Get Your Favorite Full Audiobook in Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary Popular Authors

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Title: The Rings of Haven

Subtitle: Frontiers Saga, Book 2

Author: Ryk Brown

Narrator: Jeffrey Kafer

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-03-13

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1109 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

A ship stranded halfway across the galaxy. A difficult and lengthy journey home. A homeworld in urgent need of their return. And now they are running out of food. The crew of the Aurora must now trust their new allies in order to survive. But their situation may be far more serious than they imagined. And their actions could have repercussions across the galaxy. Their journey home may just have gotten slightly more complicated.

Members Reviews:

Series itis

THAT NUT IS THE ONLY HOPE WE GOT RIGHT NOW

The trilogy and the Series are the worst things that can happen to a good writer. In stead of taking the effort to make each book a good read on it's own, each book (except the first) is just another chapter. This whole book could have been edited down to two chapters in a whole book. No space battles in this, just a couple of firefights. No conflict between characters, everybody just gets along. Haven is just the planet of the week.

Greedy

Much to short for the money. I feel the first and second book should have been one book.

Good, but lacking

While still a good read, Haven lacked the intrigue, excitement, and pace of Aurora. Everything is a struggle for survival and after a while you become some what bored with the experience. The book also becomes slightly predictable. I would still recommend this book though as certain parts are integral in the rest of the series.

Adding Ryk Brown to my list of authors

This is book number two in the Frontier Saga. The Aurora and crew are stranded halfway across the galaxy. From the battles in book one, both ship and crew are badly wounded. They arrange to mine the Rings of Haven with a rental crew, harvester and factory ships, to make money to buy food and ship parts. While some of the key people are on the planet arranging for food, the TaAkar warship finds them and is attempting to capture or kill those on the planet and also capture the Aurora.

The book is well written. Brown is continuing to develop the characters in this book. The action is great and the suspense builds throughout the story. The pilot of the harvester ship is not only a great pilot but a real daredevil character that will add excitement to the story. New people are added to the ship that is running short handed. I am looking forward to the next episode. Jeffrey Kafer does a great job narrating the story.

Very short and uneventful for the price.

I bought the first book despite it's short length and enjoyed it. It wasn't something new, but it was entertaining. I passed on getting book 2 a number of times due to it's cost vs length but eventually decided to give it a go. I regret that decision.

These first 2 books honestly feel like part of a longer book that was split up to make more money. Practically nothing is accomplished in this book. I would rank this among the least satisfying Audible purchases (the site currently tells me I'm at 749 titles) I have made to date.

With so many great alternatives in this genre, I can't justify spending the money to risk another lack luster entry in this series. I can't imagine how it managed to get such high ratings. Book 4 in the Odyssey One series by Evan Currie comes out in a few weeks, I'll just wait for that.

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Title: Damocles

Author: S. G. Redling

Narrator: Angela Dawe

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-28-13

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 785 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

When Earth is rocked by evidence that extraterrestrials may have seeded human DNA throughout the universe, a one-way expedition into deep space is mounted to uncover the truth. What linguist Meg Dupris and her crewmates aboard the Earth ship Damocles discover on Didet - a planet bathed in the near-eternal daylight of seven suns - is a humanoid race with a different language, a different look, and a surprisingly similar society. But here, its the "Earthers" who are the extraterrestrial invaders, and its up to Meg - a woman haunted by tragedy and obsessed with the power of communication - to find the key to establishing trust between the natives and the newcomers. In Loul Pell, a young Dideto male thrust into the forefront of the historic event, Meg finds an unexpected kindred spirit, and undertakes an extraordinary journey of discovery, friendship, and life-altering knowledge.Told from both sides of a monumental encounter, Damocles is a compelling novel about mans first contact with an extraterrestrial race.

Members Reviews:

What did I tell you about that pie!?

What made the experience of listening to Damocles the most enjoyable?

