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

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Title: The Honor of the Queen

Subtitle: Honor Harrington, Book 2

Author: David Weber

Narrator: Allyson Johnson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-04-09

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 2611 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

It's hard to give peace a chance when the other side regards conquest as the only option and a sneak attack as the best means to that end. That's why the Kingdom of Manticore needs allies against the Republic of Haven, and the planet Grayson is strategically situated to make a very good ally indeed. But Her Majestys Foreign Office overlooked a minor cultural difference when they chose Honor Harrington to carry the flag: women on the planet of Grayson are without rank or rights and Honors mere presence is an intolerable affront to every male on the planet.

A Note from Author David Weber

There's been some confusionnot to say, um, energetic debate, readers and fans being readers and fansabout the correct pronunciation of "Manticoran." The truth, alas, is that a stitch was dropped. An error occurred. A mistake was made and it wasn't Audible's fault. It was mine. Before Audible recorded the very first Honor Harrington book, narrator Allyson Johnson and I not only corresponded by e-mail but actually spoke to one another by phone. She wanted to make absolutely certain she had the correct pronunciations for names, places, star nations, etc., and I tried to make certain all of her questions were answered. And so they were. Unfortunately, at some point in the process, I replied to one of her e-mails by telling her that "Man-ti-core-ahn" was pronounced "Man-tik-er-ahn." Exactly how this happened is more than I can say at this point, except to blushingly disclose that the original e-mail remains intact, confirming to all the world that it was, indeed, my fault. I can ascribe it only to a temporary mental hiccup on my part and crave your forgiveness. If, however, you must blame someone for the mix-up, that someone should be me and not Audible, who have done everything they could to get it right.

Critic Reviews:

"Following in the best tradition of C.S. Forester, Patrick O'Brian and Robert A Heinlein! These hugely entertaining and clever adventures are the very epitome of space opera." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Honor's honor

The second book in the series introduces the planet Grayson, and its misogynistic people. But not as misogynistic as the Masadans! Honor once again saves the day, several times, and manages to make some powerful enemies as well as some good friends. The narrator did an excellent job, even with all the different characters she has to voice.

Following on in the series - Book 2

In this book the character and history of Honor Harrington is further developed and a lot of background that is referred to in later books is laid down. The story flows well and the reading is excellent. I am not sure why or if there was some logic for the particular accents selected by the narrator, but it does serve well to help keep the characters organized. Highly recommended as a follow on to On Basilisk Station...

Could have been awesome but ...

STORY - This story has such an exciting, dangerous, complicated plot, I hate to criticize it. There are many characters with ulterior motives that make things interesting and keep the plot twisting. But there are two really big problems, IMHO, with this book.

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Title: Ender in Exile

Author: Orson Scott Card

Narrator: Don Leslie, Stefan Rudnicki, David Birney, Orson Scott Card, Mirron Willis, Cassandra Campbell, Emily Janice Card

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-11-08

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 3678 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

At the close of Ender's Game, Andrew Wiggin - called Ender by everyone - is told that he can no longer live on Earth, and he realizes that this is the truth. He has become far more than just a boy who won a game: he is the Savior of Earth, a hero, a military genius whose allegiance is sought by every nation of the newly shattered Earth Hegemony.

He is offered the choice of living in isolation on Eros, at one of the Hegemony's training facilities, but instead the 12-year-old chooses to leave his home world and begin the long relativistic journey out to the colonies. With him went his sister Valentine, and the core of the artificial intelligence that would become Jane.

The story of those years has never been told...until now.

Members Reviews:

A Change of Perspective

First off, I pretty much read anything by OSC from books, essays, etc. The Ender & Shadow Series have always been my favorites.

"Ender in Exile" covers from the ending of the formic wars, all through the Shadows Series books (to date) and comes to a completion prior to "Speaker for the Dead". While the book has many underlying themes such as "How Ender deals with the knowledge that he killed the formics" the book feels more like collection of short stories than one cohesive narrative. Many of OSC books are written this way (Folk of the Fringe) and are made all the better for it. This is not neccesarily a bad thing. Though it can leave you wanting more if you expected one specific storyline.

