How To Get Audiobooks in Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary Most Popular

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Title: Fuzzy Nation

Author: John Scalzi

Narrator: Wil Wheaton, John Scalzi - introduction

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-10-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 8638 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

In John Scalzi's re-imagining of H. Beam Piper's 1962 sci-fi classic Little Fuzzy, written with the full cooperation of the Piper Estate, Jack Holloway works alone for reasons he doesn't care to talk about. On the distant planet Zarathustra, Jack is content as an independent contractor for ZaraCorp, prospecting and surveying at his own pace. As for his past, that's not up for discussion.

Then, in the wake of an accidental cliff collapse, Jack discovers a seam of unimaginably valuable jewels, to which he manages to lay legal claim just as ZaraCorp is cancelling their contract with him for his part in causing the collapse. Briefly in the catbird seat, legally speaking, Jack pressures ZaraCorp into recognizing his claim, and cuts them in as partners to help extract the wealth.

But there's another wrinkle to ZaraCorp's relationship with the planet Zarathustra. Their entire legal right to exploit the verdant Earth-like planet, the basis of the wealth they derive from extracting its resources, is based on being able to certify to the authorities on Earth that Zarathustra is home to no sentient species. Then a small furry biped - trusting, appealing, and ridiculously cute - shows up at Jack's outback home. Followed by its family. As it dawns on Jack that despite their stature, these are people, he begins to suspect that ZaraCorp's claim to a planet's worth of wealth is very flimsy indeed and that ZaraCorp may stop at nothing to eliminate the fuzzys before their existence becomes more widely known.

Critic Reviews:

[Scalzis] style and skill make it a highly entertaining read. It succeeds both as a new novel from a talented writer and as a tribute and gateway to Pipers work. (Wired)

"Its a wonderful book.... [T]he way that Scalzi puts that wonderful novel of Pipers into a fresher context is cynically lovely.... Years best? Yeah, one of them." (The San Diego Union-Tribune)

A perfectly executed plot clicks its way to a stunning courtroom showdown in a cathartic finish that will thrill Fuzzy fans old and new. (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Short, sweet, and satisfying storytelling.

The story sets up in a quite classic mode: fuzzy creatures are discovered on a planet being strip-mined for its resources. Are they sentient? If so, the corporations (and independent contractor surveyors) are out of jobs and minerals. In (now classic?) Scalzi mode, the characters are warm, deep, sarcastic, funny, and give great quips on cue, and the plot flies along at an easy pace, never slow, not too fast to leave the listener behind. Wheaton's narration here is nicely paced as well, not a long, drawn-out affair, nor one with heavy characterizations on the voices (when it comes, it's very nice -- but that's in spoiler territory). The fuzzies are cute -- but not unbearably, and there are a few laugh out loud moments here, and (our main character, the independent contractor) Jack's interactions with his dog, Carl, are wonderful.

It is, however, over a bit too easily -- and unexpectedly quickly. Fuzzy Nation comes in at a little over 7 hours, with download "Part 2" being a Peter Ganim narration of the original H. Beam Piper novel Little Fuzzy which runs about 6 and a half hours.

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Title: The Quantum Thief

Author: Hannu Rajaniemi

Narrator: Scott Brick

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-10-11

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 457 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Jean le Flambeur is a post-human criminal, mind burglar, confidence artist, and trickster. His origins are shrouded in mystery, but his exploits are known throughout the Heterarchyfrom breaking into the vast Zeusbrains of the Inner System to stealing rare Earth antiques from the aristocrats of Mars. Now hes confined inside the Dilemma Prison, where every day he has to get up and kill himself before his other self can kill him. Rescued by the mysterious Mieli and her flirtatious spacecraft, Jean is taken to the Oubliette, the Moving City of Mars, where time is currency, memories are treasures, and a moon-turned-singularity lights the night.

