THE POWER OF SIX

John Smith is Number Four. His alien civilization sent nine survivors to Earth, and the ruthless Mogadorian assassins have already killed Numbers One to Three. John and Number Six work with their human friend, Sam, to locate the other numbers. Neil Kaplan does better with adults’ voices than with teens’. His nasal voice gives Sam a dopey quality that doesn’t precisely fit Sam’s ingenious nature. Kaplan’s earnest reading lacks the “wow” factor that makes this series so popular with teens. Marisol Kaplan’s female voice for Six is artificial and uneven. While she has smooth tones and reproduces the story’s Spanish phrases well, many of her secondary characters sound overacted. These weaknesses, together with low recording volume, make this hard to recommend. C.A. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2011]