From: Ann
Location: Reno, NV
Date: 06/19/2007
Like several other posters here, I have read "Songs of Earth and Power" several times, starting in the late '80s. I spend approx. 2 hours commuting each day and have discovered the wonderful world of audio books. Is there any chance that "Songs" will be available in audio format (unabridged please, I HATE abridged recordings)? I previously downloaded "Darwin's Children" from audible.com not realizing that it was a sequel to "Darwin's Radio". although audible.com has "Darwin's Children" in abridged and unabridged, they only have "Darwin's Radio" in abridged format. Any chance of an unabridged version for "Radio". I prefer to be able to download from audible.com, but will be happy to purchase CD's if necessary.
From: Greg Bear
Date: 06/19/2007
Thanks for writing, Ann! I'm a little surprised that there isn't an unabridged DARWIN'S RADIO on audible.com--I'll look into it. No one has yet produced an audio book of SONGS OF EARTH AND POWER. A new audio recording of QUANTICO has been produced by BBC, which has also done DEADLINES--both unabridged.
From: patrick
Location:
Date: 06/20/2007
Just curious, as I've never done an audio book: how do they abridge a novel?
From: Greg Bear
Date: 06/26/2007
Editor(s) move in on the text and decide which are the key scenes and plot elements, then remove "unnecessary" description, dialog, and details. In a sense, the book is de-rezzed, but the sense--in a good abridgement--can still be intact. It's a learning experience to look over an abridged version and wonder--can we be more concise? Or is richness lost if we become too efficient? For the reader, time can often be a limiting factor...
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