What Mieli offers is the chance to win back his freedom and the powers of his old selfin exchange for finishing the one heist he never quite managed. As Jean undertakes a series of capers on behalf of Mieli and her mysterious masters, elsewhere in the Oubliette, investigator Isidore Beautrelet is called in to investigate the murder of a chocolatier, and finds himself on the trail of an arch-criminal, a man named le Flambeur.

The Quantum Thief is a crazy joyride through the solar system several centuries hence, a world of marching cities, ubiquitous public-key encryption, people communicating by sharing memories, and a race of hyper-advanced humans who originated as MMORPG guild members. But for all its wonders, it is also a story powered by very human motives of betrayal, revenge, and jealousy. It is a stunning debut.

Critic Reviews:

"He's spectacularly delivered on the promise that this is likely the more important debut SF novel we'll see this year." (

LOCUS)

Members Reviews:

Starts Confusing, Gets Exciting, Ends Awesome

The Quantum Thief is a post-singularity SF novel, meaning it takes place in a future where the line between man and machine has blurred and things like memory uploads, microcomputers in the brain, and functional immortality can exist. Rajaniemi starts out this book by showing more than he tells, presenting the world of Jean Le Flambeur as he would tell it with little consideration for how little we understand of that world. Consequently, the first two hours or so of the book were utterly confusing. I had no idea what was going on, and I had lots of problems just visualizing the scenes and the environment. I began to worry that the whole novel would be told as a series of sense impressions.

A bit later, however, the writing style moves away from that extreme show-don't-tell style and it presents itself itself with detailed, character-driven scenes that caught me by surprise and delighted me to the end. The amount of detail Rajaniemi applies to his fictional future is staggering, and it's all presented in a coherent and enjoyable ride filled with enough action, intrigue, and general sensawunada to keep any SF fan happy. After having read it, I'm kind of surprised it didn't make the cut for the Hugo, if that tells you anything about how much I liked it.

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Title: The Player of Games

Author: Iain M. Banks

Narrator: Peter Kenny

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-06-11

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1911 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

The Culture - a human/machine symbiotic society - has thrown up many great Game Players, and one of the greatest is Gurgeh. Jernau Morat Gurgeh. The Player of Games. Master of every board, computer, and strategy. Bored with success, Gurgeh travels to the Empire of Azad, cruel and incredibly wealthy, to try their fabulous game... a game so complex, so like life itself, that the winner becomes emperor. Mocked, blackmailed, almost murdered, Gurgeh accepts the game, and with it the challenge of his life - and very possibly his death.

Critic Reviews:

"Poetic, humorous, baffling, terrifying, sexy - the books of Iain M. Banks are all these things and more." (NME)

"An exquisitely riotous tour de force of the imagination which writes its own rules simply for the pleasure of breaking them." (Time Out)

Members Reviews:

Great introduction to The Culture series

On the surface this is a great adventure story in which the playing of games becomes as exciting as a physical combat scene in an action movie. Underneath it is a provocative discussion of how intelligent individuals who live as part of larger social groups might best arrange their relationships with each other. The themes are abstract, brilliantly captured in the game play itself, yet never, ever tedious or boring. I agree with reviewer Guy that this is a great introduction to the The Culture series, so this is especially recommended for those who have not previously encountered Banks. Peter Kenny read the story brilliantly, doing an exceptional job of giving each character a unique voice.

Spectacular reading of a cult sci fi classic

Iain M Banks is one of my favorite authors, and this early culture book is possibly the best one to start with - it has the most accessible and linear plot but is still though provoking and gripping. Peter Kenny does an outstanding job reading this as well as other Iain Banks books (Surface Detail for instance). I must have read this book at least half a dozen times since it first came out almost 20 years ago, listening to Peter Kenny made it seem brand new. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Great culture story

Would you listen to The Player of Games again? Why?

Yes! This is one of my favorite Culture novels. It presents the story of a cuture citizen traveling to a non-Culture world to play a game. The visit, of course, is engineered by Special Circumstances so you KNOW something will happen. When it does, of course, it's marvelous and even better than you are thinking.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Player of Games?

Love the tiny twist at the end of the story... listen to the very very end!

