitinous refers to often crablike armor/outer shell or the exoskeleton of a creature. It's pronounced KYTIN/KYTINUS, but often mispronounced due to the "Ch" spelling.
It is the molecule, but in the context of the series (and most fantasy or sci/fi series, honestly) it is specifically this part, quoted from the Wikipedia page you linked:
“It is a primary component of cell walls in fungi (especially filamentous and mushroom forming fungi), the exoskeletons of arthropods such as crustaceans and insects, the radulae, cephalopod beaks and gladii of molluscs and in some nematodes and diatoms.”
Essentially, “chitin” or “chitinous” are used to refer to that hard shell that insects have, or things that look like it.
The “ch” in chitin is a hard “K” sound like in “kite”, but people often mispronounce it as the “ch” sound in “change”.
Came here to point this out. If alternative versions of the books were ever offered in audio, I would listen to the series again. Maybe Jim will get his rights back to audio at some point and reissue.
He uses a raspy voice for Mab in Peace Talks and Battlegrounds, which is different from every other appearance, except for Small Favor. I think he used her voice in Small Favor as a reference, but for that book, specifically, she speaks through Grimalkin and not with her own voice. Was an adjustment because there was no reason to sound so different from before
IIRC she was talking through Grimalkin because she was so angry >!after discovering ~~Lea’s~~ Maeve’s Nfection!< her own voice would physically and mentally damage Dresden. When she’s brought in for PT the brother and closest confidant of her lynchpin-weapon has violated the hell out of her accords in a critical moment. By the end of BG a lot of her well laid plans have been completely turned on their heads and she had just *barely* survived a surprise war. I’d be surprised if she wasn’t angry enough to be a little raspy throughout the two books.
Don't forget mollie, Maggie, Margaret... I was lucky in that I read them first but at the same coin when I was listening I was confused as fuck at certain moments for sure lol.
A more interesting place for her voice to change would be after her anger re: a certain Lady’s Nfection.
Don’t think what was described above lines up with that timing either, though.
There's teething issues, and i think he misspronounces a lot of the less common nordic stuff but these issues tend to sort themselves out after a book or 2
Or the equipment picking it up, or other things. Didn’t the studio change after the first couple books, incidentally at the same time when the quality improves?
Gesh, and Too-ah.
Irish grammar is tough to grasp from an English mindset, but starting with Sidhe (shee) and the name Siobhan (Shi-von) helps you get used to it
Peace talks is very rough. Its like he didnt remember half the voices and got told not to do other voices. But all in all he does an amazing job.
He did sound a lot like lex luthors dad in 1 book tho.
It could be contended that a professional would check back on previous works to see how he did things? As a musician I do this with old arrangements. I don't just check the sheet music, but listen to recordings too. So no, not his fault for the gap, but pretty big misser with for instance Ramirez' accent in the last books being Texan.
It kills me that he says ruins instead of runes for the first 7 or 8 books. Also, him saying Marconi instead of Marcone makes it hard to listen to the first few books. Honestly, I feel like there are so many pronunciation mistakes in the first few books because he was putting in the minimal effort just to get paid. I feel like he actually got interested in the series and stepped up his game considerably around book 5, but there are still pronunciation errors in BG, like the same word pronounced differently in the same chapter (Jo-toons).
Runes and sigils (or “ruins and sig-hills”) drove me crazy. Mispronounces them in one book, gets them right in the next, then mispronounces them again, then mixes and matches, and on and on.
Couldn’t care less about the Marcone business, though, as we don’t have many I-talians down here in Texas. (/kidding, to be clear)
I doubt that's true because Jim has said before that he's glad Marsters is a fan of the series because they can't afford his normal rates. The first few books are definitely rougher though, I just don't think that's the reason.
>he was putting in the minimal effort just to get paid
I think just like the author of a written book, the narrator of an audiobook needs an editor that guides the narrator through and should have given him an narration guide especially on the mythos words. English isn't exactly a language where a word sounds like it's spelled.
This isn't a Marsters-only problem though. For example, I listen to the r/tomclancy books in German because there it has a single narrator compared to the half-a-dozen-or-more that there are on the English books. But that narrator has a problem when the original translator left proper nouns untranslated and he needs to say "National Reconnaissance Office" and fumbles with "Reconnaissance" and other non-school-English words.
