Random House Audio have listened to their concerns. The new edition of the audiobook will be available as a digital download from Audible (US, USA) this week, on Thursday, whilst a CD edition will follow in March 2012.
NEW YORK, NY (December 12, 2011)—Random House Audio announces today that it will release a new recording of George R.R. Martin’s A FEAST FOR CROWS, the fourth book in Martin’s bestselling series, A Song of Ice and Fire, narrated by fan favorite, Roy Dotrice.
Dotrice earned a passionate following from listeners and a Guinness World Record for his work on the series, creating 224 voices for the first book in the series, A GAME OF THRONES.
The new recording will be available December 15th, published by Random House Audio, and HarperAudio UK, and clocks in at 33 hours, 48 minutes long.
A U.S. & Canada CD edition will be published by Random House Audio in March 2012 to coincide with the second season premiere of the HBO series, “Game of Thrones,” which will feature Dotrice onscreen as Hallyne the pyromancer, chief of the Guild of Alchemists.
“Fans from all over the world requested a Roy Dotrice recording of A FEAST FOR CROWS,” says Amanda D’Acierno, Vice President and Publisher, Random House Audio. “We are so pleased to be working with HarperAudio in the UK to publish this edition for our listeners.”
The A Song of Ice and Fire series has more than 12 million of the five books in print, including more than 313,000 audio CDs and digital downloads. The series has developed a huge cult following, peaking this year with the release of A DANCE WITH DRAGONS and the premiere of the HBO TV adaptation.
40 comments:
That's fab, but he should re-record "A Dance with Dragons" too and give the characters the same voices they had in books 1-3. Is that petty? Probably....
Wonderful news. The GRRM fan base has been calling for this for many years. Probably since the first second people realised that Roy Dotrice had not recorded the original. Not everyone loves RDs reading style (or his "pirate-y" men and "old-hag" women) but personally he's my favourite audiobook reader. The only other reader in his league, and the only one I could possibly imagine being able to stand toe-to-toe with RD for any future ASOIAF recordings is Michael Page who narrated the two Scott Lynch books "The Lies of Locke Lamora" and "Red Seas Under Red Skies (Locke Lamora II). If you've never heard his narration style I can highly recommend those two books (and it also helps that the books themselves are darned good fantasy reads in themselves, and I am looking forward to book three early next year... possibly, maybe, eventually - considering the delays to the title so far. :D lol).
Anyways, cant wait to listen to A Feast for Crows being read by Roy Dotrice. I'll probably get it from audible this week if they have it. And I'll likely get the CD version too next year - hopefully they'll also have A Storm of Swords re-released on CD too by then, or at the same time, as only "Game of Thrones" and "Clash of Kings" are currently re-released on CD.
Happy Christmas to everyone who reads this blog - I hope that you treat yourselves by celebrating with a great big feast of... crows, of course! :D
Hi! I am new to A Song of Ice and Fire...and I'm in love! So, I read another of your posts the other day. It mentioned The Others. You wrote that they shouldn't be referred to as "Wight" walkers. I have seen it spelled that way in the books. Tell me what I'm missing here. Thanks
This is like the bizarro world. I enjoyed John Lee over Dotrice by a factor of 10! Well, it would hardly be the first time my tastes were not in line with the general consensus...
It is really annoying when the narrator is changed. Can we start a petition to get the person who did the first two Richard Morgan 'Kovac' novels (Altered Carbon, Woken Furies) to re-record the third. He was brilliant and then they replaced him with someone who pronounced the name of the main character differently... that ruined it for me.
I listened to both versions and Roy Avers is much better, especially for Sandor's or Tormund's voice
Michael Page is excellent, he also narrated Abercrombie's books
Davieboy, not petty, my thoughts exactly.
Shelley, the Others are never referred to as 'wight walkers' in the books. When the term is used, as it is a few times, it's always 'white walkers'.
The Others/White Walkers are a nonhuman species who use undead humans - wights - as their servants. Despite the similarity in name, they are separate types of creature.
Davieboy said...
That's fab, but he should re-record "A Dance with Dragons" too and give the characters the same voices they had in books 1-3. Is that petty? Probably....
I definitely agree. Somehow, he did not get them right.
I listened to both Roy Dotrice and Roy Avers and I MUCH prefer Roy Avers. Roy Avers sound MUCH better with all the female voices. Wish we could get Roy Avers in better quality and for all 5 books
Hooray!!! Roy Dotrice's voice acting is superb! A storyteller of the first rank! It would be wonderful if he could record all 7 of the books in the "Song of Ice and Fire" series.
I'm a fan of Roy Dotrice, I really am. But his reading of A Feast for Crows seems... sloppy.
I'm currently on Chapter 23 and Little Finger's voice has changed from his usual voice to the voice of Robert Baratheon. Which doesn't make ANY sense, as his voice was fine in previous chapters. I've noticed the voices of other characters fluctuating as well. UGH, and Arya's voice has an accent now and sounds like freaking Asha.
I really, really, REALLY want to like this, but, I find it difficult when the voices keep changing.
Mr Dotrice is a great narrator. I spend a great deal of time driveing alone for my work as a sales agent and have listened to over 500 audio books. I will now have to listen to " A Feast for crows " again.