Which character ??? as performed by Peter Kenny ??? was your favorite?

The droids! Of course. :)

Culture, Contact, Special Circumstance its genius!

I enjoyed this book immensely, even more than Consider Phlebas and I really hope that Peter Kenny will narrate Use of Weapons, The State of the Art and especially Excession of which I've heard great things. Please release these books on Audible. The Culture Series is fantastic. Thanks to Banks for this work of art and Kenny for narrating.

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Title: Dreadnaught

Subtitle: The Lost Fleet: Beyond the Frontier

Author: Jack Campbell

Narrator: Christian Rummel, Jack Campbell - introduction

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-26-11

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 5388 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

The first book of best-selling sci-fi author Jack Campbells new series "Beyond the Frontier" returns to find Captain John Black Jack" Geary, the hero of the "Lost Fleet" series, awoken from cryogenic sleep to take command of the fleet.

Gearys legendary exploits have earned him the adoration of the peopleand the enmity of politicians convinced that a living hero can be a very inconvenient thing. The century-long war between the Alliance and the Syndicate Worlds may be over, but Geary and his newly christened First Fleet have been ordered back into action to investigate the aliens occupying the far side of Syndic space and to determine how much of a threat they represent to the Alliance. And while the Syndic Worlds are no longer united, individually they may be more dangerous than ever before. Geary knows that members of the military high command and the government question his loyalty to the Alliance and fear his staging a coup, so he cant help but wonder if the newly christened First Fleet is being sent to the far side of space on a suicide mission.

William C. Dietz, the author of the "Legion of the Damned" series, calls Dreadnaught "a rousing adventure", and Elizabeth Moon, the Nebula Award-winning author of the "Vatta's War" series, says its loaded with edge-of-your-seat combat". Read by Christian Rummel, who has narrated The Lost Fleet series to excellent reviews, Dreadnaught promises to be an out-of-this-world experience.

BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction written and read by author Jack Campbell.

Members Reviews:

Good story, narration off-putting

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

I'd recommend the entire series; it would be hard to engage with this book unless you'd read the previous ones. High entertainment value, with interesting characters and politics to keep you brain busy between the gripping battle scenes.

What did you like best about this story?

The imagination and mystery surrounding the alien races.

What didnt you like about Christian Rummel and Jack Campbell (Introduction) s performance?

I found Rummel's voice characterizations distasteful. Desjani sounds like a bitchy Stepford Wife more than a battleship captain, and some of the male characters sound like they have chronic sinusitis. The whole thing sounds cartoonish. This is just my reaction; many people obviously like the narration, which is certainly competent. I just don't care for the interpretation. I do want to read the rest of the books, but I think I'll actually read (instead of listen to) them

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Probably not (I'm not a big movie-goer).

Got me into audio science fiction audio books!

This is one of the best books I have listened to. Normally I just listen to fiction or semi-fiction books, but i bought this on a whim. After listening I was hooked and listened in 1 sitting. I then went and bought all the beyond the frontier series books and wish i would have started with the first lost fleet books. The narrator is one of the best which makes me unable to listen to many audio books.

not my favorite book in the series

This was not my favorite book in the series. It introduced some new plot elements but fell short of establishing interest in them for me.

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Title: Halo: Cryptum

Subtitle: Book One of the Forerunner Saga

Author: Greg Bear

Narrator: Holter Graham

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-05-11

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1411 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Fully 100,000 years ago, the galaxy was populated by a great variety of beings. But one species - eons beyond all others in both technology and knowledge - achieved dominance. They ruled in peace but met opposition with quick and brutal effectiveness. They were the Forerunners - the keepers of the Mantle, the next stage of life in the Universes Living Time. And then they vanished. This is their story.

Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting is a young rebellious Forerunner. He is a Manipular, untried - yet to become part of the adult Forerunner society, where vast knowledge and duty waits. He comes from a family of Builders, the Forerunners highest and most politically powerful elite. It is the Builders who create the grand technology that facilitates Forerunner dominance over the known universe. It is the Builders who believe they must shoulder the greatest burden of the Mantle - as shepherds and guardians of all life.

