Narrated by Michael Ferraiuolo
I think it’s safe to say that the premise of L.A. Witt’s Static is one of the most original I’ve come across. It’s set in a world very like our own with one major difference – shifters are known to exist, but instead of being able to assume animal shapes, these shifters are able to change gender at will. Some are straight, some are not; some are happy to spend their lives as one gender, some gravitate towards one but do shift sometimes, and others – like Alex in this story – are non-binary which, in Alex’s case, means spending roughly half the time as male and half as female. But while the existence of shifters isn’t a secret, many of them choose to keep their ability under wraps due to the overwhelmingly negative perceptions of them by the “static” public, and the amount of prejudice they encounter.
Damon and his girlfriend have been in a relationship for a couple of years now, and although it’s not been without its ups and downs (Alex can be very moody and sometimes drinks heavily) they love each other and Damon would like them to get married – although Alex keeps dodging the issue. When she doesn’t answer his calls one morning, Damon is immediately worried about her; she went to visit her parents the night before, and he knows she finds those visits incredibly difficult – so he heads over to her house to check on her, and is astonished when a young man opens the door.
Damon is furious, upset, worried and completely bewildered. Who the hell is this guy and why is he in Alex’s house? Has Alex been cheating on him? Whoever he is, the man looks exhausted and like he’s in pain, and Damon eventually finds out why. Alex is a shifter, and always visited her ultra-conservative parents in her male form (as they refused to accept her genderfluidity) and the previous night, they drugged Alex and had an implant put into her spine which means she’s unable to shift. Alex is now static – and male. Possibly forever.
(As Alex spends 99% of the story as male and the author uses male pronouns, I’m going to use them in the rest of this review.)
Damon is, of course, completely thrown by this, but he’s a decent man and seeing Alex’s extreme distress, sets aside his own concerns for the time being to take him to the hospital to get him checked out. The implant is most likely a black-market one and the surgery was most likely carried out by someone unqualified; Alex is at risk of infection and other serious complications, but the tests show he’s mostly fine – physically at least – and after treating him for the crashing, almost unbearable headache he’s been enduring, he’s discharged, and Damon takes him home.
During the hospital visit, they learn that the likelihood of being able to remove the implant without extreme risk to Alex’s life is tiny. Alex has to face the prospect of living the rest of his life feeling like he’s not who he’s supposed to be for half the time, while Damon has no idea what to do next. Unlike many, he’s not prejudiced against shifters, and he’s not going to just abandon Alex while he’s in pain and so vulnerable – that would be a really shitty thing to do. But Damon fell in love with a woman, and even though his rational brain tells him that the Alex he fell for is still there, right in front of him, what he sees is a man – and Damon is straight.
Static is an amazing, intense and compelling story that captured my attention so thoroughly that I listened to the entire book in a couple of sittings. I’m a straight, cis-gendered woman, so I don’t feel qualified to comment on the accuracy (or otherwise) of the portrayal of Alex’s genderfluidity (although from reading around, I understand the author did extensive research) – all I can really do is talk about my emotional reactions to the story, which ran the gamut. Alex’s despair at the thought of being trapped for at least part of the rest of his life in the ‘wrong’ body is brilliantly conveyed; his confusion, terror and despair are palpable, and the scene following his parents’ trial where he breaks down and tells Damon that being with him was the first time he –Alex – had felt truly human made me tear up. I was completely horrified at the way he was treated by his mother, disgusted by the prejudices so blatantly displayed by his colleagues, and elated when he realised he had so many people who genuinely cared about and sympathised with him.
Damon’s journey is a difficult one as well. It takes him a while to completely understand that the person he loved wasn’t gone, but his reactions to what happened and his need to take time to process it all felt natural. He didn’t always like his thoughts – worrying he was acting out of guilt or a sense of obligation (and sometimes he was) – but I liked how honest he was with himself. The new relationship that builds between Damon and Alex isn’t forced and evolves naturally as they spend time together, although perhaps Damon’s move from confused and trying to wrap his mind around Alex as a man to being sexually attracted to him happened a tad quickly. Still Damon’s a good and decent man who is willing to provide the support Alex so desperately needs.
The main reason I’ve given Static an A- rather than an A for content is that I found the ending a bit anticlimactic. It’s weird, I know – I’m all about the HEA, and if anyone deserved one, it was Alex and Damon, but after all the tension and the angst and the build-up, after everything they’d been through, especially given the severity of the potential complications of the surgery to remove the implant, the ending felt rushed and I’d really have liked a little glimpse into their lives afterwards.
Michael Ferraiuolo is an extremely experienced narrator, but somehow, I’ve only listened to him once before and it was quite a while ago. His performance here has reminded me that I really need to listen to him more because he does an absolutely superb job with the narration, providing distinct character voices for everyone, even those characters with only a couple of lines. Most importantly, he completely nails both Alex and Damon and their roiling, shifting emotions – Alex’s despair and desperation, Damon’s confusion and genuine concern, and everything in between – and their emotional connection, which is sorely tested but which deepens throughout the course of the story.
