-
METAtropolis: Cascadia
- Narrated by: Rene Auberjonois, Kate Mulgrew, Wil Wheaton, Gates McFadden, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Jay Lake
- Series: METAtropolis, Book 2
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
METAtropolis
- By: Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, and others
- Narrated by: Michael Hogan, Scott Brick, Kandyse McClure, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Armed camps of eco-survivalists battle purveyors of technology in this exclusive, original production featuring five sci-fi masters and five all-star narrators.
-
-
5 Stories for the price of 1, not good enough
- By HamFam on 12-17-10
By: Jay Lake, and others
-
METAtropolis: Green Space
- By: Jay Lake, Elizabeth Bear, Karl Schroeder, and others
- Narrated by: Dion Graham, Robin Miles, Mark Boyett, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As METAtropolis: Green Space moves into the 22nd Century, human social evolution is heading in new directions after the Green Crash and the subsequent Green Renaissance. Nearly everyone who cares to participate in the wired world has become part of the "Internet of things", a virtual environment mapped across all aspects of the natural experience. At the same time, the serious back-to-the-land types have embraced a full-on paleo lifestyle, including genetically engineering themselves and their offspring.
-
-
The Good and the Bad
- By Joey on 11-04-13
By: Jay Lake, and others
-
Rip-Off!
- By: John Scalzi, Jack Campbell, Mike Resnick, and others
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton, Scott Brick, Christian Rummel, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Rip-Off!, 13 of today’s best and most honored writers of speculative fiction face a challenge even they would be hard-pressed to conceive: Pick your favorite opening line from a classic piece of fiction (or even non-fiction) - then use it as the first sentence of an entirely original short story.
-
-
When is a rip-off not a rip-off?
- By Julie W. Capell on 11-24-13
By: John Scalzi, and others
-
The Last Emperox
- The Interdependency, Book 3
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The collapse of The Flow, the interstellar pathway between the planets of the Interdependency, has accelerated. Entire star systems - and billions of people - are becoming cut off from the rest of human civilization. This collapse was foretold through scientific prediction...and yet, even as the evidence is obvious and insurmountable, many still try to rationalize, delay and profit from, these final days of one of the greatest empires humanity has ever known.
-
-
Wait that’s it
- By Chandrian on 04-23-20
By: John Scalzi
-
Ready Player Two
- A Novel
- By: Ernest Cline
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Days after winning OASIS founder James Halliday’s contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything. Hidden within Halliday’s vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS 1,000 times more wondrous - and addictive - than even Wade dreamed possible. With it comes a new riddle, and a new quest - a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize. And an unexpected, impossibly powerful, and dangerous new rival awaits, one who’ll kill millions to get what he wants.
-
-
Heartbreakingly Disappointing and Insulting
- By Marcus Haynes on 11-28-20
By: Ernest Cline
-
Alexander X
- Battle for Forever, Book 1
- By: Edward Savio
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander Grant is a little too good at a few too many things. Two dozen martial arts. Twice that many languages. Chess, the piano, sports, forging excused absences, you name it. He graduated high school top of his class...seventeen times. Of course, no one knows any of this...when a mysterious cabal attempts to kidnap him and kill his friends, Alexander must use all his skills and centuries of training to outwit the most dangerous man alive, the mastermind of a plot that would change the world forever.
-
-
More for Young Readers
- By MK on 09-23-19
By: Edward Savio
-
METAtropolis
- By: Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, and others
- Narrated by: Michael Hogan, Scott Brick, Kandyse McClure, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Armed camps of eco-survivalists battle purveyors of technology in this exclusive, original production featuring five sci-fi masters and five all-star narrators.
-
-
5 Stories for the price of 1, not good enough
- By HamFam on 12-17-10
By: Jay Lake, and others
-
METAtropolis: Green Space
- By: Jay Lake, Elizabeth Bear, Karl Schroeder, and others
- Narrated by: Dion Graham, Robin Miles, Mark Boyett, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As METAtropolis: Green Space moves into the 22nd Century, human social evolution is heading in new directions after the Green Crash and the subsequent Green Renaissance. Nearly everyone who cares to participate in the wired world has become part of the "Internet of things", a virtual environment mapped across all aspects of the natural experience. At the same time, the serious back-to-the-land types have embraced a full-on paleo lifestyle, including genetically engineering themselves and their offspring.
-
-
The Good and the Bad
- By Joey on 11-04-13
By: Jay Lake, and others
-
Rip-Off!
- By: John Scalzi, Jack Campbell, Mike Resnick, and others
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton, Scott Brick, Christian Rummel, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Rip-Off!, 13 of today’s best and most honored writers of speculative fiction face a challenge even they would be hard-pressed to conceive: Pick your favorite opening line from a classic piece of fiction (or even non-fiction) - then use it as the first sentence of an entirely original short story.
