I have my favorite audiobook performers and readers. I prefer Scott Brick and Jim Dale among several others. Does anyone have someone they would recommend?

Simon Prebble and Davina Porter are excellent!

Davina Porter, Hugh Fraser (Hercule Poirot)mysteries by Agatha Christie, Will Patton (Dave Robicheaux crime novels by James Lee Burke, Bill Bryson reading his own books, lLssette Lacat (sp?) doing the First Ladie's Detectiver series, Barbara Caruso, and others whose name escape me right now.

Message edited by its author, Apr 28, 2009, 5:31pm.

Alysha Bresnyhan (sp?) for The Lovely Bonesis really great. She has quite a few recordings now.

Barbara Rosenblatt reads many mysteries, including the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. She's wonderful. And Jenny Sterling reads the Mary Russell novels by Laurie R. King. She does a terrific job.

My all time favorite is most likely Dick Hill. If he's reading it, I figure it's going to be a good book and for the most part that's true. But there are so many good narrators. Anna Fields is another one I love. Scott Brick...I'm not too fussed up on him anymore.

I will now look for Anne Flosnik, having just heard her read Little Bee by Chris Cleave in an edition by Tantor. She was absolutely flawless in a half-dozen accents, plus genders and ages and greatly enhanced my appreciation of a moving and authentic book.

Anyone who is not Scott Brick.

Prunella Scales, Juliet Stevenson, Martin Jarvis, Peter Jeffrey and Stephen Fry for the Harry Potter books (not that I have heard the Jim Dale versions).

I must be the only audiobook person who has never heard Scott Brick.

Be thankful, he is a one trick pony - he reads everything in the same, stilted melodramatic way. His accents are a joke as are his characterizations. Truly cringeworthy.

I've seen others rave about him, so am surprised to see someone dislike his reading. Then again, folks rave about Lorelei King; I couldn't finish half a Stephanie Plum book of hers (C. J. Critt was awesome as a narrator), before running screaming for the print book!

Gabra Zackman

and I second the Davina Porter nod

and I don't mind Scott Brick, though he is a bit over the top. But, I can't believe there's someone here who listens to audiobooks and hasn't heard Scott Brick! He's read a ton of the audiobooks I've listened to! (though mainly in the sci-fi area so that might explain it).

My favorite narrator, who woefully doesn't do many books, is Henry Strozier. He was active w/Recorded Books about a decade ago, but mostly I hear him doing commercials (the latest Pixar commercial featured him) and I like him so much I pause, go back and listen to him again when I spot him. He did Gorky Park back in the day and didn't do any of the subsequent books. Sorry Frank Muller, but you were never Arkady to me.

I loved Strozier's reading of Goodbye to a River by John Graves.

Simon Jones does a wonderful job with The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud

I don't believe I've ever listened to a book narrated by Strozier but after reading your glowing recommendation and the one below, I ordered the one and only audiobook in my library....North River. I'm looking forward to getting it and will let you know what I think....of the book and him!!

Enjoy. I was just looking over at audible.com for more by him, too.

I may be the only person who can't stand Dick Hill. He has a mannerism of clearing his throat to indicate that the character is searching for what to say. This doesn't fit with the characters that he is portraying. All of the male characters in his books except for the main character are read with a higher pitches nasal tone and all of the women characters speak in almost whispers which doesn't suit those who are supposed to be strong women. I've had to give up on the Jack Reacher audio-books and get this fix in the dead tree version.

But since this thread is supposed to be about the readers I like, they follow:
Scott Brick
George Guidall
Barbara Rosenblat
Simon Prebble
Martin Jarvis
C J Critt
Davina Porter (esp for the Outlander series)

I adored Phyllida Nash's read of Cotillion by Georgette Heyer. She did all the voices so well! Eve Matheson was also quite good reading Friday's Child, though she was less robust than Nash.

I've also enjoyed Jim Dale reading Around the World in Eighty Days. His accents are so much fun! He also did the audiobooks for Harry Potter, which I have not yet listened to.

#19 It has taken me a very long time to stop cringing whenever I start a new Dick Hill audio - for all the reasons you gave, and plus he has this really odd cadence where he separates the words at the end of a phrase like he's running out of air but can't take a breath - I can't describe it, but it used to drive me crazy. I don't know whether he's toned it down or I've just gotten so accustomed to it that I don't notice it anymore.

And count me in the pro-Scott Brick camp. He reads just about everything - not just sci-fi. I've chosen books and discovered new authors just because he was the reader. His accents aren't flawless, but it's easy to tell the characters apart, and I like the personality that comes through especially with the smart-alecky characters. It's like you can hear the grin in the voice.

Phil Gigante is also great narrating the Karen Marie Moning Highlander series - he's in fact - awesome! Does a great Scottish accent.

It's very interesting how people have such different "ears"... I actually quite like Dick Hill (at least his narration of Lee Child's Reacher books.

The first audio book I listened to was Scott Brick and it still sticks with me, but the more I hear other readers (Guidall, Porter, Zackman), the less I like Brick's "overacting"

I did listen to Joe Montagna (yes, the actor currently from Criminal Minds) read a Robert Parker book and it was TERRIBLE! Every time he speaks on Criminal Minds I can hear him in my head from his reading and that was from YEARS ago!

