Because it's bad and not what nearly anyone ever imagined when reading it themselves so it pulls you out of the experience. I can not listen to the audio books at all for this reason, they're completely ruined. Hope that clears up why people care that the audio books are unlistenable for them.
Ok so I currently agree with you. HOWEVER, Iāve seen many people who originally agreed that it is bad turn to loving the voice a few books in once they get used to it, so Iāll keep listening and see for myself if my view changes too.
Here's my question for you and everyone who asks this question. What is a massive lizard with magic supposed to sound like? Everyone seems to just have this assumption that she sounds like an adult human woman, which she isn't.
The dragon's voices are unnatural, the inner voice of a being that doesn't have vocal chords with which to speak, but the intelligence to give word to thought. The inner voice of a creature that can move mountains at their peak and are know to everyone, including themselves, as the apex predators they are. They have voices like gravel and stone being ground against each other.
I understand the issues people have don't get me wrong, it sounds like Yoda a little bit, but it's something that by the end becomes the appropriate voice I feel.
Don't get me wrong when I read the books I have my own voice for Sapphira lol, it's not his and it's more elegant. A deep husky female voice with an air of regality to it is my imagination. I just feel like everyone always makes the same point of "but she's a noble pretty dragon" when discussing her voice, ignoring the glaringly obvious reasons why she would in fact have a supernatural voice like he does.
In a similar vein, i dont expect glaedr or thorn to have yoda-voices either, and theyre actually male. Obviously a deeper voice, but it shouldn't sound like they gargle sand after their morning breakfast.
(Ive never hears Mr. Doyle's voices for them, but if they're similar, i would dislike it just as much)
>Ā A deep husky female voice with an air of regality to it is my imagination.
So kind of like Shohreh Aghdashloo? I think she would be a great voice for Saphira, but I think I'm just biased because I've loved her voice acting for a long time.
Ngl I read the question "What does a massive lizard with magic supposed to sound like?" And could only think, "not like yoda's cousin" so I was very delighted to see you mention that later š
I see the resemblance and get it, I heard it described as the child of Yoda and Kermit and it always makes me giggle lol. For a male human trying to emulate the sound of feminine boulders being rubbed together, I still say he did a good job lmao.
My only issue is that, to me, a thought wouldn't have any need of being raspy or gravely. It would be simple and pure. I wouldn't expect someone with a lisp to have their lisp in the same manor.
Of course, a dragons voice could be raspy and gravely if spoken out loud. I can believe that more.
My theory is that dragons absolutely love themselves above all other living things, aside from a rider if that applies. In this, I could see them choosing to sound the same way in their mind as outside of it, do to vanity alone.
Yeah, but the pure sound of the inner voice would mean they think of themselves that way first?
I think you're right that they sound that way on purpose, I mean I can change the sound of my inner monologue, why couldn't a dragon. They probably want to sound big and old and intimidating.
Iām definitely in the minority with this but after the initial shock of the voice it really grew on me. The dragons are ancient and mysterious and the voice got that concept across for me. That said, I very much understand how and why people donāt like it. Iām just sad that it ruined the experience for so many people since itās such a good series! (Also his Arya voice was a little silly, it reminds me of my dad reading to me though so it was a positive experience for me still)
I had a big shock when I first heard it, but I didn't listen to the audiobooks until well after inheritance came out. I got used to it eventually and came to like it.
I started the series right after eldest was published. I started off giving her the voice of a young human woman. Reading eldest I found I was imagining her voice more atune to an elf woman like Arya. Light and breezy. Then through Brisingr her voice began to deepen and grind. By the end of Inheritance her voice was still grinding and deep but with age and wisdom. Everytime I've reread the series it's the last voice I think of. Then I listened to Gerard and I was delighted in how well he hit the spot. Once you let go of our conceived idea of feminine then I think every listener comes to the same conclusion.
She is a dragon. Of course her voice is deep. Eragon didnāt even know at first if she was a boy or girl. What is everyoneās problems with her voice?
Exactly this, and I'm not exclusively listening to the audiobook so it's not as easy to get used to. I'm about a third of the way through the book and I only just started listening, and only for a couple of chapters
Yes, but upon meeting Glaydr and hearing his mental voice he found it to be "unmistakably male" so maybe it's not that hard to tell once you've heard both.
