"Narrator does matter...."
I read the book many years ago and loved it. It is dated, but if you like shows like "Firefly", it won't bother you too much. The science isn't really dated...just the cultural norms. The story is interesting, as are the aliens. As others have mentioned the narrator is annoying. He would have been okay for 1 character, but having him read all the parts just didn't work. It is worth listening to.
"Good book - Audible STINKS!"
No where in the description does Audible make it clear this is the FOURTH book in the series...I thought it was the third. Is it really so hard, Audible, to figure out that folks will want to listen to the books in order and that you need to clearly state what that order is in the description?