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: King Kong

Author: Edgar Wallace, Merian C. Cooper, Delos W. Lovelace

Narrator: Stefan Rudnicki

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-19-05

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 37 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

His very name inspires awe, horror, and, for some of the greatest masters of contemporary science fiction, a strong affection. Find out why in this special collector's edition of the original 1932 novelization of Wallace and Cooper's movie that includes commentary by masters of science fiction Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen, Orson Scott Card, Harlan Ellison, Larry Niven, Catherine Asaro, Jack Williamson, and Marc Zicree.

Originally written by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper, King Kong was novelized by Delos W. Lovelace.

Critic Reviews:

"Filmed 70 years ago in stark black and white, King Kong still holds the force of its raw simplicity. More myth than monster, Kong suffers the fate of the classic tragic hero, destroyed by his own nobility. High-tech civilization overwhelms his primitive power. Beauty kills the beast." (Jack Williamson)

Members Reviews:

How could Kong be dull?

In a way I feel a little bad writing a review for this before I've completely listened to the full recording. But that's kind of the point. There should be no reason why I'm STILL listening to it. King Kong is one of my favorites. Film, book, cartoon, fighting Godzilla...just the best. As a matter of fact this book was one of the first paperbacks I ever bought when I was a kid back in the 60's. So I should have downloaded it, clicked the iPod and not moved for another 6 hours. Instead I'm finding myself kind of bored by the reading. Please don't get me wrong, the man has a fine voice and speaks very clearly. I think that's the problem though. In trying to be precisely articulate he's reading the book a bit on the slow side. At times of giving the impression that he's not reading sentences as much as he's just saying words one after the other. While listening to one of the greatest adventure stories of all time I keep finding my mind wandering off into thinking about work tomorrow, do I need to get gas for the car...... and then finding I've missed parts of the book. Again, I don't want to make you think he's giving a dead reading. He does try to vary the character's voices some, does try to punch up the action scenes, but it just doesn't work. The story of King Kong doesn't need to be intense and over the top performance, but it should at least hold your interest. All in all, I wish I could have been a quarter as excited listening to this as I was in finding it.

Adds little to classic movie.

I just finished listening to the Blackstone audiobook production of the original novelization by Dellos Lovelace of the Wallace screenplay for _King Kong_. I am struck by just how little visual description is given in Lovelace's text. If it weren't for this lack, I think the story would be a fun, if not exactly intellectual read. As it is, I can't help but wondering if Lovelace wasn't counting on all of his readers having images from the movie already in their heads. I have read very few novelizations of films. I figure the book will nearly always be less interesting than the movie, just as surely as the reverse (any movie based on a book) is nearly always a disappointing, watered down product. I do recall reading Alan Dean Foster's _Alien_ as a child, because there was no way for me to sneak into an R-rated film and I really wanted to see what my older cousins were talking about.

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 of the East

Author: Fred Saberhagen

Narrator: Raymond Todd

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-17-05

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 236 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

In the darkness of the shadows and whispered on the winds, there is talk of rebellion. In the swamps, a small band has formed. Determined to regain their freedom, the rebels, heavily outnumbered, plan to overthrow an army of thousands, with the help of one incredible weapon.

It is only a legend, a story left over from the Old World before magic and the wizards came to the land. A weapon of technology. It is the mystical Elephant, and whoever masters it holds the key to freedom...or defeat.

One young man, determined to avenge the death of his family, sets out to join the rebellion and find Elephant. What he discovers will change everything.

Members Reviews:

Distracting Reader

Overall I did like this book and would recommend it but you have to be patient. It gets off to kind of a slow start and to make things worse the reader is well.. kind of annoying. I could ignore the long pauses but the constant loud inhaling is VERY distracting. Could they not edit that out.

...INHALE CATCH MY BREATH,,,,,LET IT OUT... KEEP READING...

Good book, bad narrator.

