Review by artemis822 -- Audiobooks.com Book of your Choice
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artemis822
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Review by artemis822 -- Audiobooks.com Book of your Choice
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Audiobooks.com Book of your Choice" by Audiobooks.]
3 out of 4 stars
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It was my pleasure to experience How to Train Your Dragon, the first book in the How to Train Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell, as an audio book narrated by David Tennant. Having seen the movies based off the books, and the TV series that accompany, I was inclined to check out the source material from which it came. As an avid reader, the transition from one media version to another often catches my interest, and having run into too many adaptations that fall flat, making me critical of how the two compare. To my joy, that was not a disappointment.
In his Scottish brogue, Tennant unfolds the tale of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the son of the Chief of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe of Vikings as he prepares for his initiation test into the tribe. As these are Vikings, proving yourself a courageous hero involves the catching and training of a dragon. The interaction of Toothless, the dragon that Hiccup snares during the first disastrous task in the Vikings’ initiation test, and Hiccup varies from the movie story line, though that could be partly down to the fact that in the text, the dragons can speak, and have their own language. What has not changed is Hiccup’s cleverness, and thus his singular ability to understand and speak with the dragons. Something else that remains unchanged is the proof of Toothless’ loyalty to Hiccup by the end of the book.
I give this book 3 out of 4 stars, and plan on acquiring the book series to give to my younger nieces and nephews. I liked the greater depth of the exploration of the characters, the attention to details in the story, and the author’s ability to in the reader, plopping them down in the thick of it with Hiccup as he struggles through the story. The voice of the Tenth Doctor didn’t hurt, either. What I didn’t like was the dragon statistics on the classifications in parts of the story. They were distracting and they felt clunky to listen to in the middle of a scene. The information would be best gathered to either the back of the book to reference or as a separate volume similar to what was done with the Harry Potter series textbooks. The most appeal of these books would be held by the lower end of the Middle Grade reader upwards to Young Adults. The story is fun, fast-paced and adventurous, whetting the appetite for more. It could appeal to the parents that have already seen the movies, but some might balk at the violence that gets implied by the dragons’ and their conversations about their own natures.
I obtained the audio book through the Audiobooks dot com service. Signing up was simple, with the ability to register with a social media account. There was some slight disappointment that the first couple of titles, that I was of a mind to listen to, weren’t available. I’ve never bought audio books before, so I wanted to have something familiar, that would also keep my attention for a while, but that didn’t go overly long. There was also the need to have a familiar voice in my ear telling a story. Picking a book, I’d had some acquaintance with prior that I had not actually read, with a narrator that I knew, was the compromise. The sound quality was good, the music matched the story being told, with clear indicators of when chapters began and ended. I give the Audiobooks dot com service 3 out of 4 stars. It did well for selection and having a plethora of titles, however it couldn’t match up with Audible because the books in particular I was looking for were a little older, and weren’t carried.
I liked the story, and I liked the format, but neither was my first choice. I could be interested in listening to more audio books, despite being a more visually inclined reader. The service had the recent titles, and that might be what people usually look for, but that wasn’t what I was inclined towards. Also, I lack a lot an association of the classic titles that I have been disinclined to read, and I’m not sure I have the endurance to listen to. Overall, I would recommend both the book and the service to someone else.
******
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3 out of 4 stars
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It was my pleasure to experience How to Train Your Dragon, the first book in the How to Train Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell, as an audio book narrated by David Tennant. Having seen the movies based off the books, and the TV series that accompany, I was inclined to check out the source material from which it came. As an avid reader, the transition from one media version to another often catches my interest, and having run into too many adaptations that fall flat, making me critical of how the two compare. To my joy, that was not a disappointment.
In his Scottish brogue, Tennant unfolds the tale of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the son of the Chief of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe of Vikings as he prepares for his initiation test into the tribe. As these are Vikings, proving yourself a courageous hero involves the catching and training of a dragon. The interaction of Toothless, the dragon that Hiccup snares during the first disastrous task in the Vikings’ initiation test, and Hiccup varies from the movie story line, though that could be partly down to the fact that in the text, the dragons can speak, and have their own language. What has not changed is Hiccup’s cleverness, and thus his singular ability to understand and speak with the dragons. Something else that remains unchanged is the proof of Toothless’ loyalty to Hiccup by the end of the book.
I give this book 3 out of 4 stars, and plan on acquiring the book series to give to my younger nieces and nephews. I liked the greater depth of the exploration of the characters, the attention to details in the story, and the author’s ability to in the reader, plopping them down in the thick of it with Hiccup as he struggles through the story. The voice of the Tenth Doctor didn’t hurt, either. What I didn’t like was the dragon statistics on the classifications in parts of the story. They were distracting and they felt clunky to listen to in the middle of a scene. The information would be best gathered to either the back of the book to reference or as a separate volume similar to what was done with the Harry Potter series textbooks. The most appeal of these books would be held by the lower end of the Middle Grade reader upwards to Young Adults. The story is fun, fast-paced and adventurous, whetting the appetite for more. It could appeal to the parents that have already seen the movies, but some might balk at the violence that gets implied by the dragons’ and their conversations about their own natures.
I obtained the audio book through the Audiobooks dot com service. Signing up was simple, with the ability to register with a social media account. There was some slight disappointment that the first couple of titles, that I was of a mind to listen to, weren’t available. I’ve never bought audio books before, so I wanted to have something familiar, that would also keep my attention for a while, but that didn’t go overly long. There was also the need to have a familiar voice in my ear telling a story. Picking a book, I’d had some acquaintance with prior that I had not actually read, with a narrator that I knew, was the compromise. The sound quality was good, the music matched the story being told, with clear indicators of when chapters began and ended. I give the Audiobooks dot com service 3 out of 4 stars. It did well for selection and having a plethora of titles, however it couldn’t match up with Audible because the books in particular I was looking for were a little older, and weren’t carried.
I liked the story, and I liked the format, but neither was my first choice. I could be interested in listening to more audio books, despite being a more visually inclined reader. The service had the recent titles, and that might be what people usually look for, but that wasn’t what I was inclined towards. Also, I lack a lot an association of the classic titles that I have been disinclined to read, and I’m not sure I have the endurance to listen to. Overall, I would recommend both the book and the service to someone else.
******
Audiobooks.com Book of your Choice
Audiobooks Free Trial
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Latest Review: The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci by Belle Ami
