Download the Top 100 Audiobooks in Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

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Title: Universe X. Soul Hunter [Russian Edition]

Author: Sergey Zayzev

Narrator: Maxim Suslov

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-04-16

Publisher: IDDK

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

"Dushelov" - fantasticheskij roman cikla "VIKS" Sergeja Zajceva, zhanr: popadancy, boevoe fjentezi, LitRPG. Kak byt', kogda nezhdanno popadaesh' v real'nost' neizvedannyh vozmozhnostej, v kotoroj tehnologii civilizacii dostigli takogo sovershenstva, chto magija voploshhena vo vsem ee velikolepii? Gde kazhdaja igrovaja zona - preobrazovannyj fizicheskij mir odnoj iz planet, svjazannyh v mezhzvezdnuju set' portalami, i "avatar" igroka - nastojashhee fizicheskoe telo s neverojatnoj vyzhivaemost'ju? Pravil'no, popav v mechtu, glupo ne nasladit'sja momentom! No vot problema...Ty nichego ne pomnish' o sebe, a "pesochnica" mezhcivilizacionnoj igry "Vselennaja IKS" - opasnoe mesto dlja novichkov. I sushhestvuet predel, posle kotorogo vozrozhdenija net!

Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

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Title: Ways of Orient [Russian Edition]

Author: Andrey Vasilyev

Narrator: Arcady Bukhmin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-04-16

Publisher: IDDK

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

"Puti Vostoka" - fantasticheskij roman cikla "Fajroll" Andreja Vasil'eva, zhanr boevoe fjentezi, LitRPG. Novye druz'ja i novye vragi, novye kvesty i novye problemy - vse jeto ozhidaet zhurnalista Nikiforova v real'noj zhizni i ego personazha v komp'juternoj igre "Fajroll". I esli v igre pered personazhem po imeni Hejgen stoit zadacha vypolnit' neverojatno slozhnyj kvest, to pered zhurnalistom stoit zadacha ne poterjat' svoju golovu v real'nosti. Dannoe izdanie soderzhit special'nuju avtorskuju versiju romana, ranee ne izdavavshujusja!

Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

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Title: And a Madman Mumbled

Subtitle: Tales from the Mind of H. David Blalock

Author: H. David Blalock

Narrator: Scott Carrico

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-23-15

Publisher: RadioArchives.com

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Monsters and men.

Death and danger.

Fiction and folly.

Find all of this and more from the pen of one of the most prolific and talented authors in genre fiction today. And a Madman Mumbled: Tales from the Mind of H. David Blalock runs the genre gamut, taking listeners into worlds that will hopefully never exist and through fevered dreams that we only hope are just nightmares. Blalock carefully crafts each and every tale to thrill, excite, involve, and engage. Encounter creatures and stories both strange and familiar, and some even both, in And a Madman Mumbled: Tales from the Mind of H. David Blalock, from Pro Se Productions.

Members Reviews:

The Madman Mumbled His Way to a 5 Star Review

And a Madman Mumbled is a wonderful opportunity for new readers to become acquainted with how Blalock's mind works. In this collection, six speculative fiction stories are provided. Not only, do these works allow the reader to debate and think outside the box, but they allow the reader to see Blalock is capable of writing in any genre he pleases.

The first story, Camouflage, is a cerebral piece based in an insane asylum. Our protagonist is a mental patient by the name of Jason. Although this story is chilling in nature, I found dark humor in the antagonist being a man eating tree. As the story spirals out into its nightmarish ending, the reader is left questioning what actually happened. For those familiar with Ray Bradbury or Richard Matheson, one might appreciate how Blalock has channeled their literary talents into his own vision.

The second tale, Face of the Enemy, is sci-fi/fantasy themed and has a feeling compared to Robert Heinlein. This story takes place in our galaxy, and poses a catastrophic possibility that could be fatal for Earth. Such as most brilliant sci-fi stories, this segment lightly touches on politics. As Blalock proves to be the master of speculative fiction, the subject he touches here is simply presented for thought and not utilized as a soapbox speech.

The third story, The Last Drive, is a disturbing sci-fi genre piece. Not since watching the original Terminator have I felt so unnerved about technology. The way Blalock describes the antagonists here shows a degree of originality that is sure to leave an impression in oneâs mind.

The fourth installment, The Moment Frozen, is a chilling encounter about a man named Dan who is diving peacefully, until his car suddenly stops for no reason. After he has become stranded, he catches a glimpse of a creature that could possibly be a gremlin. In this white knuckled tale, I quickly became married to its suspenseful originality, as Mr. Blalock paints a subtle nightmare with hints of Lovecraft. What impressed me most, was his explanation of how gremlins come into our world and why they destroy our machines.

The fifth segment, No Pay, No Pass, is the only light hearted story in this collection. However, don't let what I just said fool you, as it is a dark humor piece. In this simple, yet grin invoking story, our characters are a knight and a troll. The humor is found in their argument, as the knight wants to cross the bridge that the troll guards without paying its required toll. For fans of Christopher Moore, this has the humor one might need to recover from The Moment Frozen.

The final story, Revenge, is a dark fantasy piece that introduces a necromancer named Tsiel, Lord Djemo.

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Title: The Hearthstone Mischief

Author: Scott Gesinger

Narrator: Tom Boreen Jackson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 17 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-23-15

Publisher: Scott Gesinger

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The village of Hearthstone has a rat problem. Unfortunately for Gurril Lavoy, he's the only one who can stop the mischief before they attack to eat every last human soul in town. A lifelong misfit and outsider, he is the warrior whose village depends on him yet also seems to loath him. His best friend is slowly turning into a tree, so his only allies are an exiled princess, a quaking old man just released from prison, and a giant ferret who would rather drink a nice cup of tea than fight. A nagging doubt persists: is one or more of them not who they seem? While Gurril struggles with personal loss and alienation, his comrades wrestle with their own demons in a world filled with unique magic, wandering bands of rogues, and unlikely fantastic creatures. Hearthstone is a village full of mischief and surrounded by a mischief. Who will survive once the rats attack?

Members Reviews:

When is the next one coming out?

This is an awesome book that I put up there with my favorites. I can't wait until the next book comes out!

Amazing

by far my favorite book ever.would strongly reccomend but... WARNING! incredibly graphic with both gore and rape but would still make an excellent movie

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Title: It Came from the Stars

Author: Robert McCoin Jr. S.C.

Narrator: Noah Westerfield

Format: Unabridged

Length: 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-25-15

Publisher: Robert McCoin Jr. S.C.

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

A priest has an encounter with a diabolical, alien intelligence. As Father Brock Ridgeway squares off against the "Acolyte", a battle of magic verses faith unfolds.

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Title: The Hand Over the Candle

Subtitle: Widdowshins Volume 1

Author: Richard Ainsworth

Narrator: Steve Harris

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-11-15

Publisher: Green Raven Media Ltd

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

This is the first of the tales, but not the last. When bookdealer Malcolm finds himself hungover in the privy of the church, he realizes he has more to be forgiven than his trespasses, due to the mayhem his nocturnal acts have put in motion. Based on the village he lives in and the history he found there, Richard Ainsworth has created Widdowshins. A village where all possible universes collide and where real verifiable history may just make you think twice about how fantastic the claims in the stories actually are. The witchcraft is based on real practices, the history is based on fact (a lot of the time) and the jokes are bad. Widdowshins is where a cast of unlikely characters are the guardians of all our fates. The unlikely guardians are: an elderly female Celtic magic practitioner; a lazy young student; her seedy book-dealer boyfriend; an ascorbic monkey skull; a wise goldfish; and a very stupid tabby cat. Throw in an Art-Deco obsessed Police Inspector, relocated from the Met, a nervous country Vicar, his improbably exotic French wife, a venal, self-serving Mayor and the stage is set for a uniquely British battle between Good and Evil.

Members Reviews:

Creepy, quirky and I want more

One of the best things about this book is the characters in it. Thereâs a fairly large group of them, but they each get just time for you to know and love them all by the end.

But the one that really stuck with me is the witchâs familiar, a âtubby tabbyâ who can talk. Think a less intelligent but equally sassy and loveable version of Salem from Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

Thereâs a part where he comes back from a very close encounter with the thing from the church bathroom and draws out his tale like a masterful story-teller, milking all of the attention he can get from the group. You want to hug him and smack him all at the same time.

The pacing and action in this book is addictive. It lingers where you want to explore Widdowshins and whirls through the action and fighting in a masterful way. If this book were a television show it would make itâs full hour on-air feel like 10 minutes. Itâs such a fun ride.