First, I'm a Saberhagen fan, so I lived the book when I read it and as I listened to it. Todd's narration is, as always, barely tolerable. The frequent mispronunciation is very distracting. I won't buy anything he narrates again.

Uninteresting

I looked forward to listening to this book. I had known about Fred Saberhagen for sometime as I have been "into" SF for many years, but just hadn't gotten around to any of his material. Well... I just couldn't get into this story. I quit in the middle of part 3. I did not care about characters, the plot was not unique. It was like he told himself he needed to write a book that had some typical sci fi/fantasy riffs, complete with the usual suspects. . I just can't recommend this book. I did not care for the plot or characters. It did not have any heart. There are too many good ones out there dont waste your time.

ALMOST quit

I have to admit, I quit listening to this book several times in the beginning, listened to other books, and then came back to it. Honestly I didn't think I was going to ever finish listening to it based on the beginning...

BUT, then I started over while I had no other books to listen to, and THEN got hooked... couldn't put down the MP3 player after that until it was done.

Don't let the first part put you off, the plot thickens and the characters get fleshed out... I'll probably go ahead with the other books in the series now...

I ALMOST quit, glad I didn't!

A subtle crescendo.

This book is the psuedo prequel to "The Swords" and "Lost Swords" novels by Saberhagen. Stand alone this is a very good novel and closer to what many expect from him. Taken as the prequel to the Swords novels, this is a must read and great set up for one of the best fantasy series ever written.

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: From the Earth to the Moon

Author: Jules Verne

Narrator: Jim Killavey

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 58 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-13-05

Publisher: Jimcin Recordings

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 33 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

When From the Earth to the Moon was published in 1865, it was regarded as pure fantasy. Who could imagine a rocket that would carry men and animals through space? Today, like so many of Jules Verne's prophecies, space travel is a reality.

Editorial Reviews:

As in his more famous works, including Around the World in 80 Days and Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne's fantastical 1865 publication From the Earth to the Moon predicted that mankind would one day make it all the way to the moon, although the methodology he conceived certainly hasn't caught on yet. In this engaging adventure, a group of weapons enthusiasts turn their attention to the creation of a so-called "space gun" which might be capable of shooting humans all the way into outer space.

Jim Killavey's engaging and well-paced performance accentuates the humor in this classic tale of human ingenuity, and the urge to reach for the stars....

Members Reviews:

For any classics fan...

I've always enjoyed the books of Jules Verne. If you enjoy classic literature From Earth to the Moon is worth a listen.

Classic story, poorly delivered

Considering the state of rocket science in 1865 (when Verne published this story), he presented a plausible, if picturesque, version of how men might reach the moon via what today we'd call a space gun. Some of the math even holds up. It's classic sci-fi and very typical for Verne in that a reader would have a hard time telling where the science ended and the fiction began.

Jules Verne tells the story of a group of discontented Civil War vets (making up the Baltimore Gun Club) who, longing for a challenge with peace now at hand, decide to build a giant cannon to send a projectile to the moon (later deciding to send a manned capsule instead of a cannonball). The story is mostly about the trials and tribulations of building the thing...the story of the voyage itself came in a less-well-known sequel (not on Audible, AFAICT). Compare with "Fountains of Paradise," which has a very similar theme (albeit about a space elevator instead of a space gun).

Maybe not Verne's best, but if you like his stuff in general, you'll probably like this.

My complaint, and it's a big one, is the narration, which is delivered by Jim Roberts...who is (a) one of my least favorite readers on Audible and (b) not the narrator listed on the download page. He mispronounces words (not fancy technical terms, just regular ol' words), he runs out of breath in odd places (like right before the last 2 words in a sentence) and often just plods along. In this case, I think he does a passable job---barely. I decided to be generous and give the performance 2 stars, but the narration detracts from the audiobook.

Ultimately - unsatisfying.

