The Sea Wolf

Journey back to the days when men were Men and listen to the sounds of the seas, the mixture of accents and the rule of the Wolf. Bikel combines his years on stage and screen to create a spellbinding rendition of this tale. His clear voice brings chills to the listener as he relates the trials and tribulations of Humphrey Van Weydon, the cruelty of Wolf Larsen and life on the Ghost, their ship. While the abridgment brings out the meat of the story, Bikel captures its essence with strident tones and interesting characterizations. M.B.K. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Narrator Will Patton mars an otherwise excellent performance by consistently mispronouncing "forecastle," yet it's a minor flaw. He reads like a young man who has been shaken by a profound life experience that was more horrible than he had imagined. It's as if he were shell-shocked, able to speak precisely but slowly, contemplating each word and being vaguely appalled by it. He does well with each character, from the cockney low-life cook to the implacable sealer captain, the unforgettable Wolf Larsen. The classic story involves a pampered man in his 30's suddenly forced into the rough-hewn life of a turn-of-the-century sailor, so the performance fits. D.W. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine