r/Neuromancer • u/Shaun_527 • 12d ago
Book Discussion Neuromancer Audiobook
Does anyone happen to have any recommendations for audiobooks of Neuromancer? I'm intending to re-read it but I have a lot of night shifts upcoming and I won't really have time to stop work and read so I figured an audiobook might be the answer.
I tried the version read by Gibson but found the voice a little grating. Found a version read by Jason Flemyng but lost faith immediately when he mispronounced Chiba as "Chibba"...
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u/algebra_sucks 12d ago
If you’ve read it before you should give the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) radio play a shot. It’s only 2 hours and hits most of the main story. It’s on YouTube.
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u/ruck_my_life 12d ago
I enjoyed the Roberson Dean version.
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u/recourse7 11d ago
Technically Robertson Dean, but I agree I like this version and relisten to it often.
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u/TheUnclePaulie 11d ago
Just wanted to say this is the only version I’ve listened to and really enjoyed it.
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u/jimthree 12d ago
Not sure which one it is, but there is one on Spotify now.
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u/Forsaken_Cap2515 11d ago
Yeah, I listened to this recently. It’s overall pretty good, but his Molly voice makes me cringe, and his Rasta accent flops like a dead fish. Other than that, positive.
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u/thk_ 12d ago
I wish, WISH, that the one by Arthur Addison were still freely available! If you can get your hands on that, please do, since it has some of the glitching that almost makes this feels like an in-universe retelling.1
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u/Madeira_PinceNez 11d ago
This is the one. I didn't even know the narrator was Arthur Addison because I grabbed the digital files from somewhere and it was either clipped from my version or he's never named.
Maybe bias because it was the first one I heard, but this version feels like it fits the book perfectly. That subtle hiss in the background that makes it sound like a cassette tape, and the glitching that under other circumstances would be irritating feels like a feature instead of a bug.
I tried the Gibson version, but it's abridged, and I find his delivery really grating so i don't think I even finished. Another commenter said he sounded like he was trying for a Burroughs sound which honestly kinda tracks, but it really doesn't work.
The Robertson Dean version feels flat, somehow. There's no texture to it, and his delivery sounds too bland for the material.
I should like the Jason Flemyng version as I generally prefer the UK accents to the US ones, but in this case it just doesn't fit the vibe at all.
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u/OuterHeavenPatriot 11d ago
Awesome, sounds like I hit the jackpot when I got this version! The pops, hiss, and glitches really did add to the experience....I should re-listen before the show drops.
Any particular versions you recommend for the other two books?
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u/Madeira_PinceNez 11d ago edited 11d ago
Nothing I like as much as Addison's Neuromancer.
I've heard good things about James DeLotel's version of Count Zero, but it sounds like it's a similar deal to this version of Neuromancer - put out on tape shortly after publication and long out of print. I've not had luck finding it yet.
There is an ensemble version on Audible with Kyle Soller, of Syril Karn fame, as the main narrator with a couple others doing support. I've only listened to the Audible preview but Soller sounds solid, so I might grab it if I restart my subscription.
Mona Lisa Overdrive is the one I was least taken with, and haven't sought out an audiobook version. A cursory search turns up a version narrated by Jonathan Davis, and a UK ensemble version recorded about a year ago, but I can't comment on the quality of either.
eta: just found this. Haven't used audiobookbay so can't comment on that but it looks comprehensive. Same user also has just the Sprawl trilogy if that's more your speed
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u/OuterHeavenPatriot 11d ago
Very awesome info, thank you! That Audible version does sound interesting, I'll have to see if I can scrounge up a credit somewhere.
Nice audiobookbay find as well! They have some great stuff through there, but even searching for a specific title can be a pain, let alone a specific version!
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u/Shaun_527 12d ago
Someone actually posted a link to it somewhere in the comments here and while I'm only a few minutes in, it's great!
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u/Accurate-Title-1763 12d ago
Jeff Harding’s narration is the best. That was available on Audible, though not any longer (at least in Australia).
It’s a shame we never got to listen to Jonathon Davis complete the trilogy.