I've never listened to a book narrated by Angela Dawe before, but I think her performance on Damocles is one of the best I've experienced from a female narrator. The hang-up in most cases are the character voices and that can make or break the audio performance. I think Angela did an awesome job with all the voices (even the males) and it added to the enjoyment of the story. I've listened to some narrations where it totally ruined it. Kudos to Angela Dawe!!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Damocles?

The first-contact scene playing out. The headline of this review is a nod to that scene. That's all I'll say about it.

What does Angela Dawe bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

Again, the character voices. If a narrator does a good job, it totally adds another dimension to the book - and she did! I read some of the book on my own (thank you Whispersync for Voice) and it can be a little hard to read when working through the parts where they are trying to understand each other's language. It was much more enjoyable listening to it (for me) than reading it to myself.

Any additional comments?

I like first contact stories and this was enjoyable. Enjoyable enough that I finished it in two days which is rare for me (maybe a first.) There were some parts of the story where I rolled my eyes (a bit too silly) and some parts I would have liked explored more. Some of it was too un-realistic in my opinion. But hey, it's not my book. What I LOVED the most was the telling of the story from both viewpoints, the local Dideto and the alien Earthers, AKA "Urfers." Sometimes this viewpoint would just flip flop as the story continued, but most of the time it would rewind and re-tell the same scene from the other viewpoint. This was cool! Very cool actually!! All-in-all it was a fun story, had enjoyable characters, it flowed well, and I really liked it. That's what matters most, right? I highly recommend!

Humans are the aliens, linguistics FTW

Damocles is not an action-packed novel. Most of the book is talking, describing the laborious task of humans and aliens trying to establish communications when they share no culture or language in common.

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Title: Great North Road

Author: Peter F. Hamilton

Narrator: Toby Longworth

Format: Unabridged

Length: 36 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-01-13

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1905 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

A century from now, thanks to a technology allowing instantaneous travel across light-years, humanity has solved its energy shortages, cleaned up the environment, and created far-flung colony worlds. The keys to this empire belong to the powerful North family - composed of successive generations of clones. Yet these clones are not identical. For one thing, genetic errors have crept in with each generation. For another, the original three clone "brothers" have gone their separate ways, and the branches of the family are now friendly rivals more than allies.

Or maybe not so friendly. At least that's what the murder of a North clone in the English city of Newcastle suggests to Detective Sidney Hurst. Sid is a solid investigator who'd like nothing better than to hand off this hot potato of a case. The way he figures it, whether he solves the crime or not, he'll make enough enemies to ruin his career.Yet Sid's case is about to take an unexpected turn: Because the circumstances of the murder bear an uncanny resemblance to a killing that took place years ago on the planet St. Libra, where a North clone and his entire household were slaughtered in cold blood.

The convicted slayer, Angela Tramelo, has always claimed her innocence. And now it seems she may have been right. Because only the St. Libra killer could have committed the Newcastle crime.Problem is, Angela also claims that the murderer was an alien monster.

Now Sid must navigate through a Byzantine minefield of competing interests within the police department and the world's political and economic elite...all the while hunting down a brutal killer poised to strike again. And on St. Libra, Angela, newly released from prison, joins a mission to hunt down the elusive alien, only to learn that the line between hunter and hunted is a thin one.

Critic Reviews:

"It's a perfect introduction to his gifts for character design, dialogue, and sheer, big-idea-driven storytelling." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Get the Timeline and Cast of Characters

I'm only a couple of hours in and I'm hooked. It's everything I expect from Peter F. Hamilton. A note for listeners: The print copy has a map, a timeline and a very helpful cast of characters. If you have a Kindle you can download the free sample and, since these are in the front of the book, they are included. The cast is large and I find it helpful to have a printed list.

A modern master of epic SF does what he does best

I am a huge fan of Peter Hamilton, and, if you like the kind of epic hard-ish space opera that he tends to write, this is yet another amazing novel. It moves from the far future of his recent books to a single-volume near future adventure, but all of things that make Pandora's Star or the Void Trilogy great are here. But, for new readers, you should know that Hamilton tends to write a very specific sort of novel, and this is no exception.