-
-
When is a rip-off not a rip-off?
- By Julie W. Capell on 11-24-13
By: John Scalzi, and others
-
The Last Emperox
- The Interdependency, Book 3
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The collapse of The Flow, the interstellar pathway between the planets of the Interdependency, has accelerated. Entire star systems - and billions of people - are becoming cut off from the rest of human civilization. This collapse was foretold through scientific prediction...and yet, even as the evidence is obvious and insurmountable, many still try to rationalize, delay and profit from, these final days of one of the greatest empires humanity has ever known.
-
-
Wait that’s it
- By Chandrian on 04-23-20
By: John Scalzi
-
Ready Player Two
- A Novel
- By: Ernest Cline
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Days after winning OASIS founder James Halliday’s contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything. Hidden within Halliday’s vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the OASIS 1,000 times more wondrous - and addictive - than even Wade dreamed possible. With it comes a new riddle, and a new quest - a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize. And an unexpected, impossibly powerful, and dangerous new rival awaits, one who’ll kill millions to get what he wants.
-
-
Heartbreakingly Disappointing and Insulting
- By Marcus Haynes on 11-28-20
By: Ernest Cline
-
Alexander X
- Battle for Forever, Book 1
- By: Edward Savio
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander Grant is a little too good at a few too many things. Two dozen martial arts. Twice that many languages. Chess, the piano, sports, forging excused absences, you name it. He graduated high school top of his class...seventeen times. Of course, no one knows any of this...when a mysterious cabal attempts to kidnap him and kill his friends, Alexander must use all his skills and centuries of training to outwit the most dangerous man alive, the mastermind of a plot that would change the world forever.
-
-
More for Young Readers
- By MK on 09-23-19
By: Edward Savio
-
Dimension of Miracles
- By: Robert Sheckley
- Narrated by: John Hodgman
- Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dimension of Miracles is a satirical science fiction novel first published by Dell in 1968. It's about Tom Carmody, a New Yorker who, thanks to a computer error, wins the main prize in the Intergalactic Sweepstakes. Tom claims his prize before the error is discovered and is allowed to keep it. However, since Tom is a human from Earth without galactic status and no space traveling experience, he has no homing instinct that can guide him back to Earth once his odyssey begins - and the galactic lottery organizers cannot transport him home.
-
-
Easily The Best Title I've Encountered on Audible
- By Niels J. Rasmussen on 07-02-13
By: Robert Sheckley
-
Redshirts
- A Novel with Three Codas
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the facts that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces; (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations; and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.
-
-
Clever, creative, and FUN!
- By Kent on 04-18-13
By: John Scalzi
-
Slow Burn Box Set
- The Complete Post Apocalyptic Series (Books 1-9)
- By: Bobby Adair
- Narrated by: Phil Thron
- Length: 55 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was just a random mutation - one of a billion that happen in viruses every day. But this one was different. It exploded out of Somalia and spread across the oceans before anybody thought to look up from their cell phones to see what was going on. The infected breathed the virus into the air around them, spreading it through the cities faster than anyone thought possible. Hospitals were overwhelmed. Police lines crumbled. Quarantine sites disintegrated. Cities started to collapse.
-
-
Great series!
- By Afobos on 03-05-21
By: Bobby Adair
-
The Salvage Crew
- By: Yudhanjaya Wijeratne
- Narrated by: Nathan Fillion
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An AI overseer and a human crew arrive on a distant planet to salvage an ancient UN starship. The overseer is unhappy. The crew, well, they're certainly no A-team. Not even a C-team on the best of days. And worse? Urmahon Beta, the planet, is at the ass-end of nowhere. Everybody expects this to be a long, ugly, and thankless job. Then it all goes disastrously wrong. What they thought was an uninhabited backwater turns out to be anything but empty.
-
-
Promising First Half, Then a Mess
- By YL on 11-03-20
-
The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway
- The History of the Captain Who Went Further Than Any Had Before
- By: Una McCormack
- Narrated by: Kate Mulgrew
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Kathryn Janeway reveals her career in Starfleet, from her first command to her epic journey through the Delta Quadrant leading to her rise to the top as vice-admiral in Starfleet Command. Discover the story of the woman who travelled further than any human ever had before, stranded decades from home, encountering new worlds and species.
-
-
So Happy To Have Kate Mulgrew Read “Her” Story
- By Truman on 01-29-21
By: Una McCormack
-
Fuzzy Nation
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton, John Scalzi - introduction
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In John Scalzi's re-imagining of H. Beam Piper's 1962 sci-fi classic Little Fuzzy, written with the full cooperation of the Piper Estate, Jack Holloway works alone for reasons he doesnt care to talk about. Hundreds of miles from ZaraCorps headquarters on planet, 178 light-years from the corporations headquarters on Earth, Jack is content as an independent contractor, prospecting and surveying at his own pace. As for his past, thats not up for discussion.
