Award-winning audio book narrator Scott Brick talks to Jonathan "Audio Book Buzz" Lowe about his affinity with Dune, the challenge of accents, adapting Arthur C. Clarke for the big screen, being a champion of Stephen R. Donaldson, and finishing his first novel.
Before winning an Audio Publishers Association's Audie award in 2003 for narrating Dune: The Butlerian Jihad, Scott Brick was already one the most prolific narrators in the business. A former Shakespearean actor turned film actor and writer, the versatile 42-year old has been featured on Page 1 of the Wall Street Journal for his studious interpretations of over 400 books by authors from Brad Meltzer and Clive Cussler to Orson Scott Card and Isaac Asimov. Chosen as "Narrator of the Year" by Publishers Weekly in 2007, Brick has also won over 40 Earphones awards from AudioFile magazine, and is nominated twice in this year's Audie awards (the Oscar of the industry). First, for work on the original Dune novel, produced in a recent multi-voice edition by Audio Renaissance (now MacMillan Audio), and again, for Dreamsongs, a short story collection by George R. R. Martin published by Random House Audio. Scott had a reading in Tucson last October which I helped arrange, and I'll be seeing him again on May 30th at the Audie awards in L.A., to be hosted by actor Tim Curry ("Dr. Frank N. Furter" in The Rocky Horror Picture Show). A YouTube video of Scott reading "The Woods" by Harlan Coben can be found at my website, JustSayNoWay.com.
JONATHAN LOWE: Despite narrating a variety of genres, including the mystery and suspense of Joseph Finder, Tom Clancy, Nelson DeMille, Dennis Lehane, David Baldacci, Harlan Coben and others, you've attracted the most critical attention narrating the Dune series by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Is Frank Herbert's Dune and its prequels also your favorites, and if so, why?
SCOTT BRICK: Well, I read the original six novels while in college and absolutely loved them, so when I was asked to record Dune, I was overwhelmed. Brian was so giving of his time. He spent four and a half hours on the phone with me, guiding me through extremely difficult pronunciations. After we'd done the first prequel, we recorded the original Dune, and Brian shared all his father's notes with me, to ensure that all our pronunciations were correct. It's hard for me to convey just how special an occurrence this was. No one had ever gone to this effort before, and Brian was so appreciative that we were doing so. The time we sank into this series was immense, yet was completely rewarding.
LOWE: AudioFile gave you a great review, as I recall. Something about your sounding as though you were a tour guide for the planet Arrakis, with all the words just flowing off your tongue as though you'd been saying them for years.
BRICK: Yeah, it's the nicest review I've ever received. Never smiled more after reading a review. Brian actually gave me the most wonderful compliment, as well: 'Scott, after doing all this work, I want you to know you're now officially a pillar of the Dune universe.' When he pointed out that the main character's name means 'pillar' in the Dune language, I told him, 'Geez, Brian, I feel like you just dubbed me with a sword!'
LOWE: Narrating isn't as easy as people think. It should be obvious that it requires a lot of skill and research. But when you read a book that difficult to interpret, don't you run into time constraints, caught between your recording schedule and the need to take notes about the characters?
BRICK: I do, especially when authors make specific references to accents and such. Brad Meltzer, for instance, has a real ear for accents, and makes a point of assigning even minor characters the most obscure accents. He'll go into incredible detail about stretched or flat consonants, resonant vowels, etc. Then there's the accents: South Dakota, Chicago, Boston...he even threw in a Greek guy who'd been raised in England, and if that isn't a direct challenge I don't know what is!
LOWE: Maybe they should force him to read his own work! What's the most difficult and most enjoyable thing about reading books for Random House and other publishers?
BRICK: Reading a book from a different genre and finding a treasure I ordinarily would never read. I've had that happen numerous times. What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg is the example I always cite, it's the Great American Novel, and I likely never would have read it were I not asked to narrate it. I've had that happen over and over in my career. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, The Talbot Odyssey, or any of the thrillers by Nelson DeMille. I always knew these authors were great, but when you're such a fan of one particular genre, as I am with science fiction, you tend to be somewhat blind to the other great reads out there. I likely would've gone without reading them, and that would be a shame. I'm so thankful I got to.
LOWE: Is there a difference in the way different publishers direct you, or do they now just give you the book and let you do your thing?
BRICK: Sure, each publisher has their own technique, their own approach to the work. Some are very hands-on, others just let me to do my own thing. As far as direction goes, I'm always happy to have other people's input. Sometimes directors will listen more for gaffes or mouth noises and ask me to go back and fix those. Others will sometimes tell me, 'I don't think the meaning of that sentence came through,' and ask me to pick it up. It's nice to have their perspective. One time, a studio manager told me, 'Scott, I told our director that you've done a ton of these, so she should just stay out of your way and let you do it.' Even though it was a compliment, I wished he hadn't told the director that. I never want anyone to feel like they can't correct me. What we do is a collaborative effort, and director/producers don't get nearly enough credit for their work. That being said, I've worked with producers who stop me every other sentence, and it drives me nuts!
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