librosconte's review against another edition
5.0
Your body is a lock. Death is the key.
Por qué estoy llorandoo.
One more door. (...) Time to close the door.
sheilaokeefe's review against another edition
1.0
I got about half way through this before giving up. The plot is unbelievable, and yes, it's a story about the supernatural, but the characters, their behavior and motivation still need to be believable. The characters are one-dimensional and the audio performances bad over-the-top emoting, tho I wouldn't blame the actors given the poor quality of the material they were working with. About half way thru I realized I wasn't enjoying it, didn't care about any of the characters, and wasn't the least interested in how the story got resolved, so I turned it off and deleted it. Life's too short. At least it was an audible freebie so I didn't waste my or my library's money on it.
pharmdad2007's review against another edition
1.0
I really don't like full-cast dramatizations, but I thought I would give this one a try. I guess it was worth what I paid for it...nothing!
pickett22's review
1.0
I could not listen to this, there was too much screaming.
If anyone wants the audiobook, I think I can gift my copy, and I do not want it. I got it too long ago to return.
If anyone wants the audiobook, I think I can gift my copy, and I do not want it. I got it too long ago to return.
katykat3's review
4.0
Oh my gosh! Little did I realize how much I would love this series and production when I received it as a free download from Audible. Unfortunately, there are some major downsides to this production, and that's why I have to give the audiobook version of the story only 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4 because the story is still fantastic hah)
I wish every audiobook I read could be set up like this one: there's a different voice actor or actress for all of the major characters, which is extremely needed for adapting a graphic novel because adding "X said" after every line would detract greatly from the story. It also means you can get cool arguments and people talking over each other. And these voice actors are phenomenal: when the characters are crying or angry, the actors sound so real. They are all so good, and add so much to the story. There's also a haunting score that serves as a bridge between scenes and chapters, and lots of special effects noises, that help you picture what's going on.
Unfortunately, the special effect noises don't help explain exactly what's going on, especially in the action scenes that are scattered throughout the book. This kind of ruined the end story for me: 2/3 of the last hour and a half of the book is basically all action scenes, and I had to pause the story frequently and read summaries online to figure out what had happened to the characters because I was really confused. Also, some of the voices for the more fantastical "characters" were reeeeeeally annoying to listen to because of their voice style and volume (way louder than the rest of the cast). Also, there were a few scenes where there were too many voices that I couldn't identify. But these problems are kind of expected when adapting a graphic novel into an audiobook, so that's also why I'm rating it 4 stars as opposed to lower.
But the storyline is fantastic. The characters seem so real, their emotions are relatable, and the villains...they're pretty hard to hate because they're so nuanced. The ending really tied everything together, and you can leave the series feeling full and satisfied. I've enjoyed the story so much that I definitely want to find copies of the books from the library so I can see the art, understand what went on in some scenes better, and see what the characters are imagined like.
I would definitely recommend the audiobook to any fans of the Locke and Key series, but I probably wouldn't recommend the audiobook to first time readers. I would definitely recommend the books though, based on the story and what I've seen of the art, to those who are okay with horror and are looking for a story about family, growing up, and magical keys
I wish every audiobook I read could be set up like this one: there's a different voice actor or actress for all of the major characters, which is extremely needed for adapting a graphic novel because adding "X said" after every line would detract greatly from the story. It also means you can get cool arguments and people talking over each other. And these voice actors are phenomenal: when the characters are crying or angry, the actors sound so real. They are all so good, and add so much to the story. There's also a haunting score that serves as a bridge between scenes and chapters, and lots of special effects noises, that help you picture what's going on.
Unfortunately, the special effect noises don't help explain exactly what's going on, especially in the action scenes that are scattered throughout the book. This kind of ruined the end story for me: 2/3 of the last hour and a half of the book is basically all action scenes, and I had to pause the story frequently and read summaries online to figure out what had happened to the characters because I was really confused. Also, some of the voices for the more fantastical "characters"
Spoiler
like the Shadows and Kinsey's Fear and TearsSpoiler
] when they looked at Rendell's pastBut the storyline is fantastic. The characters seem so real, their emotions are relatable, and the villains...they're pretty hard to hate because they're so nuanced. The ending really tied everything together, and you can leave the series feeling full and satisfied. I've enjoyed the story so much that I definitely want to find copies of the books from the library so I can see the art, understand what went on in some scenes better, and see what the characters are imagined like.