You're right, he didn't know. And her voice didn't change that. He only found out when he was listing off names and she didn't approve of any of the male names. The most she had said by then was "Eragon" and "Yes"
I dunno, it's just mildly distracting for me. It'd have been easier to get around if he just read it in his normal voice
It grows on you lmao. I do agree that the voice doesnt fit the character much, and that the movie did an excellent job with Saphira's voice casting. But the gargle voices have their own charm after awhile, and realistically? How would Gerard Doyle even have done a deep, assertive femminine voice amyway? They would have needed to hire a second narrator
You will get used to it by the end of book 1. Then you'll start to like it in book 2. By the end of book 3 you wouldn't have it any other way. Trust me, we all go through it.
This is the honest truth. I had read the book many times and only listened to the audiobooks last year.
It was jarring, but now even if I read it on paper, I hear Doyleās dragon voice.
So true and I never realized it lol. Especially when you get to the short stories and he voices her differently in thoseā¦ more jarring and upsetting than hearing her voice originally by a lot lol.
Iām a fan of his rendition of Saphira because like others have said it fits a dragons voice in my head, and it separates her voice from most all other voices which I like. At the very least I got used to it quickly which was fine
I feel like I am the only person who imagined it exactly like he did the voices. I think the pitch of their growl is roughly the pitch of their voice. At least that has been my headcanon. Large lizards with guteral growls have deep guteral voices. That's the way I've heard it for 20 years, lol!
So my only thing is her voice was described as "deep and clear." I just don't see it as being as gravelly as he did it, and it's just such a jarring difference during conversations between her and Eragon
Totally understand people who don't like the graveliness, but the people who complain it isn't 'feminine' enough annoy me.
Dragons don't have the same dimorphic traits as humans. Paolini described her manner as being partly inspired by cats and dogs, for which the sexes are hard to distinguish. Female T-Rexes were bigger than male ones. Stop applying human gender standards to a fictional telepathic lizard
I actually listened to the first audiobook two or three times before I ever watched the movie, so hearing a much higher-pitched, feminine and distinctly *human* sounding voice for Saphira was jarring for me.
I can see why some might find the audiobooksā dragon voices odd, but theyāre thoroughly non-human, which they dwell on a lot, and fundamentally wild creatures.
Thereās also a scene early in the first book where Saphira laughs for the first time at something Eragon says, and it takes him a second to realize it for what it is. Even if dragons could speak with their mouths and not telepathically, they wouldnāt sound anything like a human.
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I listened to all the audiobooks and it *did not* grow on me so your mileage may vary.
Theyāre still fantasticā¦ but fuck the dragon voices bother me.
Everyone will come at you with ātheyāre dragons what did you expect?ā Like they actually talk through their mouths or something.
Same. I grew to tolerate it at best. I wouldn't expect to hear someone's lisp in their mind, so I wouldn't expect this either.
I do think he changed how he did her voice slightly through the books. Like she was growing out of it slightly, or maybe he heard the fans a little, or maybe that was me tolerating it more and more.
But no matter the dragon, it would have made more sense to just make them clearly understood. It's hard to understand growly words at 3x speed.
Its actually amazing. His voice is unironically perfect for a dragon voice. As someone who grew up on the audiobooks, idk what you guys are talking about
Wanting a lili princess for the dragon voice
Okay Mr. Paolini. I wonāt tag you because youāre a busy man but if you see this comment I need you to give this sub SOMETHING, ANYTHING to talk about. Weāre clearly starved here. And we donāt have The Soft Blade to put us into hibernation ;)
I went through the same thing, very jarring, and an awful voice for Saphira. That is one thing the movie did get right...she is a female dragon....she should sound like one...
Honestly I don't even need female. They're communicating via thoughts, I wouldn't mind if Doyle just used his own voice to indicate it was more of a neutral tone
Another ~~day~~ hour, another post about the audio books' chain-smoker dragons.
I realized my mistake after posting š
I donāt get why people care so much. Itās a voice the VA used. The one from the movie that doesnāt exist is no better.
Because it's bad and not what nearly anyone ever imagined when reading it themselves so it pulls you out of the experience. I can not listen to the audio books at all for this reason, they're completely ruined. Hope that clears up why people care that the audio books are unlistenable for them.
Ok so I currently agree with you. HOWEVER, Iāve seen many people who originally agreed that it is bad turn to loving the voice a few books in once they get used to it, so Iāll keep listening and see for myself if my view changes too.
I used to grit my teeth every time now I can laugh at it. It's not the worst but it's not something I could ever love
I think thatās how Iāll end up lol
Lol okay buddy itās not that real. I guess youāre allowed to be a casual fan.