Bornstellar is marked to become a great Builder, just like his father. But this Manipular has other plans. He is obsessed with lost treasures of the past. His reckless passion to seek out the marvelous artifacts left behind by the Precursors - long-vanished superbeings of unknowable power and intent - forces his fathers hand. Bornstellar is sent to live among the Miners, where he must come to terms with where his duty truly lies. But powerful forces are at play.

On a Lifeworkers experimental planet, Bornstellars rebellious course crosses the paths of two humans, and the long lifeline of a great military leader, forever changing Bornstellars destiny and the fate of the entire galaxy.

This is a tale of life, death, intergalactic horror, exile, and maturity. It is a story of overwhelming change - and of human origins. For the Mantle may not lie upon the shoulders of Forerunners forever.

Members Reviews:

Essential for Fans of the Halo Series

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, a growing plot throughout, starts somewhat confusing and slow but builds and builds into an enthrawling novel full of realizations.

What did you like best about this story?

Brings the Halo series into a whole new light.

Which scene was your favorite?

The words of the captive... so cool.

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

Many surprises kept me riveted and interested.

you are what you dare

I was so excited about this book. I was a big fan of Greg Bear back in the 80's when he came out with Blood Music, The Forge of God, The Wind From a Burning Woman, and then in 2000, Darwin's Radio. I did not know anything about Halo, but this being a prequel, it seem like a good place to start. The ratings and reviews are excellent, yet I could not get into it. I listened for over 5 and a half hours, and it was just so boring. It has got to be one the slowest moving Sci-Fi's ever. I could not concentrate. My mind kept wondering off. I tried dozens of times to get back into the story, but it just was not working for me.

It seems it has worked for many others. So's youse takes your chances.

The narrator was also fairly dry and did not help out too much.

The phrase,You are what you dare, was repeated a couple of times in the book and I thought that was good advice.

Amazing

Where does Halo: Cryptum rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

Easily the best thus far.

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Title: Agent to the Stars

Author: John Scalzi

Narrator: Wil Wheaton

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-07-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 9565 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. So getting humanity's trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He's one of Hollywood's hottest young agents. But although Stein may have just concluded the biggest deal of his career, it's quite another thing to negotiate for an entire alien race. To earn his percentage this time, he's going to need all the smarts, skills, and wits he can muster.

Editorial Reviews:

Wil Wheaton, a Star Trek: The Next Generation alum, is a canny choice for narrator of this intersection of science fiction and Elmore Leonard-esque Hollywood farce. In addition to being a rather prominent footnote in sci-fi history, Wheatons also got a great voice sonorous, with an inflection similar to a late-night radio DJ whos bemusedly sharing an anecdote on air between tracks. His voice also carries a hint of that lilt peculiar to many native Angelenos, which comes in handy when he exaggerates it to Valley Girl-proportions to portray starlet Michelle Beck, former cheerleader and current box office draw.

Hollywood agent Tom Stein is the books hero, and when the story begins, Michelle is his most important client. That is, until Tom meets Joshua, an extraterrestrial whose alien race hires Tom and his boss, superagent Carl Lupo, to represent them. The Yherajk have decided their best hope for a peaceful first contact between their race and all of humanity is to out themselves via the movies, and they know if they want to make it in Hollywood, they need good representation.

Wheatons voicing of Joshua, who has traveled to Earth as the Yherajks representative, is another highlight. Joshua, like his kinsmen, looks like a gelatinous blob, gives off a noxious odor, and slithers around amorphously. Hes also incredibly educated when it comes to human pop culture, having logged countless hours watching sitcoms. Wheaton delivers Joshuas line, We look like snot. And we smell like dead fish, in a nasally deadpan that suits a one-liner-delivering alien to a T.

