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Title: I Dare

Subtitle: Liaden Universe Agent of Change, Book 5

Author: Sharon Lee, Steve Miller

Narrator: Andy Caploe

Format: Unabridged

Length: 20 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-04-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 241 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

The dynamic conclusion to the Agent of Change series in Lee and Miller's Liaden Universe!

Val Con yos'Phelium: a Scout, former Agent of Change, husband, brother to Turtles, and designated heir to Clan Korval's fortune and mission... Whether you considered him respectable or not, no one would call him a gambling man. When he reappears demanding Balance and retribution, he looks exactly like the kind of leader his clan has been producing for generations. On his capable shoulders the fate of his Clan, his world, and his civilization.... Pat Rin yos'Phelium: fond father, bon vivant, ne'er-do-well... and a professional gambler. The enemies of Korval have offered Pat Rin the Ring that would make all of Korval's holdings his own and a Juntavas Judge has offered Pat Rin a world....

When he appears with hired guns in tow, no one is expecting him and no one knows what he'll do. Pat Rin is a gambling man, and on his wild-card shoulders the fate of his Clan, his world, his civilization....

This long-awaited culmination of the Agent of Change sequence of Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's internationally acclaimed Liaden Universe novels pits unexpected friends and unexpected enemies against each other in a war that spans planets and races - and threatens to bring interstellar violence to the very surface of fabled Liad.

Members Reviews:

He Dared!!

I love this series. It is a great story! It is best to start with Conflict of Honors, then Agent of Change, Carpe Diem, Plan B, then this book, to get the full story and understanding. I was not very happy with this narrator. Most characters were voiced well, but he made Pat Rin sound smarmy, though he is written as a reserved, very proper gentleman. It was better by the end of the book, but every time Pat Rin said something, I got irritated, and it spoiled the experience somewhat. However, it would take more than that to spoil the Liaden Universe!

Story trumps narration

STORY and SERIES: The Liaden Universe series follows the fortunes of Clan Korval, comprised of yos'Phelium and yos'Galan families, their kitties, and a sentient tree. It begins with Crystal Soldier, chronologically set about 1400 years before I DARE.

I have read the series. As space opera, it relies more on fantasy than science, abounding with wizards, goddesses, and an ancient, towering, pharmaceutically inclined tree. I love the sentient tree.

Good entertainment! (But expect frequent POV switches and some gaping plot improbabilities. Also, this story may be quite confusing unless you have followed the series.)

NARRATION: Unlike some narrators in this series, Andy Caploe adopted a unique voice for each character. Some voices worked better than others, in my opinion. Several voices reminded me of New Jersey or the Bronx. I wondered if he had read the series and understood the nuances of the Liaden language. I also wondered why various books in the series were assigned to different narrators (making for inconsistency). Having listened to four narrators in this series, I liked Keven T. Collins best, followed by Bernadette Dunne.

Vocalization analysis for I DARE, in no order:

Edger the Clutch Turtle: Perfect vocalization. Deep and profound. His brother Sheather's voice is slightly twangy, and not deep enough.

Nelerikk the Yxtrang Explorer (aka Beautiful). Not quite right. Almost a nasal twang. Not deep enough.

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Title: The Map of the Sky

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Felix J. Palma

Narrator: James Langton

Format: Unabridged

Length: 22 hrs and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-04-12

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 121 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

The New York Times best-selling author of The Map of Time returns with a mesmerizing novel casting H.G. Wells in a leading role, as the extraterrestrial invasion featured in The War of the Worlds is turned into a bizarre reality.

A love story serves as backdrop for The Map of the Sky when New York socialite Emma Harlow agrees to marry millionaire Montgomery Gilmore, but only if he accepts her audacious challenge: to reproduce the extraterrestrial invasion featured in Wells's War of the Worlds. What follows are three brilliantly interconnected plots to create a breathtaking tale of time travel and mystery, replete with cameos by a young Edgar Allan Poe, and Captain Shackleton and Charles Winslow from The Map of Time.

Praised for "lyrical storytelling and a rich attention to detail" (Library Journal, starred review), Palma again achieves the high standard set by The Map of Time.