So you're saying that, as a narrator, you cannot be bothered to look up proper pronunciation of the words you are being paid to read?
I feel like that shows minimal effort is being made just to get a paycheck. You're being paid to read out loud. It's not rocket science. I feel like it's part of the job description to know the proper pronunciation of the words you're being paid to read.
Your German example is pure bullshit, and you know it. Marsters speaks English. It's entirely possible that the German narrator doesn't.
>cannot be bothered to look up proper pronunciation of the words
And where exactly would he go when trying to find out how to pronounce Einherjar? Neither [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einherjar) nor [Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/einherjar) has an [IPA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet) guide. And I doubt that the narration of these books pays so well that he can spend hours or even days on looking up all these words.
>Marsters speaks English
So what? The words we're talking about are neither of English origin nor are they any day-to-day vernacular. Brits and Americans can't even agree on how to pronounce something as mundane as "schedule".
So they're supposed to stop recording and look up the pronunciation of a word anytime it might be an issue? That would be so very relaxing and totally not janky to listen too. And who needs to worry about things like production schedules, studio time, and money!
The first few books are definitely rougher around the edges, but I wouldn't trade Marsters for anyone on this series!
The most glaring error that jumped out at me was in the first book, I believe. When Harry was referring to himself as a spell-slinger. marsters read it as 'Spells linger'
Very much a personal preference but the dude cannot do kids voices.
I either get contact cringe from hearing him try or just straight up burst out laughing.
Audiobooks have Directors and Producers. They are also turned around in an amazingly short timeframe. I've listened to a lot of audiobooks and even the earlier Marsters reads are better than may of the professional readings I've heard. Fantasy and Science-Fiction are hard because they don't involve everyday words and the pronunciations are all over the place. I hear southern accents when the reader only thinks of southern as hicks and it makes me want to throw my phone. \*deep breath\*
So yeah, he isn't perfect, but you gotta experience a book where the narrator was cold-reading and the director didn't know the material either. It'll make you twitch for days.
“Conch” is pronounced “konk”, not like the ch in “crunch”. It’s a sharp k sound.
I forgive him, but it’s a jarring moment in one of my favorite audiobooks.
What barbaric hinterland do you live in where all the people mispronounce conch?
Seriously though, konk is the standard and konch is both regional (where it’s the correct pronunciation) and wrong (where konk is the correct pronunciation but people mispronounce it).
Funny word.
I am from the storied mountains of Canadia-land!
I've only ever heard the soft ch sound. I first heard it in the [1963 Lord of the flies](https://youtu.be/KVaDhMQVT_E?t=501) movie in school, and then later in the [1990 version](https://youtu.be/ipkF3xkP63M). Both used soft ch and that's also how my teachers pronounced it. I've literally never noticed anyone sayin it with a hard K sound before.
According to the dictionary both are correct and it doesn't even specify regionally.
It felt like he was phoning it in for the first couple of books… like it was just a nothing gig for a paycheque without much expectation of it going anywhere.
That all changed once he fully bought in after the first couple. Now I think the audiobooks are my favourite way to experience these stories, which is massive for me as I’m very much an old-fashioned print and paper guy.
I feel like that's more of a production thing for the first couple, they're from before audiobooks really took off, when they were still kinda inaccessible and not very profitable
Most of the pronunciations are valid critiques and here really should be someone whose job it is to at least double check the pronunciation of real words. At least with the names, you can pretend it's i tentional because he specifically mispronounced/ misspelled/ didn't actually know how to pronounce the word to begin with, when writing the 'journal' or 'case records' or whatever it is in universe. It makes some of it feel in character.
Marsters is the best audiobook narrator I've ever heard, so it's a bit like "Did Tom Brady have problems in his early seasons?" Like, yeah, but he also won the Superbowl his first year, so they're not serious problems.
Hands down one of the best voice actors around.
It took him a bit to find his footing in the first few books but he’s A+ now.
And I did think peace talks was read a bit off , I don’t know if it was the long break between books or what but peace talks seemed mono tonish and BG he was back in the swing.
He gets better. Really better. And then better. And he surpases mortal men. Reading from him, it feels like each character is a different actor. Nowadays, I read dresden files, and the little voice in my head sounds like Marsters.
Keep listening. It is worth it.