Even when Scalzi veers into semi-philosophical territory as when he explores why an alien race would choose a Hollywood debut over staging their premiere in Washington Wheaton keeps the narration moving with his just-right character voices. Look out for the both silly and spot-on sounding Quebecois accent he uses to portray Roland Lanois, an art-house film director with a critical role in the novel, and for his Buddha-like turn as Gwedif, a Yherajk storyteller.

Critic Reviews:

Narrator Wil Wheaton animates the slapstick text with a tone that is appropriate for the story of a young Tinsel Town agent whose other clients are either equally deranged or aren't making him much money. (AudioFile)

Members Reviews:

Very funny

My first John Scalzi book, but it won't be my last. An alien race wants to meet us, but they know we won't find them pleasant, so they hire an agent from Hollywood. Thomas Stein the agent is extremely funny and the interactions between the aliens and humans are roll on the ground funny. The first 2/3 of the book is a five star novel.

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Title: The Android's Dream

Author: John Scalzi

Narrator: Wil Wheaton

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-07-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 8203 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

A human diplomat creates an interstellar incident when he kills an alien diplomat in a most unusual way. To avoid war, Earth's government must find an equally unusual object: A type of sheep ("The Android's Dream"), used in the alien race's coronation ceremony.

To find the sheep, the government turns to Harry Creek, ex-cop, war hero and hacker extraordinaire, who with the help of Brian Javna, a childhood friend turned artificial intelligence, scours the earth looking for the rare creature. And they find it, in the unknowing form of Robin Baker, pet store owner, whose genes contain traces of the sheep DNA. But there are others with plans for the sheep as well: Mercenaries employed by the military. Adherents of a secret religion based on the writings of a 21st century science-fiction author. And alien races, eager to start a revolution on their home world and a war on Earth.

To keep our planet from being enslaved, Harry will have to pull off the greatest diplomatic coup in history, a grand gambit that will take him from the halls of power to the lava-strewn battlefields of alien worlds. There's only one chance to get it right, to save the life of Robin Baker - and to protect the future of humanity.

Critic Reviews:

"With plenty of alien gore to satisfy fans of military SF and inventive jabs at pretend patriotism and self-serving civil service, Scalzi delivers an effervescent but intelligent romp." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Philip K Dick meets Douglas Adams

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The first chapter is hands-down the funniest piece of sci-fi I have ever read. I agree with some critics that claim John Scalzi borrows some of his content from other great writers. Nonetheless, he does give proper homage to history (as in naming the sheep breed Android's Dream). Moreover and more importantly, his writing contains plenty of original thinking.

Covertly flatulent Scifi at it's best!

Fun book, listening was a gas!

A word of warning to those who might be sheepish about genetic engineering; ewe may want to Baaack away from this one.

Narrator did a nice job, not a crusher performance, but very enterprising.

Ok I'm done.

Great listen

I love this book, it was a great listen. Wil Wheaton did a great job as the narrator. I found myself laughing out load. I haven't enjoyed Sci-Fi like this since Heinlein. I will look for other books by this author.

Nice is Nice, but being a Bitch gets results

This is not Agent to The Stars or Fuzzy Nation. It is not terrible, but if you are thinking you are going to get as funny or as good as the above mentioned then, sorry No.

In comparing Scalzi to Scalzi, I was a bit disappointed. At times I forget I was listening to Scalzi and thought I was Listening to Nora Roberts. This really gets bogged down in the details. The plot is fairly complicated and not in a good way. Warning to all, chapter six has a high Ick factor. I am talking sex with animals.

I did like Robin, she was a funny character. I liked the bowling shoes. I also liked the satire about L. Ron Hubbard.

Wil Wheaton was good, although at the beginning of the book he sounded a little tired. He might have been arguing with Sheldon all night.

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Title: The White Rose

Subtitle: Chronicles of the Black Company, Book 3

Author: Glen Cook

Narrator: Marc Vietor

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-31-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1044 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

She is the last hope of good in the war against the evil sorceress known as the Lady. From a secret base on the Plains of Fear, where even the Lady hesitates to go, the Black Company, once in service to the Lady, now fights to bring victory to the White Rose. But now an even greater evil threatens the world. All the great battles that have gone before will seem a skirmishes when the Dominator rises from the grave.

