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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Audio CD)
by thehonesttruth
I'm a massive fan of Harry Potter. I've read all the books so much they've started to fall apart, watched all the films, and over the last few years have managed to collect all the audio book versions (I never intended to, initially I purchased the first one for my mum, but couldn't resist a sneaky listen, and got ... hooked!)
Potter fans will know, of course, that Prisoner of Azkhaban is the third book in the series. Harry is about to start his third year at Hogwarts - that is, of course, if he get's there in one piece. A disastrous visit from an unlike-able relative has resulted in smashed sherry glasses, one fat auntie floating over the house like a dirigible, and Harry, knowing that magic is forbidden by minors and his wand will be taken away, leaving the Dursleys home, and expecting a warning letter from the ministry of magic to find him any minute.
However, the ministry of magic have bigger things on their mind at the moment - a prisoner has escaped from the wizard prison Azkhaban - a murderer whom everyone seems to think is coming for Harry. He should be safe at Hogwarts, but with the Dementors sucking the joy out of the place, and Snape acting suspiciously again, will Harry be able to survive the year?
Stephen Fry is the perfect narrator for these tales, with a mellifluous voice that is relaxing and calming, yet still able to command ones full attention. His clever use of pitch and tone make it easy to know from which characters perspective he is speaking, and by adjusting the speed of speech and adding in well timed dramatic pauses and gasps, he manages to convey tense and dramatic situations extremely well.
As for the storyline itself, I do think this is perhaps the strongest so far. Not only is there generally a darker and more gloomy atmosphere, what with the threat of being murdered and the dementors hanging about, but there is also much more emotion than in the previous two books, with Harry very much coming into his own as an angry teenager. We get to learn more about his parents. in particular his father and his friendships, and more about what makes him the way he is.
There are of course new characters to enjoy - Sirius Black, the escapee is one of course, and there is, naturally, a new Defence against Dark Arts teacher, professor Lupin, who is hiding a secret of his own.
This is a 10 cd set, in total 12 hours and five minutes of listening. I do find is surprising that they are so long, as I do read this book in around 3 hours, perhaps I'm a very fast reader! But you certainly do get your moneys worth I feel, with the set costing £25.20.
Overall, I do think these are a fantastic set of audio book cds, and well worth the money. I do however feel that the CD format is perhaps coming to the end of it's life though, and wish there were perhaps a downloadable MP3 version.
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Lord of the Rings (Audio CD)
by CallMeRalph
When it comes to the ultimate in fantasy literature, there is only one book that springs to mind in my opinion. The Lord Of The Rings was the first fantasy series I ever read when I was sixteen. From then on I have been a massive fan of Tolkien and also various other fantasy writers. To be honest I rarely read anything in any other ... genre. Since reading the books around fifteen years ago we have also had Peter Jackson's epic trilogy of movies which although not quite true to the books, were still a staggering achievement and I've seen the movies countless times. For me though the books are where the real magic is. I've read them twice and for something a little different I've also listened to the audio CD's.
Listening to audio books is not something I tend to make a habit of, I much prefer to sit down and actually read a book. However, I thought this was a chance to enjoy Tolkien's masterpiece from a different perspective, so listen I did. It's of note that this review is actually for the CD's, in total there are a massive 46 CD's in this collection and the price is certainly not cheap, you are looking at paying something like £70 for the entire collection. These days I would of course recommend getting the digital versions of the book, much cheaper and much easier to handle. The reality is though that these three books are very long and drawn out, so it's going to take you weeks to listen to the whole thing.
The version of this I listened to is read by Rob Inglis. I like Rob's voice as it reminds me of an old English gentleman, just right for Tolkien. His voice is easy to understand and his pronunciation of words sounds very accurate. He does not have one of those voices that will send you to sleep, he alters his pitch and pace very well and puts proper emphasis on words that he should. You can tell he is enjoying the story and he is reading it. I have heard other people read Tolkien and there are probably voices that I do slightly prefer, but this one was more than good enough and you soon forget about the reader and just concentrate on the story in question.
So what about that story? Well nowadays with the movies having all comes out it is a very well known story indeed, but if you are unfamiliar with the LOTR here is a brief overview. The story is split into three separate books, first is The Fellowship Of The Ring, then comes The Two Towers and finally we have The Return of The King. The story starts in a small corner of Middle Earth known as the Shire. Here we are introduced to Hobbits and more importantly, Frodo Baggins. Frodo is an unassuming character who lives a quiet life, all that suddenly changes though when he inherits his uncle Bilbo's magic ring.
It turns out that this ring is the most powerful of rings in all of Middle Earth and it has the power to turn all the world to darkness. The Dark Lord himself, Sauron, is searching for this ring and he will stop at nothing to find it. So now Frodo with the help of some new friends must travel across Middle Earth to the slopes of Mount Doom where he can destroy the ring and put an end to the evil of Sauron.
The book moves a long at a swift pace and although it starts out much like a fairytale, it soon becomes a lot more involved and far darker. There are various subplots going on all the time and the story jumps from one to another as we follow different lines of story. Tolkien has an incredible way of knitting all these lines together though and you never feel lost in the story. It sucks you in and gets you involved, you soon find yourself identifying with each of the characters and almost developing a relationship with them.
One of Tolkien's greatest skill is simple yet descriptive language. He has a way of conveying his vision onto paper that few writers have ever been able to match. Along with that his charming use of the English language really is spellbinding and keeps the reader enthralled hour after hour. The way we see the main characters develop throughout the story also impresses and again Tolkien has a knack for this that few others have matched.
When you see the Lord Of The Rings movies you can't help but be impressed by the scale of the whole thing. But in reality the books are actually far more impressive, there are major sections that Peter Jackson left out of the film, for instance the charming character Tom Bombadill who makes an appearance early in The Fellowship Of The Ring. He takes up a good few chapters and although not really integral to the story, he was a surprise omission in the films.
I've read the books a few times, I have seen the movies countless times and now I have listened to the story as well. For me personally nothing matches sitting down and reading the books. The audio CD's are very good and I found that sticking them on in the car sometimes was really good fun and I enjoyed listening along, but somehow I didn't enjoy this as much as reading the words on paper. Rob Inglis certainly does a very good job of the reading but I think if you were considering buying the set for £70 or whatever it is, then I would recommend looking for the digital version or just saving yourself some money and buying the actual books.
Reading The Lord Of The Rings back when I was sixteen really did make a massive impression on me. It really defined my taste in literature and got me involved in the world of fantasy fiction. Since Tolkien really brought the genre to the masses many other writers have tried to match his success. There are some truly great fantasy writers out there, but for me, none of them have ever matched Tolkien's masterpiece, The Lord Of The Rings.
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Audio CD)
by Schlubalybub
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third installment of the series, is by far my favourite story of the seven. I read this book before any of the others, and it was also the first Harry Potter audiobook I heard.
Again, Harry is plunged into danger alongside his usual schoolwork (which is also pretty dangerous), ... with the well-known murderer, Sirius Black, on the loose and after him. Told, as the other books are, from Harry's point of view, you go on a journey with Harry to discover what really happened that caused his parents to be killed, and again Stephen Fry takes you on this journey in a way that makes the story really come alive. Mr Fry's voice helps you to understand the danger and worry that Harry is going through, and expresses the story in a beautiful way.
The audiobook is a fantastic addition to the collection of any Harry Potter fan, and I think that every fan should listen to this (possibly while reading along) at least once, to make the story feel more real, and it can also help to find things that you might have missed, especially during a re-read when you already know the story.
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