Get Your Full Audiobook in Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary for any Age

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 Weapon

Subtitle: Freehold, Book 2

Author: Michael Z. Williamson

Narrator: Stephen Bowlby

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 hrs and 42 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-02-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 339 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Kenneth Chinran was a disaffected youth who joined the military and was recruited for an elite deep-cover unit, completely training and exercises so tough that several of the recruits did not survive. At the peak of his career, he was sent by his star nation to infiltrate a fascistic, militaristic planet: Earth.

He lived in deep cover for years, marrying and having a daughter. Then the Earth forces attacked his home system, and he and his team came out of hiding, attacking and destroying the infrastructure of the crowded planet, disabling transportation and communications and creating terror in city after city.

As a result of his attacks, billions died for lack of the food, water, and power, which the ravaged system could no longer supply. His sabotage was successful, but the deaths of so many weighed heavily on his mind, making him wonder if he was still sane. Then the secret police discovered his identity. With his daughter, the only thing in his life that had so far kept him human, he was on the run, while the resources of a planetwide police state were tracking him down. He could see no way to escape from the planet, and if he and his daughter were caught, death was the very least that they could expect.

But Chinran is a warrior in his soul, and even if he loses this last battle, he won't go down without a fight that his pursuers - the ones who survive - will never forget.

Members Reviews:

I liked it.

it's interesting and runs along some interesting lines being from Canada it makes me a little scares

Sci-Fi action on steroids, but with a story

This was just a fun book to listen to with the bonus of a creative plot, good character development and a storyline that enriches the experience. I found the author's amount of details provided about weapons, war strategy and politics to be just enough to make things feel real and draw me into the story, yet not too much to become overwhelming or boring. The military action was quite creative with Sci-Fi flare to ramp up the intensity, but not to the point that it became too far out of the realm of believability.

I really enjoyed the boot camp sections of the story, which seemed to follow the blueprint of an elite Nave Seal like experience, but with the futuristic twists and insanity to make it Sci-Fi. This is definitely a testosterone driven amusement ride of a book with the inclusion of some bad a** women tearing it up.

Satisfying military sci-fi storytelling

This is another example of where the provided synopsis is not indicative of the overall story. In this case, the description of a Freehold war with Earth comprises less than the final third of the audiobook. The first two thirds unfold in a diary fashion of a tale that describes our "hero's" military career from the earliest beginnings.

While hardly hardcore military sci-fi, the storytelling is superb and the listener is afforded a front row seat to the complete development of a seasoned and well trained special forces operative who can do it all if necessary.

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: Containment

Author: Christian Cantrell

Narrator: William Dufris

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-27-11

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 87 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

As Earth's ability to support human life begins to diminish at an alarming rate, the Global Space Agency is formed with a single mandate: protect humanity from extinction by colonizing the solar system as quickly as possible. Venus, being almost the same mass as Earth, is chosen over Mars as humanity's first permanent steppingstone into the universe.

Arik Ockley is part of the first generation to be born and raised off-Earth. After a puzzling accident, Arik wakes up to find that his wife is almost three months pregnant. Since the colony's environmental systems cannot safely support any increases in population, Arik immediately resumes his work on AP, or artificial photosynthesis, in order to save the life of his unborn child. Arik's new and frantic research uncovers startling truths about the planet and about the distorted reality the founders of the colony have constructed for Arik's entire generation. Everything Arik has ever known is called into question, and he must figure out the right path for himself, his wife, and his unborn daughter.

Members Reviews:

Promising but falls a little bit short

I largely enjoyed containment and found the premise to be very interesting. However; I found that the style of jumping back and forth between the present and the (sometimes forgotten) past tended to make the story's "wow moments" somewhat predictable. I also wish that the story had continued a little bit longer than it did, the book ended on a poetic note but left a lot of unanswered question that I would have liked to have seen wrapped up. All told though this definitely worth a listen.