My favorite scene is the the first proper attack where the creature makes on the Pastor and his wife. Itâs scray to see how brazen and powerful it is, but the way the two fight it off and deal with facing the supernatural thing is hilarious. I donât want to spoil the why part, so Iâll just say itâs a story I plan to revisit because of itâs mix of horror, humor, and action.

The best part of this book by far was what listening to the story brought to the experience. The narrator, comedian Steve Harris, brings such life to the performance, and for those of us outside of the UK, his accent is so much fun to listen to. Well, itâd still be fun to listen to if youâre from the UK as well, but thereâs some extra zest for those of us who arenât used to it.

I will say, it could be a little challenging to understand if youâre not familiar with listening to accents outside of your native one, but itâs certainly worth doing.

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Title: Tales of the Talking Picture

Author: Tom Slemen

Narrator: Norman Gilligan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-10-15

Publisher: Tom Slemen

Ratings: 1 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

Tales of the Talking Picture is a fabulous science-fiction fantasy novel about a boy who comes into possession of an old oval portrait of a woman named Rhiannon Tanglewyst, who happens to be a witch who has been trapped within the picture for centuries. Rhiannon tells Matthew and his troublesome girlfriend, a Goth named Christina, fantastical tales from the future and the past; from a grisly and terrifying account of what really happened to the crew of the Mary Celeste, to the strange mission of a secret agent who must face a chilling foe in the guise of a child. The imaginative tales also cover battling wizards, the Titanic, the sinister Sunday King, the heart-warming tale of a boy who befriends a giant alien insect, and a petty crook who makes the mistake of trying on an electronic thinking cap - only to discover the ultimate answer to the universe. Tales of the Talking Picture is a guaranteed feel-good listen from one of England's master storytellers, Tom Slemen!

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Title: ShNyr the Gulp of Fire [Russian Edition]

Author: Dmitry Yemetz

Narrator: Arcady Bukhmin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-10-15

Publisher: IDDK

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

"Shkola Nyrjal'shhikov" - novaja serija fjentezijnyh romanov Dmitrija Emca. V nej avtor sozdajot mir, pozvoljajushhij po-novomu vzgljanut' na samye privychnye veshhi. Glavnaja zadacha shnyrov - spasat' zhizni ljudej, riskuja svoej, i meshat' vocareniju zla v mire. Predvoditel' ved'marej Gaj vygljadit kak obychnyj, nichem ne primechatel'nyj chelovek, no jeto lish' na pervyj vzgljad. Na samom dele Gaju pjat'sot let, kogda-to on predal Shnyr, zakljuchil dogovor s mogushhestvennym jel'bom i s teh por ishhet sposob prorvat'sja v parallel'nyj mir, dvushku, chtoby zahvatit' ego, prisvoit', porabotit'. I kazhetsja, Gaj uzhe ochen' blizok k svoej celi, nedarom vse sily ved'marej stjanuty v Ekaterinburg k geologicheskomu muzeju. Znachit, Sashke, Ulu i Rodionu vo chto by to ni stalo nuzhno uznat', chto zhe takogo nashel tam Gaj.

Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

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Title: Bridge of Dreams

Author: Chaz Brenchley

Narrator: William Dufris

Format: Unabridged

Length: 19 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 10-30-15

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The first major fantasy novel from the author of the popular Outremer series.

In the city known as Maras-Sund, an uneasy peace threatens to unravel between two cultures. And a young man and woman will find their own destinies: one determined to hold on to power and supremacy, the other struggling for survival - and freedom.

Members Reviews:

A Prose-lover's Fantasist

Chaz Brenchley is the prose-lover's fantasist. He first hit the American scene with his six-volume Outremer epic --Outremer #1: The Devil in the Dust (Outremer, Book 1)-- which stood as quite the peculiar fantasy series. Mixing myriad heady themes with a vastly exotic locale and challenging, not exactly likeable characters, it didn't quite gain the overnight fan base the man deserved. Having enjoyed all six of the Outremer books myself, it was nevertheless easy to see why so many (at least so many American middle classers) failed to share my admiration.

