Download Popular Titles Audiobooks in Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Midnight Oil

Subtitle: Witches of Galdorheim, Volume 2

Author: Marva Dasef

Narrator: Lisa Baarns

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-13-14

Publisher: Marva Dasef

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Shipwrecked on a legendary island, how can a witch rescue her boyfriend if she can't even phone home?

Kat is a nervous wreck waiting for her boyfriend's first visit to her Arctic island home. He doesn't show up, so she's sure he's given her the brushoff. When she learns he's disappeared, she sets out on a mission to find him. Things go wrong from the start. Kat is thrown overboard during a violent storm, while her brother and his girlfriend are captured by a mutant island tribe.

The mutants hold the girlfriend hostage, demanding the teens recover the only thing that can make the mutants human again - the magical Midnight Oil. Mustering every bit of her Wiccan magic, Kat rises to the challenge. She invokes her magical skills, learns to fly an ultralight, meets a legendary sea serpent, rescues her boyfriend, and helps a friendly air spirit win the battle against her spiteful sibling. On top of it all, she's able to recover the Midnight Oil and help the hapless mutants in the nick of time.

Members Reviews:

At Sea with Kat and Rune

What made the experience of listening to Midnight Oil the most enjoyable?

Hearing the characters I had come to like while reading the book brought to life by the narrator

What was one of the most memorable moments of Midnight Oil?

There were three: the memorial service for Kat's father; her meeting with Grrk, the disemvowelled (you'll have to listen to the book to figure that one out) castaway, and Rune's introduction to the ultralight.

What does Lisa Baarns bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

Ms Baarns has a very pleasing voice, and she uses it expertly to give each character a distinctive personality.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The memorial service for Kat's father early in the book was particularly well done.

Any additional comments?

I particularly enjoy the artful and mostly humorous blending of ancient tradition and folklore with aspects of the modern world such as the witches riding both broomsticks and ultralights and the trolls and their snowmobiles. The fact that the snowmobiles are sold by the fat elf up north who runs a dealership in the off season makes it that much better. Also, it is refreshing to meet a heroine who uses her head to get herself out of mishaps rather than waiting for someone to do it for her.

Excellent Narration Makes the Story Come Alive

Where does Midnight Oil rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

2nd or 3rd

What did you like best about this story?

Originality.

What about Lisa Baarnss performance did you like?

Everything. Lisa does a wonderful job presenting multiple characters consistently and in an entertaining way.

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

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I'm writing this review to comment on the narrative style.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Haunted City

Author: Tom Slemen

Narrator: Priscilla Finch

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 06-11-14

Publisher: Tom Slemen

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Running parallel to the conventional history of Liverpool ... there is an unseen seam of supernatural stories that have been largely ignored by the strait-laced historians,' says Torn Slemen, who is, of course, fascinated by this other history and no subject matter is too strange or too terrifying to merit his scrutiny. While some stories may prove to be nothing more than urban myths, many turn out to be only too spine-chillingly true.

Take for example the phantom mare of Dovecot House, which wreaked revenge on Ralph Walsh, the man who had poisoned her...

Plus:

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Pride of Kings

Author: Judith Tarr

Narrator: Ralph Lister

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-28-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

National best-selling author and World Fantasy Award nominee Judith Tarr delivers a powerful epic of a glorious battle against magic unbound.

At the coronation of the new king of England, two crowns are offered to Richard the Lionheart: the mortal and the magical. Lured by earthbound glory and driven by mortal faith, Richard spurns the pagan crown - and rides off on a Crusade to reclaim a sun-scorched Jerusalem from the infidels, leaving his new kingdom defenseless in the mists. For some unknown power has brought down the wall between worlds - and beings of dark magic await their chance to cross over the threshold.

Summoned to England by his dreams is Arslan, a strapping youth born of fire and man. Able to walk between worlds and speak with spirits, he is destined to help a country he has never seen and swear loyalty to a man he has never met: Prince John, called Lackland, who will emerge from the shadow of his older brother Richard to rule the armies of the air.

