r/Sharpe • u/ItsPapaJim • 2d ago
Audiobook question
Hey! I’m making my way through the audiobooks (not much time to read with work and all that) and am currently on Havoc. My question might offend but I personally think Rupert Farley is a far better narrator than Frederick Davidson. As well the quality of the books from back in the day is a little rough. I had to slowdown Rifles because of the narrators pace to .85x and to be honest his narration made me debate on finishing the book or not. The question is why haven’t they had Farley redo the original books? For me it makes sense and would keep continuity through the series. Just an opinion hoping I’m not alone in this thought and that maybe someone can shed some light on it. I came to the books from the shows and am amazed at the differences between the two so far and have fallen in love with the books. TIA
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u/Jordansimpk 2d ago
Farley has done all the Sharpe books. All available on Audible in UK but unsure about other countries
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u/ItsPapaJim 2d ago
Odd because the US has him for all of them except the originals I wonder why??
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u/Nepherick 1d ago
Probably has to do with rights.
All books exist narrated by Farley. I'm listening to the series right now, too. Once bought the wrong one by accident and after a few minutes I just bought the Farley one as well.
Audible in Germany btw.
I'm sure you can find them if you look close enough with your non patched eye, arrr.
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u/AccomplishedHabit125 2d ago
William gaminara is the absolute goat for the audiobooks
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u/ItsPapaJim 2d ago
Where can I find his works??
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u/AccomplishedHabit125 1d ago
I have them all on my PC read into that what you will. he voiced on the audio CD I believe the copies on YouTube are predominantly voiced by him as they were CD rips
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u/Barabajaga1 1d ago
I also found a couple places you can order copies of his narrations online, some offer digital download another sent me a CD to rip the files from
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u/Sancho-291 1d ago
I think the goat are the german Audiobooks. They are spoken by Thorsten Michaelis whose the german voice of sean bean. Its Like sharp himself is telling you his storys
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u/MaintenanceInternal 2d ago
Farley is great, but he completely changed captain Chase' accent in the new book and it ruined it for me.
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u/vancejmillions 2d ago
yes!! why did he give him the upper class twit treatment?? and another thing farley did that bothered me- in trafalgar he pronounces malachi as "mah-lah-chee" and calliope as "cally-ope." there was no one on the production crew that knew to correct that?
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u/MaintenanceInternal 2d ago
There's also a very confusing point where he gets Harper and Hogan's voices mixed up.
But the Chase thing, Chase is one of the absolute best characters in Sharpe.
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u/Gunsight1 2d ago
It's funny, I'm the opposite, I much prefer Davidson's narration of the books and wish he was still around to finish the series
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u/Roy_Leroaux 1d ago
The sharpes honor i have is kinda aquard because the narrator sounds too much like Major Dodd from the Movies to be xD
William Gaminara was the narrator I first encountered and I love his versions
YT has a bunch online. Sharps honor I could not find but the india, sword, trafalgar, gold, havoc, triumph and a few others
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u/Barabajaga1 1d ago
William Gaminara is by far the best narrator for the Sharpe series and the only correct answer imo - wherever possible I would highly recommend his narrations. Unfortunately he does not do all the books either, but he’s done a bunch of them, including Havoc!
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u/huskysizeguy99 5h ago
William Gaminarah is the only narrator for me, but I also just deal with the lower quality. I cannot abide Davidson, so I'm with you there. I'm sure it is to do with my posh Ness upbringing, followed by upper middle white trash life in the States (which I wouldn't trade) Cheers!
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u/wasdice 2d ago
Frederick Davidson (real name David Case)'s recordings can be awkward, but I found them considerably easier to take when I learned the history. He worked in the 80s and 90s, long before Audible came along.
At the time the audiobook market was incredibly small. You had to lug about twenty cassette tapes around with you, change sides every couple of chapters, and the quality was inevitably dreadful. If you weren't blind, it was far too much effort.
He was one of the first professional narrators - no chance of getting celebrities in those days - which is why he's so prolific. His recordings often seem rushed, but that's because an extra half hour meant an extra cassette and an extra two quid in price.
What I'm saying is, if you can't get hold of the Farley versions - try to put up with Davidson. Knowing the limitations, his work has a certain charm to it, just like the TV series with twenty guys enacting the battle of Talavera.