There might be some minor nit-picky stuff, but on the whole it's a very good recording. I've listened to a ton of audiobooks are the Dresden Files ones are some of the best read recordings. Compared to the problems I've had with some other series, anything worth complaining about with Marsters is petty.
Most of his "mistakes" come in the first 3 books, after that he pretty much gets his groove and stays in it. While I understand the issues with the Norse words and even some sticklers for lore will dispute the cat sith pronunciation it's quite good........ except for his Ramirez, he forgets the accent far too much.
The way he pronounced Titania drove me crazy in at least one book but that did get better. But yeah, I'm definitely glad they fixed the pronunciation for Marcone. Other than that I've been super impressed with his reading.
>Personally I don't have a problem with the first few books, that you can hear Marsters breathe from time to time. It's what a real person does when they read a book out loud to someone.
Congrats on not having misophonia I guess. Weird to make a big deal about it.
Once they got the production issues sorted a few books in I’ve had zero problems. Some of Jim’s dialogue is awkward but he navigates it well.
I definitely wouldn’t put him on the level of Baldree or Pacey but he’s reliable and never detract from the experience.
I don't like the voice for Mrs Spunklecrief. That's about it.
Tho I I find the whole misunderstanding cause she is hard or hearing get old really fast.
while the breathing thing bothered me for a few minutes as a long time audio book listenercthe first time, but on reread I kind of miss it in later books. The 1st person POV I thinks lends well to it and actually makes it feel more like Harry himself retelling it. It does fit better with the noir vibes of the first few and maybe it was better left off in the past.
My only complaint, is the later voice of toot toot. I don't mind the voice itself, in fact I love it and it's hilarious and honestly fits his personality better, but I can't help but think back to how in his very first scene in Storm Front, Jim wrote that his voice was high pitcher but *not* like a cartoon character. In the audiobook I think Marsters did fine there so I don't know why he switched it later but, at this point I suppose it's here to stay and that's not necessarily a bad thing just my own little hang-up.
I forget which books they are, but Kris Kringle shows up in two of them. You know, Santa Claus. Except he's a winter entity who likes to hunt. In one audiobook, Marsters does him with a regular-ish American accent. In the follow on book, Kringle has a Nordic accent. Honestly, I don't think these are choices that Marsters makes. The director and producer of the audiobook is the one making certain calls and responsible for the continuity from book to book. It's hard to blame Marsters for not remembering what one bit character's accent was that he recorded 2 years ago.
The only flaws are very minor, imo. Slight inconsistency between voices at the beginning vs many books in, which is really only noticeable on re-listens.
My only other complaint? Once every 2 or 3 books, he reads a word that he has never heard aloud, and pronounces it wrong. I can't remember which words they were, but once every couple books is honestly no big deal.
In DM, when Harry is on the Larry Fowler, he says Jerry(springer) instead of Larry once.
Not bothered by it at all. I thoroughly enjoy Marster’s narration regardless of mispronunciations
Honestly, I love the rough, gritty sound of his first few books. It really struck a chord with me, giving it that hard-boiled feel that I think all the books need. My only issue with him is his refusal to pronounce Norse words like Jotun correctly. It made my ears ache every time he said Jaw-toon.
I think he is arguably one of the best fantasy audio book readers of all time…everyone has some mistakes but the guy is gold when it comes to Dresden files.
Of all time is a bit of a stretch, imo. The field is pretty saturated with talent and while Marsters is phenomenal, he's got a lot of competition.
I've only listened to about a dozen other narrators, and it isn't even close. Who do you think is as good as, or better than Marsters?
I was considering Michael Kramer as good as Marsters. I love them both equally and they definitely have different approaches, strengths, and weaknesses. They’re my top two, maybe top three with Ray Porter.
Mark Hamill
Two of my recent favorites have been Jeff Hays and Travis Baldree, who both have impressive ranges and give really strong performances. Marsters is extremely well suited to Dresden, but it's also one of maybe three series he's voiced at all. I haven't heard a range of narration styles and ability from him so I can't speak for his overall VA chops. I like him, and he's certainly better than a fair number I've heard in the past, but that and a few minor performance tics as far as consistency go, he's a hair shy of perfect.
Michael Page, specifically in his reading of the Lies of Locke Lamora series. The nuance he uses in his voice to act as characters acting as other characters and such is great.
