-
Brightness Reef
- The Uplift Trilogy, Book 1
- Narrated by: George Wilson
- Length: 25 hrs and 48 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $30.09
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Earth
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: David DeVries, Kristin Kalbli
- Length: 26 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The long-awaited new novel by the award-winning, best-selling author of Startide Rising and The Uplift War- an epic novel set 50 years from tomorrow, a carefully-reasoned, scientifically faithful tale of the fate of our world.
-
-
David has an inside line on the future
- By Sean Dustman on 08-21-12
By: David Brin
-
Kiln People
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Andy Caploe
- Length: 23 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a perilous future where disposable duplicate bodies fulfill every legal and illicit whim of their decadent masters, life is cheap. No one knows that better than Albert Morris, a brash investigator with a knack for trouble, who has sent his own duplicates into deadly peril more times than he cares to remember. But when Morris takes on a ring of bootleggers making illegal copies of a famous actress, he stumbles upon a secret so explosive it has incited open warfare on the streets of Dittotown.
-
-
Interesting Premise, Disappointing Execution
- By Michael on 07-25-13
By: David Brin
-
The Postman
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He was a survivor - a wanderer who traded tales for food and shelter in the dark and savage aftermath of a devastating war. Fate touches him one chill winter’s day when he borrows the jacket of a long-dead postal worker to protect himself from the cold. The old, worn uniform still has power as a symbol of hope, and with it he begins to weave his greatest tale, of a nation on the road to recovery. This is the story of a lie that became the most powerful kind of truth.
-
-
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night
- By Ed Pegg Jr on 12-09-20
By: David Brin
-
Insistence of Vision
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Stephen Mendel
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What may we become? How will we endure? The future is a daunting realm, filled with real and imagined perils. So enter it prepared! Here are vivid tales about possible tomorrows, from the keen eye and colorful pen of David Brin, a modern master of speculative fiction.
-
-
Brin Is Brilliant; Sometimes Too Brilliant
- By Shawn Oueinsteen on 08-01-16
By: David Brin
-
Glory Season
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Claire Christie
- Length: 25 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Maia is fast approaching a turning point in her life. As a half-caste var, she must leave the clan home of her privileged half-sisters and seek her fortune in the world. With her twin sister, Leie, she searches the docks of Port Sanger for an apprenticeship aboard the vessels that sail the trade routes of the Stratoin oceans. On her far-reaching, perilous journey of discovery, Maia will endure hardship and hunger, imprisonment and loneliness, bloody battles with pirates and separation from her twin.
-
-
Not bad, but definitely not Brin at his best.
- By Steven on 11-17-15
By: David Brin
-
The Practice Effect
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Andy Caploe
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Physicist Dennis Nuel was the first human to probe the strange realms called anomaly worlds - alternate universes where the laws of science were unpredictably changed. But the world Dennis discovered seemed almost like our own - with one perplexing difference. To his astonishment, he was hailed as a wizard and found himself fighting beside a beautiful woman with strange powers against a mysterious warlord as he struggles to solve the riddle of this baffling world.
-
-
This book was doomed to fail
- By Joshua on 11-16-12
By: David Brin
-
Earth
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: David DeVries, Kristin Kalbli
- Length: 26 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The long-awaited new novel by the award-winning, best-selling author of Startide Rising and The Uplift War- an epic novel set 50 years from tomorrow, a carefully-reasoned, scientifically faithful tale of the fate of our world.
-
-
David has an inside line on the future
- By Sean Dustman on 08-21-12
By: David Brin
-
Kiln People
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Andy Caploe
- Length: 23 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a perilous future where disposable duplicate bodies fulfill every legal and illicit whim of their decadent masters, life is cheap. No one knows that better than Albert Morris, a brash investigator with a knack for trouble, who has sent his own duplicates into deadly peril more times than he cares to remember. But when Morris takes on a ring of bootleggers making illegal copies of a famous actress, he stumbles upon a secret so explosive it has incited open warfare on the streets of Dittotown.
-
-
Interesting Premise, Disappointing Execution
- By Michael on 07-25-13
By: David Brin
-
The Postman
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He was a survivor - a wanderer who traded tales for food and shelter in the dark and savage aftermath of a devastating war. Fate touches him one chill winter’s day when he borrows the jacket of a long-dead postal worker to protect himself from the cold. The old, worn uniform still has power as a symbol of hope, and with it he begins to weave his greatest tale, of a nation on the road to recovery. This is the story of a lie that became the most powerful kind of truth.
-
-
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night
- By Ed Pegg Jr on 12-09-20
By: David Brin
-
Insistence of Vision
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Stephen Mendel
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What may we become? How will we endure? The future is a daunting realm, filled with real and imagined perils. So enter it prepared! Here are vivid tales about possible tomorrows, from the keen eye and colorful pen of David Brin, a modern master of speculative fiction.
-
-
Brin Is Brilliant; Sometimes Too Brilliant
- By Shawn Oueinsteen on 08-01-16
By: David Brin
-
Glory Season
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Claire Christie
- Length: 25 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Maia is fast approaching a turning point in her life. As a half-caste var, she must leave the clan home of her privileged half-sisters and seek her fortune in the world. With her twin sister, Leie, she searches the docks of Port Sanger for an apprenticeship aboard the vessels that sail the trade routes of the Stratoin oceans. On her far-reaching, perilous journey of discovery, Maia will endure hardship and hunger, imprisonment and loneliness, bloody battles with pirates and separation from her twin.
-
-
Not bad, but definitely not Brin at his best.
