Simply The Best Audiobooks in Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi: Contemporary Popular Titles

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Title: Angel

Subtitle: The Last Days, Book 3

Author: Julie Cooper Brown

Narrator: Teri Schnaubelt

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 5 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-13-13

Publisher: Julie rownB

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

Publisher's Summary:

Angel and her keepers struggle to survive the Zombie apocalypse. Find out how it all began and ultimately how it will all end. This is the third book in The Last Days Series by Julie Cooper Brown.

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Title: The Battle for Eden

Subtitle: The Human-Knacker War, Book 3

Author: Mark E. Burgess

Narrator: R. K. Meier

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-13-13

Publisher: Wildside Press LLC

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

A spacefaring horde of carnivorous crab-like aliens known as the Knackers is advancing toward the human core worlds, decimating outlying systems as they go. When the invaders approach Eden, one of the most beautiful and populous planets in the Human Federation, it is up to SpaceForce to make a stand.

In the skies over Eden, the battle rages - and one war-weary fighter, Major Simon Roy, falls to ground in his wounded ship. There he takes refuge with a brave family of farmers living peacefully in the idyllic countryside. When the aliens overwhelm the planet, the impromptu companions find themselves isolated and in peril. As they fight for survival, can Simon rediscover his humanity, and find a way to make his own stand against an enemy that has never been defeated?

Members Reviews:

Fun, fast-moving sci-fi adventure

THE BATTLE FOR EDEN by Mark E. Burgess is the third short novel in the Human-Knacker War series. The series is set in an indeterminately far future in which humanity has colonized a host of new worlds before encountering the implacable Knackers, a species of ravenous crustacean-like predators who conquer and devour all other species they encounter. And the Knackers are not just vicious foes; their technology is superior to that of humanity, they essentially refuse to communicate or negotiate, and they have so far been winning battle after battle in the war. Thus far, all three of the Human-Knacker War novels have focused not on the major battles and strategies of the war, but on how ordinary people become caught up in this existential conflict and must overcome their own personal circumstances to survive. While this premise could easily result in a dark, depressing tone to the books, all three have managed to strike a balance between the very real threats faced by the protagonists while still holding out hope for both the individuals involved and humanity as a whole.

THE BATTLE FOR EDEN opens with a surprisingly interesting and well-done space battle but soon shifts to the surface of the remote human colony world Eden, when a human space pilot, Major Simon Roy, is forced to crash land and throw in his lot with an extended family of colonists in the wake of a Knacker victory. Roy and the colonists must fortify and defend an isolated farmstead against the inevitable Knacker ground forces. What follows is a clever and engaging battle of wits and ingenuity as the humans must rely on smarts rather than superior technology just to stay alive. Along the way there are some nice allusions to events in the previous books (all well-explained, so that they are not confusing for readers who haven't read those yet). THE BATTLE FOR EDEN likewise does a good job of advancing the larger plot of the series, showcasing some new developments in the larger war while retaining the charm and individual focus of the previous books. Needless to say, I am very much looking forward to the next Human-Knacker war book, as well as more fiction from Mark Burgess. This was the first book by Burgess I have read, but his characterization, dialogue, and plotting are all outstanding and I look forward to reading much more of his work.

Highly recommended for fans of science fiction, especially those interested in the human dimension, rather than the technological, of science fiction.

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Title: Beyond the Greene

Author: Givon Wayne

Narrator: Greg Thomas

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 34 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-11-13

Publisher: GivonGraceMedia

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

Publisher's Summary:

A group of college students join their beloved professor on an environmental expedition. They travel to a remote area in Northern California that has been experiencing unprecedented growth rates.

While they are searching for the answers that could save the environment, they stumble upon creatures harboring an ancient plot to regain their control of the world.

Members Reviews:

Fun and Suspense

I never expected an environmental expedition to contain so much fun, thrills and giggles.

With a great use of paranormal creatures, suspense and a delicious taste of danger, there's nothing better than curling up with this book. Just do yourself a favour - beware a storm rolling in when you get to the climax!

Best ever

This must be bestseller! I'm eager to see what will happen in the next book, very exciting story and I think everyone will be interested. Amazing job.

True LOVE Never Dies !

True LOVE is something that makes you Smile...even in the Rain!

I Know I've been married to mine for 40 years

get a box of tissues

Thomas Clifford and Family

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Title: Water is Thicker than Blood

Author: Julie Ann Dawson

Narrator: Rebecca Roberts

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-08-13

Publisher: Julie Ann Dawson

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Fifty years after World War III, the residents of New Orleans struggle daily just to survive. Despite being surrounded by the waters of the Mississippi, latent radiation and pollution have made clean drinking water hard to come by.