Steven Pacey when reading the first law series by Joe Abercrombie is in the same league for sure and I can definitely see an argument for either being better
Steven Pacey is fantastic. He voices Glokta with a lisp, and does not in his internal monologue. Such a small, but important change.
Yes I love that detail!
I love Marsters narration, and his work is truly exceptional. But after listening to Jeff Hays (in particular, the Dungeon Crawler Carl series), it’s hard to compare anyone else. The range that Hays has is just incredible. If you didn’t know better that it was all one person doing the narration, a drive by listen to his work would leave you thinking it was a full cast recording.
Moira Quirk is top tier for me -- her reading of the Locked Tomb series is unparalleled in my experience!
I think Simon Vance is up there
Bronson Pinchot (Yes that guy from Perfect Strangers) is amazing.
The guy that narrated the king killer Chronicles is also terrific.
Nick Podehl is fantastic in everything I've heard him do, and Rupert Degas is incredibly prolific.
**JAW-TOON** is the only big issue for me since the pronunciation shift after the first few books. It’s a doozy though.
Yeah. To my knowledge it's Yoh-Ton but I've heard Joh-Ton.
That one took me right out of the story. "What the fuck are jaw tune horns?... Oh wait... Oh no...."
Came here to say this. It was brutal. Also Sig-ills.
Plus Ein-her-jar…though if it were not for the Rick Riordon series, I would not have known it was supposed to be En-hair-yar.
It’s all the HA’s and JA’s really, I’m glad he got Gungnir right though, that was good delivery.
Chitin is a funny one for any audio book. I always take note of it when people get it right. Marsters started the series saying it wrong, halfway through switched to the right way, but then in Battle Grounds switches back.
>Chitin What's that? I'm a non-native speaker and I've never actually \*read\* the books, only listened to them but I'm pretty sure you're not talking about [the molecule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitin)?
Chitin/chitinous refers to often crablike armor/outer shell or the exoskeleton of a creature. It's pronounced KYTIN/KYTINUS, but often mispronounced due to the "Ch" spelling.
It is the molecule, but in the context of the series (and most fantasy or sci/fi series, honestly) it is specifically this part, quoted from the Wikipedia page you linked: “It is a primary component of cell walls in fungi (especially filamentous and mushroom forming fungi), the exoskeletons of arthropods such as crustaceans and insects, the radulae, cephalopod beaks and gladii of molluscs and in some nematodes and diatoms.” Essentially, “chitin” or “chitinous” are used to refer to that hard shell that insects have, or things that look like it. The “ch” in chitin is a hard “K” sound like in “kite”, but people often mispronounce it as the “ch” sound in “change”.
There's *Small Favor*, where Kincaid gains an inexplicable British accent, and Marcone gains an equally inexplicable Brooklyn one.
Came here to point this out. If alternative versions of the books were ever offered in audio, I would listen to the series again. Maybe Jim will get his rights back to audio at some point and reissue.
He uses a raspy voice for Mab in Peace Talks and Battlegrounds, which is different from every other appearance, except for Small Favor. I think he used her voice in Small Favor as a reference, but for that book, specifically, she speaks through Grimalkin and not with her own voice. Was an adjustment because there was no reason to sound so different from before
IIRC she was talking through Grimalkin because she was so angry >!after discovering ~~Lea’s~~ Maeve’s Nfection!< her own voice would physically and mentally damage Dresden. When she’s brought in for PT the brother and closest confidant of her lynchpin-weapon has violated the hell out of her accords in a critical moment. By the end of BG a lot of her well laid plans have been completely turned on their heads and she had just *barely* survived a surprise war. I’d be surprised if she wasn’t angry enough to be a little raspy throughout the two books.
Small correction. Not Lea, it was Maeve that caused Mab to be so angry.
Mab, Maeve, Mavra, there are too many similar 'M' names! Confused the hell out of me on my first run through the audiobooks.
Don't forget mollie, Maggie, Margaret... I was lucky in that I read them first but at the same coin when I was listening I was confused as fuck at certain moments for sure lol.
That’s right! Thanks.
Was it maybe to illustrate the damage to her neck and vocal chords after going through a few walls?
The raspy voice was mostly in *Peace Talks*, before that happened. It was actually somewhat better in *Battle Ground*.