The book expounds on many of the details left at the end of Ender's Game. Details as to how the actual decision to send him away from earth comes about and his actions after arriving at Shakespear Colony. It even completes some storylines from the Shadow Series. On these merits alone, anyone who is a fan of Ender or Shadow Series should read this book.

In my humble opinion, here is my one issue with the book. At the end of Ender's Game details are not given and a lot of information is left for the reader to imagine on their own. In my case it was how ender and valentine once again cultivate a brother and sister relationship. I'm sure it will be different for each reader, but "Ender in Exile" gives those details so the way you expected things to happen may be challenged by this book. I wouldn't call this a shortcoming but does call for a change of perspective at times.

All in all, I enjoyed this and would recommend it to all Ender fans. I would suggest that you read throught the Shadow Series before starting this book.

Note: There are some chronological problems between this book and the other books in the series. OSC discusses and resovles this in the Author's Note.

Ender in Exile (Unabridged)

Of course the book is predictable. Any book inserted into an extablished series where the beginning and end is known would be predictable. If that logic held true they would never put 'new' rides in amusement parks because hardly anyone would use them. This was predictable, but as pleasantly enjoyable and convoluted a ride as the others in the Orson Scott Card theme park.

Can't Get Enough of that Wiggin Boy

Having cut my eyeteeth on 50's and 60's SF, I tend to hold all science fiction up to those standards.

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Title: Dies the Fire

Subtitle: A Novel of the Change

Author: S. M. Stirling

Narrator: Todd McLaren

Format: Unabridged

Length: 21 hrs and 58 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-10-08

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2061 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Juniper Mackenzie was singing and playing guitar in a pub when her small Oregon town was thrust into darkness. Cars refused to start. Phones were silent. And when an airliner crashed, no sirens sounded and no fire trucks arrived. Now, taking refuge in her family's cabin with her daughter and a growing circle of friends, Juniper is determined to create a farming community to benefit the survivors of this crisis.

But even as people band together to help one another, others are building armies for conquest.

Critic Reviews:

"The novel's dual themes - myth and technology -should appeal to both fantasy and hard SF readers as well as to techno-thriller fans." (

Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

An SCAer's dream

Dies the Fire goes through the usual paces in an end-of-the-world novel: civilization collapses, there is much confusion and rioting, a few lucky/prepared ones are situated such that they don't starve while all the city-dwellers run out of food, there's a massive die-off, and then the most organized, ambitious, and/or ruthless are setting up fiefdoms.

The gimmick here is that "the Change" that causes the end of civilization literally changes the laws of physics. Gunpowder, internal combustion, and electricity simply stops working. The world is literally knocked back into the middle ages technologically. This device is an excuse to write an SCAer's fantasy: those folks in the Society for Creative Anachronism who spent time dressing up in plate armor and whacking each other with rattan swords are suddenly among the only ones with actual useful combat skills, now that guns no longer work. Sterling takes that ball and runs with it: the chief villain, who takes over Portland, Oregon, "the Protector," is a former history professor and an SCA member who uses his combat skills and knowledge of medieval history to immediately begin recreating his favorite period of history with himself in charge.

Michael Havel, military veteran and former pilot, becomes a warlord of sorts, quickly leveling up as the mercenary commander of the "Bear-Killers," with assistance from a teenage girl Tolkien-nerd who conveniently enough also practiced archery as a hobby.

As a gimmick, it's interesting and fun to see the survivors literally rediscovering medieval tactics out of necessity. "The Change" is never explained, though the characters speculate that aliens did it. It does become a bit much when witches (the wiccan kind, not the actual magic-using kind) form the basis for a large survival community, apparently because they're better able to organize and survive in a pre-industrial world. Juniper, the leader of the coven, who becomes High Priestess and "Lady Juniper," is constantly spouting "Blessed Be" and "Lord and Lady!"