I love science fiction of this era and have had this on my list for a long time. It is , however ultimately unsatisfying. The work consists largely of a carricaturisation of the supposed American character and a set of mathematical calculations relating to the casting of iron and the propellants for artillery. It feels like the first few chapters of a book that never got finished. The narration is OK but no better. It is a short work which thankfully didn't cost that much but if you are looking for a few hours of classic science fiction look elsewhere.

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 Lost World

Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Narrator: Michael Prichard

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-05-04

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 108 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Professor Challenger vows to prove his tale at a zoological meeting, and a party is formed to find the truth. Edward Malone joins adventurer Lord John Roxton, and staid professor Summerlee on the mission. They journey to the depths of the Amazon, well provisioned and armed to the teeth. But how little they are prepared for what they find there....

Today, Arthur Conan Doyle is best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, but he was also the author of many other science fiction and mystery novels, and The Lost World was one of his best. This original tale of the "living dinosaurs" was the inspiration for many of its kind, including Jurassic Park.

Editorial Reviews:

1912 marked the first Professor Challenger novel and a new series for Arthur Conan Doyle. The narrator is newspaperman Edward Malone, who chronicles an expedition up the Amazon to verify the existence of a prehistoric world populated by dinosaurs. Michael Prichard handles the dialogue with a good bit of bluster, which to be sure, forms a big part of Doyle's larger-than-life characters. Looking for ways to downplay some of this stridency, as Prichard admirably does with the narration, brings some necessary subtlety to a melodrama that itself can seem like something of a fossil.

Members Reviews:

It all comes together

I just finished this book and enjoyed it very very much. Often there is a section or sections of a book that slow down to a dullness that this one never did. Given the intriguing story line and the great differences between each of the main 4 characters (that the author very well defined), I often found myself in my driveway not wanting to turn off the car (I listen on commutes between home and work). In addition, it was extremely well read by the speakers. Outstanding.

Great Family Listening

We listened to this book on an extended car trip. Everyone in the car ages 5,8,11,13,16,18 & 44 desired to continue through each burned CD. The story was everything you would expect from A C Doyle with intensely rich vocabulary being the highlight. The narrator did a fine job bringing the book alive without being a distraction.

Humor and adventure by a master storyteller.

Why did Sir Arthur spend so much time writing about some detective when he could do things like the Lost World, Sir Nigel and the White Company. Although this story has been made into movies (by people who, I don't believe, read the story), don't let that be your guide. Join the expedition to discover a lost world of dinosaurs with interesting fun companions all set in motion by "true love" that stays home to encourage form a safe distance.

An Adventure

Writings of the late Victoria are always a favorite of mine as such this story does not disappoint in the least. Adventure, exploration, and fun to any imagination of the sort to enjoy such things.

Classic storytelling, with the best narration---

Of the three different full-length recordings I've listened to of this great story, Michael Pritchard's is by far the best: the other two versions were marred by the characterizations and over-emotive narrative voice.

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: Pellucidar

Author: Edgar Rice Burroughs

Narrator: Patrick Lawlor

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-11-03

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 75 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

David's epic voyage takes him through the many strange lands of Pellucidar, including the pendant moon and Land of Awful Shadow. His heart pounding encounters with primeval beasts and extraordinary peoples makes Pellucidar one of the best adventure stories ever penned by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Editorial Reviews:

Tales of fantastic adventure were much beloved in early twentieth-century America, and no writer rode the crest more effectively than Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of the Tarzan and the Princess of Mars series, among others. His works, with many million sold, are gradually entering the public domain. Pellucidar begins the seven-volume saga of David Innes and his exploration of the savage inner side of our supposedly hollow earth. An eternal noonday sun illumines a land of huge and ravenous beasts, many prehistoric; fierce humans; and other intelligent life-forms. Patrick Lawlor is good with characterization. Especially good at bringing excitement into his youthful-sounding voice, he makes the listener want to keep listening.