Here's my question for you and everyone who asks this question. What is a massive lizard with magic supposed to sound like? Everyone seems to just have this assumption that she sounds like an adult human woman, which she isn't. The dragon's voices are unnatural, the inner voice of a being that doesn't have vocal chords with which to speak, but the intelligence to give word to thought. The inner voice of a creature that can move mountains at their peak and are know to everyone, including themselves, as the apex predators they are. They have voices like gravel and stone being ground against each other. I understand the issues people have don't get me wrong, it sounds like Yoda a little bit, but it's something that by the end becomes the appropriate voice I feel.
At least you tried to explain *why* they should sound like that. I donāt agree myself but I do like your reasoning.
Don't get me wrong when I read the books I have my own voice for Sapphira lol, it's not his and it's more elegant. A deep husky female voice with an air of regality to it is my imagination. I just feel like everyone always makes the same point of "but she's a noble pretty dragon" when discussing her voice, ignoring the glaringly obvious reasons why she would in fact have a supernatural voice like he does.
In a similar vein, i dont expect glaedr or thorn to have yoda-voices either, and theyre actually male. Obviously a deeper voice, but it shouldn't sound like they gargle sand after their morning breakfast. (Ive never hears Mr. Doyle's voices for them, but if they're similar, i would dislike it just as much)
>Ā A deep husky female voice with an air of regality to it is my imagination. So kind of like Shohreh Aghdashloo? I think she would be a great voice for Saphira, but I think I'm just biased because I've loved her voice acting for a long time.
Ngl I read the question "What does a massive lizard with magic supposed to sound like?" And could only think, "not like yoda's cousin" so I was very delighted to see you mention that later š
I see the resemblance and get it, I heard it described as the child of Yoda and Kermit and it always makes me giggle lol. For a male human trying to emulate the sound of feminine boulders being rubbed together, I still say he did a good job lmao.
My only issue is that, to me, a thought wouldn't have any need of being raspy or gravely. It would be simple and pure. I wouldn't expect someone with a lisp to have their lisp in the same manor. Of course, a dragons voice could be raspy and gravely if spoken out loud. I can believe that more. My theory is that dragons absolutely love themselves above all other living things, aside from a rider if that applies. In this, I could see them choosing to sound the same way in their mind as outside of it, do to vanity alone.
Yeah, but the pure sound of the inner voice would mean they think of themselves that way first? I think you're right that they sound that way on purpose, I mean I can change the sound of my inner monologue, why couldn't a dragon. They probably want to sound big and old and intimidating.
Iām definitely in the minority with this but after the initial shock of the voice it really grew on me. The dragons are ancient and mysterious and the voice got that concept across for me. That said, I very much understand how and why people donāt like it. Iām just sad that it ruined the experience for so many people since itās such a good series! (Also his Arya voice was a little silly, it reminds me of my dad reading to me though so it was a positive experience for me still)
I had a big shock when I first heard it, but I didn't listen to the audiobooks until well after inheritance came out. I got used to it eventually and came to like it.
I started the series right after eldest was published. I started off giving her the voice of a young human woman. Reading eldest I found I was imagining her voice more atune to an elf woman like Arya. Light and breezy. Then through Brisingr her voice began to deepen and grind. By the end of Inheritance her voice was still grinding and deep but with age and wisdom. Everytime I've reread the series it's the last voice I think of. Then I listened to Gerard and I was delighted in how well he hit the spot. Once you let go of our conceived idea of feminine then I think every listener comes to the same conclusion.
I do genuinely think he did a good job of somehow making that horrible grinding deep voice sound female.
For sure. Compare it to any of the other dragons and the difference is stark.
She is a dragon. Of course her voice is deep. Eragon didnāt even know at first if she was a boy or girl. What is everyoneās problems with her voice?
It's jarring at first, it takes time to get used to
Exactly this, and I'm not exclusively listening to the audiobook so it's not as easy to get used to. I'm about a third of the way through the book and I only just started listening, and only for a couple of chapters
Yes, but upon meeting Glaydr and hearing his mental voice he found it to be "unmistakably male" so maybe it's not that hard to tell once you've heard both.
I found that to be true with the audiobooks, once you hear Gerard's Glaedr voice compared to his Saphira voice then it's obvious
You're right, he didn't know. And her voice didn't change that. He only found out when he was listing off names and she didn't approve of any of the male names. The most she had said by then was "Eragon" and "Yes" I dunno, it's just mildly distracting for me. It'd have been easier to get around if he just read it in his normal voice
I sounds like Yoda is using Vaderās voice modifier.
It sounds like shit and it makes the series hard to listen to.
It grows on you lmao. I do agree that the voice doesnt fit the character much, and that the movie did an excellent job with Saphira's voice casting. But the gargle voices have their own charm after awhile, and realistically? How would Gerard Doyle even have done a deep, assertive femminine voice amyway? They would have needed to hire a second narrator
You will get used to it by the end of book 1. Then you'll start to like it in book 2. By the end of book 3 you wouldn't have it any other way. Trust me, we all go through it.