There are two wars for England to win or lose. One could weaken a mortal empire. The other could destroy the world.

Members Reviews:

The Guardian of Mystic Britain Fight to Protect Her

I love seeing Judith Tarr writing fantasy again. Her grey mare's daughters series was ok, but she is at her best when describing the swirl of Wild Magic about Riders who have gone beyond the boundaries of the mundane world.

Henry is dead, Richard the Lionhearted is to be crowned King of the English, but there is another crown waiting for him, did he but accept it: the crown of the King of Britain, guardian of the mystical realm that is Britain, warded by four guardians who are more than human. However, Richard's eyes and heart are set on Jerusalem and his Crusade. He has no use for Pagan ceremonies and spurns the Crown of Britain. This sets in motion a magical chain of events that resonated in the real world.

In Anjou, Arslan, a young ... son of a dead lord waits with his two Seljuk servants. He had been born and raised in outremer, the son of a mortal lord and an Ifritah, a spirit of fire. In him the magic runs high. A Crusade is gathering and he intends to return to the East. However, he is given a prophetic dream, in which he is told that he must go to Britain, where he is needed. There comes riding into his brother's keep a company, one of whom is recognizable as William, a ... Plantagenet. The other, who seems less worthy is pushed aside while William is feted. The one who is pushed aside is John Lackland, the very legitimate son of Henry and Eleanor of Acquitaine. He is pleased to be amused by it and when he rides out, leaving a discomforted Lord of Anjou, he takes Arslan with him.

The mystical forces that protect Britain offer John a bargain. They offer him a chance to rule as overlord of the spirit of the place, but he is to pay a price. That price is that the world will see him as his brother's usurper and would not know of the service that he had performed to save Britain (and England) to, from the forces arrayed against it.

The book though focuses mainly on Arslan, on his love for one of the Guardians and how two people both blessed and cursed with magic come to an understanding. Arslan, the son of a spirit of fire, is beautiful and strong. His name means lion. The Lady Eschivra, the daughter of Morgana and a river god, is older than him in years, wiser than he in magic, but more tangled in her thoughts and emotions.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Bring Down the Sun

Author: Judith Tarr

Narrator: Lara J. West

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-15-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Alexander the Great ruled the greatest Empire of the ancient world, but he was ruled by his mother, called Olympias. There are as many legends about this powerful Queen as there are of her famous son, and the stories began long before she even met Philip of Macedon.

Priestess of the Great Goddess, daughter of ruling house of Epiros, witch, and familiar of Serpents... she was a figure of mystery, fascination, and fear even during her own lifetime. Author Judith Tarr weaves the legends into an intensely romantic fantasy novel set in ancient Greece and Macedon.

Members Reviews:

Nice to see a positive spin on Olympias

While I love Olympias portrayed as a sort of evil witch, I also really, REALLY loved this positive spin. It was refreshing, as was a different take on her relationship with Philip.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Shadows in the Moonlight

Author: Robert E. Howard

Narrator: Jim Roberts

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 21 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-25-14

Publisher: Jimcin Recordings

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Shadows in the Moonlight is a thrilling tale full of barbarian craftiness, magic, fierce fighting, and Conans incredible strength. For fans of Conan the Barbarian, this tale is a treat!

Trapped by the merciless Shah Amurath, and with most of his men slaughtered, Conan the Cimmerian lives at the edge of hope. He barely escapes with his life, but when a lucky break allows him the chance for revenge, he seizes it, and captures his enemys slave girl, Olivia, who was once a princess. Desperate to flee Shah Amurath, Conan and Olivia reach a deserted island that holds many enchantments and dangers. When pirates arrive, things get bloody very quickly...

Members Reviews:

A classic Swords and Sorcery tale.

Most of Howard 's fantasy stories are well worth reading and Shadows in the Moonlight is no exception.

Utter Id

The more Conan stories I listen to (I listen to a lot of audio fiction from podcasts), the lower they fall in my esteem. I recalled most of this story, somehow, despite it being so damn similar to other Conan stories. Story begins with stranger in some distress. Stranger meets big man. Man is Conan. Conan proceeds to slaughter his way through rest of story. Conan ends with some woman to bed. It's so hyper-masculine, with no real emotions.

