No one can miss the media blitz of the new James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. And those discerning fans also can read the story (altered by the film, not for the better in this reviewer's opinion) with the novelization by Raymond Benson. However, there is a third medium to experience the tale.

Nova Audio Books and Brilliance Corporation has created an audio version of the "Tomorrow Never Dies" novel. The medium may not be for everyone, but for people wanting to see what it is like this is a fantastic rendition.

The two-audio cassette presentation is read by John Kenneth. His work on varying the accents of the characters from his narrative voice is extremely well done. The listener cannot confuse a moment of the banter between Bond and Carver interspersed with the storyline, for instance.

One complaint is that the text is abridged throughout. Not just passages, but intermittently some single lines as well. A few lines were altered. Yet the story is relayed quite fully and the complete running time is listed as three hours. The only other nit-picking would be the few audible dropouts of the sound where editing occurred, not often but noticeable in places.

Finally, of all the characters I like Kenneth's vocalization of Q the most. Kenneth does not mimic the actors (Michelle Yeoh has less of an accent than he gave Wai Lin) and gives all the characters his own interpretation. I do chuckle at one passage every time I hear it.

During the sequence where Q presents Bond with the BMW 750, he poses as an Avis Rental Car employee. He tries patiently to go over the list of insurance coverages available, which Bond smirkingly replies he will be needing. When Bond asks if he will need any other protection beyond normal wear and tear, Q seethes and is supposed to whisper to him, "Only from me, Double-O Seven," quietly to keep up the cover.

However the full line in written in reverse, so Kenneth loudly in character says, "Only from me, Double-O Seven," exasperatingly. Then a short pause occurs before he reads, "he whispered." Delicious.