I hope for Roy's sake (and all of us song of ice and fire fans) that GRRM can pick up the pace and get books 6 & 7 out while mr Dotrice is still with us and has the faculties to narrate them.
The only narrater i enjoyed more was Jim Dale. He narrated (don't laugh until you try them) the U.S. "Harry Potter" audio books and would be a wonderful replacement for Roy Dotrice if he is unable to finish the "asoiaf" series.
^
Above poster (and anyone else for that matter) needs to try the Harry Potter audio books narrated by Stephen Fry. Has to be the best audio books I've ever heard.
:)
Jim Dale was amazing in the Harry Potter books. Stephen Fry was sorely lacking.
Jim Dale was amazing in the Harry Potter series. Stephen Fry was sorely lacking
It's still not easy to enjoy FfC as I am acutely aware that the voices and certain pronunciations sound "wrong", even though Roy Dotrice is reading it.
At first I thought I must have the John Lee version, so I re-ordered the set. Turns out I did have the correct (Roy Dotrice) version, but Roy has changed the characters voices and now pronounces certain names and words differently.
Roy, if you re-record Feast for Crows using all the same voices you used in the first 3 SOIAF books, I will gladly re-purchase the audiobook.
Dance with Dragons also lacks the same voices and pronunciations as the first 3 books? That knowledge makes me not really look forward to starting that audiobook...
Is it too much to ask for a re-record for Feast for Crows AND Dance with Dragons using the same character voices and pronunciations as the first 3 books?
Yes, I'm 80% done listening to Dance with Dragons and Roy has changed the voices... again. Cersei Lannister has only had one chapter so far (thank goodness) and Roy has changed her voice to sound like a female version of Tyrion Lannister. Yuck.
Speaking of Tyrion, thankfully his voice has remained the same throughout all the books. The same can be said of Jon Snow.
Daenerys Targaryen is back to sounding like an Iron Born woman with that awful accent. The same can be said of Arya Stark. Melisandre (The Red Woman) sounds differently too, but I don't mind it so much. She's less "throaty" than in previous books.
Some other familiar voices that I'd rather not mention in case I spoil the plot for others have returned, so that's good news.
I think because Dance with Dragons is infinitely better than Feast for Crows, I'm enjoying this audio book so much more (even with the voice changes).
I will admit, I wish Roy was a little more constant with his character voices though. I really don't know why they fluctuate throughout the series.
For those wondering if they should even bother with the series, I say you should give it a try.
Give Roy Dotrice a break! He is 89, after all, and it was the fans who pestered for him to record it.
If anybody is to blame for voice changes it's the director.
Well said, Anonymous. It's difficult for viewers/listeners when a favorite actor ages and doesn't have the same abilities that he did when he was younger. But that's the way life works. I'm so glad to have him still on the project; he looked old when he did Amadeus, I can only imagine what it's like trying to do a project this large at 89. Thanks for your hard work, Roy!
I was so excited to begin my FfC audio book, until I heard John Lee narrate... he has to be the most over-dramatic, awful narrator I have EVER heard. I don't know how I will make it through another chapter of that crap. I can't wait to get the "Roy" version ASAP. Even if he's inconsistent it will be infinitely better.
If you listen to Roy Ayers reading there would be NO WAY that you would want to hear Roy Dotrice again.
The variety of Mr. Ayers impersonations are a thing of pure joy. I love his Arya and Tirion and there such great pacing in his reading.
I do hope that Mr. Martin would consider him as the reader for 6 and 7 because I could barely stomach Roy Dotrice.
Just now starting to listen to D of D and I have to say it bugs me to no end that the charachters voices are totally different in this one! Very distracting after listening to them back to back. I am too with Davie!!
I completely agree. I've just started listening to "A Feast for Crows" after listening to Dotrice narrate the first three books (wonderfully), but I can't believe Random House or whoever produced the audiobook has allowed it to feature different accents and pronunciations?! It's sooo distracting and I find myself getting annoyed instead of enjoying listening to the story. Arya sounds like an old hag. Really disappointing.
yeah, Varies and arias voice are making me mad
Many posters have it right. I love Dotrice as narrator, but the fact that the name pronunciations and voices swap around is frustrating, especially when the first three books had the same characterizations with no deviation. When Samwell's voice changes accents and inflection within the same sentence, and word pronunciations change in the same paragraph, it is very distracting.
While I was disappointed with all of the inconsistencies I don't feel Roy is to blame. It was years between the first three books and these new recordings. It is the producer and director's job to correct errors of the talent. The man is old and probably forgot or couldn't do it anymore. It's really not so bad after you get into the book.
Understanding that the amazing Roy Dotrice is 89 years old, blame falls to the director and production crews for their lazy approach to the recording of "Feast." Not only are the character voices completely different, but the pronunciation of Petyr Baelish's first name changes four or five times before it settles down to a pronunciation completely different than that of the first three books. I am offended by the fact that the producers of "Feast" thought so little of their "readers" that they did not bother to take the effort to correct this. The time lapse between recordings is no excuse. before entering the studio for "Feast" they should have at least listened to the first three books to refresh their memories.
