I don’t even know of many non AI read audiobooks that use multiple speakers, or even a single speaker who gives different voices to different characters. I would absolutely love to see that more. I think the last audiobook I listened to where the reader did this was Neuromancer. And it annoyed me that the next two books had a different reader who didn’t give the voices I grew to like for the returning characters.
Frank Muller, who did some of the Dark Tower books, did a great job of differentiating character voices.
Also, the Dune books would occasionally use different voice actors for major characters, such as Baron Harkonnen. It wasn’t always - just when there was a scene that doing so really added to the atmosphere of the reading. Occasional sound effect too.
The books I’ve listened to from Tantor Audio and Random House Audio don’t always have multiple people reading, but the narrators are usually good and do distinct character voices.
Speaking of single speaker audiobooks with multiple characters, I listened to an audiobook by Raza Jaffrey: The Stone Song. The characters were well acted, in my opinion. Some characters are kids, men, women, even an alien or two. But it’s easy to distinguish them. And the thing is, he didn’t even have to adjust his pitch. Goes to show how you need a specific skill if you want to do single speaker audiobooks with multiple characters right. Then again I am biased in a way that this is one of the first audiobooks I’ve ever listened to.
I’ve listened to the whole Witcher saga of audiobooks and the narrator is amazing. He does different voices for all characters, including women and children.
He’s not a voice prodigy like Mel Blanc or Robin Williams but he’s good enough that I had a difficult time accepting other audiobooks with less talented narrators after that.
I don’t even know of many non AI read audiobooks that use multiple speakers, or even a single speaker who gives different voices to different characters. I would absolutely love to see that more. I think the last audiobook I listened to where the reader did this was Neuromancer. And it annoyed me that the next two books had a different reader who didn’t give the voices I grew to like for the returning characters.
Frank Muller, who did some of the Dark Tower books, did a great job of differentiating character voices.
Also, the Dune books would occasionally use different voice actors for major characters, such as Baron Harkonnen. It wasn’t always - just when there was a scene that doing so really added to the atmosphere of the reading. Occasional sound effect too.
The books I’ve listened to from Tantor Audio and Random House Audio don’t always have multiple people reading, but the narrators are usually good and do distinct character voices.
I can second this. Perhaps not a distinct voice for every character, but any recurring character.
Speaking of single speaker audiobooks with multiple characters, I listened to an audiobook by Raza Jaffrey: The Stone Song. The characters were well acted, in my opinion. Some characters are kids, men, women, even an alien or two. But it’s easy to distinguish them. And the thing is, he didn’t even have to adjust his pitch. Goes to show how you need a specific skill if you want to do single speaker audiobooks with multiple characters right. Then again I am biased in a way that this is one of the first audiobooks I’ve ever listened to.
RC Bray does this very well in his narrations.
I’ve listened to the whole Witcher saga of audiobooks and the narrator is amazing. He does different voices for all characters, including women and children.
He’s not a voice prodigy like Mel Blanc or Robin Williams but he’s good enough that I had a difficult time accepting other audiobooks with less talented narrators after that.
The new Discworld audiobooks have a huge cast. Specific actors voice specific characters through the whole series.
Elsewhere, Travis Baldree always does awesome voices for characters in the audiobooks he reads.