FIRST LIGHT

Peter’s discovery of an underground Greenland colony receives uneven treatment from this dual-voiced audio. David Ackroyd’s deep, pleasing voice makes Peter an approachable character, but Ackroyd presents narrative in a dry, lecturing voice. Coleen Marlo, who voices Thea and her Greenland colony, succeeds at narrative, but her hesitant character voices lack verisimilitude. While the use of two narrators clearly demarcates Peter and Thea’s worlds, there’s no synergy in the combined performance. This intriguing story of persecuted British settlers seeking refuge under Greenland’s ice shelf would be enhanced by narrators better suited to Stead’s complex writing style. C.A. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2010]