So, here is what you should expect: As in all of his novels, it starts a bit slow, as Hamilton throws you into the world with little explanation, while the viewpoint switches often between many well-rounded characters, most of whom have obvious mysteries in their backstories that will only be slowly revealed. The book therefore takes a bit of patience as a result (though it is never boring) and Hamilton takes his time filling in the details of his plot.

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Title: Shattered Hourglass

Subtitle: Day by Day Armageddon, Book 3

Author: J. L. Bourne

Narrator: Jay Snyder

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-26-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1748 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

In a desperate bid to take back the continental United States - where hordes of undead now dominate the ravaged human population - a Navy commander leads a global mission to the heart of the pandemic. Task Force Hourglass is humanitys final hope, and his teams agonizing decisions could mean living one day more - or surrendering to the eternal hell that exists between life and death.

Shattered Hourglasss is the terrifying new novel in the acclaimed zombie apocalypse series.

Members Reviews:

A bit on the dull side

Bourne is responsible for my Zombie obsession. The first and second book of the series is awesome. Shattered Glass veers off course into choas leaving me unable to focus on the situations, scenarios, and characters. Say goodbye to the journal format of the last two books and hello to multiple character situations, which tugs on my ADD. LOL! The fascination with the main character's struggle has ended with the elimination of the journal format making the listen not enjoyable, hard to follow, and weak!

The positive side is the closer to several elements of the story and characters.

The book WAS worth the credit!

Who Wrote this book?

Would you try another book from J. L. Bourne and/or Jay Snyder?

Wow, I listened to this book for about the first four hours and then began to realize that this is not what I expected. This is what we waited 2 years for? I can't believe at all this is the same Author who wrote the 1st two books which are among one of my favorites in Zombie culture titles. I loved the series and told all my friends how this one series was an all night scary listen! But this book was not the same timeline format as the first two successful books.

This storyline jumps like a cat dancing on a hot plate as I was back and forth trying to figure out what and why did he bring in new characters and ignore the pre-established ones we loved and cared about. The name Kill as a character said it all as I groaned as bad as the zombie's moaning in the story. Why and how he made the main character act like a whinney B_tch is unforgivable to start and how predictable it played out was no surprise. I have to believe this was a paycheck to the writer as there was no effort put into this book.

How and why The Author changed the format was bad advice, maybe because he was on deployment most of these years, it may have distracted his focus. I would have gladly waited another year for a more suspenseful type story just like the first two books were written.

I know this is a harsh review but I really feel let down as a reader and fan of the series.

Any additional comments?

I would recomend people to just pass on this version and hope there is another creative author that could do a timeline Zombie tale.

sadly disappointed! where did you go J.L.?

Any additional comments?

WARNING: SOME SPOILERS

first, let me preface my review by saying dbda (day by day armageddon) and beyond exile are some of my favorite zombie books. i was extremely psyched about shattered hourglass coming out on 12/26. it was like a belated christmas gift.

with that said, i was extremely disappointed by the time i finished listening to shattered hourglass. i loved the first two books, and that's why i'm soo harsh on shattered hourglass.

many of the negative reviews of dbda cited the one-dimensional characters and the journal style story.

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Title: The Hydrogen Sonata

Author: Iain M. Banks

Narrator: Peter Kenny

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-09-12

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 763 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

The Scavenger species are circling. It is, truly, provably, the End Days for the Gzilt civilization.

An ancient people, organized on military principles and yet almost perversely peaceful, the Gzilt helped set up the Culture 10,000 years earlier and were very nearly one of its founding societies, deciding not to join only at the last moment. Now they've made the collective decision to follow the well-trodden path of millions of other civilizations; they are going to Sublime, elevating themselves to a new and almost infinitely more rich and complex existence.

