BBC Sherlock Fan Forum - Serving Sherlockians since February 2012 » Audio books narrated by Benedict

gently69 · July 16, 2014 6:40 am

Wow, that's also something for the Johnlock guide thread. I post it, if you don't mind.

nakahara · July 16, 2014 10:28 am

gently69 wrote:
Wow, that's also something for the Johnlock guide thread. I post it, if you don't mind.

Oh, I don´t mind at all. It´s not my property anyway.

gently69 · July 16, 2014 10:31 am

Already done.

Draconia · July 16, 2014 1:11 pm

Oh dear lord....

Could someone post Youtube links IF its possible to listening to some of his audiobooks there?

This Is The Phantom Lady · July 16, 2014 3:15 pm

Honestly I wonder when my neighbour is going to turn me into PETA for torturing owls...

REReader · August 6, 2014 6:22 pm

From the Guardian: Benedict will be recording the unabridged audiobook of William Golding's novel The Spire.

MartaSt · August 6, 2014 6:41 pm

Yeah, next book to read on my list

TwoSouls · March 9, 2015 7:03 pm

Has anybody listened to The Spire yet? I couldn`t find any posts about it. I`ve finished it twice now and I`m really impressed. One of the best things about being a fan of BC is that I learn about books and films I wouldn`t have touched otherwise.
His reading is absolutely brilliant and moving and he manages to make the main character relatable in a way that wouldn`t have happend had I only read it by myself. He always hits the right note in his performance, which must have been really difficult given the complicated narrative style of the novel.
I would really love to read other people´s thoughts about it.

SusiGo · March 9, 2015 8:03 pm

I started listening but got somehow interrupted. Now I will have to start from the beginning because it is quite a complex novel. Benedict's reading is excellent once again and I will definitely try again.

Schmiezi · March 9, 2015 8:50 pm

What is it about?

SusiGo · March 9, 2015 9:03 pm

This article has some information about the story:

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/06/benedict-cumberbatch-records-audiobook-william-golding-sherlock

Miss Sherlock Watson · March 9, 2015 9:39 pm

I'm still working on "The spire" for weeks now - using it each and every night to put me to sleep. I could listen to his voice for hours... It's a great performance! He really knows how to use his voice to create a character. Absolutely amazing!

tonnaree · March 9, 2015 9:39 pm

Briefly:
Review: In the 14th century, when men broke their backs and lost their lives toiling with stone to build the great cathedrals, Den Jocelin is visited by an angel who tells him to erect a spire upon a building that has no foundations. Despised as a lunatic and self-deceiver, Jocelin's will forces the spire upwards, course by course, until the pillars begin to sing and the earth to crawl. Golding's exposition of one man's struggle with the noble and ignoble sides of his nature confirmed him in 1964 as a writer of fantastic imaginative power, and the magic of this book is still extraordinarily potent to me today. (Kirkus (UK))

Sounds fascinating. As most of Goldberg's books are.

Last edited by tonnaree (March 9, 2015 9:40 pm)

ukaunz · March 10, 2015 3:15 am

Another article about The Spire:

Benedict Cumberbatch animates William Golding's symbolistic novel The Spire

I'm going to have to see if my local library will purchase it

Last edited by ukaunz (March 10, 2015 3:17 am)

ukaunz · March 10, 2015 3:26 am

I just listened to the first short story from The Rediscovered Railway Mysteries, titled "An Inscrutable Masquerade". I am loving being able to listen to Benedict's jaguar-in-a-cello voice reading a Sherlock Holmes-inspired mystery.

I guess it's a kind of fan fiction by John Taylor; I had originally thought they were perhaps previously unpublished works by ACD. It's very good, with an interesting plot and great dialogue. The story is set during a hot few days of summer, and Watson and Holmes are confined indoors due to a case Holmes is working on. Afterwards my mind kind of wandered off in a Johnlock kind of way imagining Sherlock and John sweltering in their flat, wearing not much...

Last edited by ukaunz (March 10, 2015 3:26 am)

Whisky · March 10, 2015 2:47 pm

I never managed to listen till the end, when I first tried the Railway Mysteries. Benedict's voice has this quality to make myself totally forget any story or content. It's like "ahh, yes, hmm, voice, nice voice, nice pronounciation of that word, nice nice nice... some random words to fuel imagination... oh, nice, voice, yummy... what did who do? I haven't got the slightest." :D
Took me like four times to actually listen to the stuff he read. But I agree with you, I found the stories entertaining and not to bad.

SusiGo · March 10, 2015 2:57 pm

Now that you mention it, Whisky, I know the phenomenon.

Ukaunz: Yes, the… ahem, sweltering story was very hot indeed.

Whisky · March 10, 2015 3:49 pm

SusiGo wrote:
Now that you mention it, Whisky, I know the phenomenon.

Yes, I suppose the sentence he has heard the most in his life (by ladies) must be "oh, I am sorry, could you just say that again, I was... eh... hehehe......" followed by awkward silence :D

Why isn't he the radio moderator of the station I usually listen to? I would totally pay the full fee to the GEZ then!
(GEZ=the *** agency collecting licence fees for tv and radio in Germany)

***edited by myself for language.

Last edited by Whisky (March 10, 2015 3:53 pm)

gently69 · March 11, 2015 7:48 am

Yeah, the voice. We had that just yesterday, Susi, hadn't we?

Cabin pressure is good for that. There you have the chance to recover while the other "crew members" are talking.

Whisky · March 11, 2015 5:22 pm

Oh god, I need to start with Cabin pressure. Didn't get round to that yet, and I've got the feeling I keep missing something good ;-)