Horror Aficionados discussion

Here is a place for us to discuss Out of Tune, kindly gifted to us from JournalStone Publishing. Thanks, Journalstone!

Please remember to use spoiler tags when necessary. Thank you and enjoy, everyone!

I will start tomorrow

I've downloaded the audiobook and even if I'll start it tomorrow, I listened some minutes of the first story. I like the idea of take inspiration from ballads.

I listened to the first two today. I enjoyed them :-)

Glad to hear it! I have about an hour left in Dracula and then I'll start listening to this one. :)

Still wanting for them to get back .

I finished the first story, Wendy Darling. I wasn't familiar with The Cruel Mother(had to search on it) but I really liked how wonderfully dark it was and the (view spoiler)[Peter Pan angle (hide spoiler)] was great.

i'll join in after I finish Krampus.

Oops, I forgot I promised to listen to Paradise Sky with someone! I'll be starting this right after that. Whew! These audio books are really starting to become a big part of my reading. :)

I downloaded this morning, will start it on the way home. I actually have the kindle edition of the book, but hadn't gotten around to reading it yet.

Robert wrote: "I downloaded this morning, will start it on the way home. I actually have the kindle edition of the book, but hadn't gotten around to reading it yet."

I have it too. :)

Finished Wendy Darling, a great story. I was surprised by the end and I enjoyed it
I'm a little slow listening in english, by I think this type of story are the best for an audiobook. Nice the voice of the narrator, with all the several tonality.

Andrew wrote: "Finished Wendy Darling, a great story. I was surprised by the end and I enjoyed it
I'm a little slow listening in english, by I think this type of story are the best for an audiobook. Nice the voic..."

Hmm, I had sort of the opposite impression of the narrator - I really didn't care for her. The character voices were OK, but her "narrator" voice seemed flat and inarticulate. I think part of it was her accent (northeastern?), but that's a personal preference, of course. I did enjoy the story, though. I am most of the way through the second story now (Sweet William's Ghost) and really liking it. This narrator works better for me personally. Not sure how many there are total, and how the book is divided among them.

I just started the third story and it is the same narrator as the second. My guess would be there is are two narrators only. One male and one female depending on what the story needs. Who knows though, i thought they where both good and i enjoyed both stories as well.

Yes, I agree about the female narrator. She has a nice voice, and she does great voices for the characters, but she reads a little too fast. I think she should pause more to allow the listener time to process the information being heard.

I'm a little over halfway through. I've enjoyed the stories!

It does appear to be the case that there is one male and one female narrator, because I've just started "Bedlam" and it is back to the female narrator. I think for me the difference really is annunciation, because I have tinnitus, and I have a problem understanding people who don't annunciate clearly, and to me it seems she does not. I have the same problem with my daughter. :-) You could be right on the speed as well - I'll have to pay more attention now. Basically, if I have to concentrate just to comprehend the words, it's pretty hard to feel like I'm getting immersed in the story. Hopefully this next story will go better.

Overall, I really like the stories, and the notes at the end of each are a nice touch. Though having the references read to me gets a little tedious - there aren't too many, at least.

I started listening today with "Wendy Darling" and at first I didn't enjoy the narrator. She had sort of a sibilant "S" that was distracting and the background sounded a little tinny or echoey. Once I got further into the story though, I didn't notice it as much and I really enjoyed the end of the story. Looking forward to the rest.

I just finished the third story and enjoyed it, it was pretty dark. I loved the ending (view spoiler)[ as an athiest i was rolling my eyes at a few parts. The ending when you find out she really wasnt killing people with her mind because another child was found dead after he buried her (at least that's how i took it) and he killed her for nothing was incredibly sad. (hide spoiler)]

I've finished "Sweet William's Ghost". Nice story, even though I never thought to an end like that (view spoiler)[It's strange to think that the real stalker is not the ghost, but the other man (hide spoiler)]. It's true, this narrator it's better than previous, for the voice and tone.
He remembers me some english lessons when I was younger and studied this language at school.

@Andrew-I wasn't loving the story but you're right about the end, that was a nice little twist.

OK, I am settling in with the female narrator now, after starting Jack Ketchum's story. I think it just took a little while to get used to her tone and mannerisms. Overall I am really enjoying it, but I am also remembering that I don't like short stories as much in audio form than just reading them, for whatever reason. I plan to finish and review no matter what, since the publisher was so generous in giving us free copies.

Robert wrote: "OK, I am settling in with the female narrator now, after starting Jack Ketchum's story. I think it just took a little while to get used to her tone and mannerisms. Overall I am really enjoying it, ..."

That's appreciated, Robert!

