I ran into this same issue except that I listened to the Kramer/Reading version of Book 1 and HATED it. I found Kramers parts to be very grating and nasal toned. Then I switched to the Pike versions and LOVED them. She really nailed every character and has an amazingly smooth clean voice. Once I finished Book 4 I of course had no choice but to go back to the Kramer/Reading versions starting at Book 5. Thankfully they had improved significantly since Book 1 and I have enjoyed the rest of the series. I honestly think my issue with Book 1 had more to do with the audio quality than anything else.