Amid preparations, though, the Regimental High Command is destroyed. Lieutenant Commander (reserve) Vyr Cossont appears to have been involved, and she is now wanted - dead, not alive. Aided only by an ancient, reconditioned android and a suspicious Culture avatar, Cossont must complete her last mission given to her by the High Command. She must find the oldest person in the Culture, a man over nine thousand years old, who might have some idea what really happened all that time ago.

It seems that the final days of the Gzilt civilization are likely to prove its most perilous.

Members Reviews:

Culture meets Hitchhiker's Guide & Da Vinca Code

I am a big Iain M. Banks fan, and any new Culture novel is a cause for celebration. If you aren't familiar with the Culture -- set in a far future post-scarcity society where AIs, humans, aliens, and impossible engineering co-mingle in interesting ways -- this may not be the ideal book to start with (Player of Games or Consider Phlebas might be better), but all of the books are pretty independent.

As a fan of the series, I wouldn't consider this to be the best offering, though it is far from bad. There is the usual mix of action, wry humor, philosophizing, and amazing flights of imagination that mark Culture novels. But the story itself, while full of great ideas and interesting sections, doesn't really connect the way the most compelling novels do. Perhaps that is because the novel is a bit of a ramble through a civilization that is about to evolve to a higher, immaterial, state. There is an overarching plot about a millennia-old religious secret, but the book is really about the picturesque locations visited in attempt to solve the ancient Da Vinci Code-style mystery. The perpetual parties, people with faces made of bowls of soup, sculpted moons, eccentric robots, and other clever details encountered seem like a slightly harder-edged version of Douglas Adams.

Because the novel veers between humor and seriousness rather suddenly, or perhaps because so many of the main characters are Minds, the super-intelligent ship-board AIs, the book is really interesting but rarely feels emotionally compelling. Since Banks is more than capable of writing at the highest level, this is a little disappointing, but the book is still very much worth listening to, and is generally both thrilling and fun, with a little serious navel-gazing thrown in for interest.

The reading is terrific, but, listener be warned, there are a few very explicit moments voice-acted in great detail. Make sure to have headphones on for, say, the visit to the party ship, or the start of the second half of the book.

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Title: The Second Ship

Subtitle: The Rho Agenda, Book 1

Author: Richard Phillips

Narrator: MacLeod Andrews

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-02-12

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 3669 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

In 1948, an alien starship crash-landed in the New Mexico desert and brought with it the key to mankinds future. Code-named the Rho Project, the landing was shrouded in secrecy, and only the highest-ranking US government and military personnel knew it existed. Until now.

The US president is preparing to unveil one of the nations greatest secrets when three students stumble across the wreckage of a second ship outside of Los Alamos. With a single touch, the alien technology the government has spent untold resources trying to unlock is uploaded into the minds of three teenagers teenagers who now know the frightening truth about the Rho Project.The battle for humanity has begun.

Members Reviews:

Terrific story

Being well past what is euphemistically called "middle age" I tend to be suspicious of books with "young adults" as the main protagonists. Clearly not all such books are aimed exclusively at teenagers (see Harry Potter, for one example), but many are written for and aimed at a reading group to which I no longer belong. Had I known that the 3 main characters in this book were teenagers I would probably have passed it by, so I am glad that I did not know.

For a book with young heroes and heroines (I am old enough to still use that term) this book is surprisingly well drawn with an interesting story line, characters with sufficient faults to be believable and enough really bad villains to have caught my attention immediately. Added to that is the fact that the author does not fall into any of the easy clichés, things do not happen as expected and there are enough interesting turns of events to keep things from getting boring. This is a terrific first volume in the series.

By the time I realized that our 3 young characters were the central characters in the book I was far too hooked to stop listening. When I finished listening to the book I decided to buy and download the sequel. The story was great, the narration was superb and I am curious exactly what is going to happen next. I can't ask for much more than that in a work of fiction.

Don't Mess with the Johnsons

HIS STOMACH LOOKED LIKE IT BELONGED TO A COMIC BOOK SUPER HERO.