Members Reviews:

Concluding the first major arc

There is a weightiness to the events of The White Rose that make it feel like it could have been the last book in the series--albeit with a few loose ends here and there. And things have changed quite a bit from the feel of the first book-for better or worse. In a way, I much prefer the tone of the original, despite it's flaws.

It isn't that The White Rose isn't good, it's in fact very good. It's that it has moved so far from the cynical military fantasy that it was in the first and most of the second book. Starting with the end of Shadows Linger the series has shifted ever closer to the traditional epic fantasy. The characters, who used to be pretty rotten, have had most of their grit pruned out, and seem more heroic with every page. Well, maybe that's just character development. Croaker has also become increasingly important, and the Lady's interest in him has only increased over the years.

Perspective shifting continues in Shadows Linger, which this time around give us some much wanted insight into the back story of the Lady and her empire. In fact, the most interesting part of the book this time around are the messages containing the decoded history of the wizard Bowmanz.

Other than all that, there's more fun antics with One-Eye and Goblin, some interesting but strange new creatures and characters, and ship-baiting galore between Croaker and you know who. Oh and the continued deconstruction of Raven is always so very tickling.

Not much new to be said about the performance. Marc Vietor is still the perfect Croaker. Enjoy his narration while it lasts.

Good story, though dated by contemporary standards

Glenn Cook is considered one of the original standard bearers of the grimdark fantasy subgenre. The first three books of his Black Company series were written in the 1980s, and while likely cutting edge at the time, they have since been eclipsed by far more complex and well written stories. This series still offers an original take on the overarching fantasy genre, not following the Tolkien style storylines that so many fantasy authors of this era did, it presents a confused world of dark magic and mysterious characters. However, the plot, character development, and world-building may lack the depth to satisfy readers more used to modern tales such as those written by George R R Martin and his ilk. Marc Vietor brings this series to life with his reading style. He rarely confuses character voices, and it is my guess that had I read these first three books (which comprise one, complete story arc) instead of listening to them, I would have been thoroughly disappointed considering the high praise The Black Company series receives from so many online fantasy series reviewers. All in all I recommend checking out these stories and doing so by listening to them as Mark Vietor has performed them here.

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Title: Shadows Linger

Subtitle: Chronicles of the Black Company, Book 2

Author: Glen Cook

Narrator: Marc Vietor

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-31-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1209 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Mercenary soldiers in the service of the Lady, the Black Company stands against the rebels of the White Rose. They are tough men, proud of honoring their contracts. The Lady is evil, but so, too, are those who falsely profess to follow the White Rose, reincarnation of a centuries-dead heroine. Yet now some of the Company have discovered that the mute girl they rescued and sheltered is truly the White Rose reborn. Now there may be a path to the light, even for such as they. If they can survive it.

Members Reviews:

Cook finds his groove

The second book in the now three-decades-old Black Company series, which still remains a good read. Cook did something innovative for the time, which was to unshackle himself from the usual good-vs-evil conventions of fantasy, and write something darker and more subjective. As the lead narrator, a soldier/healer/annalist named Croaker puts it: "I do not believe in evil... I believe in our side and theirs, with the good and evil decided after the fact, by those who survive. Among men you seldom find the good with one standard and the shadow with another."

Cooks style here is similar to the first book, a hard-boiled account that doesnt waste too much time on world-building or character backstories, but simply relates events as they seem important to Croaker. The background is a standard fantasy world, with castles, swordsmen, taverns, wizards, crypts, undead creatures, and powerful sorcerers, but theres something about the world-weary, grunt-level view of it that I found refreshing. Croaker and his friends arent the heroes sitting at table with Elrond in Rivendell -- theyre the rank-and-file out patrolling the slums for masters they dont love, putting down uprisings by unwashed rebels with their own dubious leaders, and the cynicism shows.