Members Reviews:

A story for all ages.

James Slattery, who read At the Earth?s Core, the first book in this series, was perfect. Patrick Lawlor does a good job, except for an occasional character?s voice. This book is more similar to a Jules Verne fantasy than modern science fiction. The book was written in 1915. The story line contains too many remarkable coincidences, but the story is easy to follow and I did enjoy the book. The book is PG but it would receive an R rating today because of violence. These are the stories I wish I?d read as a child but they are stories for all ages.

Enjoyable but felt rushed (spoiler maybe)

As a sequel this is still a good book, story is detailed and entertaining but just felt rushed. Gaps that made me wonder and turns that did not make sense. Still was a good story. It's an old story and a good conclusion. So enjoyed but left me a little wanting.

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: In the Days of the Comet

Author: H.G. Wells

Narrator: Walter Covell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-19-03

Publisher: Jimcin Recordings

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 28 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

A comet speeds toward earth, a deadly, glowing orb that soon fills the sky and promises doom. But mankind is too consumed with greed and violence to care. As luminous green trails of cosmic dust and vapor stream across the heavens, blood flows beneath: nations wage all-out war, bitter strikes erupt, and jealous lovers plot revenge and murder. The Earth slips past the comet by the narrowest of margins, but all succumb to the gases in its tail. When mankind wakes up, everyone is completely and profoundly different. In the Days of the Comet is H. G. Wells' classic tale of the last days of the old Earth and the extraterrestrial change that becomes the salvation of the human race.

©(P)1982 Jimcin Recordings; cover design ©2003 Brian J. Killavey

Members Reviews:

In the Days of the Comet--avoid

I agree with Mike of Baton Rouge. This was a very long, very boring audiobook. Probably the worst I have ever listened to. I really wanted to like this story. A comet passes by the earth covering it in a green gas that makes everyone fall asleep. When they wake up, no one has an evil, jealous, war-like thought in their heads. Good concept, poor execution. Three hours into this novel and we are still slogging through the life of the main character who comes off as a young, wannabe socialist. If you are expecting science fiction in the vein of "War of the Worlds" or "The Time Machine" this is not the novel for you. "In the Days of the Comet" will turn off anyone except the most die hard fan of Edwardian fiction. 104 years after the publication of this book and we still have the same human failings that author Wells rails against.

A most tiresome read

I expected more from Wells. This story is a long, tiresome read from the diary of the main character; a poorly developed, self-absorbed, self-depricating pitiful waste of human life. It contrasts his life before and after "the change" brought on by the Comet's arrival which brings on a cliche, impractical utopia in the human race.

The story is paced mindnumbingly slowly with more than one sudden climax coming out of nowhere. Just when you think it's over, there's yet more meandering and mucking around in this character's very uninteresting head. You keep waiting for the author "to get on with it" but he seems to come up with more and more meaningless dribble just to fill space.

The reading is monotone and could have easily been read by computer. It is completely without the passion the story was supposed to be invoking in the reader. Perhaps this was the most important reason why it failed to elict in me any sympathy or joy in the reading of the character's angst and salvation.

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: Tales of Space and Time

Author: H.G. Wells

Narrator: Walter Covell, Ivor Hugh

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-19-03

Publisher: Jimcin Recordings

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 29 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Enjoy stories of the past and the future by the author of The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds. This collection includes The Star, The Crystal Egg, Stories of the Stone Age, A Story of the Days to Come and The Man Who Could Work Miracles.