Critic Reviews:

"The unreal becomes real, fantasy becomes history, and the reader is thoroughly entertained by an unending parade of bafflements and surprises. This book is a complete delight." (K.W Jeter, author of Infernal Devices)

Members Reviews:

What a Disappointment!

Felix J. Palma's first novel, The Map of Time, was a clever, charming story full of surprises, well-written characters and a wonderful mix of history and fiction. It used H.G. Wells classic novel, The Time Machine as a launching point and Wells himself as a character.

Wells is back in this sequel, which draws upon another of his most famous novels, The War of the Worlds, for inspiration. Unfortunately, while the first book was clever and inspired, this novel was more like a bad Hollywood sequel. It tries too hard to replicate the experience of the first book and consequently feels forced and labored from start to finish. It was a 22+ hour slog. In his effort to deliver the kind of unexpected surprises he gave readers in The Map of Time, the author pushes too far, repeatedly forcing the issue. The surprises feel labored and at one point, he thoroughly betrays the reader's trust in way he probably thought was clever and playful but was, in reality, so disappointing that I almost bailed on the book immediately after finishing that chapter. In the end, maybe that would have been a good idea.

Palma is a talented writer and I'm hoping he'll put that talent to better use on his next book and leave the themes and characters of his first two behind.

Realizing I am hooked

I was interested in the idea of the plot from the get go but it took a while before I realized I was hooked. I don't plan to purchase any more of Felix J. Palma's audibles but did enjoy this one.

Tried too hard to be cute

What could Felix J. Palma have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Get rid of the tongue-in-cheek tone.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Map of the Sky?

I listened to the first 2 hours. Most of it could have been cut. Getting Wells drunk seemed dumb, and that seemed to be the point of the whole section.

Egad! I now know how long eternity is.

The time spent on listening to this book seemed to never end.

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Title: Death Warmed Over

Subtitle: Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I., Book 1

Author: Kevin J. Anderson

Narrator: Phil Gigante

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-28-12

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 227 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Ever since the Big Uneasy unleashed vampires, werewolves, and other undead denizens on the world, its been hell being a detective especially for zombie P.I. Dan Chambeaux. Taking on the creepiest of cases in the Unnatural Quarter with a human lawyer for a partner and a ghost for a girlfriend, Chambeaux redefines dead on arrival".

But just because he was murdered doesnt mean hed leave his clients in the lurch. Besides, zombies are so good at lurching. Now hes back from the dead and back in business with a caseload thats downright unnatural. A resurrected mummy is suing the museum that put him on display. Two witches, victims of a curse gone terribly wrong, seek restitution from a publisher for not using spell check on its magical tomes. And hes got to figure out a very personal question Who killed him?

For Dan Chambeaux, its all in a days work. (Still, does everybody have to call him Shamble?) Funny, fresh, and irresistible, this cadaverous caper puts the P.I. in R.I.P. with a vengeance.

Critic Reviews:

"Wickedly funny, deviously twisted and enormously satisfying. This is a big juicy bite of zombie goodness. Two decaying thumbs up! (Jonathan Maberry)

"The Dan Shamble books are great fun." (Simon R. Green)

Members Reviews:

Meh

"Meh" sums it up. Not bad, not great. Narrator's female characterizations were annoying. Not much of a mystery, villain is pretty obvious, as was the ending. Overall, it was ok but I can't recommend it.

What goes ha ha plop?

A zombie laughing his head off. Do ghouls eat popcorn with their fingers? No they eat their fingers separate. (spoiler alert) Those were the two best jokes in the entire book.

This is cute and sometimes silly. You will often crack a smile, but you will not LOL. I thought it was ok, just not real good. I am always routing for Anderson. He has written over forty novels, and most people don't know who he is. His problem to me is that he is always writing in other peoples' universes. His Seven Suns saga which I like is probably his best work. I have read the first five novels in that saga and plan on reading them all. Even though this was ok, I will not continue the series. With great writers like Jim Butcher, Dean Koontz and Christopher Moore, why waste my time with a pretender.

My advice to Anderson is to return to Science Fiction and come up with something original.

Narrator was pretty good.

