Download Most Popular Audiobooks in Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary New Releases

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Title: Against the Tide of Years

Author: S. M. Stirling

Narrator: Todd McLaren

Format: Unabridged

Length: 21 hrs and 47 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-10-08

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 629 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

When Walker reaches Greece and recruits several of their greater kinglets to his cause, the people of Nantucket have no choice. If they are to save the primitive world from being plunged into bloodshed on a 20th-century scale, they must defeat Walker at his own game: war.

Members Reviews:

I've Finished the entire series

and I am richer for the experience. These travels back through time somewhat reminiscent of Weber's Safehold series are such an enlightening mix of history and science fiction. Nantucket citizens of the present are cast back 30 centuries into the past privileged to forge a brave new world. The characters are unexpected time travelers. Who would conceive of a black woman admiral in command of the Nantucket navy doing battle with the ancient Greeks and Egyptians led by one of the most evil characters ever brought to life in literature? I cheered her victories out loud. 75 hours of relentless interest. What a great series. Buy this and you won't be disappointed if you would love to change the past.

This third installment got quite a bit more tedious than the first two installments covering too much territory and too many battles as the characters got lost in the action. But I suppose it was difficult to avoid. I loved the first two books and merely enjoyed most of the third.

You can't beat this series

I loved this series when I read it in papareback and loved hearing the voices come alive even better. You will not be dissapointed, But you wil have to buy all three, LOL.

Okay story but it dragged for me

This is hard to put into words... The story was pretty good but I guess it just dragged on too long. It wasn't interesting enough to make me want to listen to it every chance I could get. It is long to begin with, about 21 hours; but it look me over 6 months to finally listen to the entire book as I would find myself not really caring if I listened to it vs. music in my car.

This became more evident to me after finishing this book as the next book I listed to (from OSC) I zipped through in a week. Then another, and another, as I was more compelled to listen - and found I wanted to listen to these next books; while driving, doing dishes, late at night, etc. This wasn't the case for Against the Tide of Years unfortunately. So I guess I'm bailing on the 3rd book. The thought and detail that went into the story is amazing and I liked the premise. I'm not saying it's bad, but for me it just didn't keep me on the edge of my seat.

BOOK GOOD, BUT JUMPS AROUND TOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!

Would you listen to Against the Tide of Years again? Why?

I ENJOYED THIS S.M. STIRLING BOOK, BUT NOT AS MUCH AS THE CHANGE SERIES, I STILL LISTEN TO IT AGAIN EVERY FEW MONTHS. LOVE THE ESCAPE FROM THESE WORRIED TIME IN WHICH WE LIVE

What was one of the most memorable moments of Against the Tide of Years?

THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGING HISTORY

What about Todd McLarens performance did you like?

JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

NO

Any additional comments?

IS THERE EVER GOING TO BE AN END TO THE CHANGE SERIES SAGA?

great book, I wish there was a pause

Loved everything, my only complaint is: a lack of pause between sections in the same chapter.

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Title: Trading in Danger

Subtitle: Vatta's War, Book 1

Author: Elizabeth Moon

Narrator: Cynthia Holloway

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-13-08

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1121 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The first of the acclaimed Vatta's War books, the exciting military science fiction series that features a swashbuckling spaceship-captain heroine who mixes commerce with combat.

©2004 Elizabeth Moon; (P)2008 Tantor

Members Reviews:

Highly Recommend

Let me start by saying I'm an Elizabeth Moon fan and have enjoyed everything she's written - some more than other, but to date I can't say I didn't like anything she's written.

This is fairly typical Moon - strong female character with strong work ethic and sense of right and wrong, independent, decisive leader, a little on the innocent/naive side, but learns lessons - gets into trouble for all the right reasons and works hard to get out of it generally with some help from tough "gunnery sergeants" (Moon was a Marine and some of the best stereotypes generally show up in her work).

I give this audiobook a 4 out of 5 because it's a good book if you like her style, although in my opinion not her best book (which I happen to think is the Deed of Paksenarrion). Also, the narrator could be better - her reading is a little stilted - areas where a character should be speaking casually are read too literally and I'd like to see her develop a greater range of character voices. But she does ok and I enjoyed both the story and narration enough to download the next book in the series.