Great, esp for science geeks, except ending

I enjoyed the first 90% of the book very much, but I felt the ending was premature. I wanted the book to go so much farther than it did. The premise is good and the setup was well-thought-out. The peak in the drama happens and then... the book ends. There are questions un-answered and everything is in a state of turmoil at the end. It's been out for long enough that it's unlikely the author planned a sequel. So it lost a star, even though I was anticipating a 5 star review for most of the book.

A colony on Venus?

In the distant future, man will try to colonize the solar system. If the planet is not destroyed by polluting the atmosphere or nuclear war, there may be a catastrophic event such as a meteor strike that will necessitate a move off of planet earth. Venus is the planet of choice for the first extra-terrestrial colony.

V1 is the name given to the first Venus colony. When established, there were 1,000 initial colonists, almost all of them scientists and engineers. Oxygen content inside the containment was the limiting factor in population size, and after the maximum number of plants were grown it was determined that the oxygen produced could support another 100 individuals. Thus was the beginnings of generation V, the 100 children born to the original colonists.

Arek was probably the brightest of all gen V children. By the time he graduated high school, he was better with computers than any of the adults. However, he was chosen to work in the Life Pod in order to tackle the problem of artificial photosynthesis (AP) and increase the amount of oxygen produced. Arek married Cadie, a gen V biologists, and they worked together on the AP problem.

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: Glasshouse

Author: Charles Stross

Narrator: Kevin R. Free

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-29-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 243 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Hugo Award-winning author Charles Stross delivers credible and bold SF (Science Fiction Weekly) that continually pushes the boundaries of the genre. With Glasshouse, Stross pens a Kafkaesque tale set in a 27th-century of teleport gates and mind-attacking network worms.

After Robin awakes in a clinic, he struggles to summon details of his life, but too many of his memories have been wiped clean. More troubling is the stark awareness of immediate danger: someone is trying to kill him. On the run, Robin makes a desperate gamble and volunteers for what he hopes is the sanctuary of an unusual study at the Glasshouse. Once there, however, he realizes the true terror has only begun.

Stross pulls out all the stops in a searing adventure that will keep listeners hearts racing. Propelled by Kevin R. Frees riveting narration, Glasshouse is a novel SF fans will not soon forget.

Members Reviews:

Vintage Stross

Variations on what humanity might look like post-singularity are Stross's reason d'etre as a writer, and here he does something very clever by (1) focusing on the ability to re-engineer human biology as the focus of the singularity (instead of the more common super-human AI), and (2) showing us how late-twentieth, early twenty-first century humans might look to their post-human descendants in the remote future. There are some thought-provoking questions about just how much of our humanity we could leave behind when going post-human, and the clever historical distortions and gaps in understanding that he describes show a deep appreciation for the slippery nature of history. Although the plot twists are a bit too well telegraphed to be surprising when they happen, the overall story arc is excellent. The battle between good and evil is as alive for post-humanity as it is for us today, and it's gratifying to read an optimistic take on how that battle might go.

Stross at his best

I nearly always enjoy Stross...but I strongly suspect he has an allergy to editors. Yet the old saw, "everyone needs an editor" is more true of him than most. This work, thankfully, is generally free of the irritating continuity problems that plague his other work. Exciting, engrossing, and paranoid, with intimations of Dick.

I mean, it is a Charles Stross book...

I liked the concepts that this book had going for it:

- sci-fi high tech while being very low tech 1950s

- gender swap roles as a statement on gender roles in society today

- intervening in domestic violence

- sci-fi for the non-scifi crowd

I liked some of the tropes from the genre:

- espionage and memory wipes

- body swapping

- meeting yourself and beating the crap out of yourself

- high tech hidden worlds

- waif-fu

- MMORPG

But I found myself finishing the book just because I wanted to finish it, not because I was enjoying the story.

Maybe because it wasn't fiction enough for me, the view points of domestic abuse, rape, and violating someone's mind just were to stark for me. Even at the end, I would have been happier if the whole lot of them just blew each other up instead of leaving them to languish in that false construct.