Dies the Fire is not much of an actual survivalist story; there is discussion of how the survivors have to reimplement medieval technology and spend a lot of time getting agriculture going again the hard way, but most of the action is the battles against various bandit gangs and warlords.

Will be interesting to see if the author actually makes aliens responsible in the next book.

Good but not Great

I downloaded this title in spite of the numerous reviews claiming that it is like Dungeons & Dragons and Renaissance Fairs.

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Title: Halo

Subtitle: First Strike

Author: Eric Nylund

Narrator: Todd McLaren

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-28-08

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1491 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Now, everything depends on the Spartan known as the Master Chief. Yet even with the aid of the artificial intelligence Cortana, the Master Chief will be hard-pressed to rescue survivors and evade the Covenant ships patrolling the remains of Halo in debris-strewn space.

Ahead lies a dangerous voyage home through a gauntlet of Covenant forces. For the sake of all, the Master Chief and his war-torn squad must not only survive but take the fight to the enemy with a decisive first strike.

Members Reviews:

A response, for the honor of Fargo!

As someone who grew up and spent most of his life in Fargo North Dakota, I felt I had to respond to the review written by Ladonna.

First of all, this is the third book released. It's the fourth book that should be read at this point in time if you want to follow the timeline properly. However, reading Contact Harvest first (which was written later, but is first on the timeline) isn't really necessary. You can enjoy that book on its own later. For Ladonna to jump into the third book then complain that she's lost and upset that there isn't enough back story is ridiculous for two reasons.

First off, the first book released (The Fall of Reach) is entirely back story for John 117. Second, there is quite a bit of back story and character development in this book. Ladonna simply should not have jumped two books ahead if she wanted to appreciate it. Nobody should buy a book without spending thirty seconds on Google to find out if it's part of a series or a standalone book. Ever.

As for the "technical jargon", well, that's going to be up to each individual reader. I personally don't think there's much technical jargon in the book at all.

As for the narrator... I can't really defend Todd McLaren. He's not awful, but I sure don't get excited when I see his name on a book I'm interested in.

The quality of the recording is fine. I have no idea what Ladonna is talking about when she says that it's sometimes loud and sometimes quiet. It's not. Whatever equipment she used to listen to the recording must be faulty. I've listened to this book twice now, and have not at any point had this problem.

This is indeed a sci fi book for the sci fi fan. An understanding of Halo is not needed. You need not have played a single minute of any Halo game in your life. It is, however, very important that you don't just pick a Halo book at random and start reading. You must either start with Contact Harvest or The Fall of Reach. Personally I suggest starting with the latter, but that's personal preference. I hope this review will keep Ladonna from scaring off potential listeners. The Halo series of book are some of the most epic, well written sci fi books I've ever read, and I read a lot of sci fi.

Supprised

I was shocked by the quality and depth of the story. My son is a Halo 3 player so I downloaded the book when I saw it on sale. I listened to it and I was impressed with the story and would recommend the author and the story line. If you are looking for something different, give this a try.

Great Book

Like the other Halo Novels this is a good book. The Narrator does an excellent job providing animated varied voice inflections for each character. Very well read.

great finish to original trilogy

great story, incredible finish to the original trilogy.

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Title: Halo

Subtitle: The Flood

Author: William C. Dietz

Narrator: Todd McLaren

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-28-08

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1427 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

As the fortress world of Reach and its brave defenders were bombarded to rubble, a single cruiser fled the carnage with the battle's only human survivors: Captain Keyes, his crew of a few hundred marines, and the last remaining SPARTAN super-soldier, the Master Chief.

With the cruiser's artificial intelligence, Cortana, concealed in his battle armor, the Master Chief crash-lands on Halo in the midst of a massive Covenant occupation. Curiously, the alien soldiers appear to be searching for something hidden on the ring.