Not sure where to start

I've listened to a number of books, but I've never quit one in the middle. This time I did. All the silly monster cliches were there, but made sillier. Plus the ridiculous PC-ness of the whole thing. White (living) males are the clear bad/immoral/icky people. The monsters, all ethnicities but caucasian, and anyone dead hold the moral high ground. Can you be preachier?

Save yourself and your monthly credit. Skip this one.

An interesting idea, just not well written.

What would have made Death Warmed Over better?

The story needed a lot of punching up. This seemed like something written by a high school student. The concept is cool but the execution is weak at best.

Has Death Warmed Over turned you off from other books in this genre?

Thre really is no other genre quite like this. The idea of a zombie PI in New Orleans seems like a can't miss, but it does.

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Title: Peace on Earth

Author: Stanislaw Lem

Narrator: David Marantz

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-27-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 22 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Ijon Tichy is the only human who knows for sure whether the self-programming robots on the moon are plotting a terrestrial invasion. But a highly focused ray severs his corpus collosum. Now his left brain cant remember the secret and his uncooperative right brain wont tell. Tichy struggles for control of the lost memory and of his own two warring sides.

Members Reviews:

Very thoughtful and entertaining

Lem at his best. Very thought provoking and easy to read at the same time

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Title: The Kif Strike Back

Subtitle: Chanur, Book 3

Author: C. J. Cherryh

Narrator: Dina Pearlman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-31-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 160 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

When the kif seize Hilfy and Tully, Pyanfar and her shipmates enter into a simple rescue attempt. It soon becomes a deadly game of interstellar politics.

Critic Reviews:

"Compellingly written, with distinctive characters and well-realized races and cultures." (Fantasy Review)

"A rousing good tale and... the most believable alien characters to come down the SF pike in a long time. Highly recommended." (Kliatt)

Members Reviews:

A whirl of worlds.

This series is in many ways Cherryh's most accessible one. She takes on one species after another and makes them real as a dime. And comprehensible by their own lights. Without ever making them into humans with fur or feathers. It's a wonderful space opera, which I normally hate. But here, when the alliens are so alien and yet, somehow people you know, how can you resist?

Some whiny bits in the dialog. Listen to it and see what you think. It didn't ruin my enjoyment of the books.But you might feel differently.

Jury is still out

Sequel to "Chanur's Venture." It continues where that book leaves off. Unfortunately, like that book, this one doesn't end properly. The ending here is slightly more reasonable than what the publisher did with "Chanur's Venture".

Another great story

Another great story about the Pride's crew. It seems to stand out from the previous titles as well in length and quality.

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Title: Serpent's Reach

Author: C. J. Cherryh

Narrator: Romy Nordlinger

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-24-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 72 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

The constellation of Hydri, also called the Serpent, became an undesirable destination during the era of humanity's most prolific interstellar colonization. For Hydri was under strict quarantine because it harbored an intelligent and dangerous alien race, the insectoid majat. Yet human colonies predating the quarantine did exist in this sector of space, which they called Serpent's Reach. Cut off from others of their own kind, they had their own inbred culture and special relationships with the alien majat.

Raen was the only survivor of the massacred Sul family, and she had made a pledge to devote her life to seeking vengeance for her slain clan. Her thirst for revenge would take her not only across the worlds of the Reach, but into the very center of an alien webwork that knit the stars of the forbidden constellation into a complex of interbred alien hives that no outsider could hope to unravel, and where most of humanity dared not go.

Critic Reviews:

"For interesting aliens, try Cherryh's

Serpent's Reach. In it she has created what may be the first sympathetic hive mind in SF. Cherryh has successfully avoided almost all the mystic pseudoscience claptrap inspired in her predecessors by Earth's social insects. She has achieved a Hive intelligence that makes sense. I congratulate her and I look forward to her attempt to top it." (

Analog)

Members Reviews:

Take a trip

I am a long time SF fan and Ive read all of CJ Cherryhs books because she is among the top SF authors ever. Now I have the pleasure of listening to them as well. While she is famous for series, such as Faded Sun, Chanur, and her epic and unequaled Foreigner series, she has written many stand-alone jewels as well. Serpents Reach is one of those stand-alone jewels. Take a trip with Ms. Cherryh to a far away culture and meet an alien species. You will not be disappointed. The narrator did a fabulous job.

