Lornographic Material

This review is for this particular version of the audiobook, the one narrated by Christian Rummel. There's several versions. I will say that this is the best version there is. Stefan Rudnicki's version is terrible, and Kevin Foley's version is only slightly better than boring. Rummel does the best job... but it's still not right.

Something Wicked This Way Comes is one of those books that needs to be read to be appreciated. I've read the book more than a dozen times, but I've yet to find an audiobook version I've enjoyed as much as the text. Rummel does a fine job, and his suitcase of voices is well stocked for this journey, but something in the narrative gets lost when read aloud. Bradbury's word choice is perfection, no matter the book or story. Every single word is used to give the reader a sense of atmosphere... of place... of character. But something gets lost in translation when read aloud. I cannot put a finger on it. My apologies to those of you who want to know why.

The book itself gets all the stars. The narration of this one gets four.

In summation: If you absolutely must listen to Something Wicked This Way Comes, Christian Rummel's version is the best yet. I will keep a lookout for new versions as they become available and let you know how they stack up against the text.

Final Judgment: There's nothing wrong here, but it's not completely right, either.