Built by a long-dead race, Halo harbors many deadly secrets, but one overshadows them all. Now the Master Chief must lead the scattered troops in a brutal race to unravel Halo's darkest mystery---and unleash its greatest source of power.

Members Reviews:

Robotic compare to The Fall Of Reach

The character in this book march through the story like robots. I loved the first story it had some feeling between the characters. Most of this book is shooting with a very little plot behind it.

Not very good

It's not the worst novel I've ever listened to. Even as a fan of the Halo books (and military scifi in general like Starship Troopers) this book in the Halo series is arguably the worst and the most disappointing of the novels so far.

This is the book that covers the events of the first Halo game. Unfortunately it's also like reading the events of a first person shooter video game. Masterchief turns the corner, shoots aliens, repeat ad nauseam. There's none of the character development from Eric Nyland's Halo novels which are far, far better. If only Nyland could write all of the Halo novels and if only Jonathan Davis could narrate them...

I found this book very disappointing because this IS the story from the first game and Nyland's book the Fall of Reach really was a great set up for this book. He was able to endow the Masterchief with a personality and backstory successfully in my opinion which is no small task all things considered.

This book is really only worth checking out if you're into Halo and military scifi like I am AND you're planning to listen to the books that follow it - First Strike and Ghosts of Onyx.

If you're a casual fan, I'd say skip it. If you want to read all of the Halo novels, check it out but don't get your hopes up. Otherwise ANY of the other Halo novels are a better read.

Listen to the Video Game

Would you try another book from William C. Dietz and/or Todd McLaren?

I would if I knew it wasn't going to be a literal walkthrough of a video game. That said, I think I think Dietz did a good job with a challenging assignment.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Performance wasn't bad. Kept mispronouncing Mjolnir, but hey, those old Norse words are tricky.

Could you see Halo being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Halo deserves a movie, or an HBO mini series.

Good, but......

At times, a little to much like a play by play of the game.

Absolutely fantastic

I already read the book and even played the game before listening to the book again. All I can say is I am truly glad I did. Riveting, captivating and just an all around book. The narration was absolutely fantastic. Whether or not you are a halo fan, this book should be enough to get you interested.

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Title: Green Mars

Author: Kim Stanley Robinson

Narrator: Richard Ferrone

Format: Unabridged

Length: 27 hrs and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-31-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1138 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

In Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson imagined a near future in which humankind established the first colonies on Mars and began to make the planet inhabitable for humans. In this stunning sequel to that Nebula Award-winning novel, Robinson takes the colonization of Mars to a new generation, with a new set of problems and concerns.

The initial Martian pioneers had fierce disagreements about how the planet should be used by humans. This led to a war that threatened the lives of billions of people on both Mars and Earth. Now, the second generation of settlers continues the struggle to survive the hostile yet strangely beautiful environment of the red planet. Their decisions and actions will ultimately determine whether Mars will simply be a sanctuary for scientists, a source of raw materials for Earth, or something much more.

Richard Ferrone's robust narration of this thrilling, timeless tale captures the fascinating diversity of Robinson's compelling characters, taking listeners to the farthest frontier of humanity's struggle to survive.

Critic Reviews:

"This may well be Robinson's best book and possibly the best of the many and various our-future-on-Mars novels to date." (Booklist)

"Yet another masterpiece....I can't imagine anybody else staking out any portion of this immemorial dreamscape with the same elegant detail and thoroughness; it's Kim Stanley Robinson's now and for a long time to come." (Science Fiction Age)

Members Reviews:

Green Mars: a textbook scifi novel

Speculative science fiction, when done well, can feel like a yet to be fulfilled prophecy. Kim Stanley Robinson writes good speculative science fiction that achieves this feeling in his novel Green Mars. Green Mars is the second installment of Robinson's epic opus, The Mars Trilogy. Evidence of the book's popularity among scientific crowds is the fact that Green Mars was included in the payload of the 2008 Phoenix expedition to the planet Mars. It is among the first books in the Interplanetary Library.

