Flight of the Reindeer
The True Story of Santa Claus and His Christmas Mission
By: Robert Sullivan / Narrated By: John Ritter
Length: 2 hrs and 27 mins
Very entertaining once past the beginning and through some audio glitches…
First, in Flight of the Reindeer, you’ve gotta get past the fact that the intro is muted; it sounds like John Ritter is narrating through a pillow. Then you’ve gotta get past the first part which is of boring history and which also listens like an indigenous people’s lecture and discourses on cave paintings of reindeer flying. I mean, yawn!
But when Flight of the Reindeer really gets going, it’s quite entertaining, sure to please the more technically-minded youngsters you know. Meteorologists are consultants for Santa, as are veterinarians. Heads of State acquiesce to 31-hour No Fly Zones. People have made expeditions to the North Pole to meet and discuss matters with Santa and other elves. Zoologists give their take on how Santa’s tiny white reindeer manage to cover such distances, at such speeds, carrying such loads. Why, it takes the reindeer all year to recover from the Christmas run, to develop some much-needed fat, to turn that fat into muscle. And they have to work on speed and endurance, too!
Elves leave caches of supplies on mountaintops and in desolate places where Santa and the reindeer can rest briefly (there’s even quotes from scalers of Mt. Everest who can attest to stumbling across such caches, all the while envisioning the famous elf and his nine reindeer hunkering down there for a respite).
And Santa has told more than one individual about Rudolph coming to lead his sleigh on the Christmas run (did you know it was in the 5th century AD, back when the Huns were actually behaving themselves and were getting some Christmas cheer to celebrate? Terrible snowstorms, just terrible!). Turns out that Rudolph does all the smog-ridden cities but only does the Southern Hemisphere when there are typhoons and such - he’s great at precision work when the worst has hit the fan, but his stamina’s not the greatest, poor Rudolph).
Flight of the Reindeer is a pleasant listen that explains to one and all, old and young, just how Santa has managed all these years, and how he’ll continue to do it for centuries more to come. It has quotes from scholars and adventurers alike, from Helpers of all areas of expertise. Santa relies on us all!
But you have to get through some muting of audio. Good thing John Ritter’s up to the task. He narrates everything with wonder and with a childlike glee. He definitely brings a lot of oomph to the audiobook.
The young might find the beginning some dull going, but they’ll perk up with delight for the last two hours. I chuckled quite a bit, and though George W. Bush was NOT my favorite president, one does have to like the guy for immediately signing off on letting Santa have access to flight paths that are usually quite crowded.
I was bored at first. But I wound up being totally delighted by the end result…!
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