I did listened to all of this, but I almost gave up several times. This is another book that suffers from Trilogyitists. It also suffers from not knowing what it wants to be. The author writes mostly a YA book and then throws in gory fight scenes. In one scene a guy is strangled with his own intestines. There are also some sexual innuendo's, but not much. All the gory scenes put together could probably fit on two pages, but they are there. The plot is so convoluted that it almost gets silly. Do we need another teenage super hero book? If I heard, I FORGOT TO BREATHE, once I heard it ten times. How original is it to have the cheerleaders and football players be mean and evil? The theme of the book has been done so many times it worn out. The book is not terrible, it is just very common and over done.

The narrator is so bad at voices, that at times I not only could not tell which character was speaking, but I could not tell what gender they were.

Light fare sci-fi - But I liked it!

What made the experience of listening to The Second Ship the most enjoyable?

It is a good premise and there is a lot going on to keep you interested.

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Title: 3001

Subtitle: The Final Odyssey

Author: Arthur C. Clarke

Narrator: Scott Brick

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-12-12

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 397 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

In 3001: The Final Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke brings the greatest and most successful science fiction series of all time to its magnificent, stunningly unforeseen conclusion. As we hurtle toward the new millennium in real time, Clarke brilliantly - daringly - leaps 1,000 years into the future to reveal a truth we are only now capable of comprehending. An epic masterpiece at once dazzlingly imaginative and grounded in scientific actuality, 3001 is a story that only Arthur C. Clarke could tell.

Members Reviews:

Poor ol' Frank

Where does 3001 rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

It's really not bad. Scott Brick has become one of my more preferred, American accented narrators. The story itself is amusing to me as I'm a huge fan of 2001, 2010, 2063.

What was one of the most memorable moments of 3001?

Poor ol' Frank gets taken down a peg or 2 - and that's saying something. He's so blown away by the technology available in this new millennium he finds himself in. I really enjoyed hearing Scott Brick read the bits of the book that referred to 2010. I'm pretty geeky about all that, so it was a pleasure to revisit it. He does a great job.

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

His easy-sounding, laid back manner lends itself to the realm of the 2001 series. (I just couldn't imagine what could be done with the story itself - they FIND FRANK?? lol - I was gladly mistaken. I should have more faith in one of my favorite authors whose stories have truly touched my life.)

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

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I really recommend this novel and audible version.

Fmailiar Characters, no action

What made the experience of listening to 3001 the most enjoyable?

Hearing the conclusion to the 2001 series....sort of. It definitely leaves the door wide open for the eventual confrontation with the makers of the monoliths in the year 4001 give or take a century or two. That could potentially be much more interesting than the events in 3001.

Any additional comments?

It seems that at every major plot point in the book there is a build up, then it skips over to the aftermath. There is almost no real-time description of events. It became very frustrating after a while. There could have been some really interesting stuff in there but it's just jumped over with maybe a brief summary. A majority of the book was Clarke's meticulous description of the technologies of the era, which is great, but the story suffers. I found the footnotes at the end to be much more entertaining than the book itself.

Overall the technology of 1,000 years from now seems a bit dated now. It's a projection of the technology, culture, and happenings of the 1990's into the future. Given the leap in technology in the 20 years following, 3001 doesn't seem to hold up as well as I would have expected. The retro future of 2001 and 2010 where the cold war continued and it's basically the Popular Mechanics future of the 1960's seems to work better.

Clarke Was Brilliant

Did not see any of this coming. And I loved the whole thing about people from our time wouldn't be able to understand most of what people will be saying 1000 years from now.

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Title: The Children of the Sky

Author: Vernor Vinge

Narrator: Oliver Wyman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 27 hrs and 47 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-12-11

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 410 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

After nearly twenty years, Vernor Vinge has produced an enthralling sequel to his memorable best-selling novel A Fire Upon the Deep.