I enjoy Johanna Parker. All I've heard her in are Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries but if it wasn't for listening to her read, I don't think I would like those books nearly as much as I do. I own the last four books, but haven't read them. I'd actually rather listen to them instead :P

I love Simon Vance, John Lee, Johanna Parker, Nadia May/Donada Peters, and Anne Flosnik.

I can no longer stand listening to Barbara Rosenblat and George Guidall. These were the first narrators I listened to and I think I OD'ed on them.

Donada Peters also goes by Wanda McCaddon as well. I like Barbara Rosenblatt ("Bridget Jones' Diary") and George Guidall (Hillerman's Jim Chee series). I'm the only heavy duty audio listener who's never experienced Scott Brick it seems!

#21 I have to agree I am not a fan of Dick Hill either.
Also agree with those that said Davina Porter who does the outlander series she is great!!
I also like John Rubenstien who does all Jonathan Kellerman books I like that its the same narrator from book one.

>26: I've never heard Scott Brick either, I've just heard of him. I'm considering purchasing the Dune audiobook on Audible just to check him out (and because it's a book I've wanted for awhile :P )

That may be a good choice considering it's a giant space soap opera and Brick's voice is so overwhelmingly melodramatic that it just might work. Subtlety is not his strength. But as he's a love him or hate him guy, such a long and much wanted book may turn out to be a mistake if you fall into the 'he's a hack' camp.

I also have to weigh in against Scott Brick. And against Lorelei King vs C J Critt for the Plum books. And although I like Bernadette Dunne, it was jarring to hear her narrate the #10 Alexandra Cooper book when Rosenblat had done #1 - 9. And I do so miss Anna Fields. Another pet peeve, the J P Beaumont books by J A Jance. Narrated by Gene Engene until the most recent 2 or 3. I wouldn't mind so much if the new narrators would just learn to pronounce the Pacific Northwest place names! It is so very distracting to have a narrator change so very far into a series.
I am in a minority with my dislike of Jim Dale. His narration of the Harry Potter books, compared to the UK version with Stephen Frye, was pitiful. I could not stand his whiny voice for Hermoine, saying "Harreeeeeeeee".
I think James Marsters does a great job with the Harry Dresden books.

I didn't realize that Anna Fields/Kate Fleming had passed away until I read your post #30 and had to find out why you missed her. What an absolute shame!! She was one of my very favorite narrators and I will miss her, too.

#30
Althought, I've liked Scott Brick in the couple of books that I've listened that he read and preferred C J Critt for the Plum books that I have given up on them, I agree about Bernadette Dunne for Alexandra Cooper, her's is just not the right voice for this character. When this happens, I'm always curious to find out why?

After listening to all the Harry Potter books about 3 times, I've come to agree with you about Jim Dale and I haven't even been able to listen to the Stephen Frye version, since they apparently not available in the US. I think Jim Dale got worse with each book... you really captured the irritant with "Harreeeeeeeee".

Check a guy named Jonathan Marosz. He did a lot of the early Myron Bolitar novels by Harlen Coben. Good suspense series featuring a sports agent who investigates cases related to his profession. Marosz has great tone and does excellent voices for the different characters. He's also great speaking the action. give him a shot. He's good on most all of the fiction he's done; mostly suspense and some sci-fi.

I have also recently discovered Anna Fields, the only female performer I've really latched onto. She reads the books of romance writer Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Though I am no romance reader, I have enjoyed Anna's performances of the fun novels of SEP.

I also love Scott Brick, Dick Hill, and on occasion, John Lee (British).

Message edited by its author, Nov 11, 2009, 1:04pm.

#33 Unfortunately, Jonathan Marosz hasn't done the last couple of Myron Bolitar Books. One was read by the author (not bad but not Marosz) and the latest has another reader, Steven Weber. I thought he was just OK, but when my hubby listened, he didn't like him AT ALL. (I have to agree with his comment that he botched Esperanza.)

I love Anna Fields as a narrator, too, Brodie and was very sad to find out that she tragically passed away in 2005ish, I believe. Now, I often think what a marvelous thing it is that I'm listening to a voice who's no longer here but is still bringing pleasure to her listeners.

Hello sjmccreary. I noticed that Marosz hasn't done the last two Bolitar. In fact, I don't know that he's still working at all. Does anyone know what happened to him?

Kate Reading, who does the Codex Alera Series, is really good. She does both male and female characters well.

Jim Dale, the Harry Potter reader, deserves every award ever made for his performance. I couldn't read the Potter books because I thought they were boring, but the audiobooks were mesmerizing. Dale is a genius.

James Marsters totally ruined the Dresden Files Series, by Butcher, for me. He sniffs through the whole think like he's trying to give the character a superiority complex which completely turned me off.

#36 I saw a comment on Amazon that said that Marosz is with Books on Tape, but Coben has moved to Brilliance Audio. Lots of complaints on that site,too, about him not reading the new Myron Bolitar books.