- By Steven on 11-17-15
By: David Brin
-
The Practice Effect
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Andy Caploe
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Physicist Dennis Nuel was the first human to probe the strange realms called anomaly worlds - alternate universes where the laws of science were unpredictably changed. But the world Dennis discovered seemed almost like our own - with one perplexing difference. To his astonishment, he was hailed as a wizard and found himself fighting beside a beautiful woman with strange powers against a mysterious warlord as he struggles to solve the riddle of this baffling world.
-
-
This book was doomed to fail
- By Joshua on 11-16-12
By: David Brin
-
Falling Free
- Miles Vorsokigan, Book 4
- By: Lois McMaster Bujold
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Leo Graf was just your average highly efficient engineer: mind your own business, fix what's wrong, and move on to the next job. But all that changed on his assignment to the Cay Habitat, where a group of humanoids had been secretly, commercially bioengineered for working in free fall. Could he just stand there and allow the exploitation of hundreds of helpless children merely to enhance the bottom line of a heartless mega-corporation?
-
-
Don't read this one first
- By Carol on 02-20-13
-
The Forge of God
- By: Greg Bear
- Narrated by: Stephen Bel Davies
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On September 28th, a geologist working in Death Valley finds a mysterious new cinder cone in very well-mapped area. On October 1, the government of Australia announces the discovery of an enormous granite mountain. Like the cinder cone, it wasn't there six months ago.
Something is happening to planet Earth, and the truth is too terrifying to contemplate
-
-
Great Story, Wonderful Listening, But the Editor?
- By George Knight on 07-14-13
By: Greg Bear
-
Hyperion
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.
-
-
The Shrike Awaits. Enter The Time Tombs...
- By Michael on 10-13-12
By: Dan Simmons
-
Children of Time
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Mel Hudson
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden.
-
-
A very pleasant surprise
- By Simon on 06-17-17
-
Proxima: Book 1
- By: Stephen Baxter
- Narrated by: Kyle McCarley
- Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The very far future: The galaxy is a drifting wreck of black holes, neutron stars, and chill white dwarfs. The age of star formation is long past. Yet there is life here, feeding off the energies of the stellar remnants, and there is mind, a tremendous galaxy-spanning intelligence each of whose thoughts lasts a hundred thousand years. And this mind cradles memories of a long-gone age when a more compact universe was full of light... The 27th century: Proxima Centauri, an undistinguished red dwarf star, is the nearest star to our sun. How would it be to live on such a world?
-
-
No Sense of Conclusion
- By Lisa Davidson on 04-24-16
By: Stephen Baxter
-
Footfall
- By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 24 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They first appear as a series of dots on astronomical plates, heading from Saturn directly toward Earth. Since the ringed planet carries no life, scientists deduce the mysterious ship to be a visitor from another star. The world's frantic efforts to signal the aliens go unanswered. The first contact is hostile: the invaders blast a Soviet space station, seize the survivors, and then destroy every dam and installation on Earth with a hail of asteriods.
-
-
Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle at Their Best
- By Flatlander on 06-24-10
By: Larry Niven, and others
-
Veiled Alliances
- A Prequel Novella to the Saga of Seven Suns
- By: Kevin J. Anderson
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audiobook shows the origin of the green priests on Theroc, the first Roamer skymining operations on a gas-giant planet, the discovery of the Klikiss robots entombed in an abandoned alien city, the initial Ildiran expedition to Earth, the rescue of the generation ship Burton and the tragedy that leads to sinister breeding experiments. Veiled Alliances is an excellent starting point for readers new to the Saga, as well as an unforgettable adventure for fans of the series.
-
-
Start with Book One
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-05-14
-
A Fire Upon the Deep
- By: Vernor Vinge
- Narrated by: Peter Larkin
- Length: 21 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Fire Upon the Deep is the big, breakout book that fulfills the promise of Vinge's career to date: a gripping tale of galactic war told on a cosmic scale. Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures and technology can function.
-
-
What a wild, wacky, awesome book!
- By Noah Smith on 06-20-10
By: Vernor Vinge
-
Nine Princes in Amber
- The Chronicles of Amber, Book 1
- By: Roger Zelazny
- Narrated by: Alessandro Juliani
- Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amber is the one real world, of which all others including our own Earth are but Shadows. Amber burns in Corwin's blood. Exiled on Shadow Earth for centuries, the prince is about to return to Amber to make a mad and desperate rush upon the throne.
-
-
Great book, lame deal!
- By Robert on 08-13-12
By: Roger Zelazny
-
Spin
- By: Robert Charles Wilson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One night when he was 10, Tyler stood in his backyard and watched the stars go out. They flared into brilliance, then disappeared, replaced by an empty black barrier. He and his best friends, Jason and Diane Lawton, had seen what became known as the Big Blackout. It would shape their lives.
-
-
Great Listen!
- By pems-integ-tests on 03-28-08
-
New Spring
- The Wheel of Time Prequel
- By: Robert Jordan
- Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For three days battle has raged in the snow around the great city of Tar Valon. In the city, a foretelling of the future is uttered. On the slopes of Dragonmount, the immense mountain that looms over the city, a child is born, an infant prophesied to change the world. That child must be found before he can be killed by the forces of the Shadow.
-
-
Read it after reading others in the series
- By Stacy Fair on 12-13-07
By: Robert Jordan
-
Debt of Bones
- Sword of Truth Series
- By: Terry Goodkind
- Narrated by: Sam Tsoutsouvas
- Length: 3 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A milestone of storytelling set in the world of The Sword of Truth, Debt of Bones is the story of young Abby's struggle to win the aid of the wizard Zedd Zorander, the most important man alive. Abby is trapped, not only between both sides of the war, but in a mortal conflict between two powerful men. For Zedd, who commands power most men can only imagine, granting Abby's request would mean forsaking his sacred duty. With the storm of the final battle about to save the life of a child....
-
-
Bags! This is a good prequel.