Moon's writing is great, Narrator is not so hot

The author, Elizabeth Moon, has written another excellent series here, but the narrator leaves plenty to be desired.

After the first few hours, she figures out the rhythm well enough that listening is fine, but she consistently mispronounces certain words... and after awhile, each time she says those words I want to cringe.

Give it a listen anyway, because it's a great read -- but Moon needs to find better narration for her other works!

Oh boy, I found a new series

This is my first time read a Elizabeth Moon book. I had never heard of her before I listen to the interview with her and David Weber. After listening to the interview I was interested enought to give her a try. I enjoyed the story of a young girl from a shipping family that was asked to resign from the military academy because she helped an underclassman find a priest outside of the school who then went on media campaign against the school. Her father makes her a cargo ship Captain (she had her master's license) and sent her off in a old ship to make some trades on way to wrecking yard. The story is interesting and their is lots of adventure, suspense and battles. She is attracted to the military life and the story sets up and leaves you with the question will she stay as a cargo captain or join a mercenary company. This is the first book in a series and set up the character and story line for the series. Cynthia Holloway did okay narrating the book. Can not wait to start book two.

Good Story, barely adequate reader

This is the first book of the Vatta's War series from Elizabeth Moon. Ms. Moon, who is best known for her Parkinson/Gird books, has given us a series here that is a bit of TraderSF and a bit of MilSF, and really quite good, which is, sadly, let down by the reader.

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Title: METAtropolis

Author: Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi, Karl Schroeder

Narrator: Michael Hogan, Scott Brick, Kandyse McClure, Alessandro Juliani, Stefan Rudnicki, John Scalzi

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-20-08

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 1680 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Welcome to a world where big cities are dying, dead - or transformed into technological megastructures. Where once-thriving suburbs are now treacherous Wilds. Where those who live for technology battle those who would die rather than embrace it. It is a world of zero-footprint cities, virtual nations, and armed camps of eco-survivalists.

Welcome to the dawn of uncivilization.

METAtropolis is an intelligent and stunning creation of five of today's cutting-edge science-fiction writers: 2008 Hugo Award winners John Scalzi and Elizabeth Bear; Campbell Award winner Jay Lake; plus fan favorites Tobias Buckell and Karl Schroeder. Together they set the ground rules and developed the parameters of this "shared universe", then wrote five original novellas - all linked, but each a separate tale.

Bringing this audiobook to life is a dream team of performers: Battlestar Galactica's Michael Hogan ("Saul Tigh"); Alessandro Juliani ("Felix Gaeta"); and Kandyse McClure ("Anastasia 'Dee' Dualla"); plus legendary audiobook narrators Scott Brick (Dune) and Stefan Rudnicki (Ender's Game).

John Scalzi, who served as Project Editor, introduces each story, offering insight into how the METAtropolis team created this unique project exclusively for digital audio.

Critic Reviews:

Each story shines on its own; as a group they reinforce one another, building a multifaceted view of a realistic and hopeful urban future. (Publishers Weekly)

Scalzi and his contributors/collaborators have created a fascinating shared urban future that each of them evokes with his or her particular strengths.... This stellar collection is a fascinating example of shared world-building. (Booklist)

"This impressive group of writers imagines what happens when the world moves beyond cities as a locus of human civilization. The range of narrators...brings a unique narrative style to the production. Of the five narrators, all well chosen for the stories, Allessandro Juliani proves to be the best with his rendering of Scalzi's piece." (AudioFile)

Members Reviews:

Fascinating stories

I was hesitant to get this Audible Frontiers audiobook because I generally don't enjoy anthologies. However, I found the Metatropolis stories fascinating -- several stories include references to ecology-related technology changes and the narrators are top-notch. Highly recommended for sci-fi/cli-fi fans.

Pretty good

I really enjoyed the worlds created by the authors. I would have enjoyed it more if the author doing the narrating hadn't yakked about himself and the process so much in between the stories. That could have come at the end of the "book", after the stories, as a "how this book was made" commentary. Otherwise cool stories with some memorable characters and concepts.