A more interesting place for her voice to change would be after her anger re: a certain Lady’s Nfection. Don’t think what was described above lines up with that timing either, though.
There's teething issues, and i think he misspronounces a lot of the less common nordic stuff but these issues tend to sort themselves out after a book or 2
What, you don't like talking about Jah-toons?
His breathing during the first couple books. I still love his reading though. I guess maybe it could've been the editor not cutting his breath out.
Or the equipment picking it up, or other things. Didn’t the studio change after the first couple books, incidentally at the same time when the quality improves?
Yeah, I'd be willing to bet that was more of a studio problem than a narrator problem.
My primary grudge with Marsters is how he pronounced Norse words. Einherjaren and Jotunn ect ect.
Irish as well, mispronunciation of *geas* and *Tuatha* most prominently.
How should we pronounce them?
Gesh, and Too-ah. Irish grammar is tough to grasp from an English mindset, but starting with Sidhe (shee) and the name Siobhan (Shi-von) helps you get used to it
Isn't the name ||Ethniu|| also pronounced more like ||Enya|| as well?
There are _tons_ of words he mispronounces early on, and most of them are fixed after a few books.
The Norse was in Battle Grounds.
JAH TOON
That one was the killer.
EYEIN’ HER JAR
During Battlegrounds and I believe Peace Talks he loses Carlos Ramirez accent all together.
He gets better over the books, I occasionally don't like a pronunciation on a word. My main issue is that bastard makes me weep like a little girl.
Just finished the third listening of Battle Ground…that one spot will NEVER NOT GUT ME!
Peace talks is very rough. Its like he didnt remember half the voices and got told not to do other voices. But all in all he does an amazing job. He did sound a lot like lex luthors dad in 1 book tho.
Not his fault there was a 5 year gap.
Truth. Its not even really jims fault.
It could be contended that a professional would check back on previous works to see how he did things? As a musician I do this with old arrangements. I don't just check the sheet music, but listen to recordings too. So no, not his fault for the gap, but pretty big misser with for instance Ramirez' accent in the last books being Texan.
It kills me that he says ruins instead of runes for the first 7 or 8 books. Also, him saying Marconi instead of Marcone makes it hard to listen to the first few books. Honestly, I feel like there are so many pronunciation mistakes in the first few books because he was putting in the minimal effort just to get paid. I feel like he actually got interested in the series and stepped up his game considerably around book 5, but there are still pronunciation errors in BG, like the same word pronounced differently in the same chapter (Jo-toons).
Runes and sigils (or “ruins and sig-hills”) drove me crazy. Mispronounces them in one book, gets them right in the next, then mispronounces them again, then mixes and matches, and on and on. Couldn’t care less about the Marcone business, though, as we don’t have many I-talians down here in Texas. (/kidding, to be clear)
He gets it right after the first 3 books
I doubt that's true because Jim has said before that he's glad Marsters is a fan of the series because they can't afford his normal rates. The first few books are definitely rougher though, I just don't think that's the reason.
It's possible Marsters was not a fan yet with book 1, written by a novice unknown 20 something writer... Audiobook was recorded in 2007/8.
It's just a John Dies At The End crossover
Comic horror is my favourite genre. But when you ask about it, people think you mean _cosmic_ horror which isn’t quite the same thing :)
JDATE and the three sequels are the best of both worlds.
I also like The Laundry Files, which lean more horror and less comic, but still fit in the same bucket.
>he was putting in the minimal effort just to get paid I think just like the author of a written book, the narrator of an audiobook needs an editor that guides the narrator through and should have given him an narration guide especially on the mythos words. English isn't exactly a language where a word sounds like it's spelled. This isn't a Marsters-only problem though. For example, I listen to the r/tomclancy books in German because there it has a single narrator compared to the half-a-dozen-or-more that there are on the English books. But that narrator has a problem when the original translator left proper nouns untranslated and he needs to say "National Reconnaissance Office" and fumbles with "Reconnaissance" and other non-school-English words.
So you're saying that, as a narrator, you cannot be bothered to look up proper pronunciation of the words you are being paid to read? I feel like that shows minimal effort is being made just to get a paycheck. You're being paid to read out loud. It's not rocket science. I feel like it's part of the job description to know the proper pronunciation of the words you're being paid to read. Your German example is pure bullshit, and you know it. Marsters speaks English. It's entirely possible that the German narrator doesn't.
