Find the full review of this title at my blog: The Guilded Earlobe.
Then Came War is one of the first independently produced audiobooks I have listened to. Honestly, as someone who listens as much as I do, I can be quite demanding of a narrator. While narrator Andrew B. Wehrlen’s performance wasn’t great, it also wasn’t bad. I had a few technical issues overall. While his pacing was often quite good, sometimes he seemed to get a bit rushed, leading to some awkward pauses and rough transitions. His characterizations weren’t as sharp and defined as they could be, particularly early in the novel, but as the novel progressed he got a hold of most of the characters and started to do some pretty strong work. I would have liked him to provide a bit more flavor to some of the characters, giving them stronger accents and more distinctive vocal styles. About halfway through this novel, I feel he really began to get into the flow of things. His pacing definitely improved, and he gave some strong performances, especially with Judith, the older Jewish women. Wehrlen has a strong, pleasant voice, and does a good job keeping the listener in the story. In the end, I feel Wehrlen does the story justice, bringing Druga’s world to life, and introducing the world to some wonderful characters. I will have no qualms about listening to another audiobook performed by Wehrlen, and definitely plan on checking out more of Druga’s work in audio.