In Which Amber Benson and Wil Wheaton Talk About Narrating Head On + Audio Excerpt Mashup
Posted on March 29, 2018 Posted by John Scalzi 11 Comments
Over on the Verge today, there’s a piece up about the audio version of Head On, which like its predecessor Lock In will have two narrators: Wil Wheaton and Amber Benson. Wil and Amber talk about narrating a book whose main character’s gender is unknown to them (because it’s also unknown to me, the author — I intentionally decided not to gender Chris Shane before I started writing the first book). The article also features an audio excerpt that mashes up Wil and Amber’s narration, which is, honestly, pretty damn cool. If I were you I would click through just to hear that, but what Wil and Amber have to say about the book and their interpretations of it is pretty interesting too.
Also: Hey! Wil and Amber are doing versions of Head On! How cool is that? You can pre-order their respective audio versions from Audible (here’s the link for Amber’s version; here’s the link for Wil’s). Also, remember you can get a signed and personalized version of the printed version from Subterranean Press; and if you just want a signed version (no personalization) Barnes & Noble’s got a few they’ll let you have.
Yes to everything here! Yes to wil and amber, and yes to genderless main characters! I was going to read this anyway but now I’m moving it up the list to next in line! I’ve been toying with the idea of ungendered characters in writing. I have one short thing where the main character remains unidentified.
I love this…
Maybe you should consider keeping it a mystery and get someone with a very androgynous voice?
I listened to Wil’s version when the book came out and Amber’s two years later. The story works beautifully either way. Really looking forward to the new book.
For Lock In I got both the audible versions and can attest that they both were very well done. What I found interesting is that when I listened to Wil’s version Chris came through as definitely male, while listening to Ambers made Chris obviously female. I am anxiously awaiting the release of Head On Kindle and Audible in the coming weeks.
Thanks again, John
Is Audible running the same 2-for-1 promotion they did with Lock In?
Funny, I just re-read Lock In and always considered Chris male. And black. (That’s probably me stereotyping based on his fathers’ career in basketball.)
Can’t say *why* I make the ‘male’ assumption.
As a listener/reader, I love the feeling of continuity that using the same narrator(s) affords. Great news!
I do think Chris is biracial, so that’s at least in the book. Dad is definitely black.
I listened to the mashup and you are right – it is very cool. So cool, in fact, that I would buy a mashup version of the whole book. You might suggest that to Audible. Can’t wait for the book to come out.
I know this was discussed when Lock In came out, but I read Chris as male. Which is probably because I am a male. After I read it, there was discussion here that women read Chris as female. While reading the book, I never really thought about Chris’ gender. The character and story were so compelling that I never thought about it. I am curious to see how knowing what I know now affect my perceptions as I read Head On. Which I cannot wait to do!
What fun!! I find it interesting that in that my mind, I automatically switch the gender perceptions depending on the narrater, even now after several times listening. I may be too old to ever assume gender neutral out of the gate. When I first read the book (before the audibles), I read Chris as male and I am a woman, but that may be that kiss-ass type women are not the norm. Love this concept.
I assume that gender matters, even to a locked-in person. If the story doesn’t tell me, I assume m-or-f based on *something.* I may have chosen to think of Chris as male because most people I know who shorten their name to ‘Chris’ are Christophers as opposed to Christines. Just my experience, but it’s probably 5 to 1.
Of course that could be a regional thing, or simply that I don’t know enough of either to have a truly representative sampling.
(Of course, I still think of Mike as Mycroft and not Mychelle. ymmv!)