©(P)1982 Jimcin Recordings; cover design ©2003 Brian J. Killavey

Critic Reviews:

"In these stories of peculiar people and their odd experiences that mesh bits of prophecy, social comment, magic, and the supernatural, a crystal egg glows mysteriously, a man finds that he can control the rotation of the earth, and children in the year 2100 discover something new: walking! These adventures vary in setting as time and space are stretched with abandon in order to fit each story. The narration is clear and, necessarily, tongue-in-cheek. Covell's tones are brisk and forceful. Hugh's voice is a little raspy, but more dramatic. Both these talented performers do an excellent job with Wells' splendid images and descriptions. A provocative collection." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Classic stories but unexciting narrator

I'll admit, I've only listened to the first couple of stories. However, the narrator was monotonous to the point that I lost track of the story because my mind was wandering. The stories are good, but you have to be able to concentrate on them. I couldn't listen to this while driving.

Interisting

Some stories were OK and some stories were excellent. But the narrator was really great.

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 Time Machine

Author: H.G. Wells

Narrator: Michael York, Dave Davies, Ian Kerr

Format: Original Recording

Length: 1 hr and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-01-00

Publisher: Star Quest Entertainment

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 29 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

From H.G. Wells, the grand master of speculative fiction, comes The Time Machine, a literary and science fiction classic brought brilliantly to life in this full-cast audio adventure. In the heart of Victorian England an inquisitive inventor constructs a Time Machine that hurtles him hundreds of thousands of years into the future. There he finds himself in the violent center of the ultimate conflict between beings of the light and creatures of the dark.

Production ©1999 Star Quest Entertainment

Critic Reviews:

"His was the first time machine. His was the first invasion of Earth by other-world beings." (Isaac Asimov)

Members Reviews:

Dramatisation

This should be more clearly identified as a dramatisation.. only after listening, I needed to go looking for the description and eventually found the text, "full cast audio adventure".

I've just finished listening to the excellent War of the Worlds, read by Sean Barrett, so I was a little disappointed to hear several actors in this, instead of just a narrator.

As for the audio itself, I found it quite difficult to listen to. The background sound effects and music sound as if someone has tried to clean up the background hiss.. but the result is little gaps of silence that are far more distracting than any hiss of low quality.

These little gaps of silence even break up the effects and music, to give the irritating effect of a flimsy headphone connection (and no, it's not my headphones).

The Time Machine

Most of what is wrong about this audiobook is the poor quality audio recording the listener has to endure fror the last half of the book. Michael York does a nice job. I suggest finding another version of this classic to listen to.

Écoutez ce livre audio dans son intégralité gratuitement sur https://hotaudiobook.com

Titre: Silo Origines (Silo 2)

Auteur: Hugh Howey

Narrateur: Lucile Delanne

Format: Unabridged

Durée: 15 hrs and 37 mins

Langue: Français

Date de publication: 05-31-17

Éditeur: Éditions Thélème

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

Résumé de l'éditeur:

Silo Origines est le préquel de la trilogie post-apocalyptique de Hugh Howey, Silo. L'auteur nous ramène aux origines de son univers alors que le monde était encore tel que nous le connaissons. L'action se déroule entre 2010 et 2052 et seuls quelques dirigeants connaissent les étrangetés que l'avenir réserve...

©2014 Actes Sud (P)2017 Éditions Thélème

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: Let's Get Together

Author: Isaac Asimov

Narrator: Mark F. Smith

Format: Unabridged

Length: 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-25-14

Publisher: Spoken Realms

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

It's bad enough to learn that your historical enemy has developed robots so human-like that it takes an X-ray to detect them. But to learn that a group of the robots is already in the US and planning to detonate a bomb that can annihilate a major piece of a state - that's real motivation! For the man charged with neutralizing them - it's crunch time!

Members Reviews:

The Cold War + ROBOTS!

Any additional comments?

This story is set up in a Cold War type scenario about one hundred years in the future.

The two sides have been at a stalemate for the entire century because of the looming threat of mutually assured destruction via thermo-nuclear bombs.

But things take a change when robotics is finally at the point where it can produce a humanoid robot that could pass undetected across the borders. A robot so realistic that it could fool even the experts upon close examination. And what if these robots were programmed to carry out an attack on enemy soil?

8.39 / 10.00