Not a wasted credit

(rewritten to exclude apostrophes or quotation marks, which Audible processes incorrectly.)

I like the concept of a shared world and overall this is an entertaining audiobook, but like any anthology some stories are better than others.

In the Forests of the Night by Jake Lake was an extended pseudospiritual/political rant that never answers the most obvious question, i.e.

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Title: The Tower and the Hive

Subtitle: Tower and Hive, Book 5

Author: Anne McCaffrey

Narrator: Susan Ericksen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-04-08

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 341 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Like all powerful families, the Rowan clan has also made enemies. There are those who say the treaties with the Mrdini gave away too much - especially, that the Mrdini get more than their fair share of new living space as habitable planets are discovered - that the Hivers should have been exterminated by now, and that far too much power is concentrated in one family.

The clan has two goals to keep the peace: to help the Mrdini control population growth, so that newly discovered planets are distributed more evenly, and to put a final halt to Hiver advances. They are confident of success - if they can survive sabotage and assassination attempts aimed at destroying all they have worked for.

Critic Reviews:

"Readers looking for intelligent, heroic adventure will find it here, and Rowan fans will be especially pleased at this felicitous closing of a popular SF series." (

Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Wrap Up

Bundle things up to close out the series. But not as good as the earlier books in the series.

love the book but didn't like all the accents

I enjoyed this book but the other books in this series have a better narrator

Anne Macafrey is the mother of science fiction

Her ability to take us out amongst the stars is unparalleled. The way she creates different life forms and races is outstanding. I think that any one interested in science fiction should definitly read this series

loved it.

.She is my all time favorite author. Whether it is Dragon s or space ships they are so captivating she just pulls you in as one of her characters.

Super Read !!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I love all Anne McCaffary books. The Talent series is rated up there with the pern books for greatness. But as far as I'm concerned there is no bad book by this author..

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Title: Freedom's Ransom

Subtitle: Freedom Series, Book 4

Author: Anne McCaffrey

Narrator: Dick Hill

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 07-31-08

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 322 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The survivalist days are over, and the time has come for Botany to find its place in the power struggles of the newly configured universe. As an agricultural planet, rich in resources, Botany has more to offer than the colonists may have thought. A trip to Earth shows Kris and Zainal very dramatically how weakened the home planet is after years of Catteni domination, and how much Earth needs what Botany can give.

Other worlds too have had their wealth skimmed away by the Catteni: the nearby planet of Barevi is little more than a corrupt bazaar, where bits and pieces of Earth's once powerful technology can be traded for grain and mineral ores.

Earth needs food, and the resources to rebuild. Botany needs technology - from solar satellite panels to simple batteries - and, some say, the will to protect itself from being overrun by refugees who may or may not have strength and skills. As alien influence fades, the people of Botany must decide what kind of world they will become.

Critic Reviews:

"Full of humorous events as well as excitement, the fourth entryin McCaffrey's Freedom series will be relished by fans." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Not as good as the first 3

I had really enjoyed the performances on the firs 3 books of this series. this one not so much. The reader just didn't have the flexibility of voice. I liked the story but found it harder to follow, glad I had read the book first.

Ghost written?

Although the story does further the plot left hanging in the previous novel, it is written in a very rough form. The lack of clarity in sentence structure and the way the story jumps around almost make it seem as if McCaffrey's outline for the book was given to a very junior writer/editor team for completion. Details from the previous novels are incorrect or changed to suit the author, leaving little feel of continuity. One of the worst I've experienced from McCaffrey, it left me feeling unfulfilled rather than hungry for more.

Great writer!!

This is a good series of books. With a good voice actor! This series of books creates an imagination of what could be.

Great story!

Strong characterizations; engaging plot showing how people who work together and are well led can accomplish great things against enormous odds. Well read. One of Anne McCaffrey's best series. Highly recommended.

Poor Quality Audio

Incredibly poor quality audio. Liked this series much better when I read it. Such a waste.