This narrator really took me on a journey!

What did you love best about Serpent's Reach?

I'm not usually a fan of Sci-fi but I just finished listening to "Serpent's Reach" and I couldn't be more enthusiastic! I think hearing it aloud aided by the smooth voiced & expressive narrator, who really brought it to life. Everything about this book - the plot, the characters, the message, was riveting. I was drawn into a world that was so different than mine that I felt that I'd been transported and it's just what I needed to lose myself! I love how the author intertwines serious issues about conformity versus independence with far out situations and characters. I didn't know I liked sci-fi until this book but I'm so glad audible and it's excellent narrator brought it to life for me! It's now on my recommend list!!

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

YES!

terrible reader gets in the way of the story

This might be a good book, CJ Cherryh is certainly well regarded, but the reading is so flat and lacking in inflection that I couldn't barely follow the story.

Keep listening

In the beginning there so many new ideas and descriptions that is cumbersome but if you stick with it the story is well worth it.

Interesting story, revenge can be sweet

I have listened to the entire Foreigner series and loved each and every book. Cherryh does a wonderful job with alien cultures and "human" interfacings with those cultures.

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Title: Use of Weapons

Subtitle: Culture Series, Book 3

Author: Iain M. Banks

Narrator: Peter Kenny

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-05-12

Publisher: Hachette Audio UK

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 105 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

The man known as Cheradenine Zakalwe was one of Special Circumstances' foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks or military action. The woman known as Diziet Sma had plucked him from obscurity and pushed him towards his present eminence, but despite all their dealings she did not know him as well as she thought. The drone known as Skaffen-Amtiskaw knew both of these people. It had once saved the woman's life by massacring her attackers in a particularly bloody manner. It believed the man to be a burnt-out case. But not even its machine intelligence could see the horrors in his past.

Members Reviews:

Persevere and find gold!

Iaian M. Banks writes (what I would call) philosophical science fiction. He uses his stories to raise important ethical questions and to comment on the political establishment of the day. ???Use of Weapons??? is no exception. When listening to the story it might help asking yourself ???What is the weapon(s) used in the story and by whom????

When Special Circumstances a division of Contact, the (machine-humanoid symbiotic) Culture???s ???Intelligence Agency??? uses the man, Cheradenine Zakalwe, as an agent to do its dirty work, it eventually has to come to terms with his past. Banks hereby raises the question of superpowers using unknown front figureheads and groups to do their dirty bidding in ensuring that the world is shaped according to their will. What happens if this fa??ade cracks?

The story is complexly structured. There are two numbering systems in the book, a story going from chapter to chapter in chronological order and a numeral system which consists of back flashes seemingly arranged in a reverse chronological order. The numeral chapters give the listener hints an a little bit of insight into the person and being of Cheradenine Zakalwe. When the current time and the past collides the puzzle suddenly fits and the ???aha??? moment arrives. This makes the book in my opinion outstanding.

I found that while the story that moved from chapter to chapter was straightforward, the numeral chapters kept you guessing. I enjoyed the way the numeral chapters were written; each one could be a short story on its own.

Banks makes the listener a sleuth, encouraging you to puzzle out the story before he tells you the secret at the most crucial point in the story. He definitely caught me unaware. I think this is where the brilliance of this novel lies in, the surprise.

Peter Kenny, by now synonymous with the reading of Iaian M. Banks??? audio books does an excellent job.

Be warned, it is not an easy book to listen too at first, but is you persevere you will find the gold at the end of the rainbow. It took me a few times of rewinding and listening again to some chapters, but I am really glad I did it.

???Use of Weapons??? is the third Culture novel after ???Consider Phlebas??? and ???The Player of Games.??? I propose that you listen at least to ???Consider Phlebas??? first, just to get the feel for Bank???s science fiction universe. However it is not a must, you might probably enjoy this story just as much without listening/ reading his other books.

It comes highly recommended!

Another excellent culture novel

another great listen.

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Title: Factoring Humanity

Author: Robert J. Sawyer

Narrator: Katherine Kellgren

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-03-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 423 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

In the near future, a signal is detected coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Mysterious, unintelligible data streams in for ten years. Heather Davis, a professor in the University of Toronto psychology department, has devoted her career to deciphering the message. Her estranged husband, Kyle, is working on the development of artificial intelligence systems and new computer technology utilizing quantum effects to produce a near-infinite number of calculations simultaneously.

