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Title: Mini-Masterpieces of Science Fiction

Author: Allan Kaster

Narrator: Vanessa Hart, Tom Dheere

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-06-08

Publisher: Infinivox

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 11 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Publisher's Summary:

Here is a superb collection of short science-fiction tales by this genre's contemporary, and emerging, masters.

(P)2008 AudioText

Members Reviews:

not very memorable

not very memorable but ok

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Title: Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge

Author: Mike Resnick

Narrator: Jonathan Davis, Mike Resnick

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-21-08

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 245 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Publisher's Summary:

Thousands of years after mankind has become extinct, a party of alien archaeologists try to learn the mysteries of mankind as they excavate in a gorge on Earth. This Hugo and Nebula Award winning novella by Mike Resnick is a gripping exploration of human origins and motivations.

©1994 by Mike Resnick; (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Members Reviews:

Birthright

This is essentially a sequel to, or the unwritten extended ending to, Resnick's earlier defining work Birthright: The Book of Man. If you enjoyed that, this is a must read. If you've not yet had the pleasure, pick that up first.

I started listening to this not realizing this. I was still captivated and enthralled. I love this piece. When I realized the connection it got even better.

While it certainly stands tall on its own, I believe it's best understood with the full background laid out in Birthright. If you read in it only a depressing epilogue consider first the glory, determination, and hubris that preceded it.

If you still don't buy my review next to the negatives, don't miss the notes of it's winning both the Hugo and the Nebula awards.

Short and interesting look at humanity

Essentially, a coalition of alien races is exploring the site where humankind originated (Olduvai Gorge) and discovering some "examples" of (now extinct) mankind's history. As the title would indicate, there are 7 examples of man's past (pre-historic, ancient, modern, future) - all of which indicate just how ruthless, power-hungry and destructive mankind is.

It's not told in a depressing manner, but there are no "good" moments; humankind's worse moments are shown here, possibly because those are the moments that will be best remembered by future generations?

The narrator is okay. The story is short (and perhaps overpriced for such a short story?) but it's interesting and entertaining and I'm glad I listened to it.

Wonderful Hard SF

This is a wonderful story in the style of Asimov, Heinlein, Clark and Herbert. It is a wonderful thought provoking story about the history of man and his impact on the earth and and the rest of the universe. The story if so well written you will want to keep listening all the way through.. Very enjoyable !!

Good short sequel

A very fitting follow up to his Birthright: Book of Man which leaves one with an undefined feeling at the end which was an excellent book. This book was creative and thoughtful. Good novella.

An alternate view of humanity's progress

The audio version of this book has an interesting forward by the author in which he explains that his book is about humanity Sci fi writers may write about other races, other times, and other worlds, but all these other races, times and worlds are simply metaphors to help readers achieve a better understanding of the human condition, which is what all fiction is about. This is as good an explanation of scifi as any I have heard, and worth remembering the next time an acquaintance gives me that sideways look when I happen to mention that I like scifi.

The novella itself was interesting to me for two reasons: First, because it was set in Africa and featured mainly African characters. This is not a continent that novelistsparticularly scifi novelists--use as a backdrop very often.

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Title: The Game of Rat and Dragon

Author: Cordwainer Smith

Narrator: Matthew Wayne Selznick

Format: Unabridged

Length: 32 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-28-07

Publisher: Wonder Audiobooks LLC

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 30 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Publisher's Summary:

Future humanity has found the secret of faster-than-light travel, but it comes with great dangers. To minimize these dangers, man can pilot ships through the up-and-out with cats as their partners. Underhill shares his mind with his cat-partner, the Lady May, and must travel to the terrible open places between the stars. Only by working together can they defend themselves and the ship's passengers against the dragons in the emptiness of space.

(P)2007 Wonder Audiobooks LLC

Members Reviews:

How to meet the love of your life

I heard plot of this short story described in the Great Courses How Science Fiction Works and just had to read it.

I found it much better than the average sci-fi short story. I dont want to reveal any spoilers, so Ill just say its a great golden-era sci-fi story with a likeable main character, very cool concepts, and a neat ending.

I recommend it to fans of sci-fi and short stories.

Narration is fine. Story is terrible.

Would you try another book from Cordwainer Smith and/or Matthew Wayne Selznick?

This book made me much less likely to read anything by Cordwainer Smith again.

Would you ever listen to anything by Cordwainer Smith again?

Perhaps only if I can be assured that it far exceeds this pathetic story.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment that I wasted my life listening to a book with such an outrageous ending.

Any additional comments?

The ending is impressively terrible, and the story has very little resolution.

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Title: Speed of Light Not So Constant After All

Author: Andrew Grant

Narrator: Mark Moran

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-27-01

Publisher: Science News

Genres: Science & Technology, Magazine & Radio

Publisher's Summary:

Light doesnt always travel at the speed of light. A new experiment reveals that focusing or manipulating the structure of light pulses reduces their speed, even in vacuum conditions.

©2014 Science Service (P)2014 Science Service

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Title: Brain's Protective Barrier Gets Leaky with Age

Author: Ashley Yeager

Narrator: Mark Moran

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-25-01

Publisher: Science News

Genres: Science & Technology, Magazine & Radio

Publisher's Summary:

Time can wear down the sturdiest walls, even the one that protects the brain from bad stuff in the blood. This blood-brain barrier breaks down with age, possibly playing an important role in Alzheimers disease, a new study suggests.