So Rue has reason to worry when their water purifier breaks down and her husband's depression keeps him from fixing it. She reluctantly accepts the aid of her neighbor's son Joseph, who had taken to practicing the dark arts at the Circle of Magi.

But as her husband's increased hostility makes her more dependent on Joseph just to survive, Rue has to make a decision that will impact not just her own life, but the lives of everyone in the Bywater district.

Water is Thicker than Blood is a novelette set in the universe of the Post-Apocalyptic Blues campaign setting.

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Title: T

Author: Mitchell J. Rycus

Narrator: Jim McCance

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-07-13

Publisher: Mitchell J. Rycus

Ratings: 2.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

In 1997 four people suffering from debilitating and incurable ailments are suddenly and inexplicably cured after exposure to some tropical homeopathic remedy. Their lives and the lives of their families are obviously impacted by this remarkable occurrence knowing that they are no longer facing imminent death, or suffer through life with a permanent disability.

Father Pavlos, a Greek Orthodox priest, becomes the steward of the leaves and is determined to return the magical herbs back to their original owner, Wyan Setiawan, an Indonesian doctor. Almost five years later, in 2001, the four recipients - an engineer, a customs agent, a grade-school teacher's young daughter and a police detective are all re-visited to see how their treatment has changed their lives. Did they make good use of their gift, or did they squander their second chance?

When Father Pavlos finally meets Dr. Setiawan in 2010, the discussion of what was ultimately done with the herbs comes to a startling climax that will cause one to re-examine their own sense of morality. Dr. Setiawan's colleague and friend, a surgical oncologist, tries to understand the cosmological and religious implications of the treatment and his conclusions are remarkably intertwined with current science and ancient mysticism.

Members Reviews:

Fascinating story

This book shows a master story-teller at work. Several story lines tare woven together with just enough conflict to move the plot smartly. The characters are so well-limned that the shifts in point of view are clear to the reader, even though the characters' voices are sufficiently distinct that the reader has no confusion about who is speaking. Rycus covers a lot of ground- geographically, politically, spiritually, religiously, and even chronologically. The only flaws I found were spacing errors that probably occurred in formatting for the Kindle. Proofreading isn't rocket science like the author's background, but it helps avoid reader distractions.

It interested me to note the author applied his name to one of the major characters. Perhaps this is a novelistic nod to Alfred Hitchcock or Quentin Tarantino.

Rycus gets great mileage out of the "t" symbolism (Greek, beverage, Morse Code, Kabbalistic, and Hebrew), and makes wonderful linkages of the cosmic consequences of people "doing the right thing." As his skill continues to increase, I'm hoping even more fascinating stories will flow from his fertile imagination and word processor.

Anogther fascinating mystery from Rycus

Rycus takes us off on another trip through time and space to watch the seemingly magical effects of a bundle of herbal tea leves. A Greek Orthodox priest is the only one who happens to learn of all the strange occurrences befalling those who come in contact with the concoction as he talks to friends and parishioners over over several decades. Folk remedies and mystical beliefs from a half dozen religious systems are intertwined in this engrossing tale.

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Title: The Corpus Corruptum

Author: Adam Light, Evans Light

Narrator: Commodore James

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-07-13

Publisher: Evans Light

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 3 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

The Light Brothers present The Corpus Corruptum: These stories are our mutant children, fever-dream hallucinations that don't necessarily fit into any particular genre. No matter how weird they are, we love them anyway.

The Corpus Corruptum is a collection that peeks into what happens when the body goes bad, the most universal of all human fears.

Members Reviews:

Awesomely Imaginative!

If you could sum up The Corpus Corruptum in three words, what would they be?

Creepy, funny and imaginative

Any additional comments?

Great audiobook of short stories by Adam and Evans Light. The brothers constantly amaze me at the quality and quirkiness of their stories. I've read some of these short stories before and the audio version brought a different slant to the tales with subtle side effects.

These stories are based around body parts and at times I was creeped out and other times laughing hysterically at the absurdity of what was happening (and that is a good thing!).

These short stories, to me, are part Creepshow, part Twilight Zone and part Monty Python.

Highly recommended!

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Title: Swords Over Fireshore

Author: Pati Nagle

Narrator: Paige McKinney

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-06-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

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

Publisher's Summary:

The tale of the lven's struggle against their kindred foes, the vampiric alben, continues...