I suppose a fan of old-school pulp will be fine with this, but with so many other publications of fantasy and warfare available nowadays, I don't think I'll ever be passing on the Conan stories as recommended reading.

Available as a free audio production from protecting Project Pulp.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Empire Dreams

Author: Ian McDonald

Narrator: William Gaminara

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-18-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Published simultaneously as Desolation Road, the Empire Dreams collection was intended to exploit the author's nomination for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1985. It collects the following stories:

Critic Reviews:

"One of the most interesting and accomplished science fiction writers of this latter-day era, indeed maybe the most interesting and accomplished, and certainly the most culturally and musically sophisticated, the Frank Herbert, William Gibson, or arguably even Thomas Pynchon of the early 21st century. (Asimovs)

I will read anything that man writes - he is the most underappreciated genius working in the field today. (Cory Doctorow)

McDonalds power as a storyteller lies in his stylistic versatility and intensity of language as well as in his capacity to create vivid and memorable characters. (Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

An excellent sampler of McDonald's work

Originally posted at Fantasy Literature.

Over the past few months Ive read seven novels by Ian McDonald and have appreciated his thoughtful and beautifully written stories. I admired all of them, even those that I didnt particularly like. McDonalds stories are unique, many have exotic settings you can get immersed in, and most have fascinating science fiction ideas while also portraying poignant human struggles.

Empire Dreams (1988) is a sampler of ten of McDonalds short stories and novelettes that offer fans and new readers a few glimpses of the authors brilliance and versatility. The first five were originally published in Asimovs Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine and the rest are original to this volume:

Empire Dreams (Ground Control to Major Tom) (Originally printed in Asimovs, December 1985) This novelette is about a new medical technology that uses a virtual reality game to let oncology patients fight their cancer. A boy who just lost his father is the first patient to try the new treatment. The world watches his mother sit by his hospital bed while, internally, the boy and his dead father try to defeat the cancer in Star Wars fashion. This is a touching story about losing parents.

Scenes from a Shadowplay (Asimovs, July 1985) In this clever revenge story, a famous Venetian composer orchestrates the murder of a rival using automatons built by his disinherited clone-brothers. I loved the science fiction elements in this story and wish McDonald would write more in this world.

Christian (Asimovs, October 1984) This strange novelette is about a boy who befriends a man named Christian who flies kites on the beach and tells stories. The kites, and Christian himself, are not what they seem. In one of the stories Christian tells, we see the pain-free society that McDonald will write about later in his novel Out on Blue Six.

King of Morning, Queen of Day (Asimovs, May 1988) I loved this novelette about an upper-class Irish family in the early 20th century. The father, Dr. Desmond, is scorned by his scientific colleagues when he discovers a comet that he insists is actually an alien spaceship. As he measures its progress toward Earth and designs an apparatus for communicating with the aliens, he worries about his daughter Emily who imagines that the woods around their house are inhabited by faeries and she has become their queen. This story is drenched in irony as the characters use their own beliefs and biases to try to explain the other characters odd behavior.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Tendeleos Story

Subtitle: Chaga, Book 3

Author: Ian McDonald

Narrator: Melanie McHugh

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-10-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Winner of the Sturgeon Award, 2001

From the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, an alien force begins to spread, turning the land into an unrecognizable alien landscape. Tendeléo is nine years old when this first package comes down, and before she reaches adulthood the Chaga will change her life forever.

Critic Reviews:

"[An] excellent original novella gazes boldly into the heart of darkness, and finds there a great and galvanising hope." (Infinity Plus)

" the Chaga sequence [is] Ian McDonalds marvellous panorama of Third World plights and possibilities." (SF Site)

Members Reviews:

A companion to the CHAGA novels

Originally published at Fantasy Literature.