An initial warning: Red Mars, the first book of Kim Stanley Robinson's trilogy, should be read prior to reading Green Mars. The trilogy is not a series of stand alone story arcs that can be coherently read out of order. Red Mars and Green Mars were published a scant 13 months apart in 1993 and 1994. This quick publishing turn around time and the fact that the books are over half a thousand pages each leads one to believe that both books were finished at the same time. While this is just speculation (although I'm sure Kim Stanley Robinson has addressed this matter in interviews in the past 20 years), one can continue to speculate as to why the story was published slightly over a year apart in two different books. Perhaps the author wanted to double his entries in the Hugo and Nebula sweepstakes (Red Mars won the Nebula in 1993, Green Mars won the Hugo 1994). Perhaps the editor thought the tome would be too ponderous for a single book. Perhaps the publisher (Spectra/Bantam Dell/Random House) wanted the profits from two books instead of just one. Whatever the reason, just make sure, even though you are presently reading a review of Green Mars, that you read Red Mars first.

Green Mars is set in the near future and is centered around the populating and terraforming of Mars by immigrants from Earth and native born Martians.

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Title: Blue Mars

Author: Kim Stanley Robinson

Narrator: Richard Ferrone

Format: Unabridged

Length: 31 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-28-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 867 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Acclaimed visionary author Kim Stanley Robinson is a Hugo and Nebula Award-winner. Blue Mars is the final volume in Robinson's seminal science-fiction trilogy, which began with Red Mars and continues with Green Mars.

The once red and barren terrain of Mars is now green and rich with life - plant, animal, and human. But idyllic Mars is in a state of political upheaval, plagued by violent conflict between those who would keep the planet green and those who want to return it to a desert world.

Meanwhile, across the void of space, old, tired Earth spins on its decaying axis. A natural disaster threatens to drown the already far too polluted and overcrowded planet. The people of Earth are getting desperate. Maybe desperate enough to wage interplanetary war for the chance to begin again.

Blue Mars is a complex and completely enthralling saga - as convincing and lushly imagined a future as anyone has ever dreamed. Richard Ferrone narrates this sweeping epic with engaging personality and finesse.

Critic Reviews:

"Robinson's achievement here is on a par with Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles and Herbert's Dune." (Publishers Weekly)"A well-written, thoughtful conclusion to the trilogy." (Library Journal)

Members Reviews:

A fine end to a good series

As is the previous 2 books, Ferrone's performance has no emotion or enthusiasm. The only real problem with this book is when it jumps forward in time, it doesn't tell you the date. It covers over a century, jumping decades at a time, without tell the reader/listener where you are.

Long-Tedious exploration of terra-formed Mars.

This is a very long and difficult listen. It does bring the story of the colonization of Mars to an end, but it seems to take two lifetimes (with gerantological treatments) to get through it...wonderful for insomniacs, but would not recommend this as a listen whilst driving...sleep potential through the endless descriptions and narrations is just too big a risk!!

good series

This is a pretty darn good series, though a bit preachy, it has a good story line and it is told in a fresh manner. The only suggestion I have is that the narrator purchase a dictionary so that when a word he is ineasy with can be pronounced correctly.

The end of an epic

The end of an epic story so real you'll feel like you have lived it. Great series!

Too long

Good story but way too long winded. No wonder I could not finish the book the first time. Audio book was better than paper in that regard.

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Title: The Lost Fleet: Fearless

Author: Jack Campbell

Narrator: Christian Rummel, Jack Campbell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-20-08

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 5789 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Geary is convinced that the Syndics are planning to ambush the fleet and finish it off once and for all. Realizing the fleet's best (and only) chance is to do the unexpected, Geary takes the offensive and orders the fleet to the Sancere system. There, a multitude of possible routes home give the Alliance fleet a better chance of avoiding their pursuers - and an attack on the Sancere shipbuilding facilities could decimate the Syndic war effort.

Weary from endless combat, the officers and crew of the Alliance fleet can't see the sense in charging deeper into enemy territory - prompting a mutiny that divides them and leaves Geary with higher odds against him than ever before.

