Desecration #9 [Audiobook] (Audio Cassette)

The quality of the story line development far surpasses that of the movies because each book in the series has about 5 hours of audio (spread across 4 CDs) while the movie can only be about 2 hours long. Thus, with these audio dramas, you can delve further into character development without sacrificing the plot.

Because of time constraints of this format, and its purely dramatic nature (no narration, just acting), however, you don't get the logical introduction of new characters and plot twists that are interwoven in the book version. Thus, introduction of new characters can leave you puzzled, thinking, "who is this person and how did they get involved?". (Example: the introduction of David Hassid's character)

While the story keeps you riveted, the dynamic range is so wide that you have to keep adjusting the volume knob to accomodate the very quiet voicings and loud effects--there is no happy medium. Sometimes it's very loud, sometimes very quiet--all relevant to the storyline, of course. It's is not arbitrarily loud and quiet, just unevenly so.

Each title in the series contains 4 CDs with 3 episodes on each, although the episodes don't equate to those in the book. Plus some sequences of events are slightly different than in the books to allow for better drama and storyline continuity. (You can't have as much foreshadowing in the audio drama as you can in the book. Thus, the audio theater is much more direct in its plot progression.) Note also that each CD has one track per episode, so you'll have to use a CD player that will scan within a track if you need to rewind or fast forward through the episodes (such as replaying a dialogue you might have missed because it was whispered for dramatic effect).

In all, I would recommend that you listen to the audio drama BEFORE reading the series. Unlike a movie, which is a largely passive entertainment, this audio drama fully engages your mind. Then, when you read the book, you already have the voices introduced in your mind. This helps add vibrancy to the book experience and depth to the characters. When I read the books I was grateful for having heard them first because I found the written character dialogue did not provide enough detail to fully forge the characters' personalities. It was only through hearing their voices that I fully understood the characters' compelling or repelling natures.

If you get a little lost, or disappointed in the style of Jerry Jenkins' famous novels, then THIS is the drama to buy!

Fitting voices, awesome acting, super-cool music, incredible effects, and masterful sound all create the ultimate "experience in sound and drama" for Left Behind's 9th book.

By the way, when they say it's abridged, the audio team cuts some corners, but ONLY in the interest of the listener...I know the books, and I have all the audios, and they work together perfectly...if the audio does not indeed surpass the book.

Get this after you buy the other eight...and buy a good pair of headphones too!! You'll need 'em.

BUY THEM ALL, I mean it