Audiobook Reviews for The Infernal Devices.

With Clockwork Princess approaching and with the release of the Prologue and first chapter narrated by Daniel Sharman, I thought it fitting to review the previous Infernal Devices books. Let me give you a little bit of background of what I know of the audio books. I started listening to audio books when I started college. There would be times that I would be in my car from 45 minutes to an hour and a half and radio got a little boring, so I decided to get audiobooks from the library to listen to on my commute. I now have, roughly 25 books on my ipod constantly so I can have something to listen to while I drive. Now there are a few advantages and disadvantages to reading audiobooks. Obviously, you are not reading the book yourself so you can’t really delve into the world completely (in my opinion.) Usually when you listen to an audiobook it is to multitask, so it feels as more someone is reading the story to you instead of really letting the world come alive in your own head. With that said let’s start with Clockwork Angel.

CLOCKWORK ANGEL

Clockwork Angel is narrated by Jennifer Ehle, and is 14 hours and 35 minutes long. One thing that I think people don’t realize is just because Jennifer Ehle is in a lot of British films, she is not actually British. Jennifer Ehle is from North Carolina and the majority of her reading is in her American accent. When I first heard that Jennifer Ehle was narrating I admit, I had high expectations (probably because of her performance in Pride and Prejudice.)

The Bad News – I am sorry to say that I was a bit disappointed. I think that Jennifer Ehle struggled with switching quickly from her American accent while reading the action and her English accent while reading the dialogue. It felt as though She would begin talking as Will in a English accent but lost the accent half way through what Will was saying. There also wasn’t a distinct “character voice” that she gave to each character (which is fine by me.) Though Henry, Mortmain and Jessamine have their own “voice.”

The Good News – Jennifer did really well with pacing. When there was action going on her speed increased and decreased as the scenes were more slow and somber. I felt as if she had a sense of what feeling Cassandra Clare was really trying to convey.

All in all this is far from the worst audiobook I have ever listened to. (Trust me I have one in mind!)

CLOCKWORK PRINCE

Clockwork Prince is narrated by Heather Lind and Ed Westwick and is 15 hours and 39 minutes long. Having two narrators for one books is not unheard of but is a little rare where audiobooks are involved. It took some getting use to at first but I found that I liked the flow of the story a bit more since the narrators would change with the change of perspective or change of chapter. Though I think Ed Westwick narrates the majority of the book. Because Ed Westwick is the bigger names I will review Heather Lind first.

The Bad News – For the most part I like Heather Lind, but the part that I cringe at when I am listening to Clockwork Prince is when she reads/sings Bridget. I have made my friends listen to songs that she sings because its a little laughable. Maybe that is how she is trying to portray it but its almost hard to listen to. I use to be a professionally trained singer and the songs are off pitch and the Irish accent is over exaggerated. Considering that there are only a few of Bridget’s songs that isn’t bad.

The Good News – Heather Lind is American but her English accent is actually pretty great for an American. (Speaking as one) The only change of accent (i.e. Welsh, Irish, Northern) is with Bridget. Heather Lind keeps the pacing up and makes her change of accent extremely smooth. Heather also has experience as a narrator so that is a big plus.

Onto Ed Westwick.

The Bad News – Alright this is going to sound very biased, (mostly because it is) but I think the biggest flaw is that Ed Westwick doesn’t narrate the entire book. Yep, that’s it. Biased I know, but I don’t care.

The Good News – Ed Westwick does different accents, and voices for different characters. He keeps up the pace and his voice is perfection. Ed Westwick was asked in an interview with Cassandra Clare, which character he identifies most with in Infernal Devices and Ed Westwick replied that he uses “his own” voice with Will, I think this shows the scene where Will confesses his feelings for Tessa is probably my very favorite scene in the entire book and the way Ed Westwick conveys the emotion that Will feels with perfection.

Daniel Sharman will get the full review after the release of Clockwork Princess the Audiobook. It will be a few days but I will try to get it up for you as soon as possible. I also will be reviewing THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS audiobooks leading up to the release of City of Heavenly Fire.

Have you read the audiobooks? What did you think about the narrators? Tell us in the comments below.