BONUS AUDIO: Author Jack Campbell describes how he brought real-world physics to the Lost Fleet series.

Critic Reviews:

"The kind of hero Hornblower fans will love!" (William C. Dietz)

"Military science fiction at its best." (Catherine Asaro, Nebula Award-winning author of Alpha)

Members Reviews:

Watching Makes No Difference

I think it is interesting that the book starts out with an Intro where the author, tells you his name is Jack G. Henry not Jack Campbell. I don't understand the use of a pen name, if your going to tell us right away that ain't your name.

If you have not read the first, do not go pass go, and get Lost Fleet: Dauntless. These books build upon each other and you need to read them in order. I did like this book a little better. There was less of the "I am scared of being a hero" and more story.

CAPT. NEMOES IS SO DENSE, I AM SURPRISED HE DOESN'T HAVE IS OWN EVENT HORIZON.

I really like the co-president character. She is trying to make sure Black Jack does not get the big head or become just like his enemies. While Geary surrounds himself with yes men and yes women, Reone is not a yes woman, Except when it comes to sex. I do like also that they don't try to deny that humans need sex. Although Capt Geary his pretty dense when it comes to women and Co-presdent Reone almost has to rape him.

Falco reminded me a little of my wife. Once when I accused my wife of 35 years that she would never admit when she is wrong, she responded by saying she could admit when she was wrong, but it had not happened yet.

I was disappointed in how fantastic all of Black Jack Geary's plans came out. Everything almost always seems to go exactly as planned. I was excited when Falco appeared, believing that would lead to some real conflicts, but Falco leaves so soon after showing up and then does exactly as Geary predicts that it really was not much of a confrontation. Real life does not work out that great.

Narrator is excellent.

And the Black Jack story continues...

You really should read the first book in the series before this one, or you will miss a good chunk of the storyline/history. Essentially, this book is just a continuation of the story begun in book one - but both book one, and this one, are sufficiently wrapped up at the end so you don't feel like you've been cheated out of a proper book. Though, you will have to get the next (and then the next) in the series to find out if they reach their final destination.

It is "medium" science fiction (as opposed to hard or soft)...

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Title: The Lost Fleet: Courageous

Author: Jack Campbell

Narrator: Christian Rummel, Jack Campbell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-20-08

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 5032 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

After a series of deadly engagements, the Alliance fleet is severely damaged and its arsenal is running low. Forced to halt in the Baldur Star System to raid the Syndic mines for raw materials, Geary is anxious to get moving again. But what should the fleet's next move be? The Syndics are starting to catch on to Geary's tactics, and as the Alliance ships jump from system to system, it's getting harder to keep one step ahead.

What's more, Geary has started to piece fragments of intelligence together into a highly disturbing picture: the Syndics have been keeping the existence of another potential player in the war a secret - and this unknown power may have the means to annihilate the human race.

BONUS AUDIO: Author Jack Campbell explains how his own background in the military shaped the Lost Fleet series.

Critic Reviews:

"Jack Campbell has written the most believable space battles I've ever seen anywhere." (David Sherman, co-author of the Starfist series)

"The kind of hero Hornblower fans will love!" (William C. Dietz, national best-selling author of When All Seems Lost)

Members Reviews:

I love Capt. Geary! (or is it just the narrator?)

STORY (military sci-fi) - Courageous is Book #3 in The Lost Fleet series. Capt. Geary, who escaped death and survived in an escape pod for 100 years, now finds himself caught in a perilous future where he must command an Alliance fleet in multiple deadly battles with the Syndics (another race of humans). This book continues the same threads as the first two books. Some of his crew worships him while others are nearly mutinous. His fleet is badly damaged, low on weapons and fuel, and cannot find a safe path back to the safety of Alliance space. The Syndics pop up everywhere and sometimes seem to know Geary's next move and be a step ahead of him. But how? There seems to be another alien entity "manipulating" things. Who or what are they? How do they get their information? Are they helping the Syndics or trying to send Geary a message? Very intriguing!

