Downbelow Station (Dramatized Adaptation)

Alliance-Union Universe: The Company Wars, Book 1

De: C.J. Cherryh

Narrado por: Holly Adams, James Konicek, James Lewis, Karen Novack, Marni Penning, Peter Holdway, Zeke Alton, Robb Moreira, Triya Leong, Daniel Llaca, JJ Johnson

The Beyond started with the Stations orbiting the stars nearest Earth. The Great Circle the interstellar freighters traveled was long, but not unmanageable, and the early Stations were emotionally and politically dependent on Mother Earth. The Earth Company which ran this immense operation reaped incalculable profits and influenced the affairs of nations.

Then came Pell, the first station centered around a newly discovered living planet. The discovery of Pell's World forever altered the power balance of the Beyond. Earth was no longer the anchor which kept this vast empire from coming adrift, the one living mote in a sterile universe.

But Pell was just the first living planet. Then came Cyteen, and later others, and a new and frighteningly different society grew in the farther reaches of space. The importance of Earth faded and the Company reaped ever smaller profits as the economic focus of space turned outward. But the powerful Earth Fleet was sitll a presence in the Beyond, and Pell Station was to become the last stronghold in a titanic struggle between the vast, dynamic forces of the rebel Union and those who defended Earth's last, desperate grasp for the stars.

Performed by Karen Novack, Zeke Alton, Robb Moreira, James Konicek, Holly Adams, James Lewis, Peter Holdway, Daniel Llaca, JJ Johnson, Triya Leong, Marni Penning, Keith Richards, Chris Davenport, John Kielty, Rob McFadyen, Joe Mallon, Nanette Savard, Anthony Palmini, Jason Keller, Brandon Burton, Yasmin Tuazon, Wyn Delano, Tanja Milojevic, Debi Tinsley, Jacob Yeh, Terence Aselford, Niusha Nawab, Eric Messner, Steve Wannall, Nora Achrati, Alejandro Ruiz, Colleen Delany, Michael John Casey, Bradley Foster Smith, and Ken Jackson.

©1981 C.J. Cherryh (P)2023 Graphic Audio LLC

A real world with people, as war comes to them

Not just a tale of the military side of life, this book has an in-the-action views of the refugee crisis that springs from supply disruptions and fear of military action. All of these are amplified by the fragility of life in a space station. Graphic Audio's staging catches this intensity nicely.

Disappointing Audio for a Great Story

A great story with a disappointing performance. The main narrator was fine, but most of the actors' performances were flat and lacking emotion.