BIRTHRIGHT: THE BOOK OF MAN

It seems like Resnick's episodic science fiction novel should make an ideal audiobook. Though it covers the next several thousand years of human history, he tells his sweeping story in a series of adventures that illustrate single, focused ideas in clear, accessible prose. However, Adams Morgan's narration doesn't fit the work, and so diminishes its appeal. Morgan's voice is clear, but he keeps a great emotional distance and maintains too regular a pace, undercutting the action and adding an irony not in the original. What's more, because individual character voices are not well differentiated from one another, humans and aliens sound pretty much alike, which is confusing. G.T.B. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 03/JAN 04]