I would definitely recommend the audiobook to any fans of the Locke and Key series, but I probably wouldn't recommend the audiobook to first time readers. I would definitely recommend the books though, based on the story and what I've seen of the art, to those who are okay with horror and are looking for a story about family, growing up, and magical keys
baileewalsh's review against another edition
5.0
I don't have much to say about this audiobook other than it's amazing! It's a great story for it to have a fuller production of. And what an experience it is! I have a feeling I would have been much more creeped out had I not been listening along with reading the books, so I'm curious how it would be just the audiobook. I'm quite sure I wouldn't have enjoyed or liked it as much, though, had I only been reading the physical books. Although, technically I was reading the issues online because I don't own the books physically, yet. It would have been interesting to have my imagination take me places through listening to the audio production, but I wanted to listen along with the comics so that's what I did. This is more of a review of the audiobook and less has to do with the story. And, again, I don't have much else to say other than how well-produced it is. It creates an atmosphere and with the sound effects and dialogue it's almost as if you're really following the Locke family. All the actors did a great job, I'd especially say the person who plays Nina Locke because she had to slur her lines at times, but I was still able to understand her. Also, I'm so biased on this but, Tatiana Maslany worked so well for the voice of Echo/female Dodge. (I really like her and the TV show Orphan Black, which is why I say I'm biased towards her since she plays half the characters in that series and she was one of the two voices I was familiar with going into the audiobook. I do have to say Tyler's and Lucas/Dodge/Zach's voices both sounded really familiar, though.) The shadows' voices were super creepy and unsettling. And I liked that the memories/thoughts from inside the characters' heads had voices, too. I would definitely recommend this audiobook to others, so long as they are okay with stories on the violent and creepy side. There's also a lot that is dealt with and touched on in terms of political and social issues, as well as illnesses. Race and gay rights issues come up, one character is mentally handicapped, one character is an alcoholic; there are fights, murder, rape. Even if some of it is more implicit and only slightly expressed in the audio, it may be important for someone to know before going into it- whether it be this audiobook or the physical books.
The overall complete Locke & Key books/story would probably be more of a 4/5 star rating, but the audiobook deserves a 5/5 stars for sure!
The overall complete Locke & Key books/story would probably be more of a 4/5 star rating, but the audiobook deserves a 5/5 stars for sure!
warriorpickle's review against another edition
5.0
Fabulous! had a great time listening to this as I drove around. Found myself wanting to listen more and more. The characters were great. Loved almost every second if it including the ending. Great ideas with the keys. Would love more stuff like this.
kieralesley's review against another edition
Audiobook was superb quality, but the story was a bit hyperviolent and gritty for my tastes. The acting was almost *too* good at portraying the horrible-ness of it all. I wasn't enjoying it, so I put this one down.
anywiebs's review against another edition
3.0
Overall I liked the adaptation as it really drew me into the events. However, there were parts where I didn't really know what was happening or others when the crying sounds were unbearable.
I didn't read the graphic novels so I didn't know what the story was about, but I could follow quite well.
The full cast and sound effects added to the creepy feeling of the story a lot, it is really well done.
I didn't read the graphic novels so I didn't know what the story was about, but I could follow quite well.
The full cast and sound effects added to the creepy feeling of the story a lot, it is really well done.
lbrick363's review against another edition
2.0
I read the graphic novels many years ago and absolutely LOVED them. This was trash. I did not like anything about this. The characters were horrible! Bode was kind of annoying. I was actually looking forward to listening to this because I heard the voice actors did a great job. I just couldn't love it. I'm sad too since I love Joe Hill. I've read a couple of his books multiple times (mostly because I had forgotten that I'd read them and they sounded great). I know my friend Ashley would be upset by my rating since we found the graphic novels together while working in the library, but I just couldn't...Of course this does not put me off any of his books, but I am not sure I will listen to an audio of one that I love as much as Locke & Key.