- By Patrick Sanchez on 05-02-14
By: Terry Goodkind
Publisher's summary
Persecuted refugees from six separate alien races have migrated to the idyllic planet Jijo. And despite their incredible diversity, the inhabitants live together in blissful harmony. However, settlement on Jijo is illegal - and it's only a matter of time before the residents of this forbidden paradise are discovered by the galactic powers-that-be.
Critic reviews
More from the same
Narrator
Related to this topic
-
The Compleat Crow
- By: Brian Lumley
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To many thousands of listeners world-wide, Titus Crow is the psychic sleuth - the cosmic voyager and investigator - of Brian Lumley's Cthulhu Mythos novels, from The Burrowers Beneath to Elysia. But before The Burrowers and Crow's transition, his exploits were chronicled in a series of short stories and novellas uncollected in the USA, except in limited editions.
-
-
Pulpy, Punchy Tales of the Occult Hero, Titus Crow
- By Troy on 07-16-16
By: Brian Lumley
-
The Other Side of the Sky
- By: Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain, Caitlin Davies
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Prince North’s home is in the sky, in a gleaming city held aloft by intricate engines, powered by technology. Nimh is the living goddess of her people on the Surface, responsible for providing answers, direction - hope. North’s and Nimh’s lives are entwined - though their hearts can never be. Linked by a terrifying prophecy and caught between duty and fate, they must choose between saving their people or succumbing to the bond that is forbidden between them.
-
-
Beautiful
- By Ruthi on 09-13-20
By: Amie Kaufman, and others
-
The Doomsayer Journeys
- The Complete Adventures
- By: Steve Wetherell
- Narrated by: CC Hogan
- Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fans of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Good Omens - your wait is over! The next ridiculous sci-fi fantasy series from a snarky British guy is here! And now you can experience the complete Doomsayer Journeys Trilogy in one volume!
-
-
A Whimsical Fantasy/Sci-fi Adventure
- By Alexandria on 04-19-21
By: Steve Wetherell
-
In the Ocean of Night
- Galactic Center, Book 1
- By: Gregory Benford
- Narrated by: Maxwell Caulfield
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 2019. NASA astronaut Nigel Walmsley is sent on a mission to intercept a rogue asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Ordered to destroy it, he instead discovers that it is actually the shell of a derelict space probe - a wreck with just enough power to emit a single electronic signal….
-
-
Like some Space with your Soaps?
- By Bradley on 05-15-12
By: Gregory Benford
-
Unfettered
- Tales By Masters of Fantasy
- By: Terry Brooks, Patrick Rothfuss, Robert Jordan, and others
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim, Marc Vietor, Bronson Pinchot, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You define life or it defines you. In Shawn Speakman’s case, it was both. Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011, Shawn quickly accrued a massive medical debt that he did not have the ability to pay. That’s when New York Times best-selling author Terry Brooks offered to donate a short story that Shawn could sell to help alleviate those bills—and suggested he ask the same of his other writer friends. Unfettered is the result: An anthology built in order to relieve that debt, featuring short stories by some of the best fantasy writers in the genre.
-
-
A TRULY BAD COLLECTION OF DOGS
- By Randall on 12-21-18
By: Terry Brooks, and others
-
Flight to Eden
- Cradleland Chronicles #1
- By: Douglas Hirt
- Narrated by: Michael Taylor
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A dark power is at work, intent on gaining complete control of the CradleLand, the birthplace of the still-young world. All that stands in the Power's way is one troublesome line of humans: descendants of Seth. They are of the only remaining clan clinging to an all-but-dead faith. And yet it's from that faith that a prophecy threatens all plans of world dominion.
-
-
Great story, buy the book instead.
- By Joshua on 07-23-11
By: Douglas Hirt
-
The Compleat Crow
- By: Brian Lumley
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
To many thousands of listeners world-wide, Titus Crow is the psychic sleuth - the cosmic voyager and investigator - of Brian Lumley's Cthulhu Mythos novels, from The Burrowers Beneath to Elysia. But before The Burrowers and Crow's transition, his exploits were chronicled in a series of short stories and novellas uncollected in the USA, except in limited editions.
-
-
Pulpy, Punchy Tales of the Occult Hero, Titus Crow
- By Troy on 07-16-16
By: Brian Lumley
-
The Other Side of the Sky
- By: Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain, Caitlin Davies
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Prince North’s home is in the sky, in a gleaming city held aloft by intricate engines, powered by technology. Nimh is the living goddess of her people on the Surface, responsible for providing answers, direction - hope. North’s and Nimh’s lives are entwined - though their hearts can never be. Linked by a terrifying prophecy and caught between duty and fate, they must choose between saving their people or succumbing to the bond that is forbidden between them.
-
-
Beautiful
- By Ruthi on 09-13-20
By: Amie Kaufman, and others
-
The Doomsayer Journeys
- The Complete Adventures
- By: Steve Wetherell
- Narrated by: CC Hogan
- Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fans of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Good Omens - your wait is over! The next ridiculous sci-fi fantasy series from a snarky British guy is here! And now you can experience the complete Doomsayer Journeys Trilogy in one volume!
-
-
A Whimsical Fantasy/Sci-fi Adventure
- By Alexandria on 04-19-21
By: Steve Wetherell
-
In the Ocean of Night
- Galactic Center, Book 1
- By: Gregory Benford
- Narrated by: Maxwell Caulfield
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 2019. NASA astronaut Nigel Walmsley is sent on a mission to intercept a rogue asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Ordered to destroy it, he instead discovers that it is actually the shell of a derelict space probe - a wreck with just enough power to emit a single electronic signal….
-
-
Like some Space with your Soaps?