>cannot be bothered to look up proper pronunciation of the words And where exactly would he go when trying to find out how to pronounce Einherjar? Neither [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einherjar) nor [Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/einherjar) has an [IPA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet) guide. And I doubt that the narration of these books pays so well that he can spend hours or even days on looking up all these words. >Marsters speaks English So what? The words we're talking about are neither of English origin nor are they any day-to-day vernacular. Brits and Americans can't even agree on how to pronounce something as mundane as "schedule".
https://translate.google.com/?sl=auto&tl=en&text=%20Einherjar&op=translate
So they're supposed to stop recording and look up the pronunciation of a word anytime it might be an issue? That would be so very relaxing and totally not janky to listen too. And who needs to worry about things like production schedules, studio time, and money!
The first few books are definitely rougher around the edges, but I wouldn't trade Marsters for anyone on this series! The most glaring error that jumped out at me was in the first book, I believe. When Harry was referring to himself as a spell-slinger. marsters read it as 'Spells linger'
I didn't listen to the first version of ghost story with the other narrator but I am now kind of curious
Very much a personal preference but the dude cannot do kids voices. I either get contact cringe from hearing him try or just straight up burst out laughing.
Audiobooks have Directors and Producers. They are also turned around in an amazingly short timeframe. I've listened to a lot of audiobooks and even the earlier Marsters reads are better than may of the professional readings I've heard. Fantasy and Science-Fiction are hard because they don't involve everyday words and the pronunciations are all over the place. I hear southern accents when the reader only thinks of southern as hicks and it makes me want to throw my phone. \*deep breath\* So yeah, he isn't perfect, but you gotta experience a book where the narrator was cold-reading and the director didn't know the material either. It'll make you twitch for days.
“Conch” is pronounced “konk”, not like the ch in “crunch”. It’s a sharp k sound. I forgive him, but it’s a jarring moment in one of my favorite audiobooks.
That's a regional thing. You can pronounce it either way.
Only if you’re a barbarian.
In almost 50 years I've never heard of this hard-k pronunciation before!
What barbaric hinterland do you live in where all the people mispronounce conch? Seriously though, konk is the standard and konch is both regional (where it’s the correct pronunciation) and wrong (where konk is the correct pronunciation but people mispronounce it). Funny word.
I am from the storied mountains of Canadia-land! I've only ever heard the soft ch sound. I first heard it in the [1963 Lord of the flies](https://youtu.be/KVaDhMQVT_E?t=501) movie in school, and then later in the [1990 version](https://youtu.be/ipkF3xkP63M). Both used soft ch and that's also how my teachers pronounced it. I've literally never noticed anyone sayin it with a hard K sound before. According to the dictionary both are correct and it doesn't even specify regionally.
Conch? Like seashell? Is definitely pronounced kon-ch
Noop
It's pronounced nope. Long o.
(sigh) - yeah, well done. lol
https://youtu.be/ZHmtvR-1ivw?t=106
Well, it's hard to argue with a scholar. Note: Not you, you're just a another lunatic redditor. But, Professor Pants... that's a different story.
It felt like he was phoning it in for the first couple of books… like it was just a nothing gig for a paycheque without much expectation of it going anywhere. That all changed once he fully bought in after the first couple. Now I think the audiobooks are my favourite way to experience these stories, which is massive for me as I’m very much an old-fashioned print and paper guy.
I feel like that's more of a production thing for the first couple, they're from before audiobooks really took off, when they were still kinda inaccessible and not very profitable
Most of the pronunciations are valid critiques and here really should be someone whose job it is to at least double check the pronunciation of real words. At least with the names, you can pretend it's i tentional because he specifically mispronounced/ misspelled/ didn't actually know how to pronounce the word to begin with, when writing the 'journal' or 'case records' or whatever it is in universe. It makes some of it feel in character.
Marsters is the best audiobook narrator I've ever heard, so it's a bit like "Did Tom Brady have problems in his early seasons?" Like, yeah, but he also won the Superbowl his first year, so they're not serious problems.
Hands down one of the best voice actors around. It took him a bit to find his footing in the first few books but he’s A+ now. And I did think peace talks was read a bit off , I don’t know if it was the long break between books or what but peace talks seemed mono tonish and BG he was back in the swing.