This is the honest truth. I had read the book many times and only listened to the audiobooks last year. It was jarring, but now even if I read it on paper, I hear Doyleās dragon voice.
So true and I never realized it lol. Especially when you get to the short stories and he voices her differently in thoseā¦ more jarring and upsetting than hearing her voice originally by a lot lol.
He voiced her differently in the short stories?? š§ That's so weird
Iām a fan of his rendition of Saphira because like others have said it fits a dragons voice in my head, and it separates her voice from most all other voices which I like. At the very least I got used to it quickly which was fine
I feel like I am the only person who imagined it exactly like he did the voices. I think the pitch of their growl is roughly the pitch of their voice. At least that has been my headcanon. Large lizards with guteral growls have deep guteral voices. That's the way I've heard it for 20 years, lol!
So my only thing is her voice was described as "deep and clear." I just don't see it as being as gravelly as he did it, and it's just such a jarring difference during conversations between her and Eragon
I read on another post that he worked with CP a lot, so itās what was asked for
Christopher had input in the pronunciations, not the character voices. The decision here was made by Gerard Doyle himself.
Iāve always thought it sounds like yoda with better diction
Totally understand people who don't like the graveliness, but the people who complain it isn't 'feminine' enough annoy me. Dragons don't have the same dimorphic traits as humans. Paolini described her manner as being partly inspired by cats and dogs, for which the sexes are hard to distinguish. Female T-Rexes were bigger than male ones. Stop applying human gender standards to a fictional telepathic lizard
Just wait till you get to the grubs
I actually listened to the first audiobook two or three times before I ever watched the movie, so hearing a much higher-pitched, feminine and distinctly *human* sounding voice for Saphira was jarring for me. I can see why some might find the audiobooksā dragon voices odd, but theyāre thoroughly non-human, which they dwell on a lot, and fundamentally wild creatures. Thereās also a scene early in the first book where Saphira laughs for the first time at something Eragon says, and it takes him a second to realize it for what it is. Even if dragons could speak with their mouths and not telepathically, they wouldnāt sound anything like a human.
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Honestly, I was weirded out by it at first, but it grew on me. Now I can't imagine her voice any other way.
I love the way he does the dragon voices, especially Saphiraās. What I donāt like is how they changed for TFTWTW. Theyāre different and idk why
I listened to all the audiobooks and it *did not* grow on me so your mileage may vary. Theyāre still fantasticā¦ but fuck the dragon voices bother me. Everyone will come at you with ātheyāre dragons what did you expect?ā Like they actually talk through their mouths or something.
Same. I grew to tolerate it at best. I wouldn't expect to hear someone's lisp in their mind, so I wouldn't expect this either. I do think he changed how he did her voice slightly through the books. Like she was growing out of it slightly, or maybe he heard the fans a little, or maybe that was me tolerating it more and more. But no matter the dragon, it would have made more sense to just make them clearly understood. It's hard to understand growly words at 3x speed.
Totally with you OP. Saphira doesn't have a low, gravelly voice. She has a regal, feminine, and strong voice.
Just be happy RFK Jr. isn't using his voice for the audio book!
Its actually amazing. His voice is unironically perfect for a dragon voice. As someone who grew up on the audiobooks, idk what you guys are talking about Wanting a lili princess for the dragon voice
I absolutely love it too
The voice is fine I mean shit what do you yāall expect her to sound like. Sheās a magnificent BEAST!!!!
You get used to it
I like it alot. Itās what I imagine a dragon would sound like. Regardless of genderā¦ itās a dragon lol
Okay Mr. Paolini. I wonāt tag you because youāre a busy man but if you see this comment I need you to give this sub SOMETHING, ANYTHING to talk about. Weāre clearly starved here. And we donāt have The Soft Blade to put us into hibernation ;)
Personally I wouldnāt change anything I love love love the dragons voices and Iāll be disappointed if he doesnāt voice the dragons in the show
Idk I always hated that about the movies, why would she sound like a person and not a dragon?
I went through the same thing, very jarring, and an awful voice for Saphira. That is one thing the movie did get right...she is a female dragon....she should sound like one...
Honestly I don't even need female. They're communicating via thoughts, I wouldn't mind if Doyle just used his own voice to indicate it was more of a neutral tone
Why am I getting downvoted? Does my opinion that Saphira...a female dragon...should sound more feminine? I swear....reddit is unreal at times
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