- By Bradley on 05-15-12
By: Gregory Benford
-
Unfettered
- Tales By Masters of Fantasy
- By: Terry Brooks, Patrick Rothfuss, Robert Jordan, and others
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim, Marc Vietor, Bronson Pinchot, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You define life or it defines you. In Shawn Speakman’s case, it was both. Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011, Shawn quickly accrued a massive medical debt that he did not have the ability to pay. That’s when New York Times best-selling author Terry Brooks offered to donate a short story that Shawn could sell to help alleviate those bills—and suggested he ask the same of his other writer friends. Unfettered is the result: An anthology built in order to relieve that debt, featuring short stories by some of the best fantasy writers in the genre.
-
-
A TRULY BAD COLLECTION OF DOGS
- By Randall on 12-21-18
By: Terry Brooks, and others
-
Flight to Eden
- Cradleland Chronicles #1
- By: Douglas Hirt
- Narrated by: Michael Taylor
- Length: 16 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A dark power is at work, intent on gaining complete control of the CradleLand, the birthplace of the still-young world. All that stands in the Power's way is one troublesome line of humans: descendants of Seth. They are of the only remaining clan clinging to an all-but-dead faith. And yet it's from that faith that a prophecy threatens all plans of world dominion.
-
-
Great story, buy the book instead.
- By Joshua on 07-23-11
By: Douglas Hirt
-
The Last
- Endling, Book 1
- By: Katherine Applegate
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
First Katherine Applegate thrilled listeners with the action-packed Animorphs series. Then she stole our hearts with the award-winning The One and Only Ivan. Now she takes us on an unforgettable journey in this first book of an epic middle grade series! Byx is the youngest member of her dairne pack. Believed to possess remarkable abilities, her mythical doglike species has been hunted to near extinction in the war-torn kingdom of Nedarra. After her pack is hunted down and killed, Byx fears she may be the last of her species. The Endling.
-
-
A Plethora of Action
- By cktb on 07-12-18
-
Elric of Melniboné
- Volume 1: Elric of Melnibone, The Fortress of the Pearl, The Sailor on the Seas of Fate, and The Weird of the White Wolf
- By: Michael Moorcock, Neil Gaiman
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 24 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Michael Moorcock began chronicling the adventures of the albino sorcerer Elric, last king of decadent Melniboné, and his sentient vampiric sword, Stormbringer, he set out to create a new kind of fantasy adventure, one that broke with tradition and reflected a more up-to-date sophistication of theme and style. The result was a bold and unique hero: a rock-and-roll antihero who would channel all the violent excesses of the '60s into one enduring archetype.
-
-
Skip the first chapter, it's not Moorcock.
- By Ted C. on 02-17-22
By: Michael Moorcock, and others
-
The Dagger of Trust
- By: Chris Willrich
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gideon Gull leads a double life: one as a talented young bard at the Rhapsodic College, the other as a student of the Shadow School, where Taldor's infamous lion blades are trained to be master spies and assassins. When a magical fog starts turning ordinary people into murderous mobs along the border between Taldor and Gideon's home nation of Andoran, it's up to him and a crew of daring performers to solve the mystery before both nations fall to madness and slaughter.
-
-
very great performance and an okay story
- By Amazon Customer on 01-23-18
By: Chris Willrich
-
The Never Tilting World
- Never Tilting World, Book 1
- By: Rin Chupeco
- Narrated by: Amy Landon, Anthony Rey Perez, Emily Rankin, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon - until one sister’s betrayal split their world in two. A Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in eternal night, the other scorched beneath an ever-burning sun. While one sister rules the frozen fortress of Aranth, her twin rules the sand-locked Golden City - each with a daughter by their side. Now those young goddesses must set out on separate, equally dangerous journeys in hopes of healing their broken world. No matter the sacrifice it demands.
-
-
Not for Me
- By Mehlennial on 01-06-21
By: Rin Chupeco
-
The Legacy of Heorot
- By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Steven Barnes
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling science fiction superstars Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle combine their talents with those of Steven Barnes in an extraordinary adventure of humankind’s first outpost in the farthest reaches of space. Light years from Earth, colonists land on a planet they name Avalon. It seems like a paradise—until native creatures savagely attack. It will take every bit of intelligence, courage, and military-style discipline to survive.
-
-
Great read!
- By Thomas on 12-05-12
By: Larry Niven, and others
-
A Shadow on the Glass
- The View From the Mirror Quartet, Book 1
- By: Ian Irvine
- Narrated by: Grant Cartwright
- Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Once there were three worlds, each with their own human species. Then, fleeing out of the void came a fourth species, the Charon. Desperate, on the edge of extinction, they changed the balance between the worlds forever. Karan, a sensitive with a troubled heritage, is forced to steal an ancient relic in repayment of a debt. It turns out to be the Mirror of Aachan, a twisted, deceitful thing that remembers everything it has ever seen.
-
-
Not quite good enough.
- By Scott S. on 03-13-12
By: Ian Irvine
-
Survival
- Species Imperative, Book 1
- By: Julie E. Czerneda
- Narrated by: Angele Masters
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Herself a biologist, Julie E. Czerneda has earned a reputation in science fiction circles for her ability to create beautifully crafted, imaginative, yet believably realized alien races. In Survival, the first novel in her new series, Species Imperative, she draws upon this talent to build races, characters, and a universe which will draw listeners into a magnificent tale of interstellar intrigue, as an Earth scientist is caught up in a terrifying interspecies conflict.
-
-
I study salmon!
- By Amazon Customer on 03-05-20
-
The Practice Effect
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Andy Caploe
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Physicist Dennis Nuel was the first human to probe the strange realms called anomaly worlds - alternate universes where the laws of science were unpredictably changed. But the world Dennis discovered seemed almost like our own - with one perplexing difference. To his astonishment, he was hailed as a wizard and found himself fighting beside a beautiful woman with strange powers against a mysterious warlord as he struggles to solve the riddle of this baffling world.