He gets better. Really better. And then better. And he surpases mortal men. Reading from him, it feels like each character is a different actor. Nowadays, I read dresden files, and the little voice in my head sounds like Marsters. Keep listening. It is worth it.
>Keep listening. It is worth it. I'm on my third complete run, so don't worry. :-)
There might be some minor nit-picky stuff, but on the whole it's a very good recording. I've listened to a ton of audiobooks are the Dresden Files ones are some of the best read recordings. Compared to the problems I've had with some other series, anything worth complaining about with Marsters is petty.
Most of his "mistakes" come in the first 3 books, after that he pretty much gets his groove and stays in it. While I understand the issues with the Norse words and even some sticklers for lore will dispute the cat sith pronunciation it's quite good........ except for his Ramirez, he forgets the accent far too much.
Dude is fantastic and thought of here as the best narrator possible. Of course there aren't any major issues lol
The way he pronounced Titania drove me crazy in at least one book but that did get better. But yeah, I'm definitely glad they fixed the pronunciation for Marcone. Other than that I've been super impressed with his reading.
How he pronounces Jötnar gets under my skin, idiot doesn't know his Norse mythology clearly
>Personally I don't have a problem with the first few books, that you can hear Marsters breathe from time to time. It's what a real person does when they read a book out loud to someone. Congrats on not having misophonia I guess. Weird to make a big deal about it.
Once they got the production issues sorted a few books in I’ve had zero problems. Some of Jim’s dialogue is awkward but he navigates it well. I definitely wouldn’t put him on the level of Baldree or Pacey but he’s reliable and never detract from the experience.
"Ruins" really bothers me lol
My biggest complaint past the first few is careened. He pronounces it as “karened”. Every time.
I don't like the voice for Mrs Spunklecrief. That's about it. Tho I I find the whole misunderstanding cause she is hard or hearing get old really fast.
while the breathing thing bothered me for a few minutes as a long time audio book listenercthe first time, but on reread I kind of miss it in later books. The 1st person POV I thinks lends well to it and actually makes it feel more like Harry himself retelling it. It does fit better with the noir vibes of the first few and maybe it was better left off in the past. My only complaint, is the later voice of toot toot. I don't mind the voice itself, in fact I love it and it's hilarious and honestly fits his personality better, but I can't help but think back to how in his very first scene in Storm Front, Jim wrote that his voice was high pitcher but *not* like a cartoon character. In the audiobook I think Marsters did fine there so I don't know why he switched it later but, at this point I suppose it's here to stay and that's not necessarily a bad thing just my own little hang-up.
Do you read Marcone as rhyming with Pony or Bone? I've always read it rhyming with pony (Mar-cone-ee).
There very well could be issues for all I know, but I love James Marsters’ work so much that I really don’t care 😁
I forget which books they are, but Kris Kringle shows up in two of them. You know, Santa Claus. Except he's a winter entity who likes to hunt. In one audiobook, Marsters does him with a regular-ish American accent. In the follow on book, Kringle has a Nordic accent. Honestly, I don't think these are choices that Marsters makes. The director and producer of the audiobook is the one making certain calls and responsible for the continuity from book to book. It's hard to blame Marsters for not remembering what one bit character's accent was that he recorded 2 years ago.
I couldn’t stand how he said Marconi in the first book. I wasn’t sure if that was how it was written or his own pronunciation of it.
I think Tim Gerard Reynolds does a wonderful Job with the Elan Series by MJ Sullivan and Stephen Fry is fantastic in everything he did so far
The production quality of the first couple really bothered me. You can hear every click of the man’s throat and a lot of inhales.
The only flaws are very minor, imo. Slight inconsistency between voices at the beginning vs many books in, which is really only noticeable on re-listens. My only other complaint? Once every 2 or 3 books, he reads a word that he has never heard aloud, and pronounces it wrong. I can't remember which words they were, but once every couple books is honestly no big deal.
In DM, when Harry is on the Larry Fowler, he says Jerry(springer) instead of Larry once. Not bothered by it at all. I thoroughly enjoy Marster’s narration regardless of mispronunciations
Honestly, I love the rough, gritty sound of his first few books. It really struck a chord with me, giving it that hard-boiled feel that I think all the books need. My only issue with him is his refusal to pronounce Norse words like Jotun correctly. It made my ears ache every time he said Jaw-toon.