The Warlock in Spite of Himself Audiobook By Christopher Stasheff cover art

The Warlock in Spite of Himself

Warlock of Gramarye, Book 1

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The Warlock in Spite of Himself

By: Christopher Stasheff
Narrated by: Dennis F. Regan
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Welcome to Gramayre - where witches, warlocks, elves, and gnomes are real; where a spoiled girl-queen and an army of teenage witches, and ragtag beggars battle an overwhelming force of rebel knights and time-travelling anarchists for the future of the most unique, and perhaps most important, planet in the galaxy.

This is what cynical, hard-bitten, intergalactic spy Rod Gallowglass faces when he and his robot horse, Fess, try to bring peace and democracy to this magic-ridden Renaissance-age society. Rod's mission is threatened at every turn by anarchists, communists, and double-dealing royalists playing vicious political power games. Things are made even worse when Rod's advanced technology gets him labeled a warlock despite his constant denials. Help comes from the most unexpected sources when he meets an ancient ghost, the King of the Elves, and the most powerful witch on the planet.

This classic science-fantasy novel has been completely remixed to address issues with uneven volume some readers have experienced.

Gramayre comes to life in 11 hours of dramatic sword-and-sorcery, featuring well-known narrator Dennis Regan and a full cast.

©1969 Christopher Stasheff (P)2012 Geoffrey T. Williams Science Fiction Fantasy Adventure Epic
Engaging Plot • Humorous Fantasy • Full Cast Production • Believable Characters • Clever Worldbuilding • Blended Genres

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What made the experience of listening to The Warlock in Spite of Himself the most enjoyable?

I love this series, and Stasheff's sister series' as well. The writing, storytelling, etc was the most enjoyable for me.

What other book might you compare The Warlock in Spite of Himself to and why?

I suppose there are some similarities to the Dresden Files, for a modern choice. The same premises abide in both, lead character thrust into dangerous situations partly of their own devising.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I was a bit surprised that this was done in a multi person/radio drama sort of style when it wasn't billed that way. Dennis Regan isn't a bad narrator, but it lacked some of the depth that the old cassette recordings had. I think probably crediting the other voice actors would be nice unless Regan really does do a soprano.

Could've been better...

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Great story, mediocre performance. When the story calls for voices at a distance the performers chose to go for “Lollypop Guild” voice. Brom O’Berin’s voice is described as an oaken timbre, but sounds like a willow in the breeze. This is a series of around 15 books (all but one of which are excellent). I hope more become available, but with better performances.

Why not more?

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This is a classic science fiction book, always a favorite, but it's the addition of foley effects in the performance that I really enjoyed!

First book with foley!

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I read this story as a kid and when a chance conversation reminded me of it, I went and bought the entire series for my Kindle. A wayward thought sent me here and when I saw it'd been turned into an audio book I just had to give it a listen.

The ensemble cast did a good to excellent job, but as the title of the review suggests, there are parts where the ambient and/or voice FX make portions of the dialogue all but unintelligible.

Beyond this, the story shows it's age somewhat given the tech as imagined in '69, but overall this is a good story with a nifty combination of adventure, romance, and just a dash of political intrigue on a world that still sparks the imagination.

It is uplifting high fantasy, and I heartily recommend it.

Overproduced but excellent story

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If you like Mel Brooks and Get Smart, you will probably like Rod Gallowglass and his cohorts. I do and I have. I particularly loved the voice of Tuan (very Gene Wilder in Sliver Streak) and the high farce of the sound effects (like the Goons meet Holy Grail) that was brought to life by this production. Sure, the sound quality is not great at times (it drops out like someone recording stereo from one speaker), but this is such a small defect in an otherwise great fun production it would be wrong to over blow it. Regan provided great continuity, but Rod's voice stole the show (as it should). Big Tom was great too, as was Fess. Gwen was as fruity and spicy as the author intended. I thought this a great piece of radio theatre. It reminded me of sitting by the radio on Sunday evening with my Dad laughing out loud at the antics of Hancock, Milligan, Sellers and Co. It's not for those inclined to literature, or when you want something deep, but just fine any other wise or time. I only hope they do a few more in the Series.

Blazing Witchery

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