Desert Prince US Audiobook Update
Hey all. Some readers noticed that the US audiobook for THE DESERT PRINCE, which was briefly on sale earlier this month, ceased to be available, and now shows a pre-order page for an October 12, 2021 release.
In response to listener feedback and internal discussions about the original edition, Penguin Random House Audio will be re-recording THE DESERT PRINCE, introducing two new voices to the Demon Cycle universe: Michael Crouch as Darin Bales and Saskia Maarleveld as Olive Paper.
Longtime listeners have asked why Pete Bradbury, who did such excellent work narrating the original Demon Cycle series, is not returning for the Nightfall Saga. I’ve responded to these individually on various social media threads, but I decided it was easier to just respond here on the blog to I could point folks to this post rather than keep writing the same answer over and over.
The Demon Cycle was told in third person perspective, with thirteen POV characters and a tale that spans thirty-five years. While some of the cast started out young, they aged up quickly, with the majority of the story occurring between the adult characters.
Pete did a masterful job bringing those stories to life, wrapping listeners up in his silky rumble of a voice, like a favorite grandfather reading a story by the fire. Pete doesn’t do accents or an overly theatric performance. He delivers the story with empathy and gravitas, and has an amazing ability to use subtle vocal changes to make it clear who’s speaking even before you get to a dialogue tag. Demon Cycle audio fans rightfully adore him.
I went to see Pete co-star in The Elephant Man with Bradley Cooper on Broadway, seeing the same presence on stage as he delivers in audio. I sat in on some of his recording sessions, and went out drinking with him afterward. I consider him a personal friend, and very much hope to work with him again in the future.
But The Nightfall Saga is different from The Demon Cycle.
It’s easy for longtime readers to consider THE DESERT PRINCE to be Demon Cycle book 6, since it cameos a lot of beloved characters from the previous series, treats the previous books as canon, and has many of the things warded fans have come to love and expect from a Peter V. Brett book.
But Nightfall is also its own distinct animal—tonally different from its parent series the same way Darin Bales and Olive Paper are different from Arlen and Leesha. The Nightfall Saga was designed so that new readers need not be familiar with my previous books to enjoy the series fully. It is told in a more intimate first person perspective, with two POV characters who are only fifteen years old, still figuring out the world and their place in it. The trilogy will cover a much shorter period of time, giving them time to make mistakes and grow as they come of age.
I’ve worked closely with Penguin Random House Audio to find narrators who better reflect my intent for Olive and Darin, giving voice to a new generation. Michael and Saskia are both award-winning narrators who, between them, have read hundreds of audiobooks. I can’t wait for you to hear how they bring the THE DESERT PRINCE—and the rest of the series—to life on audio.
You can click through this handy landing page to pre-order THE DESERT PRINCE audiobook, which goes on sale October 12, 2021: https://bit.ly/3zj0fMh
If you have already purchased or used an audible credit for the earlier version of the audiobook, you can return/exchange it for the new version through whichever retailer you originally purchased it from. Apologies for the inconvenience.
I will be sitting in on some of the new recordings, so stay tuned on social media for some BTS content and sneak peeks of what’s to come!
Note* This post refers only to the US & Canadian version of The Desert Prince audiobook, published by Penguin Random House. The UK & Australian edition of the audiobook, published by HarperCollins and narrated by Kit Griffiths and Jack Tivey, will have some minor pronunciation corrections, but will otherwise remain unchanged.
As with Pete Bradbury, UK listeners have great fondness for the wonderful Colin Mace, and indeed I agree with them. But for all the same reasons listed above, Harper Audio worked with me to find new voices for Olive and Darin, and Kit & Jack both give phenomenal performances. Like Michael and Saskia, I think they will win you over.
Thank you for clarifying this. I personally think Kit and Jack are giving a phenomenal performance, and this is after I first thought I wasn’t going to get along with their voices. But they have both more than grown on me. I also think what a good idea it is to have different narrators for the US and Canada as the version I’m listening too FEELS British Northern, or Celtic, whereas an American or Canadian accent maybe wouldn’t do it for me. Thank you xx
Thank you so much ???
I finished listening to the Dani Martineck and David Garelik version last week and will finish listening to the Kit Griffins and Jake Tivey version tonight.
I was planning on sending you an email tonight about the various wrong pronunciations on which I have taken a lot of notes.
I actually grew to like Dani as Olive’s journey developed as her voice while not masculine, is deeper than most women.
I liked both Kit’s and Jake’ performance.
If you want my notes you can email me at akmatthewbergeron@yahoo.com
Note 1: Ichor seemed to be mis-pronounced by all four narrators. Maybe this is one of those words that has two different pronunciations, but I always heard it pronounced the way Pete Bradbury did it. I was really into insects as a kid, and that is how I pronounced it.
Note 2: David Garelik pronounced Obelisk wrong. I don’t know how this got through the editing process.
All in all I enjoyed the book immensely, but the narration wasn’t up to the standard that Pete Bradbury set.
Matthew Bergeron
Please note that the two above notes are common English words and not really the heart of the matter. However these bothered me more (in most cases) than the Krasian words and Proper Names that were mis-pronounced.
Matthew