The first book wandered across a landscape of battlefields and took a while to cohere around a narrative, but this one has more continuity. The Black Company is now in a city in the far north, investigating a strange new threat to The Lady. However, Raven and his charge, Darling, a girl who may be the reincarnation of someone with the power to destroy the Lady, have come back into the picture, and Croaker is finding it harder to hide this secret from his powerful employer. Theres also a second storyline, which follows a cowardly, put-upon innkeeper named Maran Shed, who desperately needs money, and learns of a dark way of making it. Sheds financial-management skills, however, leave something to be desired, and his actions soon create problems for everyone.

I enjoyed the Black Company storyline, which fills in some of the side characters a little more, and contains an eerie magic battle scene reminiscent of the first book. The Shed plotline, which has a bit of a horror story feel, is written in the third person, and I liked seeing Cook develop a flawed but not-entirely-unsympathetic character and give him an eventual shot at redemption. Naturally, the two storylines come together, and Croaker is forced to make choices about his own redemption. There are a few weak notes, in the form of a rushed climax, but Im curious to see how things will play out in the next entry in the series.

In sum, if youre in the mood for gritty fantasy thats a little more streamlined and episodic than certain other hefty series, this one is a good, brisk read.

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Title: Mission of Honor: Honor Harrington, Book 12

Author: David Weber

Narrator: Allyson Johnson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 24 hrs and 18 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-22-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1409 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

The Star Kingdom of Manticore and the Republic of Haven have been enemies for Honor Harrington's entire life, and she has paid a price for the victories she's achieved in that conflict. And now the unstoppable juggernaut of the mighty Solarian League is on a collision course with Manticore. The millions who have already died may have been only a foretaste of the billions of casualties just over the horizon, and Honor sees it coming.

She's prepared to do anything, risk anything, to stop it, and she has a plan that may finally bring an end to the Havenite Wars and give even the Solarian League pause. But there are things not even Honor knows about. There are forces in play, hidden enemies in motion, all converging on the Star Kingdom of Manticore to crush the very life out of it, and Honor's worst nightmares fall short of the oncoming reality. But Manticore's enemies may not have thought of everything after all. Because if everything Honor Harrington loves is going down to destruction, it won't be going alone.

Critic Reviews:

Weber combines realistic, engaging characters with intelligent technological projection and a deep understanding of military bureaucracy in the long-awaited 12th Honor Harrington novel.Fans of this venerable space opera will rejoice to see Honor back in action. (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Mission Of Honor

Its been a long wait for Honor to return and it was well worth the wait.

A group of new villians, really made the grade, they are down right despicable. I've listened to the book completely twice, seems a tad short, not too long at all, but I do like alot of detail. Bring on The Sollies. Cannot wait for the next installment of this fine series. I was a bit suprised there was not a bit more from the Grayson side of things, But alot of new direction to the new bad guys made up for that. It was a good follow up to At All Costs.

WOW. Classic Weber

a great instalment in the Honor Harrington series, or at this point the "honorverse". This book ties up a large number of loose ends as well as moving the story along to what will be its ultimate finale. David can't write fast enough for me.

you have space battles politics and all the things you love about davids writing here. enjoy

Incomprehensible

For die hard fans only. Yes, I've read the previous 11 books at one time of another in the past couple of decades, but this one just floored me. I simply can't keep the various threads of the story intact, and Weber is utterly unforgiving - you just have to work it all out for yourself somehow. Best of luck.

Great series.

At first I was having trouble with the series. It seemed like it was getting too deep into everything but as I got farther into the series, the better I liked it. The narrator slipped from time to time on the gender of the characters but all in all once I got used to her it was fine. I'm looking forward to getting more of Webers books.

Mission of Honor

Seem when I start a book in the Honor series everything comes to a stop as I can not stop listening until the book is finished. Allyson Johnson does a good job narrating the book. At times information was repeated as it was relayed from one person to another but the suspense was great. There were a few exciting space battles for which Weber is famous. The political drama was intense between Manticore and Haven.