Ten years have passed on Tines World, where Ravna Bergnsdot and a number of human children ended up after a disaster that nearly obliterated humankind throughout the galaxy. Ravna and the pack animals for which the planet is named have survived a war, and Ravna has saved more than one hundred children who were in cold-sleep aboard the vessel that brought them.

While there is peace among the Tines, there are those among them - and among the humans - who seek power and no matter the cost, these malcontents are determined to overturn the fledgling civilization that has taken root since the humans landed.

On a world of fascinating wonders and terrifying dangers, Vernor Vinge has created a powerful novel of adventure and discovery that will entrance the many readers of A Fire Upon the Deep. Filled with the inventiveness, excitement, and human drama that have become hallmarks of his work, this new novel is sure to become another great milestone in Vinges already stellar career.

Critic Reviews:

"Vinge is undeniably one of the greatest hard science fiction writers to put pen to paper, and he can easily be compared to such greats as Arthur C. Clarke, Poul Anderson, or Stanislaw Lem." (

Wired) "[T]he near-perfect balance of science fiction's twin traditions of wild speculation and high-intensity storytelling.... Vinge's explosive imagination and deft storytelling make epics zip past like hummingbirds - you'll steal daytime moments to read more, and lie awake at night contemplating what you've read." (BoingBoing.net)

Members Reviews:

The story isn't over yet

I've seen a few uncharatable reviews of this book mixed in to the many that suggest Vinge had a ghost writer. Truly, you can not please everyone. I saw no evidence of this.

This is a character story, a view of social dynamics, the community of belief , and how things always work out if you alter the definition of success. It is small in scope and personal.

If you're looking for a grand love story, an easy hero, or the triumph of dazzling technology this is not the book. If you want to follow the story that Vinge is telling and clearly has not finished then you can't miss this installment. I can't say that the book stands on its own because I came to it with the great saga the gave birth to it in my mind.

Sequels a classic - feels more sequel than classic

I enjoyed this expansion of the classic 'A Fire Upon The Deep', but was a little disappointed in the choice of narrator. Don't get me wrong - Oliver Wyman is one of my favorites. Indeed, his performance's of the first two Safehold installments were brilliant, but I don't think he had the same energy as Peter Larkin had in 'Deep'.

That being said, the story was quite good, but not stunning. To be fair, all the mind blowing concepts were fleshed out in the first book, so you can't expect to be captivated in the same way.

also, I had a harder time visualizing the "Pack mind" in this offering than the first - not sure why.

All in all, not as good as 'A Fire Upon The Deep', but except for 'Aliens' and 'The Godfather Part 2', what sequel is ever as Good as the original.

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Title: Jumper

Author: Steven Gould

Narrator: MacLeod Andrews

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-05-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2401 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

What if you could go anywhere in the world, in the blink of an eye? Where would you go? What would you do

Davy can teleport. To survive, Davy must learn to use and control his power in a world that is more violent and complex than he ever imagined. But mere survival is not enough for him. Davy wants to find others like himself, others who can Jump.

Critic Reviews:

"An exceptionally well-organize debut, with thoughtful ideas, a controlled plot, and characters-particularly the young protagonist-portrayed with insight and compassion." (Kirkus)

"Gould's warm, delightful, and compulsively readable novel dispalys assured storytelling skill." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

A nice descent into fantasy...

(Disclaimer: If you saw the movie, then you still know practically nothing about this book. They do not share the same plot, or really even the characters. "Griffin's Story" is actually set in the MOVIE universe, not this one.)

What would you do if you could teleport?

This wasn't high-sci-fi or high-fantasy. The world is more or less our world, except for this one kid who can teleport. He's got real problems with his abusive dad, his girlfriend, the cop downstairs who beats his wife.... oh, yeah, and the NSA.

Definitely worth reading. Will inspire a lot of fantasies and daydreams.

Lot's of fun

Originally published at FanLit.

The first time Davy jumped was when his dad was beating him. The second time was when a trucker tried to rape him. Both times Davy ended up in his favorite place the local public library. Soon Davy learned that he could control his teleportation, so he left home and started a new life in New York City. His new skill, the ability to instantly transport himself to any place hes ever visited, helped him achieve the freedom he always desired. At first Davy lives for himself, happy to be away from school and his father, but when a terrorist attack affects him personally, he decides to use his talent to get revenge.

Jumper, by Steven Gould, is an action-packed exciting adventure about a likeable teenager who has an awesome superpower. Davy is mostly easy to believe in. Hes a little too urbane for his age and experience he quickly transforms from high school dropout to fine-dining connoisseur, and Ive never met a teenager as well-read as Davy but other than that he acts like a normal kid. Hes a bit selfish and makes some impulsive mistakes, but he genuinely wants to be a good guy. Hes got an emo streak thats a little annoying, but thats understandable since hes dealing with abuse and abandonment issues. Hes also worried that he could become an alcoholic like his father and he feels guilty about not telling his new girlfriend the truth about himself.

What I liked best about Davys story is that what Davy decides to do with his power is completely believable. Sometimes I read stories about people with really cool superpowers and I think if I had that power, Id do such and such and Im usually disappointed that the character didnt think of that. Often the problem is that the character is just too ethical to do the fun stuff that normal teenagers would fantasize about doing if they had superpowers. But not Davy. Some of the things Davy does are selfish, some are vengeful, and some are just fun.

And fun is about all there is to Jumper. Theres an exciting plot and lots of cool tricks with the jumping, but theres not much depth beyond that.

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Title: Ghost Country

Author: Patrick Lee

Narrator: Jeff Gurner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-28-10

Publisher: HarperAudio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 423 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

For decades, inexplicable technology has passed into our world through the top secret anomaly called the Breach.

The latest device can punch a hole into the future....

What Paige Campbell saw when she opened a door into 70 years from now scared the hell out of her. She and her Tangent colleagues brought their terrible discovery to the President and were met with a hail of automatic gunfire after leaving the White House. Only Paige survived.

Fearing a terrifying personal destiny revealed to him from the other side of the Breach, Travis Chase abandoned Tangent...and Paige Campbell. Now he must rescue her because Paige knows tomorrow's world is desolate and dead, a ghost country scattered with the bones of billions. And Doomsday will dawn in just four short months...unless they can find the answers buried in the ruins to come.

But once they cross the nightmare border into Ghost Country, they might never find their way back....

Members Reviews:

Only wish I had known this is book 2 in a series

I wish I had known there was a book before this one (normally Audible indicates when books are part of a series...) The story/plot did stand alone, but it would have been better if I had known the background for the Breach where all the sci-fi components of the story come from. The characters do reflect on parts of the earlier book, and perhaps some of their motivations would make more sense if I had read that. In particular, their relationship with each other might have made more sense, and I would know what they were talking about when they kept referring to the 'Breach'.

However... overall it is a nicely paced and relatively suspenseful/thoughtful action thriller. Yes, yes, it is touted as a sci-fi book but it is not, not really. There is some "alien" technology that allows the premise of the book to occur, but, other than that, everything is within the realm of current tech.

I really liked it, but, then again, I like action novels as much as I like sci-fi novels. If you picked this up expecting it to be sci-fi, you might be disappointed. I will go read Breach now, and then the 3rd book in the series... it's really very engaging and decently written.

The narrator is okay. You can hear him inhale before speaking which is really noticeable for the first part of the book though it does improve as the book progresses (or maybe I tuned it out... ) There is no sex and no graphic violence and very minimal foul language.

Disappointing follow-up to The Breach

First off, don't even consider listening to this book unless you have listened to The Breach. In my opinion, The Breach is a vastly better book, and Ghost Country would spoil many important elements if you were to listen to it first.

As a sequel to The Breach, I was pretty disappointed in Ghost Country. The basic plot was interesting enough, but it lacked the excitement, variety, and twists that were present in The Breach. One of the things I liked so much about The Breach was the various use of the "entities" and their mysterious origins, uses, and consequences.