Eric Michael Summerer

Eric Michael Summerer

@ericsummerer.bsky.social

Audiobook Narrator, Boardgame Podcaster, Taxi Service for Teenagers, Certified Goofball

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So, this weekend sees The Transformers: The Movie hitting theaters for its 40th anniversary (saw it last night, I was gleefully chair dancing to Dare to Be Stupid during the Junkion scene). Thought I'd bring up two projects of mine that relate to this momentous occasion...

There are a number of reasons why a book series might change narrators partway (cost, schedule, creative), but it presents an interesting set of challenges for the narrator picking up the football midfield. Doesn’t help that listeners tend to dislike change as a baseline.

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All of this takes time, though, and the longer the series has gone before you got there, the harder it is to cover the backstory blind spots. Ultimately, I just have to tell the best story I can, and trust that I’ll be forgiven for any minor mismatches.

This is all to explain why I’m writing an email to my publisher this morning that reads, basically, “hey, do you have an audio reference for a bartender, shows up in Book Two, maybe Book One, goes by the name of Francis? Or Frank? Perhaps Lord Chesterton?”

There are a number of reasons why a book series might change narrators partway (cost, schedule, creative), but it presents an interesting set of challenges for the narrator picking up the football midfield. Doesn’t help that listeners tend to dislike change as a baseline.

How much of the previous narrator’s choices do you take on in the name of series continuity? I’m all for making a project your own, but I don’t want to jump into a universe blind and ignore the history/growth these people have had over the books that came before my involvement.

Of course, if you DO try to absorb some of the previous artist’s work, you inevitably run into a choice you don’t agree with. “Why did he make that guy French?!?” And then perhaps you decide to go a different way, but at least it’s with full knowledge of what came before.

On a new Right Brain Rollers, we cover Duel for Cardia from Hans im Gluck, but also: Cyclades from Studio H The Peak Team from Matagot Pirates of Maracaibo from Capstone Games Disney Afternoon Rewind from Maestro Media ...and fan expansion content! sites.libsyn.com/466176/rbr07...

sites.libsyn.comRight Brain Rollers: RBR070 - Duel for CardiaEric starts with a quick recap of Spiel, and the games he brought home. We move on to reviews of Cyclades, The Peak Team: Rangers, Pirates of Maracaibo, and Disney Afternoon: Rewind, before letting th...