A Despite Audiobook Review: The Name of the Star
Despite the first third of the book being a bit of a drag (a detailed coming of age with a romance I could have done without), the guy on the cover being all wrong, and the narrator's atrocious and inconsistent Southern accent, I liked The Name of the Star. The villain is scary enough, the stakes are high, the story is a bit haunting, the characters aren't bad, and the narrator's tone and pitch are quite good for Rory. Copycat Jack kept me on my toes.
Whippersnappers: Murder, mayhem, and snogging
Wind-up: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson is read by Nicola Barber and is 9 hours and 50 minutes long.
Audiobook rating: 3 stars. Narrator rating: 3 stars.
Review Copyright © of Tales of Whimsy.com
I'd have trouble getting past the bad Southern accent so I give you credit for doing that!
ReplyDeleteYah it was tough :)
DeleteWow, that is a lot to overcome and still enjoy an audio book! Kudos!
ReplyDeleteRight? :) Thanks.
DeleteI'm amazed you kept listening! I loved this one, but I hate that cover (so glad they've changed it for the paperback), and I did read it in hardcover, so I didn't have to deal with the narrator, etc.
ReplyDeleteI gave this to a friend who is into thrillers but doesn't like anything paranormal or fantastical, and she LOVED IT. Enough tension/horror that it works, I guess!
Agreed. A much better cover.
DeleteOh right on! It did have good tension. :)
The cover looks creepy and cool. Made me thing of The Phantom of the Opera...sort of. lol I like the girl in the shot at least. Her dress and make up are cool! :))
ReplyDeleteAnd now...I feel like reading the actual book! :)))
p.s. Btw, this is Alejandra, from Musings in Red. I've split my old blog into two... which I believe I already told you, but this is my book blog that I only just started. Anywho...hope that isn't confusing! XD
I reallly liked the cover too :)
DeleteBut the dude in the book is like SO much older than this guy.
The cover makes you think Jack is all young and alluring.
Good call :)
Oh hey girl! Thanks for the note. The change in name threw me off. :)
Glad you liked this even though the beginning dragged. I have it on my bookshelf and have been meaning to read it for aaages.
ReplyDeleteI thought you were going to give it a poor rating after I read the first couple of sentences in this post. hahaha Glad you liked it! I need to try audiobooks.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.averysweetblog.com/
Right? :) Hence the despite.
DeleteI keep seeing this one at the Ollie's. I winder if it will be better as an actual read. Sounds intriguing.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking so :)
DeleteOh, so glad you like it. I think I'll remember to get this one on audio, not e-book, now. BTW what's snogging?
ReplyDeleteRight on :) Snogging is kissing.
DeleteSince the story takes place in England, I couldn't resist ;)
Snogging is "kissing' huh? That makes me laugh what a funny word for kissing...."snogging".
DeleteIsn't it? It's total slang but I've loved it and gotten a kick out of it every since I first heard it. I could not pass a chance to use it.
DeleteIsn't this the same author who did the little blur envelopes? Too bad this one wasn't as good.
ReplyDeleteIt is :) Good catch! :)
DeleteThe cover looks familiar to me....sorry the audio version was kinda meh. The overall story sounds interesting though :)
ReplyDeleteIt is a cool concept :) You might like it!
DeleteIf ever I'll pick this book up, I'll go for the paperback instead of the audio format.
ReplyDeleteYay : )
DeleteI read this book in print and really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteRight on :) Did you find the beginning slow?
DeleteSee now THIS is why I don't do audio books. The narrator in my head would be SCREAMING at me if the voice I'm listening to didn't match what it believed it should sound like. All in all, still sounds like one for the wish list. Thanks for sharing! ^_^
ReplyDeleteI feel ya. Her voice wasn't bad she was just really bad at Southern accents. I totally understand though not doing audios. But when they're good they are SO good.
DeleteI loved this book! I think the guy on the cover is Jack. Also you know how I feel about bad narrators so I wonder if the book would have been better read it. How do you feel about the paperback cover?
ReplyDeleteAwww like the original Jack?
DeleteOK
I never thought of it that way.
I'm thinking it's probably a better read too :)
I like the paperback cover. I think if I had to choose, I would stay with the age/vibe of this one but redo it.
This is why I cannot lsten to a book!
ReplyDeleteI feel ya :) but as I was telling GMR, when they're good - they're SOOO good.
DeleteLsten = listen
ReplyDeleteThe narrator's atrocious and inconsistent Southern accent? Wow, good think I opted for the eBook. I agree about the villlain, I wasn't sure how it would end. I'm definitely intrigued enough to read the sequel. And yeah, the cover is all wrong.
ReplyDeleteYes definitely.
DeleteRight? I liked that it could end either way.
I'm glad you enjoyed it despite the annoyances. It's like that sometime. There is nothing wrong with an okay book.
ReplyDeleteAmen! Well said Alexis.
DeleteWell, there's a lot there to dislike... but the point is that you enjoyed it overall! I really hate inconsistent accents so I think I'll opt to read this one, rather than listen. Thanks for the review, Juju!!
