Listener Reviews
☆☆☆☆☆5 out of 5 Stars
Amazing Audio Book
Impossible to describe the thrilling sensation of being immersed in this audio mélange of "sound and fury". Highly recommended for anyone who likes a terrific story---accompanied by sound effects, music, and multiple voices. Let yourself be transported back into the 60's on a starship powered not just by hallucinatory drugs, sexual abandon, and free love, but also a genuine quest for self-knowledge, religious experience and true love.
☆☆☆☆☆5 out of 5 Stars
I listened to the audiobook whilst on my cruise - sitting on my balcony watching the islands go by.
It is a Masterpiece - much more than just a book being read into a microphone. Great prose, brilliant
sound effects, a compelling story and an insightful commentary on 20th Centruy life.
Jeff Sayer
A Revolutionary Audio Adventure
Unlike conventional audiobooks, including those with multiple casts and Hollywood actors, what sets Rites apart is its approach to immersive storytelling. Twenty-seven theatrically trained actors, create thirty-seven eccentric characters effectively capturing the essence of the era: a voyage of self-discovery where sex and love are interwoven with off-beat comedy and mystical adventures.
With its innovative production values, full musical score and engaging performances, this coming-of-age narrative skillfully navigates the search for life’s purpose. Highly recommended for those seeking something fresh that pushes the boundaries of the medium and leaves a lasting impression.
☆☆☆☆☆5 out of 5 Stars
This is definitely a unique way of experiencing an audiobook. There are sound effects and music which enhance the experience. Listen to it with headsets...even better.
AudioFile Magazine
This bawdy, swirling, nostalgic extended monologue is enhanced by 37 character voices, sound effects, and musical selections that range from classical to folk and rock and roll. Actor/writer/performance artist R David Stephens takes the listener back in time to a cabin in the woods in Mendocino, California, during the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Our comic but lonely hero rides out the confusion of pseudo-mysticism, coming of age, mind-altering drugs, and dodging the Vietnam-War-era draft, all while looking for love in all the wrong bars. Although the material is presented as a romping Tom-Jones-style adventure, Stephens's voice betrays what so many wanted from that era. Like the Jefferson Airplane song says, Stephens just wanted "somebody to love." Fun and sentimental. B.P. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2022]