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Title: Sunstorm

Subtitle: A Time Odyssey, Book 2

Author: Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen Baxter

Narrator: John Lee

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-04-08

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 464 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Bisesa's questions receive a chilling answer when scientists discover an anomaly in the sun's core - an anomaly that has no natural cause, evidence of alien intervention over two thousand years before. Now, plans set in motion millennia ago by inscrutable watchers light-years away are coming to fruition, in a sunstorm designed to scour the Earth of all life through a bombardment of deadly radiation.

Thus commences a furious race against a ticking solar time bomb. But even now, as apocalypse looms, cooperation is not easy for the peoples and nations of the Earth. Religious and political differences threaten to undermine every effort. And all the while, the Firstborn are watching...

Members Reviews:

Educated people won't War?

This is the second book of a series, but so little from the first book is used in this book, you really don't have to start with the first book if you don't want.

Neither Clarke or Baxter are known for character development. The are know for Science and showing the epic size of our Universe. This book is no different from the most of what Clarke writes, so if you like Clarke you will like this. I have always been interested in our Sun and there is a lot here on the Sun. If you are not into science or the Sun then you will not want this book.

I liked the old fashioned Can Do attitude of this book. I am not sure I have the confidence in the human race to work together, as suggested here, but it was nice to dream. I also believe having one big shield instead of several small shields, may have been a little old fashioned. In the eighties we thought one big lens for Hubble was the way to go. After putting it into space and having nothing but problems with the lens, we discovered that a group of smaller lenses working together would have worked better and that is the way our big telescopes are being built today.

Some may be offended by Clarke's views on religion. If you have read Clarke before you know he hates religion and blames them for the woes of the earth. He also makes it plain here again that people who believe in a Creator are Idiots. He also uses again, the Star of Bethlehem, to represent evil. I am able to look past this, but you might not. Clarke is dead now, so he is finding out the truth.

I was a little surprised by the anti Chinese sentiment in this book. I laughed at Clarke and Baxter's, couple of attempts at sex scenes. You could certainly tell two nerds wrote them. At the beginning there is an attempt to show sympathy for a pretty person being taken serious in a group of scientist. There was more feeling shown for an AI dying then for millions of people dying, or one scientist's own daughter. One AI was even the biggest hero. Clarke believes that if everyone was educated we would not have wars. I believe it would help, but Clarke has evidently not seen what happens when a group of tenured College PHD's, don't want someone with different political views entering there departments.

I often have different views on John Lee's strange voice and his lack of doing different voices, even between genders, but I felt he fit this book well.

amazing book.

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Title: The Sunrise Lands

Subtitle: A Novel of the Change

Author: S. M. Stirling

Narrator: Todd McLaren

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-28-08

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 921 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Rudi Mackenzie, son and heir of the mystic Juniper, must journey with seven friends across a continent in chaos to the Sunrise Lands to solve the riddle of what destroyed a civilization. And as the friends journey farther into the interior, enemies may be within their own band as well as outside it.

Critic Reviews:

"Thought-provoking and engaging." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Bumpy Read-applies to all books in this series

I read the series from the beginning and looked forward to listening to it very much as I drive 2500 miles a month. Todd McLaren, the reader, does a very good job with voices, accents and tone but has an infuriating habit of mispronouncing simple words - i.e., when someone bares their teeth, he reads it as "barred". There are way too many of those to list. If you're accustomed to hearing what you've read, be prepared for a bumpy read - it's jarring when it happens. Probably the most egregious mispronunciation is when someone of Celtic origin says "Shite", he pronounces it "She-ite" - like the Muslim sect. Sets my teeth on edge and I lose the thread of the story because it's so distracting.

The first book of the second trillogy...

...is as good as the first three books. This is one of my favorite genres, post-apocalyptic survival and S. M. Stirling does it very well. After reading the other reviews I can see some of the detractor's points but this is, after all, science fiction/fantasy. It is neither history nor prognostication. The likable characters are very likable and the despicable characters are easy to despise. The premise of sudden isolation and the identification by the surviving members of a group with a strong leader is easy to swallow and makes for a fascinating variety among the different "civilizations". I think Todd McLaren does a fine job differentiating characters with accent and voicing, he doesn't do young girls very well but what would you expect from someone with a fine Bass voice like that. The only criticism and warning to listeners is the book jumps around in both time and space and it's not always clear when it happens. Listen closely or you'll find yourself rewinding to figure out how you got from Dun Juniper to "east of the Cascades" in one breath. A great series and a great read.

