Narrator Ratings

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by sun surfer

I've updated the first post with a prototype list of ratings.

Do any of you want to give a number rating to any of these? You don't have to, but if you do I'll add the ratings to the list.

As I don't like 1-5, I'm going with 1-10 and please do not try to translate that to 1-5 as that's inaccurate. I'm going with a rating of 9 out of 10. This is not the same as 5 out of 5 or 4 out of 5.

[JSWolf]

Another audiobook I really enjoyed was Ender's Game Alive by Orson Scott Card. It's a full cast production. Excellent.

Ender's Game Alive is performed by Kirby Heyborne, Stefan Rudnicki, Theodore Bikel, Scott Brick, Samantha Eggar, Harlan Ellison, Susan Hanfield, Roxanne Hernandez, Janis Ian, Rex Linn, Richard McGonagle, Jim Meskimen, Emily Rankin, John Rubinstein, Christian Rummel, and a full cast. Directed by Gabrielle de Cuir

I'll give this one a 10 out of 10.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

As I don't like 1-5, I'm going with 1-10 and please do not try to translate that to 1-5 as that's inaccurate. I'm going with a rating of 9 out of 10. This is not the same as 5 out of 5 or 4 out of 5.

I'm scratching my head over this. This means your ratings, or at least your odd-numbered ratings, can't be counted in any aggregates. Why, Jon, why? Is rounding error so very important to you that not rating is better than boosting or bashing a favored or unfavored narrator?

It seems to me that not only will there always be some rounding, some just tend to rate higher or lower across the board; my three could be another's four, for example. (I state this because my three rating at Goodreads is pretty broad, but so be it.) I'll also state categorically that 1-10 starts to get absurd. It's far too granular for this kind of thing; it implies an accuracy that doesn't exist.

[issybird]

I'll have to give Lecat a four. One narration is too much for a five, even though it was standout for me.

[CRussel]

Male Narrators:

1. David Case (aka, Frederick Davidson) - 5 stars.
2. Patrick Tull - 5 Stars. (Patrick O'Brian books, for one)
3. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith - 5 stars. For the Ben Aaronovitch books
4. Simon Vance - 5 stars, mostly because of the breadth of his work. Any individual one might be 4 stars.
5. Kevin T. Collins - 3 stars. He's not consistently good, but only very occasionally bad.
6. Robert Ian Mackenzie - 4 stars.
7. Victor Bevine - 4 stars
8. Michael Jayston - 4 stars (Alexander Kent books)
9. Grover Gardner - 4 stars. (Lots of SF/F. Solid narrations.)
10. William Dufris - 4 stars (Fantasy, especially L. E. Modesitt Imager series)
11. Jonathon Cecil - 5 stars (Wodehouse)
12. Daniel Thomas May - 4 stars (Cherryh's Foreigner series)
    
    

Female Narrators:

1. Wanda McCaddon (aka Donada Peters, Nadia May) - 5 stars
2. Marguerite Gavin - a solid 4 stars. (or Jon's 9/10) - for all the Dana Stabenow books
3. Ulli Birvé - 1 star. HORRIBLE. (Georgette Heyer Mysteries)
4. Phyllida Nash - 4 stars. (Georgette Heyer Regencies)
5. Barbara Rosenblatt - 5 stars.
6. Grace Lee Kung - 3 stars (Ava Lee series. so-so on the English, excellent on the Chinese)
   

ETA: Just a warning that as I've indicated with a couple of authors, many have multiple narration identities. So issybird likes Frederick Davidson, whereas I first met him as David Case. (Real name is David Frederick Case, he also narrated as Edward Raleigh). I usually call Wanda McCaddon "Donada Peters" because that's the first name I encountered her as. But she also narrated as Nadia May

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I went through the Rivers of London series this summer and liked it, but didn't think about the audiobooks. I'll give it a try.

FWIW, I found Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's narrations absolutely brought the books alive. He IS the voice of Peter Grant, and he does a superb job with this series.