-
-
This book was doomed to fail
- By Joshua on 11-16-12
By: David Brin
-
An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors
- The Risen Kingdoms, Book 1
- By: Curtis Craddock
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 18 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born with a deformed hand and an utter lack of the family's blood magic, Isabelle is despised by her cruel father. She is happy to be neglected so she can secretly pursue her illicit passion for math and science. Then, a surprising offer of an arranged royal marriage blows her life wide open and launches her and Jeane-Claude on an adventure that will take them from the Isle des Zephyrs in l'Empire Céleste to the very different Kingdom of Aragoth, where magic deals not with blood but with mirrors.
-
-
Can't recommend it enough!
- By A Miller on 06-26-18
By: Curtis Craddock
-
Geomancer: Well of Echoes, Book 1
- By: Ian Irvine
- Narrated by: Grant Cartwright
- Length: 23 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two hundred years after the Forbidding was broken, Santhenar is locked in war with the lyrinx - intelligent, winged predators who will do anything to gain their own world. Despite the development of battle clankers and mastery of the crystals that power them, humanity is losing. Tiaan, a lonely crystal worker in a clanker manufactory, is experimenting with an entirely new kind of crystal when she begins to have extraordinary visions.
-
-
About As Satisfying as Coitus Interruptus
- By Craig G. Clark on 07-26-13
By: Ian Irvine
-
Finding Real Magic
- Relic Diver, Book 1
- By: Shawn Keys
- Narrated by: Erin Bateman
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Zahn’s life has been anything but ordinary. While hunting archaic relics infused with magic from continent to continent, his latest search brings him to Hollywood, and then face-to-face with a movie star he has idolized for years. Until now, he has only cared about the quest. But as lust and love break into his life, Zahn is caught up in a violent competition to retrieve one of the most powerful magical creations of all time from its ancient resting place.
-
-
Pretty good
- By Andrew M. S. on 05-26-20
By: Shawn Keys
-
Shadows of Aggar: Amazons Unite Edition
- The Amazons of Aggar, Book 1
- By: Chris Anne Wolfe
- Narrated by: J. Evans
- Length: 20 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Diana n'Athena is an Amazon working for the Terran Empire on the medieval planet of Aggar. Her mission is to rescue a downed pilot/spy from Aggar's wilds. But when the Council demands she be bonded to a Shadow in order to be allowed to make the journey, things get interesting. Shadows are exceptional guides and fighters, but Elana is something more - she has the gift of the Blue Sight. As the two women race against time to prevent an all-out intergalactic war, they become erotically entangled, complicating both their lives and putting their mission in danger.
-
-
Cannot Believe Audible has this!
- By T on 07-12-15
By: Chris Anne Wolfe
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Sundiver
- The Uplift Saga, Book 1
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: George Wilson
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For nearly a billion years, every known sentient species in the universe has been the result of genetic and cultural guidance - or "uplifting" - by a previously uplifted patron race. Then humans are discovered. Having already uplifted chimps and dolphins, humanity clearly qualifies as an intelligent species, but did they actually evolve their own intelligence, or did some mysterious patron race begin the process, then suddenly abandon Earth?
-
-
good, but flawed
- By J Michael on 04-16-08
By: David Brin
-
Existence
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins, Robin Miles, L. J. Ganser
- Length: 32 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gerald Livingston is an orbital garbage collector. For a hundred years, people have been abandoning things in space, and someone has to clean it up. But there’s something spinning a little bit higher than he expects, something that isn’t on the decades’ old orbital maps. An hour after he grabs it and brings it in, rumors fill Earth’s infomesh about an "alien artifact".
-
-
Will its universe envelop you?
- By Andreas Henriksson on 07-20-13
By: David Brin
-
Kiln People
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Andy Caploe
- Length: 23 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a perilous future where disposable duplicate bodies fulfill every legal and illicit whim of their decadent masters, life is cheap. No one knows that better than Albert Morris, a brash investigator with a knack for trouble, who has sent his own duplicates into deadly peril more times than he cares to remember. But when Morris takes on a ring of bootleggers making illegal copies of a famous actress, he stumbles upon a secret so explosive it has incited open warfare on the streets of Dittotown.
-
-
Interesting Premise, Disappointing Execution
- By Michael on 07-25-13
By: David Brin
-
Glory Season
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Claire Christie
- Length: 25 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Maia is fast approaching a turning point in her life. As a half-caste var, she must leave the clan home of her privileged half-sisters and seek her fortune in the world. With her twin sister, Leie, she searches the docks of Port Sanger for an apprenticeship aboard the vessels that sail the trade routes of the Stratoin oceans. On her far-reaching, perilous journey of discovery, Maia will endure hardship and hunger, imprisonment and loneliness, bloody battles with pirates and separation from her twin.
-
-
Not bad, but definitely not Brin at his best.
- By Steven on 11-17-15
By: David Brin
-
Earth
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: David DeVries, Kristin Kalbli
- Length: 26 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The long-awaited new novel by the award-winning, best-selling author of Startide Rising and The Uplift War- an epic novel set 50 years from tomorrow, a carefully-reasoned, scientifically faithful tale of the fate of our world.
-
-
David has an inside line on the future
- By Sean Dustman on 08-21-12
By: David Brin
-
The Practice Effect
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Andy Caploe
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Physicist Dennis Nuel was the first human to probe the strange realms called anomaly worlds - alternate universes where the laws of science were unpredictably changed. But the world Dennis discovered seemed almost like our own - with one perplexing difference. To his astonishment, he was hailed as a wizard and found himself fighting beside a beautiful woman with strange powers against a mysterious warlord as he struggles to solve the riddle of this baffling world.