ReplyDeleteGood call :) Thanks for stopping by sweetie.
DeleteI've seen a lot of mixed reviews for this one. Glad you were able to still enjoy it despite it's shortcomings!
ReplyDeleteOh really? You make me want to look up some reviews. :)
DeleteI probably would have given up on the audio so I give you kudos for sticking it out :)
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
DeleteThis one has been on my TBR list for awhile!!
ReplyDeleteThis was on my wishlist but reviews are all over the place. You are like me, I read till the end. New follower thanks to our lovely friend Felicia @GeekyBlogger
ReplyDeleteYay! Thank you! I heart Felicia.
DeleteAlright so this is a book that I can't like to, thanks for the head's up. What's wrong with the guy on the cover???
ReplyDeleteThe guy in the book is older and bald. This guy's all cute and young.
DeleteOOOH, that turns me right off when the narrator is bad or has a cheesy accent. When I do finally get around to this book, I'll be sure to read it, and avoid the audiobook!
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Juju!
Good call :) Thanks Becky!
DeleteI read this one in print and LOVED it. I don't know if I would have even considered it in audio. I'm not certain they would get the atmosphere right, and THE NAME OF THE STAR is all about the atmosphere. That sucks that the narrator couldn't even get the accent right. That seems like a huge mistake for an audiobook narrator. Are you going to continue with the series but in print?
ReplyDeleteOh right on :)
DeleteI liked the atmosphere actually.
That was part of what kept me going.
Excellent point.
Very good question.
Maybe I should try the next in print and see if I like it better.
Is there any word on a release?
Aww, this book had such promise!
ReplyDeleteLauren
http://lrjohnson13.blogspot.com
Hi Lauren! Nice to meet you. Thanks for coming by. Don't let my review turn you off. Many have liked it.
DeleteYeah, audiobooks with weird accents or voices turn me off. I just stopped listening to one b/c the narrator used this strange, high-pitched baby voice for one of the adult characters
ReplyDeleteBut I did like the print version of this and I'm reading the sequel!
Ooo which one?
DeleteOh goodness, if the accent is really bad, it's probably something I should think about reading the print copy of, if I read it. That would drive me nuts!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. But I think people who aren't familiar with Southern accents probably wouldn't mind. :)
DeleteI smiled at your review of this one. :0) I totally could've done without the romance too, but agree that the rest was fun and intriguing! And now I'm glad I read it rather than audio-ed it since I'm with you that the atmosphere was such a big part of the enjoyment! Although...I have to say...hmm, how should I put this? Um, I ended up really wishing there wasn't anything paranormal in it. Like...I think I kept wanting it to be real and explainable because it would've made it THAT much creepier, you know? All in all though, a thoroughly fun book!
ReplyDelete:0)
Oh yah you're right. That would have been much creepier. I hadn't thought of that but you make an excellent point.
DeleteCopycat Jack. Can't believe I had not heard of this before. I have read books by her but they were contemporary YA. This sounds intense. Thanks for sharing. Love how honest your reviews are!
ReplyDeleteAwww thank you :) A fantastic compliment that made my day.
DeleteI just did a search for blog reviews of Name of the Stars Audiobook and yours came up first. I'm on disk 4 right now and about to switch out to reading with my ears. I totally agree with you about the atrocious southern accent, but additionally, why is she reading the first-person narrative without it? After all, Rory's telling the story. Why is she switching accents? Granted, I don't want to hear the whole book with that awful accent, but still - consistency!
ReplyDeleteSecond, the narrator is breathy. I don't like hearing them breath.
Third, obnoxiously long pauses between chapters.
Fourth, and most egregious in my book and this is the producer's fault: out of order tracks on disc 4, in the scenes at the London Museum.
Part of my wants to ditch it and just read with my eyes. But part of me wants to catalog all that is awful about this production.
Too bad.
brenda (proseandkahn)
Hi Brenda! Welcome welcome. :) I'm so glad you popped by.
DeleteYes! I noticed that too!
It was quite inconsistent.
I don't mind breathy but I can totally understand how that's tough for some.
There's tracks out of order? Whoa. Did you listen to the CD? I got mine on Audible so I didn't have that issue. But that sounds terrible. Did it happen when you ripped it maybe?
Good luck! I hope reading it works better.
I'm thinking if I continue with the series, I will definitely be reading it instead.
So glad you commented. :) Hope to see you again.
Hey! Thanks! I didn't rip the cds! I am listening in my car and actually replayed the tracks to make sure I didn't inadvertently skip or zone out. I didn't as evidenced by the placement of the missing section a track or two later.
DeleteCrazy! I hear you about giving breathy a pass, though I'm cranky now and getting nit-picky. haha.
brenda
Ooo that is sooo wrong. Blows me away.
DeleteHa I feel ya. If the narrator is good I can handle breathy but sometimes it's just too much.
:)
Oops. breathe. Sorry!
ReplyDeletebk