Agree with the majority here. Arya is one of my favorite chars and the voice is ruined. I am considering just reading this one so her voice will match the first 3 books. Also- pronouncing the names different is inexcusable. The director should have caught all this. From Catlin to Katelyn..sigh
Arya's voice is terrible in A Feast for Crows. She sounds like Brienne/Asha/a Leprechaun. Pulls you right out of the story. Sam also sounds like he got hit on the head and speaks way too slowly. Couldn't Dotrice have listened to old clips before recording this? The voices in 1-3 were great. Heard Dany's voice in the 5th is also terrible so will not be purchasing.
I agree with Aceblade I’ve enjoyed the first 3 books read by Roy but this one is terrible. He has mispronounced so many of the character names and places. I can’t understand why. I know he recorded the first 3 book in quick succession so there has been a long gap between him recording the 3rd and 4th books but, to get so much wrong is unprofessional and really annoying. He has obviously recorded this as fast as possible without at least re listening to his own recorded of the 3rd book. I’m on the 10th chapter and he has mispronounced nearly every character name (except the ones that are impossible to mispronounce like Jamie) and quite a lot of the place names. The change in the accents of the characters is also really annoying. The only reason they got him to do this audio book is that people enjoyed his reading first 3 books so why change so much.
My son and I are currently listening to "A Dance With Feasts For Dragons and Crows" - - we imported both books into iTunes and re-numbered the tracks to reflect the "true" order that GRRM would have had them in, had he released the two books as one book as originally planned (we found the order on the internet - it's not GRRM approved, but it works). Roy Dotrice's pronunciation in both books is inferior to Books 1-2-3, and the Feast recording is noticeably inferior for all the reasons stated above - accent changes, name pronunciation changes, etc. Every time it annoys me, though, I think of this: the Roy Dotrice recording was done in response to fan requests, but the majority of audio book sales still would have happened when the hardcover book was first released - the publisher had to cut costs to bring out a special version for dedicated fans, and it appears they cut costs on having a director (or whomever's job it would have been to remind Roy every day what the earlier books sounded like). Given this, I am happy to have any Roy Dotrice recording at all.
Jim Dale is wonderful, though, and has hundred of *distinct* voices in the US version of the Harry Potter books (as opposed to Roy's approx. 12 voices that he uses for hundreds of characters). If I had my druthers, GRRM will have Jim Dale read all of the books when the series is complete.
I listened to the first 3 books A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings,A Storm of Swords with Roy Dotrice reading, I was never very impressed but his reading style, but his were the only versions I could find….
Then I heard A Feast for Crows with John Lee and I have to say the difference was shocking, John’s interpretation is so so much better, I never once questioned his characterizations, and his flow of narrative so much better suited the story. But unfortunately I have finished A Feast for Crows….
Now I really am not looking forward to going back to Roy Dotrice for A Dance with Dragons, his Am-Dram pirate interpretation of this series is possibly the worst audio-book I have ever heard, and I have heard many, at times its so bad that I burst out laughing, I’m sure that is not what the Author or Publisher envisaged when commissioning this series.
This is a massive world wide best selling series, do you at Random House actually think that Roy Dotrice's interpritation of these books is of a quality that that you are proud of?
PLEASE CAN WE HAVE THIS SERIES READ IN FULL BY JOHN LEE……
Lots of ppl love Roy Dotrice because of his work in book 1-3, but I think most have changed their mind after hearing his work in book 4-5. He changed too many of the characters voices and it was very disrupting. Either he should redo them all with the same voice or we get another reader to do them all. I suggest Roy Avers. John Lee is okay but his voice is too uppity (almost like he have his nose up high while reading it)
Thumbs up
Dotrice has a few other pronounciations that are like nails on a blackboard to me. He pronounces "lichen" (the symbiotic fungus/algae growth on rocks) as "litchen" all the time. Unless this is a Britishism, the way I've learned it throughout numerous science courses and naturalist walks is "liken", with a hard k sound and a long i. The other ones are his pronounciation of "southern" as "sutherin" or "southryn" and "northern" as "northerin". I haven't read the books, so don't know if this is the way the directions are actually spelled in good old Westeros, but I'd doubt it. And some of his voices are so blustery and hacking that I can't make out hardly any of the words. Overall, I'd listen to the entire series again with Jim Dale, who is superb with both the Tolkien and the Harry Potter series audiobooks, was hired to narrate them.
Reading AFFC now and the voice changes are driving me nuts!!! How is it possible that there was no sample to hear what the previous voices sounded like, so he could just replicate it? Arya and Danaerys are the worst. And Melisandre??? Her voice and the pronunciation of her name are different, along with Brienne and Petyr. I enjoy Roy Dotrice's narration but I don't get this. Hands down the best narration is Jim Dale with the Harry Potter books, even with that pesky "Voldemore/VoldemorT" change.
I love John lee's interpretation.
Jim Dales the Best. I personally think that Doltrice is very good in any book, but it is just unbelievable that this poor guy has no one to check his work against the first 3 books. I’m 5 or 6 chapters in and Arya and samwell are terrible!
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