Static isn’t without its lighter, humorous moments, but it’s most definitely not a breezy listen and may not suit those who don’t like a lot of angst in their romance. But it’s an extremely well-written, poignant and thought-provoking story that shows love is (or should be) more than skin deep which, combined with Michael Ferraiuolo’s fantastic performance, makes it an audiobook I’m more than happy to recommend.
Caz
Buy Static by L.A. Witt on Amazon
Wow. Can’t wait to add this to my TBLT stack! It’s a unique idea and it sounds like it’s beautifully executed. It’s definitely on my short list!
It’s SOOOOO good – I was completely gripped from start to finish. It’s a unique story and is incredibly well written – the emotions are vivid and brilliantly conveyed in the performance. Come back and let me know what you thought of it.
Yes yes yes yes YES!!! What you said! I loved this, the story was unique and imaginative and moving, the characters were sympathetic and real, and the universe Witt creates is so believable. One of the best MM(-ish) stories I’ve heard in months. Has she written more about this world, or done a follow-up? I WANT MORE!!! Loved it, thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. I will relisten often, and the narration is divine. I need more from him, too!
Sadly, I think this is a one-off. Good news – Michael Ferraiuolo is teaming up with Greg T. for the audio of The Husband Gambit – not sure when that’s due out, but it’s listed as “coming soon” on her website. AND then MF is narrating Rebound (which I read a few months back and really enjoyed) with Nick J. Russo – I’m down to review that when it comes out in August.
I think one of the reasons I’ve been listening to so much more m/m than anything else lately is because there are some really great narrators who record regularly in the genre. I’ve always tended to prefer male narrators anyway – I’m really picky when it comes to female ones – so it’s become my preferred genre in audio.
I’m picky about female narrators too. They often seem to lack range. Male narrators can sell me a story more convincingly if they are skillful at all. MM is a favorite genre for many reasons, and not just in audio. I like seeing love and romance from a male perspective, I guess. I look forward to those books/reviews. I will be watching for them!
I just listened to and wrote a review of a contemporary (Tomboy by Avery Flynn) which I enjoyed – and I’ve mentioned that I prefer female narrators who can produce a youthful sounding heroine without making her sound like a teenager – performers like Andi Arndt, Carly Robins and – the narrator in that particular book, Savannah Peachwood. Anything much higher-pitched than a mezzo-range voice, and it doesn’t work for me.
I think some men do have more of a range, but I just listened to the audio of The Wolf at the Door by Charlie Adhara, which was one of my favourite books last year, and the narrator has no range at all and has ruined it :( I could have cried.
Some men just can’t do women, they often go falsetto instead of soft and light. Some women have a hard time with male voices, I know I would. And both genders have narrators who just can’t act. Those are the ones who need to become announcers, not narrators. To ruin books is unforgivable, and I let audio companies know when I’m displeased. These books are expensive; doesn’t anyone listen before they get released?
Yes to everything you said. I know there are some out there who (for reasons I can’t quite fathom) actually prefer someone who just reads the words – but I can’t think that’s a majority.
There’s one audio publisher who gets it wrong as often as they get it right (possibly more) and I often find myself wondering if anyone actually listens to the narrators for longer than a minute or two before engaging them, and if anyone actually listens to the finished result. There are several narrators I just can’t listen to who get a lot of work from them; they seem to pick a few narrators and then use them exhaustively in certain genres, even when they’re not very good. You would think that people who produce so many audiobooks would be able to tell the difference between a reader and a vocal actor etc. But it seems not.
Mispronunciations are another pet peeve for me. I recently listened to a werewolf book where lycanthrope and it’s iterations were consistently said wrong. Yikes! I know authors have less power here than they should, but they need to, as a group, begin to stand up for their work. So do listeners. If I want to listen to a recitation of a book, then I’ll go the Whispersync route. (Blech!). I adore audio books, and have listened to 1000s of them. I want the vocal talent to reflect the literary talent, and I’m doing my best to tilt at that windmill. I hope other listeners will do the same.
Same here. Thing is, I do freelance work as an audiobook “checker” – which is like audiobook proofreading, so it’s my job to pick up on things like mispronounciations, misreads (the narrator says the wrong word, adds words, misses them out), noises that shouldn’t be there, someone using the wrong accent and all sorts of things like that, and then report them to the author or publisher who then goes back and fixes them. Or should do. I’ve worked mostly with small independent audio producers or directly with authors – so my question is why don’t the big audio publishers do this? Because if they do, then someone somewhere isn’t passing the messages along! As you’ve said, an audiobook is a big financial investment, and of course time is money – but isn’t it better to put out a polished product than one with mistakes all over the place?
I’d think a happy customer would be the chief goal, and that comes from quality product. Listeners need to complain more, return more books, and let authors and publishers know that the book was poorly produced in some fashion. Contact the publishers directly, a negative review is not enough. Your second job sounds very intriguing, and I do wish all publishers took the time to make such corrections. I have often heard phones ringing in the background, doors closing, distant music, etc. And there is no excuse for that. It takes more money to fix it after the fact, I’d wager.