When Heather achieves a breakthrough, the message reveals a startling new technology that rips the barriers of space and time, holding the promise of a new stage of human evolution. In concert with Kyle's discoveries of the nature of consciousness, the key to limitless exploration - or the end of the human race - appears close at hand.Sawyer has created a gripping thriller, a pulse-pounding tour of the farthest reaches of technology. Factoring Humanity is a 1999 Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novel.

Critic Reviews:

"[T]his is exciting, readable science fiction that will take you where no one has gone before - and you'll never forget the ending." (Amazon.com review)

"An intelligent and absorbing double-stranded narrative." (Kirkus)

Members Reviews:

Being Self-aware and being Selfish go Hand in Hand

THE THIRD EYE

Sawyer has the third eye when it comes to science fiction, controversial subjects, aliens or first encounters. He has several books out on first encounters and they are all different and good. He also likes to step out and discuss controversial matters. Many Sci-Fi authors stay with the norm by putting down God and those who believe, jumping on the Global Warming band wagon or just whatever is the latest end of the world, man hating theme. In this book he does the politically incorrect thing and shows the side of the falsely accused man and how that will ruin his life, even if proven innocent.

TONGUE AND GROOVE

I knew exactly what RS was talking about when it comes to the third eye, in some things I have it and some I don't and wish I did. I liked the Over Mind and the way he described it. Mostly, I liked the controversial subject matter (Sexual Molestation, having false memories and planting false memories and the harm done by counselors).

KNOWS JUST ENOUGH TO BE DANGEROUS

I don't know much about counselors, therapists or psychiatrists, but I have family members who have been to counselors. It seems that counselors are the cheapest and less trained of the group. Most people who need this type of help are not well off financially, so end up going to counselors. They seem to know just enough to be dangerous and actually make matters worse. I honestly think there should be a law against them and people should be made aware of the damage they can cause. It is also weird that most of the people I know who want to go in this line of work are the people who are the most screwed up themselves.

This was one of my least favorites by Sawyer, but I am comparing Sawyer to Sawyer. Some of the science was a little over my head (not a hard thing to accomplish) and I have a hard time picturing spatial, extra dimension type stuff and there was a lot more of that in the book then I cared for. He also attempted to be a John Scalzi and crack some jokes, but only Leonard, Wolowitz and Sheldon would have laughed at them, I think.

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Title: Homunculus

Subtitle: The Adventures of Langdon St Ives, Book 1

Author: James P Blaylock

Narrator: Nigel Carrington

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-06-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 36 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

In 1870s London, a city of contradictions and improbabilities, a dead man pilots an airship and living men are willing to risk all to steal a carp. Here, a night of bangers and ale at the local pub can result in an eternity at the Blood Pudding with the rest of the reanimated dead.

A comic science-fiction novel first published in 1986. It took the Philip K Dick award that year, and was the second book in Blaylock's loose steampunk trilogy, following The Digging Leviathan (1984) and preceding Lord Kelvin's Machine (1992).

Members Reviews:

Over the top in the right kind of way

"Does the night seem uncommonly full of dead men and severed heads to you?"

Langdon St. Ives is a man of science and a member of the Royal Society. With the help of his dependable and discreet manservant, St. Ives prefers to spend his time secretly building a spaceship in his countryside silo. But currently he???s in London to help his friend Jack Owlesby recover a wooden box containing the huge emerald Jack???s father left him for an inheritance. Things get confusing when it???s discovered that there are several of these boxes that all look the same and all contain something somebody wants. Soon St. Ives, Jack, and a host of other friends and enemies become embroiled in a madcap adventure featuring a toymaker and his lovely daughter, a captain with a smokable peg leg, the scientists of the Royal Society, an evil millionaire, a dirigible steered by a skeleton, a tiny little man in a jar who may be an alien, a cult evangelist who wants to bring his mother back to life, a love-spurned alchemist who keeps trying home remedies to cure his acne, and a lot of carp and zombies.