Anyway, I love everything about this book. The battles are ship-to-ship, not man-to-man, so there's no blood and guts. I love hearing Geary and his fleet captains discuss tactics and strategies for the next engagement with the Syndics. Even the battles themselves are interesting. The author has a Naval background, so the formations and movements of the fleet are described in detail and easy to visualize -- not to mention interesting and creative. Also, Geary becomes a bit more human in this book. He's still the renowned hero nicknamed Blackjack Geary, but he and Ambassador Rionne are having a romantic affair and their relationship becomes even more complicated.

PERFORMANCE - Christian Rummel does a great job. He does multiple accents and his voice is low and sexy, yet he still manages to do pretty good female voices. I must admit, however, his performance probably would have just received four stars if it weren't for the fact that I love his voice!!!!

OVERALL - This book is pretty "clean." There's no profanity and only minor references to sleeping together, having an affair, etc., with no actual sex scenes. I highly recommend this to adult sci-fi lovers, both male and female. It's mysterious, tense and the characters are very human.

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Title: Parable of the Talents

Author: Octavia E. Butler

Narrator: Sisi Aisha Johnson, Patricia R. Floyd, Peter Jay Fernandez

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-06-08

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 817 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Directly opposed is Lauren Olamina, founder of Earthseed - a new faith that teaches "God Is Change". Persecuted for "heathen" beliefs as much as for having a black female leader, Earthseed's followers face a life-and-death struggle to preserve their vision.

Best-selling author Octavia Butler's fluid writing and keen observations about race, gender, politics, and religion make for a moving parable that will be pondered for generations. A powerful reading from three standout narrators captures the multi-generational sweep of this poignant tale.

Butler's acclaimed novels have won numerous awards, and she is a recipient of a "genius" grant from the MacArthur Foundation. Parable of the Talents was selected as one of the best books of the year by Publishers Weekly.

Critic Reviews:

"Octavia E. Butler is one of the finest voices in fiction....period." (Washington Post Book World)"These...are the keynotes of Talents: family and characters, warmth and endurance, hope and determination. It's a worthy book, well up to Butler's standard for thoughtfulness and insight." (Analog Science Fiction & Fact)"Though not for the faint-hearted, this work stands out as a testament to the author's enormous talent, and to the human spirit." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Powerful, dark sequel that stands on its own

This book is the sequel to"Parable of the Sower," but it stands up pretty well by itself, though I would definitely recommend reading the first book, because Butler is that good and these books are very powerful. In Parable of the Talents, Lauren Olamina, the protagonist of the first book, continues trying to build a community and a following devoted to her new religion, "Earthseed." Unfortunately, she is trying to found this new religion just when America, in the grip of a near-apocalyptic economic and environmental collapse, elects a witch-burning fundie Talibaptist for President. Lauren and her people are literally enslaved, and Lauren's infant daughter is taken away from her.

This is a dark book, a truly horrific dystopia, but the rape and violence does not read like a gratuitous admixture the way it does in so many books. You know how some authors want to make their books extra dark to let you know that these are Very Bad Times and Very Bad People, so they toss in a little rape, a little dismemberment, like one of those buckets o' blood horror films that just wind up being too schlocky and over-the-top to really horrify you? Octavia Butler doesn't do that. Instead, Lauren tells us what happened to her and her people in very clear but non-graphic terms, and the impact is felt for the rest of the story because even though she is trying to start a hopeful new religion, she hates her abusers with the heat of a thousand burning suns and makes no bones about it. It's very refreshing. None of that "I have to get past this" or forgiveness bull. She does survive and eventually launch her movement, successfully, but it's not like "Oh, and along the way some bad stuff happened."

Parable of the Talents is also, indirectly, a mother-daughter story. It's told in the past tense through the journals of both Lauren Olamina and her daughter, whom she never knew until her daughter reached adulthood.