Tendeleos Story is a short companion novel to Ian McDonalds CHAGA series which is about an alien tropical plant-like life form that drops from space and lands in several equatorial regions of Earth. The first CHAGA novel, Evolutions Shore, follows Irish reporter Gaby McAslin as she documents the biological, societal, and political changes that occur in Kenya as the Chaga descends from Mount Kilimanjaro and overruns Nairobi. In Kirinya, the second book, Gaby joins the people who have decided to (or been forced to) live in the Chaga rather than fleeing northward to safety. Meanwhile, a subplot follows Dr. Shepherd, one of Gabys lovers, who is studying and trying to figure out the purpose, mechanisms, and creator of the Chaga.

Tendeleos Story does not further the plot or give us more insight into the Chaga. It is simply the story of one girls experience growing up in Nairobi when the Chaga came. Tendeleo is a pastors daughter. When the Chaga appears near her village, she knows that theyll eventually have to evacuate. Her father plans to stay till the end, to minister to his village, but as more and more of his congregation leaves, the family struggles to make ends meet. Tendeleo does what she can to help her family, even when it means getting involved with gangs, corrupt officials, and the American Embassy. Eventually Tendeleo moves to England and falls in love, but she discovers that shes been touched by the Chaga.

In contrast to Gaby, the heroine of Evolutions Shore and Kirinya, Tendeleo is a likeable protagonist with a story thats compelling all the way through. (It helps that its short.) For this reason, I actually liked Tendeleos Story better than Kirinya. While I was disappointed that I didnt get to learn more about the Chaga, I realize that it was never Ian McDonalds intention to explain it to us. He leaves us with a wonderful sense of cosmic conjecture which, to my speculative fiction-loving self, is perfectly fine but is, to my scientist self, slightly disappointing. If McDonald does have answers to Dr Shepherds questions, I hope hell reveal them in another CHAGA novel someday. But if he doesnt, Im okay with that.

You could read Tendeleos Story directly after Evolutions Shore, if you like. Chronologically speaking, thats where it belongs. Once again, I listened to the amazingly wonderful Melanie McHugh narrate Audible Studios version of Tendeleos Story. Its 3.5 hours long.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Rainy Season

Author: James P. Blaylock

Narrator: Christopher Ragland

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-31-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Grieving over his wife's death, Phil Ainsworth is further shaken by his sister's death and the arrival of his niece Betsy, a child who hears the voices of the dead and sees the forces closing in around the old house he has inherited from his mother.

Critic Reviews:

"Blaylock allows us to see the mundane world through new eyes, to perceive the familar as strange and therefore fascinating - for what it is as well as for what it might be." (Charles de Lint)"The central conceit of this elegant, accomplished contemporary ghost story is that fuentes - springs in which children have been ritually drowned - are portals of inexact time travel. Ambitious plotting and characterization augment Blaylock's (Winter Tides) lush language (ripples in a well 'cast a hundred shifting shadows... crisscrossing in geometric confusion'). This is one ghostly tale that stands on very solid ground." (Publishers Weekly)"[A] seamlessly produced... intriguing and absorbing work from a major talent." (Kirkus)"Refreshing natural lunacy. Blaylock is a true American original." (Bruce Sterling)"Blaylock continues to extend his range, this time with a novel of quiet - but not entirely psychological - horror. Blaylock constructs what might be described as a leisurely page-turner: one wants to find out what comes next but doesn't feel compelled to rush onward to do so. Fans of horror in general--especially those who don't demand a high body count--as well as dedicated Blaylock fans will be well pleased." (Booklist)"The author of Winter Tides continues to display an uncanny talent for low-key, off-kilter drama, infusing the modern world with a supernatural tint. Blaylock's evocative prose and studied pacing make him one of the most distinctive contributors to American magical realism. Recommended for most libraries." (Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

Unique idea- the 'ghosts' are still alive

This book is hard to categorize; itâs not really horror, itâs not really science fiction, itâs not what I would think of when someone said âfantasy, and itâs got some elements of a thriller. It does have a unique premise: that certain wells in Southern California only fill up during a rainy season (which does not occur every year there) and have the ability to suck people into them. Thatâs not the odd bit; the odd bit is that some people can come back out of them years later, looking just as they did when they went in. And the well creates a glass talisman containing some of the personâs memory.