It's an unusual fantasy, by-and-large a re-imagining of the Crusades and the trials faced by the people therein, although while most Westerners think of Merry Olde England, knights and shining armor and holy grails and little else besides whenever "The Crusades" is mentioned, the truth, however, being that England was simply where knights set off from and came back to. The actual Crusades, (i.e. the actual warfare/struggle) took place in the Middle East, and the only other work of modern fiction I can think of to placed the Crusades inside its actual, natural habitat, was the movie Kingdom of Heaven...and we all know how wonderfully that flick went down (it tanked). Add to this already-doomed-to-failure set-up a strong seasoning of poetic prose, and not just purple prose, which fantasy lovers are (unfortunately) more than accustomed to and willing to accept, but rather a high-brow and personal sense of word-play that, honestly, I've yet to discover in full outside of Brenchley's own, singular wordsmithery, and it's understandable why he's wasn't an overnight sensation.

But wait, isn't this post about Bridge of Dreams? Yeah, it is, so let's get to it: with no peer support group for my love of Outremer, over the years I lost track of Brenchley and failed to discover his newer works. Recently, however, I was once again took the plunge, this time into the author's first US-before-UK work, the duology Selling Water by the River, the first book being the outstandingly-conceived Bridge of Dreams.

Whatever reservations anyone may have had when sampling Outremer, I can unabashedly say: Bridge of Dreams is by far a superior work. The world herein is remarkably well rendered, filled with a cavalcade of wild ideas and concepts though tightly focused upon to see a smaller, personal tale. It's about two neighboring countries: the ruling Maras and the ruled-over Sund. Maras marched into Sund long ago, due to crossing an unbridgeable river by crafting a Bridge made out of magic, out of children's dreams. The Bridge, being a bastard thing of wizardry, poisons the water it touches, and the result is an impoverished land peopled with deformed mutations, including one small boy who develops an ability that just might turn the tide in Sund's favor once again.

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Title: River of the World

Author: Chaz Brenchley

Narrator: William Dufris

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-30-15

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Fantasy: Contemporary

Publisher's Summary:

The city of Maras-Sund has stood for more than 20 years - two lands joined together by a magical bridge the Marasai used to conquer the Sundain. But the man known as Issel has magic of his own - an ability to manipulate water - which he will use to free his people. He finds an ally in Jendre, the daughter of a general in Maras' army and a woman with her own vendetta against the regime. Her sister is held captive along with others whose life essences power the magical bridge between her land and Sund. Her plan: to help Issel enter the palace and break the spell.

Members Reviews:

The war is taken across the river - the conclusion to the story

This is the second part of Issel's and Jendre's stories and the wrap up for this series. The feel of this book is quite different to the first book in some ways, especially as the war really takes of in this instalment of the story. Issel finds crossing the river a shock that changes his ability to access his power making him much more lethal to his Maras enemies, who won't know what hit them.

Jendre finds the new Sultan will drive her to the pits of despair and an action from which there is no return that will lead her to Issel and his friends. I have to say I enjoyed both of these books, and while I found Issel to be somewhat reminiscent of the author's main character inDead of Light (New English Library (Hodder and Stoughton).)I nevertheless would like to read more about him in another book in this universe. These are enjoyable fantasies in an alternate Turkish style world, and while the world is not defined in detail and the writing a tad abstract as a pair these books are still a worthwhile fantasy read.

terrific political fantasy

It took a day to destroy a millennium of prosperity when the Marasi created a magical bridge that scaled the walls of Sundain to enable their conquering army inside (see BRIDGE OF DREAMS). Now two decades have passed since the conquering led to twin cities bridged by the dreams of children whose lives are sucked out until they wither and die while the Marasi magical rule.

By happenstance the sultan of Marasi's latest wife Jendre meets Sundain water mage Issel after he has done the impossible by crossing the river to Marasi. They agree to help one another at a time when rivals battle for control in Marasi as she wants to save the life of her "dreaming" sister. However, their plan goes awry when the sultan is assassinated and Jendre captured as she has value to those craving power. Issel knows he must liberate her or else face failure as she is his only access into the castle.

This terrific sequel assumes that the audience read the previous fantasy as much of the political intrigue especially the abuse of power was set in BRIDGE OF DREAMS and built upon that foundation rather than repeated in the deep RIVER OF THE WORLD. The story line is fast-paced once the lead couple recognizes a mutual need for one another and abets each other to achieve what they desire. Whereas Issel wants to free a city, Jendre wants to free a person as morality plays havoc with this duo with issues like sacrificing one for the better good or saving one at the cost of the many (early Ayn Rand). Chaz Brenchley writes a terrific political fantasy.

Harriet Klausner

Good Story, But...

But it gets repetitive.