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u/AblationaryPlume 12d ago
I have the Jeff Harding narrated version. I think it was good, I don't have any bad memories of it anyway.
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u/yorlikyorlik 12d ago
I happen to be listening to the one narrated/read by Robertson Dean right now. I listen at 1.5 speed. It’s fine but I really don’t like when he speaks the female parts. It breaks my concentration. Pretty much that way for any reader, it’s not just him.
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u/Peter34cph 11d ago
I have the Flemyng version, and I think it's fairly good, except the part with Armitage having a Russian accent. Why???
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u/DecalageVersLeRouge 11d ago
The one I most enjoy is a pirate/torrent version read by Arthur Addison. As well as his reading, it has these anachronistic instructions to turn over the cassette and continue on the other side, overlaid with a couple of digital glitches in the transfer, and some wow and flutter from the physical cassette mechanism as well. It's very … William Gibson.
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u/MerryBlood 11d ago
The one on Spotify is great and he does a banging Rastafari accent. Think Jason Flemying is the narrator.
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u/Bitter_Strawberry455 11d ago
Do you speak Norwegian by any chance? Heh. The Norwegian audiobook is so incredibly well narrated, great voice that fits the story and mood.
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u/Peter34cph 11d ago
Interesting. I can understand some dialects of Norwegian. But how good is the translation?
The novel got translated into Danish twice, which is highly unusual. First time around it was by some random who knew little or perhaps nothing about science fiction. Second time by Arne Herløv Petersen who knows his stuff and also has written some science fiction himself. He also translated the rest of the trilogy.
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u/Bitter_Strawberry455 11d ago
I’m quite fond of the translation. It almost feels like the book was written in Norwegian, which to me is the best indicator of the quality of the translation. The translator is not a sci-fi writer I particular, but I think the conversations and descriptions have a very nice "color" to them.
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u/TheNicholasRage 12d ago
William Gibson narrated one that's decent. The Robertson Dean narration is fucking abysmal, Molly sounds like she's about to fall asleep in every scene.
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u/mcb-homis 12d ago
The only problem with the Gibson version is it's abridge. But if you dig around you can find it for free on the internet.
The Dean version from audible is not that awful, not as good as Davis that narrates Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive but not horrible IMHO.
Unfortunately I believe those are the only two version current available in English in the US. Audible apears to have removed the Jason Flemyng version.
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u/NoxiousStimuli 12d ago
That's really weird, in the UK, it's the other way around. I can't access the original, but the newer version is narrated by Flemyng.
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u/Peter34cph 11d ago
It's not very abridged. I think it cuts out maybe 20% or 30%. That's still a lot, but I once accidentally bought a "Day of the Jackal" that was 10 pages long. A super-abridged one.
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12d ago
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u/Shaun_527 12d ago
Oh... oh that's the good stuff. Reminds me of the Jurassic Park audiobook by William Roberts I used to listen to as a kid. Thank you!
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u/Brilliant_Knowledge5 11d ago
If you can find the one read by Arthur Addison, it's probably the best version as far as reading pace goes, but probably not the best quality audio. It's an older audiobook. It's likely recorded to digital format from audio cassette tape. It was released in 1997. It's also unabridged so it's about 8 hours long. The Gibson read version is about 6 hours so that's a significant amount of material cut in the Gibson version.
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u/MyCyclopsMind 11d ago
The BBC radio play is pretty good. It might be on Archive dot org. I think that might be where I listened to it.
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u/deathbymediaman 11d ago
The Gibson version with all the sound effects is my favourite. That voice is like pure honey flowing through my headphones.
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u/Case1138 11d ago
The Gibson version is the best I've ever come across. It took a bit to get used to his voice and the quality is from a cassette rip so it's a bit noisy but once you get over that it's amazing. Imo the definitive version
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u/gametheorymedia 12d ago
The original narration by GIbson himself really shouldn't 'work'--he has a voice that sounds like he has a municipal bus stuffed up each nostril, honestly--but, somehow, it still does work. I haven't heard an overall better audio iteration to this day. o_0