Widower Phil Aisworth has his quiet world on his property turned upside down when first his twin sister, Marianne, dies and leaves him as guardian of her preteen daughter, Betsy. With that comes some strife with Hannah Darwin, an older woman who was Marianneâs friend and who helped bring Betsy up- she wants to be Betsyâs guardian. Around this same time a sexy woman appears at Philâs door in the middle of the night, claiming that her car broke down. Sheâs very fetching- and also incredibly nosy and pushing. Meanwhile we have a backstory from 1884; several people back then fell into the well while fighting over things.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Chasing the Dragon

Subtitle: Quantum Gravity, Book 4

Author: Justina Robson

Narrator: Mel Hudson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-28-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Lila Black returns in the fourth volume of high-octane, high-magic, high-tech adventures.

Ever since the Quantum Bomb of 2015 things have been different; the dimensions have fused and suddenly our world is accessible to elves, demons, ghosts, and elementals-and their worlds are open to us. Things have been different for Special Agent Lila Black too: She's been tortured and magic-scarred by elves; rebuilt by humans into a half-robot, part-AI, nuclear-fueled walking arsenal; married to a demon; and is in love with a recently-deceased elf. It was confusing enough before she was catapulted fifty years into her own future.

Returning to the life of a secret agent, Lila finds herself left all of her former boss's old offices and whatever mysteries they contain, as the elf has disappeared some fifty years previously. Appointed head of the new android division, she can see all too clearly what's in store for her if the growth of the alien technologies in her cyborg body continues unchecked.

But there are more immediate concerns. Like resurrecting her lover, Zal. And her husband, the demon Teazle, is embroiled in a fatal plot in Demonia, and her magic sword is making itself happy as a pen whose writing has the power to affect other worlds. The world is off its rocker and most everyone is terrified of faeries. And all the while, she hears the voices of the machine-material projections of an immaterial form, The Signal. The Signal talks constantly-if only she knew what it meant.

Critic Reviews:

"This fast-paced techno-fantasy will delight fans of manga-influenced action and violence." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

need to read the others first. But good book

I liked it. but it was a little hard to follow sometimes. good imaginative story

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Last Dragoon

Author: James Daniel Ross

Narrator: Daniel Dorse

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-21-14

Publisher: Dark Quest, LLC

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 5 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

When was the last time you believed someone who said: I will love you forever? What if they proved it?

What is forever in comparison to the power of love?

In the end, what is the raw power of the human soul?

The Ivy City is dying. It flails under a sea of the risen dead, the holy churches broken, the nobles largely destroyed, the population leaderless and alone, the city itself is bleeding and growing cold. Tattered crimson ribbons of blood fill the gutters. A despicable wizard, scion of the noble line, has shoved the Ivy City to the brink of death as he seeks what he sees as his rightful throne.

Doomed by his forbidden love, discarded by the crown, forgotten by the people, a disgraced hero rises from the ashes to combat the rising darkness. Accompanied by a novice of the god of death, this armored savior will crash headlong into the ranks of the undead. As the legions of the unliving surround and entrap him, he faces the dark truths of his own failures, and discovers the limits of his warrior will.

He will fight because of his oaths to the crown and because of his oaths to the city. But, in the end, he will fight against a horde of nightmares because he has sworn with the totality of his soul to the crown princess, whom he has vowed to love forever.

The only questions that remains are:

What is the raw power of the human soul?

And can it be enough against an army of the dead?

Members Reviews:

Dorse brings a voice and tone perfect for the tale

What made the experience of listening to The Last Dragoon the most enjoyable?

A fantasy work by Ross, Dragoon takes a common theme of classic high fantasy and turns it on it's head. The sepulcheric voice of Dorse as the Dragoon often pulls you through a story which leaves you both quickened by the excitement, and yet heartbroken by the sense of loss experienced by the character. A conclusion that demonstrates more than just a need for raw power of destruction to win the day, "Last Dragoon" is a cut above your average fantasy, and brings a storytelling tone that will stand the test for many readings.