As you may have guessed, Homunculus is zany and completely over-the-top in the right kind of way. The villains are meant to be caricatures ??? one of them is hunchbacked and another sneakily lurches around England with his head wrapped in unraveling bandages. They do stupid things such as leaving the curtains open while animating corpses for the evangelist to claim as converts, and tip-toeing up dark staircases carrying bombs with lit fuses. Blaylock???s bizarre but deadpan humor, in the absurdist British style (though Blaylock is American), was my favorite part of the novel. Even though Homunculus is packed with action and very funny when it???s in its farcical mode, the pace sometimes lags and the shallow characters can???t make up for it when that happens. Fortunately, that???s not often. The final scene is a screwball melee as all the heroes and villains, and thousands of London???s citizens, turn out to witness the story???s climax.

Nigel Carrington was a brilliant choice for narrator. There are a lot of similar characters in Homunculus, but Mr. Carrington made them distinguishable. He also hit exactly the right tone with the humor which ranged from deadpan to black comedy to zany farce. On my website, I've specifically recommended the audio version of Homunculus just because Nigel Carrington???s performance was a large factor in my enjoyment of the book.

If you???re in the mood for a surreal British comedy in the vein of Monty Python or Fawlty Towers, James P. Blaylock???s Homunculus will fit the bill nicely. Published in 1986, this is one of the earlier steampunk novels. In fact, Blaylock, along with friends K.W. Jeter and Tim Powers, all of whom studied with Philip K.

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Title: Immortality, Inc.

Author: Robert Sheckley

Narrator: Bronson Pinchot

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-06-11

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 155 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Want to be immortal? You can be in AD 2110. Just go to the Hereafter Insurance Corporation and hook yourself up to the Machine. Theres nothing to fear. That is, if it happens to be working right, and if nobody slips another mind into your body when youre not looking, and if youre not on a poltergeist hatelist

First published in 1959 as a startling, revolutionary novel of the futurethen pushed to new cinematic limits as the feature film adaptation Freejack in 1992Robert Sheckleys unsettling vision of tomorrow is a trenchantly witty novel of a future where everything has improved except the bumbling human race, which just cant let itself enjoy a good thing when it finally gets it.

Thomas Blaine awoke in a white bed in a white room and heard someone say, Hes alive now. Then they asked him his name, age, and marital status. Yes, that seemed normal enoughbut what was this talk about death trauma?

Thus was Thomas Blaine introduced to the year 2110, when science had discovered the technique of transferring a mans consciousness from one body to another, when a mans mind could be snatched from the past, as his body was at the point of death, and brought forward into a host body in this fantastic future world.

But that was only a small part of it, for the future had proved the reality of life after death and discovered worlds beyond or simultaneous with our ownworlds where, through scientific techniques, a man could live again, in another body, when he died hereand had in the process established the reality of ghosts, poltergeists, and zombies.

What did it all mean? How had this discovery of what they called the hereafter shaped the world of 2110?

Thomas Blaine found himself living in a future where the discoveries and techniques imagined by people of his time, though realized, were completely overwhelmed by discoveries no one had ever dreamed of.

Critic Reviews:

Praise for Robert Sheckley: Sheckley has long been considered one of the genres leading humorists. (New York Times Book Review)

Members Reviews:

Sheckley Is The Best There Is

Any additional comments?

When it comes to science-fiction authors you have never heard of, there are none more talented than Robert Sheckley. Aside from "Immortality Inc.", (which is amazing), his novel "Dimension of Miracles" & as well as a handful of short-stories adapted into radio dramas for the 1950's program "X-Minus One" have earned him the honor of owning the spot in my heart as my favorite obscure writer.

"Immortality Inc." plays with your mind only the way that Sheckley can. The story itself blends ideas from subjects such as time travel, the afterlife, immorality, reincarnation, and zombie folklore into ONE book that reads like a "I-can't-put-it-down" page-turner. I also found it interesting that a book which was written over 50 years ago had its protagonist be a self-proclaimed atheist. Rare for that time period in fiction.

Definitely worth the credit. You won't be sorry.

9.4 / 10

Great!

If you could sum up Immortality, Inc. in three words, what would they be?

Dystopian, futuristic, anti-religious

What other book might you compare Immortality, Inc.