I've only listened to a few ss collections on audio, but I enjoyed them. Except for Neil Gaiman's Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances. Man oh man, did I hate that audio.

ok, are you ready? I freakin LOVED this book. when Lesley Ann Fogle started singing at the end of Bedlam, I got chills and loved it.after that, I will not complain about her voice. I loved almost all of the stories. my favorites were black is the color of my true and John Henry. the only one i didn't like was sweet William's ghost and that was because of the douche bag guy.going into this, I did not expect to like this book so much but it just wowed me. I love, love, love folklore and all that kind of stuff. I want to look up these ballads now and hear them. I would definitely be interested in more stories like these. thank you Charlene and Jonathan Mayberry for this opportunity.

oh! my birthday is on the winter solstice too! woohoo John Barleycorn but I don't drink beer ;)

Latasha wrote: "ok, are you ready? I freakin LOVED this book. when Lesley Ann Fogle started singing at the end of Bedlam, I got chills and loved it.after that, I will not complain about her voice. I loved almost a..."

I'm SO glad to hear this! Do you think you could leave a review, Latasha? I'm sure Journalstone would appreciate it and perhaps would consider doing this again.

Already done :) here & on Amazon.

I'm late. I have finished the story "Black is the color of my true loves hair". Great story, sad and creeping. Definitely, for me this is the best narrator.

Latasha wrote: "Already done :) here & on Amazon."

You're the best. :)

Your not to bad yourself!

:) Thanks, my friend.

:)

I finished this morning, and I really did enjoy it. The concept is original, and I did like the story notes after each one goiung over the variations of the ballad on which it is based. While I won't say I ever completely "settled in" with the female narrator, she bothered me less as the collection went on. She does have a nice singing voice based on the little we heard! But there was something about her "narrator voice" (when she wasn't performing as a character) that bothered me.

Hard to pick a favorite. I've always been a big Jeff Strand fan, and his entry here is no exception. Not sure that was truly my favorite, though. Hollow is the Heart and Fish Out of water were creepy, and Driving Jenny Home was haunting and sad. Overall a very solid collection!

Review coming shortly, here and at Amazon.

Nice! Thanks so much, Robert!

(Of course, two audios that I requested at the library came in this week, so I've delayed listening to this one.)

My pleasure - thank YOU for arranging it!

For some reason I've had trouble downloading, or should I say registering on the site. I emailed for help, but never heard back. I'll try again from scratch and see what happens.

E. wrote: "For some reason I've had trouble downloading, or should I say registering on the site. I emailed for help, but never heard back. I'll try again from scratch and see what happens."

Okay. Good luck!

I'm just starting this now. I'm not crazy about the narrator of Wendy Darling, but I am enjoying the story.

I'm about halfway through but stopped over the past week or so...too busy. I have enjoyed several of the stories but am not loving either narrator.

I just finished listening to the second story, and I did enjoy both the story and the narrator. (This was the male voice.)

I really enjoyed Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair.

That one was very good.

Latasha wrote: "That one was very good."

I thought so too and I've never heard of the author before. It's so nice to be surprised. :)

Charlene wrote: "I just finished listening to the second story, and I did enjoy both the story and the narrator. (This was the male voice.)"

Me too! I LOVED this one!

Charlene wrote: "I'm just starting this now. I'm not crazy about the narrator of Wendy Darling, but I am enjoying the story."

I'm not through all the stories yet, but I seem to be in sync with you on the first couple. I didn't enjoy this narrator... at all. I hear from the others that she gets better though, so keeping an open mind!

I can't stand her. I'm sorry, but I can't. I only have a few stories left though, so that's good. I've enjoyed the stories a great deal, just not her voice.

Charlene wrote: "I can't stand her. I'm sorry, but I can't. I only have a few stories left though, so that's good. I've enjoyed the stories a great deal, just not her voice."

Agreed. I'm enjoying the stories but I don't like either narrator.

I finished listening and I really enjoyed it. I liked all the stories except the John Wayne one, that was dull. I particularly liked Driving Jenny Home and Bedlam.

I liked Peter Bishop's narration fine. I didn't really care for Leslie Ann Fogle's narration. It took me time every story to get used to her and her whistling "s" bothered me. It sounded like they were recorded in two different studios and her stories sounded more tinny or echoey.

All in all though, I really liked the book and would recommend it.

Charlene wrote: "I can't stand her. I'm sorry, but I can't. I only have a few stories left though, so that's good. I've enjoyed the stories a great deal, just not her voice."

It's nice to have a new list of authors. Many of these are new to me.

Tad wrote: "I finished listening and I really enjoyed it. I liked all the stories except the John Wayne one, that was dull. I particularly liked Driving Jenny Home and Bedlam.

I liked Peter Bishop's narration..."

I'm glad that you enjoyed it, Tad!

I hope you will leave a review.

I'm off to listen to Driving Jenny Home right now.

Charlene wrote: "I can't stand her. I'm sorry, but I can't. I only have a few stories left though, so that's good. I've enjoyed the stories a great deal, just not her voice."

I would say that at most I grew to tolerate her, but I never felt like she was truly "good". Her "narrator" (i.e. non-character) voice was just too flat and inarticulate. I actually thought she did much better in some cases when she was voicing a character.