-
-
This book was doomed to fail
- By Joshua on 11-16-12
By: David Brin
-
Sundiver
- The Uplift Saga, Book 1
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: George Wilson
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For nearly a billion years, every known sentient species in the universe has been the result of genetic and cultural guidance - or "uplifting" - by a previously uplifted patron race. Then humans are discovered. Having already uplifted chimps and dolphins, humanity clearly qualifies as an intelligent species, but did they actually evolve their own intelligence, or did some mysterious patron race begin the process, then suddenly abandon Earth?
-
-
good, but flawed
- By J Michael on 04-16-08
By: David Brin
-
Existence
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins, Robin Miles, L. J. Ganser
- Length: 32 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gerald Livingston is an orbital garbage collector. For a hundred years, people have been abandoning things in space, and someone has to clean it up. But there’s something spinning a little bit higher than he expects, something that isn’t on the decades’ old orbital maps. An hour after he grabs it and brings it in, rumors fill Earth’s infomesh about an "alien artifact".
-
-
Will its universe envelop you?
- By Andreas Henriksson on 07-20-13
By: David Brin
-
Kiln People
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Andy Caploe
- Length: 23 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a perilous future where disposable duplicate bodies fulfill every legal and illicit whim of their decadent masters, life is cheap. No one knows that better than Albert Morris, a brash investigator with a knack for trouble, who has sent his own duplicates into deadly peril more times than he cares to remember. But when Morris takes on a ring of bootleggers making illegal copies of a famous actress, he stumbles upon a secret so explosive it has incited open warfare on the streets of Dittotown.
-
-
Interesting Premise, Disappointing Execution
- By Michael on 07-25-13
By: David Brin
-
Glory Season
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Claire Christie
- Length: 25 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young Maia is fast approaching a turning point in her life. As a half-caste var, she must leave the clan home of her privileged half-sisters and seek her fortune in the world. With her twin sister, Leie, she searches the docks of Port Sanger for an apprenticeship aboard the vessels that sail the trade routes of the Stratoin oceans. On her far-reaching, perilous journey of discovery, Maia will endure hardship and hunger, imprisonment and loneliness, bloody battles with pirates and separation from her twin.
-
-
Not bad, but definitely not Brin at his best.
- By Steven on 11-17-15
By: David Brin
-
Earth
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: David DeVries, Kristin Kalbli
- Length: 26 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The long-awaited new novel by the award-winning, best-selling author of Startide Rising and The Uplift War- an epic novel set 50 years from tomorrow, a carefully-reasoned, scientifically faithful tale of the fate of our world.
-
-
David has an inside line on the future
- By Sean Dustman on 08-21-12
By: David Brin
-
The Practice Effect
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Andy Caploe
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Physicist Dennis Nuel was the first human to probe the strange realms called anomaly worlds - alternate universes where the laws of science were unpredictably changed. But the world Dennis discovered seemed almost like our own - with one perplexing difference. To his astonishment, he was hailed as a wizard and found himself fighting beside a beautiful woman with strange powers against a mysterious warlord as he struggles to solve the riddle of this baffling world.
-
-
This book was doomed to fail
- By Joshua on 11-16-12
By: David Brin
-
Falling Free
- Miles Vorsokigan, Book 4
- By: Lois McMaster Bujold
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Leo Graf was just your average highly efficient engineer: mind your own business, fix what's wrong, and move on to the next job. But all that changed on his assignment to the Cay Habitat, where a group of humanoids had been secretly, commercially bioengineered for working in free fall. Could he just stand there and allow the exploitation of hundreds of helpless children merely to enhance the bottom line of a heartless mega-corporation?
-
-
Don't read this one first
- By Carol on 02-20-13
-
Proxima: Book 1
- By: Stephen Baxter
- Narrated by: Kyle McCarley
- Length: 17 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The very far future: The galaxy is a drifting wreck of black holes, neutron stars, and chill white dwarfs. The age of star formation is long past. Yet there is life here, feeding off the energies of the stellar remnants, and there is mind, a tremendous galaxy-spanning intelligence each of whose thoughts lasts a hundred thousand years. And this mind cradles memories of a long-gone age when a more compact universe was full of light... The 27th century: Proxima Centauri, an undistinguished red dwarf star, is the nearest star to our sun. How would it be to live on such a world?
-
-
No Sense of Conclusion
- By Lisa Davidson on 04-24-16
By: Stephen Baxter
-
The Postman
- By: David Brin
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
He was a survivor - a wanderer who traded tales for food and shelter in the dark and savage aftermath of a devastating war. Fate touches him one chill winter’s day when he borrows the jacket of a long-dead postal worker to protect himself from the cold. The old, worn uniform still has power as a symbol of hope, and with it he begins to weave his greatest tale, of a nation on the road to recovery. This is the story of a lie that became the most powerful kind of truth.
-
-
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night
- By Ed Pegg Jr on 12-09-20
By: David Brin
-
The Forever War
- By: Joe Haldeman
- Narrated by: George Wilson
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
William Mandella is a soldier in Earth's elite brigade. As the war against the Taurans sends him from galaxy to galaxy, he learns to use protective body shells and sophisticated weapons. He adapts to the cultures and terrains of distant outposts. But with each month in space, years are passing on Earth. Where will he call home when (and if) the Forever War ends?
-
-
A classic.
- By John on 09-24-08
By: Joe Haldeman
-
The Forge of God
- By: Greg Bear
- Narrated by: Stephen Bel Davies
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On September 28th, a geologist working in Death Valley finds a mysterious new cinder cone in very well-mapped area. On October 1, the government of Australia announces the discovery of an enormous granite mountain. Like the cinder cone, it wasn't there six months ago.
Something is happening to planet Earth, and the truth is too terrifying to contemplate
-
-
Great Story, Wonderful Listening, But the Editor?