Change is not always good, but this book is.

The story: the story is good, very good. I like post apocalyptic style novels. This one is one with a twist. One I haven't seen before, but that adds a lovely flavor to the novel.

The writing: The writing is good and gives each character and alliance great depth and a substantial feel

The narrator: The narator does a good job of representing the characters. At times I wonder if he is mispronouning a word due to the characters or just in general. It doesnt subtract from the story and happens only about three times in the book. I have a feeling its because of the nationality of the narrator possibly.

Overall: I read alot, and when I can't read I listen. I listen to audiobooks, especially, when I run.

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Title: The Uplift War

Subtitle: The Uplift Saga, Book 3

Author: David Brin

Narrator: George Wilson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 27 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-31-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 406 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Earth has been allowed to colonize the planet Garth only because its previous occupants went berserk and wiped out virtually all life there. But now humans, chimps, and their alien allies on Garth are being held hostage in a conflict that could affect the fate of the entire Five Galaxies. As a ragtag group of freedom fighters wage a desperate guerilla war, their only hope for victory lies in unravelling the elusive truth behind the legend of a hidden native species that could prove a powerful ally.

The Uplift War provides entertainment in the grandest tradition of science fiction, with exotic aliens, visionary action, and universe-encompassing mysteries.

Critic Reviews:

"The Uplift books are as compulsive reading as anything ever published in the genre." (The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction)

Members Reviews:

BIG ENTHUSIASTIC WOW

What an awesome trilogy. By the third installment the whole thing is on fire, great writting - marred only by occassional clunky narrative device, outstanding narration and what a story. Inspiring, spellbinding speculative fiction. This lifts Brin into the realm of the great masters: Clarke, Silversberg, Heinlien, Asimov.

The Uplift War

Excellent book, in my humble opinion at least as good or better than Startide rising his Hugo award winning Novel.

I just wish there were more in the same Universe available here...............................DJ

Very good book. Definitely worth listening to...

A very original sci-fi concept (uplift), very good story and good narration.

Inteligent

Intelligent & thought provoking - I like his world; A future with altruism and good breeding ;^)

engaging, fun, moody story

this has been my companion on several long drives. it presents an engaging mix of the thoughtful, comic, hopeful, distressing, and reflective. I normally listen only when on long drives, but not with this book.

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Title: The Dark River

Subtitle: The Fourth Realm, Book 2

Author: John Twelve Hawks

Narrator: Scott Brick

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-20-07

Publisher: Books on Tape

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1209 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Simultaneously, Michael orders the Brethren, the ruthless group that has been hunting Gabriel, into a full-scale search. Gabriel yearns to find his father to protect him; Michael aims to destroy the man whose existence threatens his newfound power.

The race moves from the underground tunnels of New York and London to ruins hidden beneath Rome and Berlin, to a remote region of Africa that is rumored to harbor one of history's greatest treasures. And as the story moves toward its chilling conclusion, Maya must decide if she will trade everything to rescue Gabriel.

Critic Reviews:

"Engrossing....Part A Wrinkle in Time, part The Matrix and part Kurosawa epic." (Publishers Weekly)

"John Twelve Hawks has drawn upon both pop-cultural and literary touchstones and modified them to create a cyber-1984." (The New York Times)

"The stuff that first-rate high-tech paranoid-schizophrenic thrillers are made of." (Time)

Members Reviews:

Not as good as the first book

I thought the first book of this series was very good. I couldn't wait to get the second book. However, the second book just doesn't have that "quality" to make the listener want to keep listening. It is not worth 2 credits. That is like paying for a so-so book twice.

I Liked It

The other reviews are lukewarm but I liked it. It had been 2 years since I heard the first one so I went back and listened to it again before I started book 2, maybe that helped.

