Audiobooks : Narrator, Davina Porter

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The moment I started listening to the audiobook, Blackbringr, the first in Laini Taylor‘s Middle Grade Fantasy series, Faeries of Dreamdark, I was introduced to the many voices of Davina Porter. The voices she used for each of the characters were meticulously crafted and delivered with artful precision. They truly brought the story to life.

Recently, I was told by a coworker that before I watched the Outlander TV series, I simply had to read the books first by Diana Gabaldon. This is always a good practice to be in the habit of when planning to watch a movie or TV show based on a book. Books give the viewer so much more information that often has to be cut from the film or show. There is only so much time to fill.

I asked my coworker if I read the first book, could I watch the first season of the show? She said, yes, they followed the book series about a book per season. So, I downloaded the e-audiobook from our library for Outlander.

As the introduction began to play for the book, it was a gentleman’s voice that came on, so I thought he must be the narrator of the story. Much to my surprise and delight, Chapter One began and that same magnificent voice came through the headphones that I remembered so well. I knew it had to be the same woman who had narrated the Dreamdark series.

At the time, I didn’t know Davina by name. I only knew I loved her voice. Sure the same voice actress had done both audiobook series, I looked them up online. Sure enough, Davina Porter had lent her talents to both.

Her voices for the characters of Outlander bring, once again, a mixture of English and Scottish brogue into the mix. Davina has an amazing ability to make male voices believable and to show how some Scottish men’s accents are so thick, we English-speakers can barely understand them, whereas others, like Jamie (cue swooning), have an accent to be sure, but there’s is the kind that women dream of.

I found a wonderful article about her, written by Ashley Fendt, from Outlander TV News. If you want to learn more about Davina’s process for creating each book, and how she became a voice actress, click on the link above. Below I have included a two-part video interview with Davina Porter where she talks more about voice acting. I have always found the process fascinating.

Davina Porter began her career in voice acting in 1985, and has since helped Recorded Books transform over 450 books into audiobooks. If you haven’t listened to an audiobook voiced by her, you are missing out, and I implore you to stop everything you’re doing and get one downloading! You won’t be sorry, you picked up your device to listen.

Have you found any audiobook narrators whose voices stay with you even after they’ve finished reading? What was your favorite book they read? Have you ever listened to a book read by Davina Porter? Which one?

I have several other audiobook narrators that I find phenomenal. Would you like me to share them with you?

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