Audiobooks aren’t just about reading out a book as Audible has shown with Jeffery Deaver’s The Starling Project, which is winning acclaim as a quality audio drama.
The company, which is owned by Amazon, calls the project an Audible drama and it was written as an audio exclusive which is not available in print or as an ebook.
It features over 80 speaking roles, with 30 actors, and stars Alfred Molina, who has played many major roles in film and on stage. The cast also includes Lisa Stathoplos, David J Curtis, Aaron Abano and Ian Alan Karlsen.
Jeffery Deaver has written over 30 novels and is best known for his series of thrillers featuring investigator Lincoln Rhyme.
The Starling Project takes listeners on a global hunt as war crimes investigator Harold Middleton and his team pursue a mysterious mastermind known as The Starling.
It’s not Middleton’s debut, although it’s the first time Deaver has gone it alone, as he came up with the character several years ago and wrote the first and final chapters of The Chopin Manuscript and The Copper Bracelet, while an array of 15 thriller writers, including Lee Child, David Hewson and Joseph Finder, wrote a chapter each.
Deaver says: “I have always been a huge fan of spoken storytelling, which provides so many opportunities for transcendent experiences in enjoying fiction, so I was delighted to team up with Audible to create The Starling Project. By assembling a stellar cast and working their brilliant production magic, Audible has truly made the story come alive.”
The production of the ‘audio movie’ was by Audio Comics which specialises in full-cast audio production of comic books, graphic novels and genre fiction. The firm says it works in partnership with independent creators, guiding them through the process of adapting their stories for audio.
Audible EVP and Publisher Beth Anderson says, “With state-of-the-art sound and music design, The Starling Project is a truly immersive listening experience that sets a new bar for audio entertainment.”
The audiobook market is continuing to show strong growth, with Audible members downloading an average of around 17 books over the course of last year.