Dreadful monotone narration

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

The story is fabulous, I've read it several times but wanted to listen to it in the car, I lasted five minutes before turning it off.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Debt of Honor?

The moment I switched it off and couldn't here the dreadful monotone voice of the narrator.

What didn’t you like about John MacDonald’s performance?

Everything, his tone and intonation, is dire, he makes no effort to alter his pitch or tone to indicate dialogue. I would rather listen to a sheep sheering contest on the radio.

What character would you cut from Debt of Honor?

The narrator

Any additional comments?

Come on, there have got to be better narrators than this, you've ruined a superb story.

9 people found this helpful

Great story held back by poor narration

What made the experience of listening to Debt of Honor the most enjoyable?

The story itself is one of my favourite Tom Clancy Novels, especially when considered with the follow up novel 'Executive Orders'.The story builds slowly and does an excellent job of drawing you in.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Debt of Honor?

The ending. I won't say any more as I don't want to ruin it!

What three words best describe John MacDonald’s performance?

Robotic, lacks emotion

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

not really, although I did find that I couldn't stop listening at certain parts of the story.

Any additional comments?

Great story, let down by the Narration. In particular, I found John McDonald's narration of character voices to be especially poor. His 'Al Trent' voice in particular, with the accent he gives him, is both awful and laughable in equal measure, breaking any atmosphere that has been built.

5 people found this helpful

Not good audio

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I think the narrator (listed as John MacDonald) is either a computer or it's Stephen Hawking in disguise. The book sounds like an early attempt at a Text-To-Speech effort by Kindle - a monotone voice sounding very electronic and devoid of inflection. It is going to be very difficult to listen to this for 38 hours.

4 people found this helpful

terrible narration

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

narrated by someone who sounds human and not a synthetic voice

What could Tom Clancy have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

don't know, could not get passed the voice

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of John MacDonald?

any body with soul

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment, have not listened passed half of chapter one

Any additional comments?

rubbish narration spoilt the book and made it impossible to carry on with

3 people found this helpful

This is very badly narrated, sample before you buy

Great story, Clancy at his best, but ruined by poor narration. I love working with my hands but a lot of workshop tasks are physical requiring time and effort but no intellectual input. I also love books; over the years I must have read thousands of them, some were okay, a few weren't so good and some were great. Audio books are the perfect way to combine my two favourite activities, my body can be busy painting my latest project while my mind is away involved in some covert operation in the middle east or riding a dragon on another planet. This all depends on the narrator as so much hangs on their ability to bring the listener into the story, to bring it to life so the listener comes to care about the characters. Sadly the narrator here has failed, his delivery is as compelling as if he was reading a laundry list. I don't understand how he got the job; given the money generated for the publisher they can certainly afford to hire the best ,not someone obviously incapable. We deserve better and so does the work of an author of this calibre. Do yourself a favour and buy the printed book because listening to this will rob you of a great story.

2 people found this helpful

worst narration ever

great story but the narration was shocking ..... truly shocking it was like listening to a robot.... no punctuation it was just a monotone voice

2 people found this helpful

Audio quality is very poor

What disappointed you about Debt of Honor?

Story is good but aided quality makes it almost impossible to listen to.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Sounds like a robot

1 person found this helpful

Tom Clancy prophet of chaos of the late 20th cent.

This book is the book that puts together all the best that was Tom Clancy. His ability to foresee the near future of this crazy world was without doubt the finest since Jules Verne.
I have followed him since the Hunt for Red October and still read all the new releases by his new authors but there can only be one Tom C!ancy. Every year I listen to the complete series of Jack Ryan and John Clark novels and still thrill to its content.

Dated Clancy

For me, this Clancy epic has dated more than the rest. Still well written and nicely Boys Own stuff on the military side. Decent narration.

Tom Clancy book review

The audio version is good but unfortunately I found John Mac Donald difficult to liston to for long periods. His style is a very monotone and tiring.