- By George Knight on 07-14-13
By: Greg Bear
-
The White Plague
- By: Frank Herbert
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 19 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A warm day in Dublin, a crowded street corner. Suddenly, a car-bomb explodes, killing and injuring scores of innocent people.From the second-floor window of a building across the street, a visiting American watches, helpless, as his beloved wife and children are sacrificed in the heat and fire of someone else's cause.
-
-
Great book and not a rip off
- By Randall on 11-09-17
By: Frank Herbert
-
Illuminations
- Stories
- By: Alan Moore
- Narrated by: Laura Haddock, Rory Kinnear, Emilia Fox, and others
- Length: 17 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From New York Times bestselling author Alan Moore—one of the most influential writers in the history of comics—"a wonderful collection, brilliant and often moving" (Neil Gaiman) which takes us to the fantastical underside of reality. In his first-ever short story collection, which spans forty years of work, Alan Moore presents a series of wildly different and equally unforgettable characters who discover—and in some cases even make and unmake—the various uncharted parts of existence.
-
-
Excellent Stories; Supremely Annoying Lack of Chapter Titles
- By Joachim of God on 10-17-22
By: Alan Moore
-
All the Birds in the Sky
- By: Charlie Jane Anders
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Childhood friends Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armstead didn't expect to see each other again after parting ways under mysterious circumstances during high school. After all, the development of magical powers and the invention of a two-second time machine could hardly fail to alarm one's peers and families. But now they're both adults, living in the hipster mecca San Francisco, and the planet is falling apart around them.
-
-
Too twee for me.
- By Amy on 03-13-17
-
Suldrun’s Garden
- Lyonesse: Book 1
- By: Jack Vance
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 18 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Elder Isles, located in what is now the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Old Gaul, are made up of 10 contending kingdoms, all vying with each other for control. At the centre of much of the intrigue is Casmir, the ruthless and ambitious king of Lyonnesse. His beautiful but otherworldly daughter, Suldrun, is part of his plans. He intends to cement an alliance or two by marrying her well. But Suldrun is as determined as he and defies him.
-
-
Not my cup of tea
- By Ann on 01-10-11
By: Jack Vance
-
A Hole in the Sky
- Arkship Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Peter F. Hamilton
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Klett
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sixteen-year old Hazel lives in the Daedalus, a starship that is flying in search of a new world. The ship has been traveling for 500 years, searching for a world to settle in after having to abandon its last world. Everyone on board Daedalus lives a very simple existence in farming villages. The age of machines supplying their needs was lost during a mutiny 500 years ago.
-
-
What happened?
- By Trip Williams on 03-24-21
-
Idoru
- By: William Gibson
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Colin Laney is here looking for work. He is an intuitive fisher for patterns of information. But Laney knows how to sift for the dangerous bits. Which makes him useful - to certain people. Chia McKenzie is here on a rescue mission. Her idol is the singer Rez, of the band Lo,Rez. When the Seattle chapter of the Lo,Rez fan club decided that he might be in trouble in Tokyo, they sent Chia to check it out. Rei Toei is the idoru - the beautiful, entirely virtual media star adored by all Japan. Rez has declared that he will marry her. This is the rumor that has brought Chia to Tokyo.
-
-
The narrator made me turn this off in 10 seconds
- By Rob on 12-02-18
By: William Gibson
-
Lord of Light
- By: Roger Zelazny
- Narrated by: Matt Godfrey
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Earth is long since dead. On a colony planet, a band of men has gained control of technology, made themselves immortal, and now rule their world as the gods of the Hindu pantheon. Only one dares oppose them: he who was once Siddhartha and is now Mahasamatman. Binder of Demons, Lord of Light.
-
-
How could a performance be so wrong?
- By 1st World Problems on 05-29-22
By: Roger Zelazny
What listeners say about Brightness Reef
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- Chas
- 05-14-10
Hard Core Sci-Fi at it's best!
I've seen a lot of bad reviews for this book, and frankly I don't understand why. Perhaps some readers are not used to hard-core, traditional sci-fi writing. So much of today's contemporary sci-fi writers are more into action and less into the classic philosophical aspects that began with epic writers like Herbert and Asimov.
Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and feel it is a masterpiece in classic sci-fi form. David Brin knows how to sink the hook in and keep you guessing until the very end. He is a master at storybuilding from various alien perspectives, which may throw some people off because of the change in thought process/focus from one alien race to another, but I found it captivating and ingenious.
I recommend this series to anyone who enjoys Frank Herbert, Peter F. Hamilton, Larry Niven, Orson Scott Card and other masters.
However, one caution to casual sci-fi readers that prefer straight forward stories full of action and special effects: you will get action, you will be thrilled, you will be surprised, but you will not be satisfied unless you are a fan of classic sci-fi writing techniques. This is not a shallow, no-brainer entertainment for the masses. This is a thought provoking work with complex plots/sub-plots that provide surprising twists and turns that are hard to predict compared to a lot of other literature in the genre these days.
I hope you enjoy!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
31 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Root VanDorn
- 03-05-10
Director/Sound Engineer is a real job
Most people like certain NARRATORS and certain AUTHORS but they never think about the Directors or Sound Engineers. This audiobook is an example of a GREAT AUTHOR with fantastic characters, a TERRIFIC NARRATOR who can distinquish alien creature voices and make them so believable and a crappy Director and/or Sound Engineer. Apparently she thought her job was just to press the record button and go home. I have a recording studio and I was saddened by the lack of professionalism. You can hear Mr. Wilson gulping after readng difficult passages as an alien voice and even getting some words incorrect "Revered Mother" and "windy road". This is not his fault but should have been caught by the Director, Abigal McCue and the sound engineer. Despite that, it is a WONDERFUL story and amazingly told. GEORGE K. WILSON NEEDS AN OSCAR for these cast of characters he is able to bring to life. It definately left me with a desire to read the rest of the trilogy and to read some of the prequel books.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
14 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Angus
- 11-27-15
Book Four labeled as Book One.
