coral reviewed Welcome to Night Vale (Night Vale, #1) by Joseph Fink
None
Anyone who is into the podcast already knows this book is well-written and full of Night Vale in-jokes (if that's the right term?). It holds together well as a novel, which I was a little worried it might not do--not all great short story writers are also great novel writers.
For my part, I was disappointed at how little the voices beside's Cecil Baldwin's were featured in the audiobook. I mean, Cecil's voice is amazing, don't get me wrong, and he did a fantastic job narrating the story. It might just have been better to leave the other voice actors out altogether (which would only require a small rewrite), or to set expectations more accurately in some other way--I thought I was signing up for a full-cast production, and then I got distracted, waiting to hear (my favorite character) Carlos's voice, because Dylan Marron was credited.
But I hate to …
Anyone who is into the podcast already knows this book is well-written and full of Night Vale in-jokes (if that's the right term?). It holds together well as a novel, which I was a little worried it might not do--not all great short story writers are also great novel writers.
For my part, I was disappointed at how little the voices beside's Cecil Baldwin's were featured in the audiobook. I mean, Cecil's voice is amazing, don't get me wrong, and he did a fantastic job narrating the story. It might just have been better to leave the other voice actors out altogether (which would only require a small rewrite), or to set expectations more accurately in some other way--I thought I was signing up for a full-cast production, and then I got distracted, waiting to hear (my favorite character) Carlos's voice, because Dylan Marron was credited.
But I hate to spend so much virtual ink on what is really just a minor problem with expectations, when the book itself is so well-done and enjoyable.
I am especially overjoyed that it has female protagonists, one of whom is a mother and is still a fantastic, relatable character. (I hate what fiction does to moms. It's part of why I've never wanted to be one, myself.)
I like that we get to find out about the Man in the Tan Jacket.
I like that we get to hear more about Science(!).
And I like--SPOILER--it takes listeners (or readers) into the Night Vale Public Library.
Ultimately, it fills in some gaps in the story, but doesn't really answer a lot of questions about Night Vale, which kind of adds to the fun.
I look forward to future Night Vale novels.
