Donnabella Mortel Walker Narrates This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
As the This Shattered World audiobook narrator, Donnabella Mortel Walker had to make two sides of a war believable at once. The story is set on a colonized planet on the edge of rebellion.
This Shattered World is the second book in the Starbound trilogy by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. It follows a soldier and a rebel leader on a war-torn colony world, told in alternating first-person perspectives.
This Shattered World — Barnes & Noble reading.
The Challenge for a This Shattered World Audiobook Narrator
The audiobook required a performance that could hold both viewpoints. One side carries loyalty, and the other carries resistance. So the narration could not tip the listener’s sympathy before the story earned it.
Donnabella brought that balance to the recording. She gave each perspective its own emotional register. Meanwhile, she kept the pacing of a story built on tension between two people who are supposed to be enemies.
Dual-perspective narration only works if neither voice feels like the “main” one. The listener has to believe both sides equally.
How Dual Narration Works
In a dual-perspective book, the chapters trade places constantly. Because of that, the narrator has to signal each switch through tone, rhythm, and attitude rather than through extra words. When it works, the listener simply feels the shift.
More From This Collaboration
This Shattered World is one of several projects narrated alongside author Amie Kaufman. They include Illuminae, a 2016 Audie Award winner, and the Aurora Cycle trilogy, closed out with Aurora’s End.
For booking inquiries on audiobook narration, commercial voice over, or video game voice work, visit the Voice & Narration page.
Donnabella Mortel Walker is an Audie Award-winning audiobook narrator and actress with more than fifty credits across television, film, and voice. Read her full story, or see her complete filmography on IMDb.