[issybird]

While it's more fun to diss the bad'uns, it's probably more useful to focus on the good at first, so I'll add three four-star narrators: Juliet Stevenson, Campbell Scott, Bronson Pinchot.

Pinchot is another for the actor files; he's an excellent narrator. Scott doesn't have a big audiography so I haven't listened to him as much as I'd like. There's an actor connection as he's the son of George C.

[sun surfer]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

As I don't like 1-5, I'm going with 1-10 and please do not try to translate that to 1-5 as that's inaccurate. I'm going with a rating of 9 out of 10. This is not the same as 5 out of 5 or 4 out of 5.

Of course I won't include your rating in the 1-5 system if you don't want. However, what if I include it as 4.5?

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I'll give this one a 10 out of 10.

And this one as a 5?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by issybird

I'm scratching my head over this. This means your ratings, or at least your odd-numbered ratings, can't be counted in any aggregates. Why, Jon, why? Is rounding error so very important to you that not rating is better than boosting or bashing a favored or unfavored narrator?

It seems to me that not only will there always be some rounding, some just tend to rate higher or lower across the board; my three could be another's four, for example. (I state this because my three rating at Goodreads is pretty broad, but so be it.) I'll also state categorically that 1-10 starts to get absurd. It's far too granular for this kind of thing; it implies an accuracy that doesn't exist.

Thing is, I've always found a rating of 5 to be too small and too inaccurate. It would be best if this was changed to 10 from 5. Think of it like judging a sports meet like gymnastics. That's not done on a 5 point rating.

[JSWolf]

My problems is I don't know the name of most of the narrators I've listened to.

[sun surfer]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Grace Lee Kung - 3 stars (Ava Lee series. so-so on the English, excellent on the Chinese)

I think you meant Grace Lynn Kung?

[sun surfer]

Originally Posted by CRussel

ETA: Just a warning that as I've indicated with a couple of authors, many have multiple narration identities. So issybird likes Frederick Davidson, whereas I first met him as David Case. (Real name is David Frederick Case, he also narrated as Edward Raleigh). I usually call Wanda McCaddon "Donada Peters" because that's the first name I encountered her as. But she also narrated as Nadia May

Good points. So far I'm making one main entry for cases like this and pointing the alternates to that entry. As for choosing which to be main, I guess if I look them up I'll try to go with the one that seems their most-used or most-known name, but otherwise (and what I've done so far is) I'll probably just go with the name used by whoever posted first, or the name mostly used here if it tilts that way.

If anyone thinks the main entry for an aka narrator should be different from the one listed then just let me know and we'll work it out!

[sun surfer]

Originally Posted by silverraven

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith narrates the Rivers of London Series by Ben Aaronovich. He is really good! Great series but he makes it even better.
Jane McDowell narrates the Ruth Galloway Series by Elly Griffiths. I really like her doing this series.
Those are two narrators I really like that I can think of right off the top of my head.
S

Did you want to give a rating to these? You don't have to but if you do I'll include them.

[sun surfer]

Originally Posted by issybird

It seems to me that not only will there always be some rounding, some just tend to rate higher or lower across the board; my three could be another's four, for example. (I state this because my three rating at Goodreads is pretty broad, but so be it.) I'll also state categorically that 1-10 starts to get absurd. It's far too granular for this kind of thing; it implies an accuracy that doesn't exist.

Yes, I agree, and especially on the broad three at Goodreads. I'm usually good at choosing books I'll like so it's rarer I'll rate something a two and extremely rare I rate something a one, and then I save fives for something that I love and is a favourite, which means my GR ratings tend to be prosaically choosing between a three for liked it and a four for liked it a lot, lol.

[issybird]

The problem with my three rating is that it ranges from "good enough" to "quite good." I disagree with those who want half stars, for the same reason that I think 1-10 is too granular, but I admit that a fair number of my three-star books would get 3.5 stars. On the other hand, I certainly don't want to think that much about it! I suppose for me, three stars really means: "Not two stars and not four stars."