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Summertide  By  cover art

Summertide

By: Charles Sheffield
Narrated by: Geoffrey Howard
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Publisher's summary

It was just before Summertide, the time when the twin planets, Opal and Quake, would orbit closest to their sun, subjecting both - Quake in particular - to vast tidal forces. It was to be the most violent Summertide ever, creating something that only happened every 350,000 years.

Access to the unstable Quake was supposed to be prohibited, but some very insistent travelers were determined to make the trip. Professor Darya Lang, who studied artifacts left by the long-vanished aliens called the Builders, had a hunch that she might find the Builders themselves. Louis Nenda and the Cecropian Atvar H'sial had their own interests in Quake, and would do anything to get there. And Councilor Julius Graves was hunting murderers - if they were hiding on Quake, he would find them.

Planetary Administrators Hans Rebka and Max Perry had no choice but to go to Quake - risking their lives to protect the others - and to learn, just maybe, the secret of Summertide and the Builders.

©1990, 1991, 1992, and 1997 Charles Sheffield (P)2002 Blackstone Audiobooks

What listeners say about Summertide

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Summertide

Thoroughly enjoyable. Very well read. Hope the sequels will soon be available through audible. I'm not a big sci-fi fan, but this is very well done.

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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

Excellent

Very good narrator, excellent book. Highly recommend for anyone that loves hard core science fiction.

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

The start of an excellent series

Classic Sheffield novel that begins a wonderful series. Read this and enjoy your trip through the Heritage Universe.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great new sci-fi

A well crafted story with good characters and an original premise made "Summertide" a great read. This one made the miles go by so painlessly I hate to have to wait for the next segment. Without Audible I'm sure I would have missed this one and I'm very glad that I didn't.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

GREAT SF

I liked everything about this book, the story is good, the author really knows his science, the reader was good - he gave everybody their own voice, and the pace is great - I never got bored while reading it. It is one of the very best books that I have read on on Audible. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

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6 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

Great SF book

I read just this book of the series, and want to join other that gave 5* rating. Like it, both the plot and the narrator.

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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

This is book 1 of 4, what a great start!

This is one of my favorites in the collection of books that are done as a series.

There as far as I know 4 books to this series.

They all kept me engaged.

And it's the type of sci-fi that I truly like.

At 60 years old with the heart of a kid. Today, I decided to actually post some reviews for the very first time. I have been using Audible for many years now. Maybe if you like my selections that means your into the same books as I am into and I will read your selections if that's possible now, to share someone else's book list?

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

great world building

good characters, history, alien races artifacts and worlds. plot and character development felt flat to me.

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

Unique concepts, developed characters.

Enjoyed this book from digital cover to cover. Though it is part of a series, it is fully able to stand alone is an interesting story. I greatly appreciate that in sci-fi writers. All too often these days, one book is simply a teaser to another. Having said that, I can't wait to rate the rest of the series.

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2 people found this helpful

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

Unique and Enjoyable

The storyline is interesting and the aliens pretty unique. This is a very refreshing book. Though I can't say it is one of my favourite science fiction books, it is definitely one of the best I've heard in a while.

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