This is the first recording of one of Lois's books that The Reader's Chair has made. It contains the complete text of the book and is read by Michael Hanson and Carol Cowan. The Reader's Chair have now got the rights to publish the first ten books Lois has published.
Falling Free was not my favourite book of Lois's, however listening to this excellent production made me re-evaluate and while I doubt if it will ever be a favourite I do appreciate the quality of writing much more.
You would think that over nine hours of spoken work might be a bit boring by the end. But not a bit of it. Michael and Carol bring the whole thing alive. Despite being an unabridged reading with all description of the novel it really feels more like a play than a reading. Every charter has his or her own voice so you recognise who is speaking even before the text indicates who it is. It amazing how this works, with only two readers, but it does.
The story of Falling Free should be familiar to most people reading this, but for those who haven't read the book...
Falling Free is set mostly on the Cay Habitat a space station orbiting the planet Rodeo. It tells the story of GalacTech testing engineer Leo Graf. His meeting the new artificially designed species Quaddies. And how he wrestles with his conscience and wins.
If you want to enjoy Lois in circumstances where you can't read a book, but can listen to tape then this is ideal. If you know someone who is partially sighted this would be an ideal gift. Or if you are just a completist, then buy this tape.
In fact the only mark against this tape is the fact that at the moment is currently only available in the US and Canada.
The Reader's Chair is a small company, but has produced a number of award-winning audio books. To introduce listeners to their products, the firm has produced a sample tape of its books, which may be requested by calling (800) 616-1350. This is the same number that may be used to order Falling Free.
© 1996 by Michael Bernardi
Added to The Bujold Nexus: December 31st 1996
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Last updated: March 20th 2007