Eliani and Turisan, mindspeakers separated by duty the day after their handfasting, yearn to be reunited as they aid in the fight to hold onto Fireshore. The capital city of that realm has been captured by the alben leader, Shalr, and along with it, Fireshore's governor and Eliani's beloved cousin!

Shalr now has her eye on Woodrun, the center of Fireshore's darkwood production. As Turisan races to bring an army to Woodruns defense, Eliani must rescue the captives from Shalrs toils. Hiding from alben pursuers in the darkwood forest, she encounters a group of exiles, the Lost, who suffer the albens curse of blood thirst but strive to follow the lven creed.

Are the Lost enemies or friends? lven or alben? The distinctions blur as the lven approach a conflict that could destroy their hope of holding Fireshore.

Editorial Reviews:

The Alben and Aelven are locked in battle over the capital city, Fireshore. But, if the city is to be saved, these two groups must come to terms with their interconnectedness. Listeners who have made it to this third audiobook of the series won't stop now, and they'll be happy to know that Paige McKinney's performance here is spot on. She captures the whimsical and warm tone. Her voice effortlessly builds Nagle's imaginative world. Her varied pacing keeps the story engaging while her animated interpretation of dialogue gives life to the characters. Fantasy fans have met their match in this series.

Members Reviews:

A Clash of Worlds-Most intriguing

The Aelven are under seige by their renegade kinsmen, the Alben. Shalar, the Alben leader, is on mission to take over Aelven lands and technology at any cost. Aelven folk follow a creed that respects Khi, the life force of all creatures. Alben have succumbed to a condition called "the hunger". They must avoid the sun and feed on blood to live. The Alben exploit the subhuman Kobalen for food supplies and as mercenaries against the Aelven. Albens pervert the beliefs of the creed, taking Khi as a source of power from others and as torture to create submission.

Eliani of Stonereach and Turisan of Greenglen are handfasted and share the rare ability to communicate thoughts at a distance. They are separated by necessity for the sake of saving their way of life. Another character, Rephanin, is with the army using his abilities to assist the General Ehranan to guide the army as one unit. Rephanin is atoning for misuse of his skills in the past and has a young protoge', Filari, who is recovering from a psychic attack by an Alben spy, Kelevon.

This series gets more interesting with each book. This world is a complex one where characters have to negotiate relationships and loyalties which kept me turning the pages. Characters that were introduced in the earlier books The Betrayal and The Heart of the Exiled are brought forward to enrich the story line.

During the course of the story, questions about the source of the scourge known as "the hunger" are raised. A group of sufferers called The Lost are introduced. Unlike Alben, these people cling to the creed and expand their practice to include showing gratitude and respect for the Kolben which provides the blood necessary for their existence.

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Title: Jaydium

Author: Deborah J. Ross

Narrator: Molly Elston

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-05-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Hungry for "a wild and woolly journey through time and space," some really cool aliens, and a touch of romance?

Far in the future, an interplanetary civil conflict has ground to an uneasy halt, leaving its human victims bitter and desperate: Kithri, the daughter of a scientist, abandoned on a desolate mining planet with no hope to use her talents, and Eril, a shell-shocked pilot who finds adapting to peace more difficult than he dreamed. A freak accident sends them back to a time when their desert world was lush and green, when an alien civilization stands on the brink of a war of total destruction. Unexpectedly linked with Lennart, a spaceman from an earlier era in galactic history, and Brianna, an anthropologist from an alternate universe, they must choose to remain outside the conflict or to stand up for what they believe - even at the cost of never getting home again.

Editorial Reviews:

The sci-fi fantasy Jaydium is set in the distant future, at a time when intergalactic communication is more than possible. The fates of aliens and humans from multiple time periods collide in this adventure-packed, high-action space thriller. Through fantasy, author Deborah J. Ross examines universal human concerns like trust, betrayal, survival, fear, and love. Narrator Molly Elston uses her low, almost electronic sounding voice, to convince listeners that they have, in fact, been transported to a faraway planet, and another world of possibilities. Sound too good to be true? See for yourself!

Members Reviews:

A Master of Characters and Stories

I discovered Deborah's two books, Jaydium and Northlight, quite late in life, but am very grateful I have.

There are a host of excellent authors in the science fiction and fantasy genres (my two favourites), many of whom write stories of epic scale and complex intricacy (Peter Hamilton being my all time favourite of these), which I tend to default towards. Regardless of scale though, what I love most are beautifully written stories, especially when they feature characters of inspiring strength, conviction and humanity, woven together with underlying themes of challenge, growth, redemption and, ultimately, inner balance and love.

While Deborah doesn't choose to write stories of such epic scale, to my mind, no one is quite as able to create such stories, and particularly such intensely rich and wonderful characters, as Deborah is able with so few words (relatively speaking). In particular, Kithri (Jaydium) and especially Kardith (Northlight), for who I am, epitomise some of the best female lead characters I've come across.

Given enough time, one could probably each of these books in a single setting, such are their easily flowing yet gripping stories, which might suggest these are 'light' books. To me that would be to miss the wonderful weave of, I suspect, carefully chosen words that Deborah seems to be a master of.

Five Stars

Was a fascinating read.

Intelligent Adventure SF and some good questions

This review is a portion of a previously published review at Goodreads.

There is a special place in science fiction and fantasy for the "door in the wall" story. Sometimes it takes place on a completely different world; occasionally it takes place with alien minds front and center.

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Title: The Pure Cold Light

Author: Gregory Frost

Narrator: Emma Galvin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-04-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 2 of 5 out of 1 votes

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

Publisher's Summary:

Guerrilla activist and rebel journalist Thomasina Lyell discovers a destructive, mind-shattering power that threatens the future of humankind and will stop at nothing to reveal it to the world.

Editorial Reviews:

In the very near future, multinational corporations have made a mess of the world. Luckily, Thomasina Lyle, our investigative journalist heroine, works to expose the scary truth. Talented YA performer Emma Galvin is at it again. Her bright and cheerful voice brings energy to this cyberpunk audiobook. Evil corporations (and Gregory Frost's occasional awkward word choices) are no match for this talent. Fans of what Frost calls "high weird" and "disturbing" but not the "sort that splatters" will appreciate this fantasy thriller.

Members Reviews:

love this

love this had it for a few years now and I all ways come back to have a another listen it is a bit weird but Emma galvin is a grate narrator grate voice

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Title: The Disenchanted Pet

Author: Kate Policani

Narrator: Patricia Santomasso

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-31-13

Publisher: Kate Policani

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

Publisher's Summary:

Far into the future, the Earth is ruled by the ShaZha, a hyper-intelligent race of alien beings who are plagued by the violence and volatility of the human race. Supposedly intending to repair the broken societies and polluted planet, they have found the Human problem to be much more complex than they ever imagined.

Zarah is a Prodigy, an obedient human, with a caring ShaZha master. Zarah wants to prove all her master's hopes that humans can be civilized and responsible. When she is lost by her master and exposed to the other side of humanity, she must confront the possibility she might be not a valued citizen, but a pet.

Members Reviews:

I can't give this book enough praise

The Disenchanted Pet by Kate Policani

I can't give this book enough praise.

I have to admit something I don't usually do with a book was done here. I got this book because of the cover. Not that I thought that the cover was cool and great for a book entitled The Disenchanted Pet, but because it was a stock photo and was used also on a favorite novel of mine. As usual I didn't read the blurb and went into the whole thing pretty cold about what to expect.

The story starts out simple and as a reader I felt I had dropped into a simple YA Sci-Fi fantasy that was perhaps somewhat similar to that old favorite of Margret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale. As I read further it seemed mostly to be a fluff story about the trials and tribulations of this poor pampered girl who had to decide if she wanted the honor of becoming a parent to bring in more prodigy children for the SaSa's to train coddle.

When the story finally takes that left turn, into the twilight zone, it suddenly becomes apparent that this is a brilliant piece of fiction that I'm adding to my library of literary masterpieces. Kate Policani has deftly crafted a tale that weaves in genocide, colonization, and a sort of insidious fascist takeover that is passed off as benevolent rule through hyper-efficient disinformation.

Zarah is the pet. But, when we meet her she seems more like the prodigy who is being groomed for a well planned life. The new rulers of humanity are the SaSa's or Sczhangshen Zshctizsch, best described as the ShaZha. They have come to save humanity and do away with man's wars and teach man to live a better life. To do this they have created two classes, the Prodigies and the Ferals. Prodigies like Zarah are suitable for the future of humanity and are allowed to breed. Ferals are the cast off the ones who can't work with or can't even see the ShaZha, they are forbidden to mix with the Prodigies and all of their children are tested to be sorted out into the appropriate class.

There are so many easily identifiable things wrong with this, but not so evident for our little Pollyanna who is thrilled to be chosen as one who will mate and carry on the tradition of her generations.

Zarah's first indication that she is of better stuff than the fluff of the first part of the book is her willingness to explore the meaning of the word pet as regards her existence.