©2014 Science Service (P)2014 Science Service

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Title: Graphene's Allure Becomes Magnetic

Author: Andrew Grant

Narrator: Mark Moran

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-21-01

Publisher: Science News

Genres: Science & Technology, Magazine & Radio

Publisher's Summary:

Although atom-thick sheets of carbon called graphene have many extraordinary properties, magnetism isnt one of them. But a new study reveals that graphene can simply borrow the magnetic properties of a nearby material.

©2014 Science Service (P)2014 Science Service

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Title: Fiction River

Subtitle: Moonscapes, an Original Anthology Magazine, Volume 6

Author: Fiction River, Steven Mohan Jr., Annie Reed, Scott William Carter, Maggie Jaimeson, Ryan M. Williams, Dean Wesley Smith, JC Andrijeski

Narrator: Jerimy Colbert, Jane Kennedy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 07-03-14

Publisher: WMG Publishing

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Publisher's Summary:

We all look up at the moon and wonder. And maybe dream. For centuries, the moon filled our imaginations. Eleven professional writers took those dreams and set original stories on moons scattered all over the galaxy. Yet, as the dreams of centuries, every story holds a human touch. From a mythical man fulfilling a childhood wish to a fantastic addition to Kristine Kathryn Rusch's best-selling Retrieval Artist series, this volume of Fiction River allows you to travel to 11 different moons without leaving the comfort of home.

Members Reviews:

Fiction River has another hit

GREAT anthology. Stories were all very good. Kristine Kathryn Rusch's stands out, but then it's part of the Retrieval Artist series(one of my favorites.)

I have been impressed by all of the Fiction River editions I have read (about 2/3rds of them). Well edited and assembled.

Excellent selection of short stories!

Best short story collection I've read in a long time. Always a fan of Kristine Katherine Rush's science fiction writing. Other writers in collection are equally talented. Stories in this collection have to incorporate a moon as part of their theme.

Another Great Edition

I just finished several of the stories in Moonscapes and strongly recommend the publication to any Science Fiction fans. Every story was well written, had a great plot and was just what I want to find when I read short fiction. Pick this up you will not be disappointed.

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Title: Hurst

Author: Benjamin Percy

Narrator: Joe Knezevich

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-17-17

Publisher: Audible Studios

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Publisher's Summary:

A bizarre death in a primitive, cult-like community walled off from a futuristic society brings a enigmatic agent from the outside world to investigate. Hurst offers a genre-bending reflection on how technology defines us. Also included: an excerpt from the author's post-apocalyptic thriller The Dead Lands.

©2015 Benjamin Percy (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Members Reviews:

Better than some other things you might be doing

If you have an itch to download âHurst,â do so; youâll be entertained and just perhaps a little engaged by the story, a genre-mashing mystery set in 2075 that feels part Medieval morality play / western show-down / futuristic attack of the cyborgs.

But if you have not yet read anything by Percy, my advice is youâd be better off downloading his first book, the short-story collection âRefresh, Refresh.â Percyâs first published work, especially the title story is an immensely accomplished tale of the bravado of a teenager in rural Oregon emailing as a way of coping with the absence of his father, who is fighting in Iraq.

Percy followed with the âWilding,â another story set in the Pacific Northwest. This time, dealing with a backcountry camping trip involving father, son and grandfather and one supremely menacing brown bear.

After that Percy veered toward more dystopian themes and jumped on the wagon heaping full of vampires thirsting for blood. And depending on your preference, Percyâs style may be evolving in your direction more than mine.

I picked up âHurstâ because I wanted to check in on Percy and see where his literary bent is at present. The 48-page story moves forward step by step and hour by hour. Thereâs little time or effort put into character development; youâll come across a surprise here and there and a denouement that you will have figured out a third of the way through. But itâs an easy read.

Hurst is a walled sanctuary, a commune-like colony isolated from a futuristic society. One of the outsiders -- heâs representing The Bureau â enters the gate to investigate a mysterious death. Stephen is his name; heâs helped by the enclaveâs âdeputyâ in the search for reasons and answers hidden inside the closed society.

You'll probably be entertained but reading the story is like picking up an issue of âPeople.â It doesnât leave you with much residual value when youâre done and there is not much left to stick in your memory. If youâve got an hour to wind down, do so. âHurstâ is relaxation. And there is definitely something to say for relaxing once in awhile.

In a word or two: Rainy day read

Short read, no build up

Although I enjoyed this short story, it was really no mystery or build up. What did the ,am having an affair mean to the plot?

Not good

Didnât like it, too slow and too imaginary, not interesting plot. Invest your time reading another book, this one is not recommended.

Ok book

Short story, predictable

Five Stars

Loved it!

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Title: Blessed by an Angel

Subtitle: A Short Story from the Manhattan in Reverse Collection

Author: Peter F. Hamilton

Narrator: Sean Barrett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-30-11

Publisher: Macmillan Digital Audio

Genres: Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Publisher's Summary:

Taken from the Manhattan in Reverse collection of short stories by Peter F Hamilton, Blessed by an Angel is set in the Commonwealth Universe, and deals with advanced beings known as the Higher who, arriving on the human-colonized planet of Anagaska, seek to impose their way of life on humankind. But are their offers of immortality without a cost?

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Title: Bumblebees Exhibit Signs of Emotions

Author: Emily Underwood

Narrator: Mark Moran

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-19-16

Publisher: Science News

Genres: Science & Technology, Magazine & Radio

Publisher's Summary:

After a treat, insects made more optimistic decisions, study finds.

"Bumblebees Exhibit Signs of Emotions" is from the October 29, 2016 issue of Science News.