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City of Ruins  By  cover art

City of Ruins

By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
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Publisher's summary

Boss, a loner, loved to dive derelict spacecraft adrift in the blackness of space.... But one day, she found a ship that would change everything - an ancient Dignity Vessel - and aboard the ship, the mysterious and dangerous Stealth Tech. Now, years after discovering that first ship, Boss has put together a large company that finds Dignity Vessels and "loose" stealth technology.

Following a hunch, Boss and her team come to investigate the city of Vaycehn, where 14 archeologists have died exploring the endless caves below the city. Mysterious "death holes" explode into the city itself for no apparent reason, and Boss believes stealth tech is involved. As Boss searches for the answer to the mystery of the death holes, she will uncover the answer to her Dignity Vessel quest as well - and one more thing, something so important that it will change her life and the universe forever.

©2011 Kristine Kathryn Rusch (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"City of Ruins is a solid mystery (with a dash of adventure) whose ending teases even greater things in the next novel, Boneyards. Sign me up." (SF Signal)

What listeners say about City of Ruins

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing Listen

This was an amazing listen, though it was a little slow in the beginning compared to the first book. You really won't get into the story unless you've also read or listened to the previous book, but I absolutely loved it and couldn't stop listening. I was also a little disappointed that the story ended in somewhat of a cliffhanger, but that just means I'll have another amazing story to look forward to. 5 stars.

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11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Disappointing....

I've listened to 20+ scifi books on Audible and this is only the second that I could not finish. I'm a big fan of Rusch's other works (particularly the Retrieval Artist series), but this book has been a disappointment . The main character is VERY irritating which is only made worse by the fact that most of the story is written in first person. The narrator actually does a good job of portraying the quirky antisocial characteristics of the protagonist (which in some ways is unfortunate).

I do like the premise of "archaeology in space" and there is considerable potential for this to be a great series (assuming the protagonist is replaced). If you like this genre, check out Jack McDevitt's books as the concept is similar but the characters are more relatable.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

good sci-fi

nice book, entertaining, its about 5000 years into the future, so its hard core.
I want a sequel !

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

A Great Listen

What's the audible equivalent to "I just couldn't put this book down?"

This was that.

I just want more.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

I am warming up to this series

I had some serious issues with the first volume in this series, Diving into the Wreck. I am happy to report that this book is worth reading. The story line of a space vessel lost in in time is interesting and there's plenty of suspense and action. But even better, now we have a second viewpoint from another character, which is done in the third person.

As I said in my previous review, I find the first-person narration for the major character off-putting -- it's difficult to write in this mode successfully. The entire first book was done in first person, and I'm sorry to report that it's still not effective here in the second volume. But now, we have another viewpoint, so the book was saved for me.

Like many classic science fiction tales, this book ended in a rush. I wanted more, which perhaps is a good sign.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding

Starts a little slow - builds artfully. Much suspense & creativity. Leaves the reader craving for the next book in the series.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Decent follow-up to the first, but doesn't go far.

This sequel to "Diving Into the Wreck" takes us for an interesting ride through an underground ruin, and many of the themes from the first book return - the mysterious "stealth tech", the care and caution the team takes while diving, etc. The latter issue does get a bit boring, when you just want to know what happens next and are sick of hearing the members try to see who can be safest while diving!

The story is interesting, but kind of ends on an unfulfilling note, and I'm not sure it makes me care enough to read any more of the story.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Irritating!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I thought the plot had potential

What did you like best about this story?

archeological investigations

What about Jennifer Van Dyck’s performance did you like?

The omniscient voice of the main character is pompous, mind numbingly repetitious.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

The narrator was fine. the material was bad

Any additional comments?

There is a broken record feeling that interrupts the flow of the story

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great twist on the space empire trope

my favorite part of science fiction is the science aspect. I love that this book keeps adding in builds for the sci-fi technology. Each new "stealth tech" discovery leads me down my own fun "how would that actually work?!" path. The characters are realistic and relatable. I'll definitely end up re-reading this series.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A neat idea.

I really like adventure stories where something is discovered. The premise of this book is pretty interesting. It’s all a part of the idea that ancient civilizations had knowledge that we current civilizations do not possess. That part of the story, I really liked. However, I have a couple of problems with the way the story was presented. First, I think Jennifer Van Dyke was not the best narrator for the story. Main character was already a stretch. She was whiny, suspicious and paranoid. Jennifer’s narration really emphasized that.

Second, the main character, Boss, was not a likable character for me. She was supposed to be a leader, but she was just the person in front. Boss was a good name for her. She was bossy, all right, and when anything went wrong, it was somebody else’s fault because they acted without the information she had failed to give them. She also spent a great deal of time diving into her belly button, talking about the anguish of her situation. I found that discussion kicking me out of the story repeatedly.

I think I’m going to try reading the story, rather than listening to it. That way I can visit the story without the narrators influence. Also, I can just skip over all the belly button diving. That should help.

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