Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
From AudioFile magazine:
This classic about young Pip’s aspirations to become a gentleman and wed Estella and fate’s different designs for him is familiar to many as a television drama and a movie. Simon Vance brings a whole new dimension to the story as he imbues each character with a unique voice, and with exquisite diction provides listeners with a totally new experience. Every detail, every nuance is accorded importance, and lines, even paragraphs, that might have been skipped when reading the book to oneself, or omitted entirely in film, are given their due in this performance. Vance takes the work of the great writer and delivers it to listeners with a full cast of authentic characters and terrific attention to the writing itself. S.S.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2009 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2008
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
From AudioFile Magazine:
One of the most famous of the original nineteenth-century gothic horror novels, this story follows glamorous and youthful Dorian Gray, who becomes corrupted by the fear of his own mortality. Soon, he discovers that while his portrait may age, he will not, a knowledge that leads to his ultimate downfall. Simon Vance’s portrayal of each character is spot-on. His Lord Henry is casual, dismissive, and haughty. His Basil Hallward, the artist infatuated with Dorian, comes across as timid and pitiful but always endearing. Best of all, Vance’s Dorian Gray exudes youth and impetuousness at the beginning, but quickly darkens once the character’s madness takes hold. While at times seeming the slightest bit rushed, Vance nonetheless finds the essence of each character, making Wilde’s work a delightfully creepy listen. A.H.A. 2009 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2008
2008 Audies – Can’t take all the credit
This was my second Audie win and I was more than happy to share the honors with an excellent team of narrators: Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy and Euan Morton amongst others. Had ‘The Terror’ been victorious that would not have been entirely due to my narration either as it was nominated for best abridgment (one of the few abridged novels I have recorded).
The Terror by Dan Simmons
From AudioFile magazine:
A blistering winter voyage, complete with scurvy, starvation, and thrilling adventure, is the focus of this powerful and beautifully realized tale of exploration on the high seas. Simmons’s writing is so vivid that narrator Simon Vance need only deliver the material with a clear and firm reading to capture the interest of listeners. Vance does this so well that the presentation sounds like a recorded journal entry and captivates listeners from start to finish as he plays his role with the utmost respect for Simmons’s work. The result is a moving listening experience—perfectly executed—which transports listeners to the galley of the HMS Terror during its expedition through the Arctic Circle. L.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2008 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2008
Dune by Frank Herbert
From AudioFile magazine:
This full-cast performance, augmented by sound effects and music, does justice to a classic of the science fiction genre. Dune, a complex tale of greed, the quest for power, and the indomitable human spirit, follows the development of young Paul Atreides into the messianic Muad’Dib. Euan Morton imbues Paul with an effective mix of vulnerability and conviction in his destiny. Simon Vance is a stalwart anchor narrator. Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy, and others contribute to an engrossing presentation. This prose is well suited to being read aloud, and this production makes the book easily accessible to newcomers and Dune fanatics. The only thing missing is a complete list of the cast members and the parts they narrate. J.E.M. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007
2007 Audies – Two Excellent Books
This year I was very proud of the two books I had in the running. I loved recording The Prestige – on which the film made this year was based, and The Warden was the first of the Barsetshire series by Trollope which has been a great favorite with listeners.
The Prestige by Christopher Priest
From AudioFile Magazine:
Priest’s remarkable novel won the World Fantasy Award in 1996. Now it’s been produced as an audiobook every bit as remarkable. Simon Vance provides the voices of two late-nineteenth-century warring professional stage magicians: Alfred Borden and Rupert Angier. The entire novel is told through journal entries by these two prestidigitators. Hearing Vance mellifluously pronounce words like “prestidigitator” as if they were part of his normal speech makes the book worth the time, but there is so much more. These characters are shrouded in mystery from the very first minutes, and Vance expertly portrays these two men as their lives (and their tricks) are slowly revealed. S.D.D. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2007 Audies Award Finalist © AudioFile 2007
The Warden by Anthony Trollope
From AudioFile Magazine:
The incomparable Simon Vance parses Anthony Trollope’s famously circumlocutory, phrase-filled style with aplomb in this first of the Barsetshire novels. In it, we follow Mr. Harding, the kindhearted warden of an old men’s poorhouse, who is caught between his ambitious, conservative son-in-law and a reform-minded young man who wants to become his second son-in-law. Trouble ensues when the hapless Mr. Harding tries to avoid unpleasantness by agreeing with everyone. Vance’s narrative skills help modern listeners hear the elegance of Trollope’s writing and understand the writer’s skewering wit. And his ability to create character-revealing accents, from the illiterate grumble of a local farmer to the nasal bray of a highborn clergyman, makes the nineteenth century live in our ears. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2007 Audies Award Finalist © AudioFile 2007
2006 Audies – Best year to date
This is the last year when I recorded using the ‘Richard Matthews’ name that had been associated up till now with everything I had done for Books-on-Tape/Random House
Market Forces by Richard K.Morgan
From AudioFile Magazine:
In this bizarre tale of the near future, the world has devolved into a Mad Max horror show in which businessmen are required to kill their competition. Simon Vance could have taken this story line either too seriously or too lightly but instead performs the work with the perfect amount of flexibility to make the listener empathize with a cadre of corporate killers. And even root for them. Vance, a British actor, brings his stylish accent into play for descriptions of lovemaking, as well as play-by-play rundowns of vicious battles on the boulevards of Britain and its boardrooms, without making the novel drift into farce. There’s nothing funny here, and that’s good. M.S. 2006 Audie Award Winner © AudioFile 2006
This book can be found here:
Audible.com
Tantor Audio