But it was a Charles Stross book, so it was well written and the characters were consistent in their motivations and there were some minor explosions.

Interesting and thrilling up till the conclusion.

The story was wonderful and thrilling.

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: At Any Price & Rolling Hot

Subtitle: Hammer's Slammers Series

Author: David Drake

Narrator: Stefan Rudnicki

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-26-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 150 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Here are two action-packed novels from David Drake's "Hammer's Slammers" series, which set the standard for military science fiction.

In At Any Price, Col. Alois Hammer's indomitable Slammers are called in to support human colonists against a native uprising in this novel-length adventure. But even though the natives' off-world weapons are no match for the Slammers - their ability to teleport gives them a frightening advantage!

In Rolling Hot, the battle-crazed troop of recruits and vets, led by Captain Ranson, must cover 300 miles of hostile enemy territory.

Members Reviews:

SciFi combat, with real world grit

This is solid SciFi combat with real world grit. It brings real world combat to a futuristic world. The combat might be too real for some, however, it gives it the ring of dark reality that is well worth the read.

Confusing start....

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Still on the fence about recommending this book... The beginning of any series is always tricky, due to having to lay down the back story of premiss of the story... It seemed to jump around a little bit, and I at first had trouble following the plot.

Great read for military sci-fi lovers!

If you could sum up At Any Price & Rolling Hot in three words, what would they be?

Excellent read with lots of technical details! As a former military Field Artilleryman, Drake uses a TON of military "lingo" that is accurate and means something to anyone who has been in the combat arms. I love the technical detail, the fact he isnt afraid to get gruesome with his details. All of these books are great! Recommend!

Who was your favorite character and why?

All of the characters where my favorite and developed very well.

What about Stefan Rudnickis performance did you like?

Excellent as always!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Hammer: Rolling Hot

You can smell the cordite

Where does At Any Price & Rolling Hot rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

Rudnicki is brilliant. I was introduced to him in a series by Greg Benford. He is amazingly talented. This book is definitely in my top 10.

What did you like best about this story?

Drake is wonderful at creating complete characters in a war zone. They are all quite complete and sympathetic characters.

Which scene was your favorite?

It was the final scene. I won't spoil it.

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

Yes

Phenomenal

I read these stories in their respective anthologies many years ago. It is amazing to hear them read aloud, though, and to be able to simply feel the emotions of the charcters wash over you without the distraction of input from your eyes.

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: How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

Author: Charles Yu

Narrator: James Yaegashi

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-05-11

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 192 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Minor Universe 31 is a vast story-space on the outskirts of fiction, where paradox fluctuates like the stock market, lonely sexbots beckon failed protagonists, and time travel is serious business. Every day, people get into time machines and try to do the one thing they should never do: change the past. Thats where Charles Yu, time travel technicianpart counselor, part gadget repair mansteps in. He helps save people from themselves. Literally. When hes not taking client calls or consoling his boss, Phil, who could really use an upgrade, Yu visits his mother (stuck in a one-hour cycle of time, she makes dinner over and over and over) and searches for his father, who invented time travel and then vanished. Accompanied by TAMMY, an operating system with low self-esteem, and Ed, a nonexistent but ontologically valid dog, Yu sets out, and back, and beyond, in order to find the one day where he and his father can meet in memory. He learns that the key may be found in a book he got from his future self. Its called How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, and hes the author. And somewhere inside it is the information that could help himin fact it may even save his life.

Members Reviews:

Cerebral

I enjoyed Yu's metaphorical look at modern life and family. Sometimes fantastic situations are the best way to relay profound truths. It reminded me of Vonnegut.

Audio Not the Way to Go Here

Would you try another book from Charles Yu and/or James Yaegashi?

I would not rule it out for either, though I was more fond of the performance than the writing. I also understand that the print version of the book has a lot of visual material which adds to the experience. I can't help but feel that, missing that in the audio version, I missed too much about what makes this book work. Perhaps I'll read Yu in the future, rather than listen.