It was great to meet Mother Blessing and to see the Hollis character develop. I love all the character development with Maya through both books. I'm wondering if Michael is who he seems or does he have more up his sleeve? Of course we're rooting the most for Gabriel and wondering...where is their father? I like that we don't know who is going to come through the battles.

The book also gives the reader food for thought with modern technology and the way we live 'on the grid' and under surveillance...some things are a little far-fetched...but still enjoyable.

For me, The Dark River went very fast and I'm looking forward to the last one...it's hard to imagine how it will end. I agree that it is dark and it doesn't look good for the good guys..I'm hoping for some positive light to shine through at the end.

Lacks substance

The author has one good idea and tries to make a novel out of it. If it weren't on my iPod when desperately needed a diversion, I would never have finished the book. You can't even begin to care about the characters, and the plot is one note - go to the next world. Very trite. Certainly doesn't live up to the possibilities of his first book.

And the narrator: yawn...takes himself too seriously since there's nothing to the story.

Not horrible...

The Traveler series is a strange one, indeed. The author's call-in at the beginning of book 2 is hilarious. He is presumably on a cell phone, calling us from "off the grid" to warn us of a coming world bereft of love and compassion. But the series is chock-full of one-dimensional characters and gratuitous violence from both sides. Not exactly an ode to love and compassion. The historical context is entertaining from a reverse perspective, sort of like Dan Brown without the benefit of research.

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Title: Empire: The Empire Duet, Part 1

Author: Orson Scott Card

Narrator: Stefan Rudnicki

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-06-06

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 995 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The American Empire has grown too fast, and the fault lines at home are stressed to the breaking point. The war of words between Right and Left has collapsed into a shooting war, though most people just want to be left alone.

The battle rages between the high-technology weapons on one side and militia foot-soldiers on the other, devastating the cities and overrunning the countryside. But the vast majority, who only want the killing to stop and the nation to return to more peaceful days, have technology, weapons, and strategic geniuses of their own.

When the American dream shatters into violence, who can hold the people and the government together? And which side will you be on?

Critic Reviews:

"Couldn't be timelier...heartfelt and sobering....All the action doesn't obscure the author's message about the dangers of extreme political polarization and the need to reassert moderation and mutual citizenship...it drives it home." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Good pace, weak premise

While the pace of this book was engaging, the premise was not. Progressive democrats invading NYC with their own mechanized militia? Then easily footnoted by a few special ops boys? Kind of laughable and, at best, overly simplistic.

I stuck with this book because I kept waiting for a second or third dimension to be revealed - some gritty contradiction perhaps, or actual character development.

The final affront is the afterword in which the author, lacking any real analysis, provides predictable right-ish political commentary. Should have quit while I was ahead.

Even a great author can have a bad day

America?s War on Terror is being fought and won across the globe. Ruben Mallitch is a bona fide hero in that war and a rising star in the US Army. After completing his tour of duty in the Middle East he is promoted to Major and returns home to complete a Masters Degree at Princeton and then assume new duties in the Pentagon. Those duties include identifying weaknesses in domestic counter-terrorism efforts and formulating plans to exploit them. His ?unofficial? duties include acting as a covert go-between for the White House in the world?s hot spots.

This double life doesn?t trouble him until he witnesses a plan he prepared being executed by terrorists.

Are you hooked yet? I was! This has the makings of a fantastic story.

Orson Scott Card?s military SF offerings are unique in that the military characters are believable. In Empire, the author manages to convince us that Mallitch is both a Professional Soldier and a Patriot without him becoming a parody. He isn?t cold-blooded and mindless, he thinks about, and believes in, what he is doing!

Something terrible happened to Empire on the way to its conclusion:? having made the effort to develop the characters; the author doesn?t find anything useful for them to do!

Empire maintains Audio Renaissance?s high production standards and the reading, by Stefan Rudnicki, is clear, precise and well paced. Unfortunately their efforts cannot save this story from itself.

Couldn't take it

This audiobook annoyed me too many times. It's a neat idea for a story, but I couldn't stand the combination of Card's sometimes tedious dialogue and the monotonous, unchanging pacing of the narrator's reading.