This is book 1 of the Uplift Trilogy and book 4 of the Uplift Saga. I read the first three books of the Uplift Saga when I was in high school uncountable unmentionables ago. It seems time makes memory fuzzy yet I'm going to state that this book has a rocky start for the reader until you are several chapters into the work. Let's lay the basis.
Uplift – a patron species that has already achieved star travel arrives and selects advanced pre-sentient species to genetically advance so that they are capable of traveling the stars. Each patron species ranking in galactic culture is based on how many species they have uplifted and whether or not an interstellar war was the result.
During the time frame of this book there are six master patron species forming the Galactic Council. They have laid down rules on how to treat planets and where species are allowed to colonize. They have stamped their approval on seven standardized Galactic languages and created a draconian entity, The Galactic Library. Any squatter or Sooner colonies on off limits worlds are subject to immediate judgment by the Library Enforcers and the penalty is sterilization...maybe.
See, the colonies established on Jijo by six Sooner species tribes including humans are out of touch. The Humans got there by way of a massive ship called the Tabernacle three hundred years prior to this story. Their methods of keeping knowledge alive is through an order of Sages and printing technology that would make Gutenberg sigh in disgust.
The story.
A human is discovered wandering out of marshland with a gaping hole in his skull. The Sage Arianna embarks on a journey with her assistant Sarah to the cave known as Biblios where they expect to get help figuring out who this guy is. Elsewhere, a research station of “Star Humans” are employing locals to help them illicitly gather wild DNA which they will implant on other worlds and eventually hope to reap Upliftable species. In another broad stroke you have the bunch that always exists who do not like where this is going and have machinations running to subvert being: destroyed, sterilized, outed to the Galactic Council...
There is a lot to this story and I can not even hope to spoil it in the space of this review. Did I like the story? Yes. Was I ticked at the choices the author made in arranging the first several chapters? Yes. Was the narration a good fit? Yes. How was the World building? Really imaginative, diverse and overwhelming at times but then it would revert to the human mindset imposed on non-human species.
This book should be read in close succession with the first three books from the Uplift Saga. I am giving this a three out of five as a stand alone read. Enjoy.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Siddhis
- 09-15-10
Unbearable
5-year Sci-fi/Fantasy Unabridged Audiophile
Only once in that five years have I found a more awful book. As with other reviewers, I concur that the narrator should be commended for making the attempt.
Summary: Poorly written and a story poorly told.
The planet, context (time & place), and characters are poorly developed. From the first paragraph David fails to connect with the reader on an intellectual or emotional level -- 4 hours later it is mere background noise.
The topics and conflicts aim at an impressionable 8th grade level reader in an American/Western European society that feels guilt for their very existence. e.g. We should not be on this pristine ecological planet, lets see if we can get the enlightened galactics to come down and punish us. When David adds in,
1) evil lying humans that arrive to disrupt the otherwise peaceful planet, and
2) multiple alien races Polyanishly united theologically by homage paid to a stone
the result is a perfect handbook for John Muir followers. If this appeals to you, then this may be your book.
Though poorly executed, the story concept is brilliant. Stowaways on a planetary level -- unique. Ecological restoration through planetary level crop rotation-like resting cycles - insightful.
Looking for epics that work? Try Robert Jordan (Eye of the World), Terry Goodkind (Sword of Truth - first 3-4 books before they get tedious) and Brandon Sanderson (Way of Kings) for Fantasy and Mike Resnick (Any), Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan
Saga) and John Ringo (Any)
I wanted to like this. I could not. It may well be that it gets better after 4-hours. I could not make myself trudge through to find out.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Aaron
- 12-12-10
Not for the novice sci-fi reader
This is a great story that takes time to develop. The patient reader is rewarded.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- OCD
- 11-22-09
Unworthy of publication.
Both the story and the narration are unworthy of publication.
I tried listening to the "story" and not the narrator, to no avail.
The combination of the stories tedious descriptions and the narrators monotone (dull) delivery where to much for me.
I used a single "credit" on this audio-book thinking what did I have to lose, only to discover my time is what was lost.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Lisa
- 12-26-09
Save your credits for something listenable...
This is the first review I've written even though I've listened to many many scifi books. The narrator should be commended for trying to make a listenable performance out of goobly gook.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mike Collins
- 02-19-13
Not the best
Any additional comments?
**** SPOILERS ****
OK. Maybe I just don't get "adult" sci-fi. But this book kinds just drug on with no read direction. There were so many mini stories in the book that I had a hard time keeping up with all of them.
There is so lottle to go off of for the first few chapters that I had no clue that we were talking about so many different races and trying to keep up with which race was which was a pain.
Then to get to the end and find out that we were not going to get ANY resolution was a massive letdown. No resolution on anything. What is going on under water? Who is this mystery man and what's up with his head? Who are the visitors and then the newer visitors?
The story got more interesting about half way through the book, but I doubt the series is worth getting the next two just to find some form of closure.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- John
- 06-14-11
very slow
I loved Brin's second & third Uplift books, but this one was just too long and slow to finish. As other reviewers have mentioned, the narrator tries, but this book is just too slow in getting anywhere.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Wesley
- 03-11-10
Never again David Brin!
God bless George Wilson for trying to make this horrid book listenable. This has to be the worst writing in the SF genre I've ever encountered. It is a horrible knock off of Heinlein I've had the displeasure of being subjected to. Do you grok me? I couldn't finish this book. I got two parts in and just had to put it down.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful