It is a matter of taste, preference and timing. To the fans who love the original narrators, more power to you! You will always have access to those books and the narrators you love. I always find curious when folks create this dichotomy then if I don’t love, it is therefore rubbish. What is the point? Elevate what you love not put down what you hate. It doesn’t elevate your own preference. It is totally OK for us to have different tastes! My personal preference: I have listened to both. Pike’s narration is more to my taste and it elevates the work exponentially. There is a depth I found lacking in the others. If I was starting out I’d recommend RP I can’t see myself listening to any more books narrated by Kramer and Reading. I hope Macmillan audio decides to continue with Rosamund Pike or select a new narrator of equal caliber. If they don’t, then I’ll consider going back to reading the books rather than listening which would be a real shame.