Has How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. That's insane. I resent the question itself.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

James Yaegashi's performance was workmanlike at least. It can be hard for me to separate the performance from the text when I don't like the latter, but perhaps it's a testament to Yaegashi that I found the performance solid despite the text.

If there's one thing that stands out to me, though, it is how much I appreciate the fact that a book written by an Asian American, featuring an Asian American protagonist and narrator, was cast to an Asian American performer when, in theory, any disembodied voice would do. That's good representation, and it's worth points in my book.

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

I felt mostly disappointed by the book, and it's possible to chock that up to misguided expectations. I was expecting a playground of references and in-jokes and meta-genre wackiness, and the book mostly dispenses with these early on. Later, when I started to understand that the book was thinking about the first-generation experience, I expected it to... I don't know... do more with that. Too much of the text ended up being devoted to tedious accounts of watered down time travel theory and extremely labored reminders of non-linearity.

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 Sam Gunn Omnibus

Author: Ben Bova

Narrator: Don Leslie, Emily Janice Card, Moria Quirk, Hillary Huber, Gabrielle de Cuir, Stephen Hoye, Richard Brewer, Stefan Rudnicki

Format: Unabridged

Length: 29 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-30-11

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 571 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

A hero without peer or scruples, Sam Gunn has a nose for trouble, money, and women, though not necessarily in that order. A man with the ego (and stature) of a Napoleon, the business acumen of a P. T. Barnum, and the raging hormones of a teenage boy, Sam is the finest astronaut NASA ever trained and dumped. But more than money, more than women, Sam Gunn loves justiceand he really does love money and women.

Whether hes suing the Pope, helping twin sisters entangled in the virtual sex trade, or on trial for his life on charges of interplanetary genocide, you can be sure of one thing: this is one space jockey wholl meet every challenge with a smile on his lips, an ace up his sleeve, and a weapon in his pocket.

Now, for the first time in one volume, Hugo-winner Ben Bova presents all the tales of Sam Gunn to date, including three never-before collected in book form. Here is the entire chronicle of Sam Gunn, trailblazer and scoundrel, as he scams his way from one end of the solar system to the other, giving bold new meaning to the term venture capitalist.

Critic Reviews:

Bova has ambitiously and deftly created a three-in-one narrative that satisfies any and all readerly desires to see the life of his signature rogue assembled into coherent form. Bova has successfully added to the storehouse of a particularly American folklore. Sam Gunn is Mike Fink and Paul Bunyan (although their opposite in size), Rockefeller and Carnegie, Sam Slick and Penrod, the plucky protagonists from Horatio Alger and the irreverent ones from Mark Twain. His exploits are new manifestations of an eternal archetype in the American psyche." (

SciFi Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Quaint collection of short stories

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This is an anthology of short stories revolving around the character Sam Gunn. Ben Bova's flavor of sci-fi is not hardcore, operatic, or techno-anything. The stories instead are character-driven and they play out in front of the backdrop of space.Sam is a NASA astronaut who becomes an entrepeneuer. He is a shallow character who likes action and the ladies. The stories are of his outrageous exploits in the "beginning" of interplanetary travel. The stories are framed around a "biography" documentary that is being written by a newish journalist named Jade who lives on the moon. The narration was decent, but the story seemed a bit silly. If I were still about 10 years old and hadn't read any other sci-fi other than Heinlein, I may think this was genius....

SAM GUNN LIFE STORY

PERSONS ATTEMPTING TO FIND A MOTIVE IN THIS NARRATIVE WILL BE PROSECUTED;

PERSONS ATTEMPTING TO FIND A MORAL IN IT WILL BE BANISHED;

PERSONS ATTEMPTING TO FIND A PLOT IN IT WILL BE SHOT.

BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR

Sam Gunn is the twenty-first century's greatest entrepreneur and its most hated public figure. Visionary, scoundrel, lover, liar, he is small in stature but larger than life, and his story is that of space exploration itself. He will make and lose fortunes from Earth to the Asteroid Belt, one step ahead of his creditors, one step behind his grand dreams. Through all his varied careers, Sam's goal will always be the same: to go where no one had ever gone before...and come back with a profit.

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 Exile Kiss

Subtitle: Marid Audran Trilogy, Book 3

Author: George Alec Effinger

Narrator: Jonathan Davis

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-01-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 121 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Mard Audran has risen from hustling on the streets of the decadent Budayeen ghetto to being the right-hand man of one of the Maghreb's most feared men. As an enforcer for the powerful Friedlander Bey, Mard is just beginning to enjoy his newfound wealth and privilege, when he and Bey are betrayed by a rival and accused of murder.

Sentenced to exile and abandoned to die in the vast Arabian desert, Mard and Bey must somehow survive the searing sands and make their way back to the now-hostile Budayeen - and, then, take their vengeance.

By turns thrilling and philosophical, The Exile Kiss is the culmination of one of the great works of modern SF.

Members Reviews:

The series concludes. Just buy it already!

Would you listen to The Exile Kiss again? Why?

I have read and listened to the series several times over the years. I take away some new element each and every time.

What other book might you compare The Exile Kiss to and why?

Maybe some of Wiliam Gibsons early work. They both have the flawed main characters, drug abuse and the desperation of living on the street.

What does Jonathan Davis bring to the story that you wouldnt experience if you just read the book?

He helps you put a face (mentally) to some of the characters.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It makes you sad a bit to see the Marid fall prey to his inner demons at times when it could easily cost him his life.

Any additional comments?

Just an awsome book and series.

Great insights into the middle eastern mind

Not as strong as the first two stories. Some of the Arabic stories and fables were marvellously entertaining but I just couldn't buy into Marid and Poppa being put into the predicament of the first half of the book and then the resolve of the situation was wishy washy and lacked the punch of the first novel.

Very enjoyable

The story's setting and the narrator's voice went together excellently and helped propel the experience to a new level. I wish there were more than three audio books in the series.

Start with When Gravity Fails

Sorry to say that you really can't start with this excellent book. The trilogy should be read in order, and I speak from experience. I tried to listen to this book first and just couldn't get into it, to the point that I almost didn't go back for When Gravity Fails, the first in the series. I eventually did, however, after reading numerous passionate reviews, and I've enjoyed all three, now, one after the other.

Jonathan Davis does a fine job on the voices, but he often puts the emphasis on the wrong word in a sentence. Be prepared, and then blow it off and enjoy the story.

Sad to say, this is all there is of Marid Audran, since there was so much farther this setting and character set could have taken us. Effinger died in 2002, only two chapters into the fourth Audran novel. We'll never know all there is to know, but when do we ever. Highly recommended.

Ending With a Whimper

Exile Kiss, the third book in the series, starts strong with Marid Audran and his patron cast into the desert (and stripped of Papa's wealth and influence) after being framed for murder.

The book promises a tense conflict where Marid and Papa must pit their wits against the world to regain what was taken, but the novel falls apart in its second half when it returns to the city.

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: Redoubtable

Subtitle: Kris Longknife, Book 8

Author: Mike Shepherd

Narrator: Dina Pearlman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-01-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 652 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Lieutenant Commander Kris Longknife has precise orders: seek out, engage, and destroy pirates, slavers, and drug lords operating beyond the rim of human space - without interfering in Peterwald family affairs. But when slavers kidnap a 12-year-old girl, Kris's mission becomes personal. And if destroying the pirate compound flattens some Peterwald interests - well, to hell with politics.

Members Reviews:

Kris and Vicky work together

This is book eight in the Longknife series. Kris was promoted to Lieutenant Commander at the end of the last book and sent back to the Rim to patrol for pirates and watch the Greenfeld (Peterwald) territory. Kris is still healing from the wounds she received in the last book and Nelly is enjoying her new babies. Kris is disappointed because she wanted to go hunting for what is happening to the lost ships in book 7. She is now in command of a small fleet of pirate hunters.

Kris arrives to help Kaskatos, a planet suffering from a famine but before she can help the inhabitants she must deal with renegade soldiers stealing what little food there is on the planet. To add further problems for Kris the planet is technically in Greenfeld territory and outside Kriss jurisdiction. Now she must carry on political negotiation with the Peterwald, on top of helping the planet dealing with pirates and so on. There is less interaction between crew members in this story and more about the Kris and the Peterwald family. Kris and Vicky continue to work on a friendly relationship. Abbys niece Kara is kidnapped Kris and Vicky join forces to search and rescue Kara.

As with the prior books in the series this book has lots of action, suspense and witty dialogue. The pace is very fast and Shepherd is good with the battle scenes. Kris has my favorite character in the book her personal computer Nelly and now the addition of Nellys babies. The personal computers are designed by Nelly for Kriss key crewmen. Dina Pearlman continues her excellent narration of the series.

Call it a "bridge" in the series

While I love the Longknife series and will listen to every one, I felt this book did nothing to really stand out. Each of the previous books hooked you with some defining trauma or decision. This book, while it had the potential to create some real controversy between Kris and the Peterwalds, of heart-wrenching between the slavers and their teenage captor, took the easy road. Everyone's nice; every battle won without controversy. Overall, I felt like it was a bridge between Book 8 and what's to come.

I can't believe I enjoy this series so much

Would you listen to Redoubtable again? Why?

I am always looking for entertaining series that are easy to listen to and provide some escapism from academia and the evening news. The Kris Longknife books, while not cerebrally demanding are fun, creative and just good value for one credit. They are light but don't insult my intelligence and provide a nice balance of political intrigue, action, romance, and good characters. I will buy them all.

Classic or reduntant?

If you have read previous books in this series, which I recommend, then you should know that book follows the overall storyline but doesn't really make much of an impact. If you have enjoyed the planetary drama of previous books, then you will probably love this one.

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: Catacombs

Subtitle: A Tale of the Barque Cats, Book 2

Author: Anne McCaffrey, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

Narrator: Laural Merlington

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-07-10

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 147 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

In Catalyst, award-winning authors Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough introduced listeners to the beguiling Barque Cats: spacefaring felines who serve aboard starships as full-fledged members of the crew. Highly evolved, the cats share an almost telepathic bond with their minders, or Cat Persons - until, suddenly, there is no almost about it, and a particular Barque Cat, Chester, learns to ex- change thoughts with his human friend, Jubal. Other cats soon gain the same ability.

Behind the seeming miracle is a mysterious cat named Pshaw-Ra, who possesses knowledge and technology far beyond anything the Barque Cats - or their humans - have ever seen.

When fear of a virulent plague leads the government first to quarantine and then to kill all animals suspected of infection, Pshaw-Ra - with the help of Chester, Jubal, and the crew of the starship Ranzo - activates a mousehole in space that carries the refugees to a place of safety: Pshaw-Ras home planet of Mau, where godlike cats are worshiped by human slaves.

But Pshaw-Ras actions are less noble than they appear. The scheming cat plans to mate the Barque Cats with his own feline stock, creating a hybrid race of superior cats - a race destined to conquer the universe.

Yet right from the start, his plans go awry. For one thing, theres a new queen on Mau: Pshaw-Ras daughter Nefure, a spoiled brat - er, cat - with a temper as short as her attention span. Pshaw-Ras other daughter, the rightful queen Renpet, is exiled, running for her life in the only direction available to her down into the vast catacombs beneath the Mauan desert. Far from receiving the heros welcome he expected, Pshaw-Ra must use every bit of his considerable cleverness just to survive.

Members Reviews:

Read the book, not worth the listen

I liked reading the book, I bought the audible because I had lost the book on the plane with out finishing it. I really enjoyed reading it. However, the performance ruins it. The reader acts as though she is reading to a 3 year old (a very slow and addle witted 3 yr old) and really talks down to the reader. Even my kids didn't like her. She uses baby voices for all the characters and is really annoying. The reader ruins this book in my opinion and I will never buy another book with this performer.

Good but disappointing

I have most of the books by both these authors, but mostly in paperback. I was expecting a wonderful and enchanting story that I could not "put down." This book just came off flat. I don't know if it is because of the narration or the story or the combination. The narration was a major factor for me. I think I would like it better in paper back...

My advice, if you like the authors, and the barque cats, then I would borrow it from the library. That way if it comes off flat, you are not out anything. If you love it, you can get it and listen

good book

an enjoyable and relaxing listen. relaxing and fun. quite funny and anicdotal through out. loved it.

Delightful cat/human interaction

A lover of cats would enjoy the first and second books. I find myself with mind giggles like Jubal whenever "world cat domination" is brought up by Sha-Rha. Can't wait to see how that plays out in the series. No LVS to be avoided.

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: Cryoburn

Subtitle: A Miles Vorkosigan Adventure

Author: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-19-10

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1844 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Kibou-daini is a planet obsessed with cheating death. Barrayaran Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan can hardly disapprovehes been cheating death his whole life, on the theory that turnabout is fair play. But when a Kibou-daini cryocorpan immortal company whose job it is to shepherd its all-too-mortal frozen patrons into an unknown futureattempts to expand its franchise into the Barrayaran Empire, Emperor Gregor dispatches his top troubleshooter, Miles, to check it out.

On Kibou-daini, Miles discovers generational conflict over money and resources is heating up, even as refugees displaced in time skew the meaning of generation past repair. Here he finds a young boy with a passion for pets and a dangerous secret, a Snow White trapped in an icy coffin who burns to rewrite her own tale, and a mysterious crone who is the very embodiment of the warning Dont mess with the secretary. Bribery, corruption, conspiracy, kidnappingsomething is rotten on Kibou-daini, and it isnt due to power outages in the Cryocombs. And Miles is in the middleof trouble!

Lois McMaster Bujold is one of the most honored writers in the fields of science fiction and fantasy, having won five Hugo Awards and three Nebula Awards. Her second novel, The Warriors Apprentice, introduced young Miles Vorkosigan, one of the most popular characters in science fiction. The mother of two, she lives in Minneapolis.

Critic Reviews:

Fanswill not be disappointed by this thoughtful taleDeft and absorbing writing. (

Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Its nice to come Home!

After a very long time how wonderful to have more Miles! LMB certainly hasn't lost her touch, and once again Mr. Gardener delivers an excellent performance. A top notch addition to the Vorkosigan collection.

If you are new to the Vorkosigan series, you may want to start with Shards of Honor or The warriors apprentice.

A Delightful Return to the Vorkosigan Universe

Lois McMaster Bujold yet again masterfully crafts a story that is both delightful and entertaining as well as profound and contemplative, and Grover Gardner delivers his usual brilliant performance. As the title alludes, Cryoburn deals not only with Miles' life post cryo revival, but humanity's drive to cheat death, to find the cure for old age, the fountain of youth, to live forever. But would that really be the cure society dreams it could be? Armsman Roic accompanies Lord Miles Vorkosigan on his adventures on Kibou-Daini, and if you're a fan of the series, you can also find out what happened with Emperor Gregor and Laisa, Mark and Kareen, the Duronas group, Sergeant Taura, and Lady Cordelia and Count Aral Vorkosigan. And yes, I cried at the end.

One of the best of a great series

This is another great book in a great series with excellent narration. Bujold is a master of the genre, with excellent character development, both in giving vivid personalities to minor players, and in allowing the protagonists to grow and change. The stories have some action and humor, but also illuminate the politics, history, prejudices, and predilections of the various societies in the Miles universe. Cryoburn is also quite interesting and thought provoking.