-
-
Short, sweet, and satisfying storytelling.
- By Samuel Montgomery-Blinn on 05-11-11
By: John Scalzi
-
The Worldship Humility
- By: R. R. Haywood
- Narrated by: Colin Morgan
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s been 120 years since the 50 or so worldships containing the few million survivors of the human species set off after the planet Earth was destroyed by a meteor. On the Worldship Humility, Sam, a 30-year-old Airlock Operative, is bored. Living in space should be exciting and full of adventure, except it isn’t, and he fills his time hacking 3-D movie posters and holographic adverts outside the stores in the retail zone. Petty thief Yasmine Emile Dufont is also from the WS Humility, but she is not bored....
-
-
Haywood has the most enjoyable characters.
- By TK2.0 on 02-16-19
By: R. R. Haywood
-
Heaven's River
- Bobiverse, Book 4
- By: Dennis E. Taylor
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Civil war looms in the Bobiverse in this brand-new, epic-length adventure by Audible number one best seller Dennis E. Taylor. More than a hundred years ago, Bender set out for the stars and was never heard from again. There has been no trace of him despite numerous searches by his clone-mates. Now Bob is determined to organize an expedition to learn Bender’s fate - whatever the cost. But nothing is ever simple in the Bobiverse. Bob’s descendants are out to the 24th generation now, and replicative drift has produced individuals who can barely be considered Bobs anymore.
-
-
BOB-tastic!!! 🛸
- By C. White on 09-24-20
By: Dennis E. Taylor
-
Head On (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hilketa is a frenetic and violent pastime where players attack each other with swords and hammers. The main goal of the game: obtain your opponent's head and carry it through the goalposts. With flesh and bone bodies, a sport like this would be impossible. But all the players are "threeps", robot-like bodies controlled by people with Haden's Syndrome, so anything goes. No one gets hurt, but the brutality is real, and the crowds love it. Until a star athlete drops dead on the playing field.
-
-
Disappointing sequel
- By The Office Troll on 03-25-19
By: John Scalzi
-
Ancient Among Us
- Battle for Forever, Book 2
- By: Edward Savio
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander X and his friends have had stadiums collapse on them and ancient teachers follow them; they have driven cars through buildings and had entire streets blown up around them. They've been chased, beaten, drugged, and nearly sliced in two by falling sheets of glass. And that...was just on Saturday. Now, they must do whatever it takes to escape Elam Khai and flee the country.
-
-
No Spoilers, but Wow!!
- By Schmeegle The Book Nerd on 07-31-19
By: Edward Savio
-
The President's Brain Is Missing
- A Tor.Com Original
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The question is, how can you tell the President's brain is missing? And are we sure we need it back?
-
-
Not my cup of tea (Kelly SAID)
- By Kelly A McDermott on 09-15-19
By: John Scalzi
-
Lock In (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever, and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.
-
-
Fun! Things you might want to know:
- By Alexis on 08-29-14
By: John Scalzi
Publisher's Summary
This provocative sequel to the Hugo and Audie Award nominated METAtropolis features interconnected stories by today’s top writers of speculative fiction – performed by a galaxy of Star Trek stars.
As the mid-20th century approaches, the Pacific Northwest has been transformed - politically, economically, and ecologically - into the new reality of Cascadia. Conspiracies and secrets threaten the tenuous threads of society. The End of Days seems nearer than ever. And the legend of the mysterious Tygre Tygre looms large.
METAtropolis: Cascadia is the creation of Hugo and World Fantasy Award nominee Jay Lake; Mary Robinette Kowal, winner of the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer; New York Times best-selling author Tobias S. Buckell; Hugo Award winner Elizabeth Bear; Aurora Award winner Karl Schroeder; and critically acclaimed author Ken Scholes. The team of narrators is any Star Trek fan’s dream: Rene Auberjonois (“Odo”); Kate Mulgrew (“Capt. Kathryn Janeway”); Wil Wheaton (“Wesley Crusher”); Gates McFadden (“Dr. Beverly Crusher”); Jonathan Frakes (“Cmdr. William Riker”); and LeVar Burton (“Geordi La Forge”). Jay Lake, who also served as Project Editor, introduces this stunning sequel, written and produced exclusively for digital audio.
Critic Reviews
- Audie Award Winner, Original Work, 2012
More from the same
What listeners say about METAtropolis: Cascadia
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- Stephen
- 11-21-10
Some good, some bad
When I saw that Audible did a follow up to the original METATropolis, I was interested to see what they had done to one of my favorite programs.
"The Bull Dancers": Extension of "Forests of the Night" the original leadoff. Pretty decent story other than the fact that it went on for much too long (3 hrs). Rene Auberjonois was decent, however most of his characters sound like Odo from Star Trek.
"Water to Wine": A wonderful tale that fits well in the Cascadia cycle. Definiteley a good choice of narrator
"Byways": Extension of "Stochasti-city". Didn't work as well as the other stories, but Wil Wheaton definiteley got the same rhythm/pacing that the original had.
"Confessor": Right length, however all the characters (male and female) all sounded the same, so identifying which story line we were on is difficult.
"Deonand": The Bad of the book. While the text is spot on, Frakes is not the right person to be narrating this segment. His butchering of Gennady (pronounced Go-Knot-ee) Malianov is so disjointed as compared to "To Hie from Far Cilenia"
In short I can tell which narrators had gone over the previous work (if there was one) and which did not. Audible, If you care about this book and the series please bring Stefan Rudniki in and re-record Deonand.
48 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Julie W. Capell
- 03-10-14
Outstanding narration carries the day here
This is the second anthology in a series that began with METAtropolis: the Dawn of Uncivilization. This collection riffs off the first story in that anthology, taking place in a transnational entity that includes the geographical areas formerly known as British Columbia, Washington and Orgeon states. The stories are set around the year 2070 in post-industrial, post-capitalist, post-national world and are all read by actors from various incarnations of Star Trek.
The first story, written by Jay Lake and read by Rene Auberjonois (immediately recognizable as Odo from Deep Space Nine) details a very old, very rich man’s final days as he searches for the answers to an event that occurred forty years earlier. I really enjoyed this story and the chance to revisit some of the characters from the original METAtropolis.
The second story was written by Mary Robinette Kowal and narrated by Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway of Voyager). This was probably my least favorite of all the stories so far. It was mostly a love letter to the art of wine making that could have been set in any era and lacked a clear connection to the rest of the stories in these anthologies. For instance, as soon as I realized it was going to be about wine, I anticipated an explanation of a concept that has come up in a few of the other stories, where instead of money, some people have currency called ”winos.” But the term never even gets mentioned in this story . . . did Ms. Kowal miss the world-building sessions??
The third story was written by Tobias S. Buckell and read by Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher of The Next Generation). The setting for this story presented another cool idea that was new to me. The main character is part of a crew whose job it is to de-construct expressways and empty suburban housing tracts. Having grown up in one of these anonymous suburbs (and escaped as soon as I could to a densely populated downtown neighborhood) I have to admit that I loved the scenes where the bulldozers crashed through the paperboard houses. If that’s not a big enough hint, other parts of the narrative extoll the virtues of cities, such as that more patents are produced by city-dwellers and city dwellers use less energy, particularly if you can figure out a way to grow food nearby. Like the stories in the first METAtropolis, this one has an extremely positive view of the future of cities, which is not all that common in post-apocalyptic literature.
The next story was by Elizabeth Bear and read by Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher in The Next Generation). This is a bit of a more conventional scifi story involving genetic engineering, combined with a murder mystery plot. The twist at the end is foreshadowed pretty heavily and so was really no shock.
Karl Schroeder once again takes the prize for most cool ideas in one story with his entry here, read by Jonathan Frakes (Comander Riker of The Next Generation). It begins with the protagonist wearing something like Google Glasses. Since he is a visitor to Cascadia without proper paperwork, he is mandated to wear them whenever he is out in public, and the glasses are programmed by the authorities to restrict what he sees. It’s a frightening vision of how state censorship could be implemented on a person-by-person basis in the future, just by using technology. And that’s just a side thought. The overall plot asks how will we recognize when computers and machines become self-aware, and mixes in questions about the rights of corporations . . . and others . . . to be treated as individuals in certain situations. It’s a complex plot that only a master like Schroeder can pull off.
The final story in this collection was by Ken Scholes and narrated by LeVar Burton (Geordi LaForge of The Next Generation). This one takes on home-grown terrorism, religious fanatics, and questions of faith in a post-apocalyptic era. A mediocre story that was significantly uplifted by Burton’s fantastic reading.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Issy
- 11-24-11
Another great Metatropolis Series
After hooked on the first series of Metatropolis, I had to also listen to the sequence. It's great to catch up with some of the characters from the initial series and to see how things developed. Each story is brilliant, filled with many inventive details, that are scarily likely to develop at the same time. Metatropolis Cascadia plays entirely in the USA/Canadian area, it would be interesting to read Metatropolis stories from other parts of the world.
13 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Tony Loman
- 12-23-10
Science fiction for thinkers
This is an exceptionally good book of speculative fiction. What a relief from ridiculous vampire novels and vapid space operas. The book builds on the first volume and the stories are all as good and most are better. Like good speculative fiction they are not predictions of the future but vehicles for looking at current issues--ecological breakdown, privatized military and law enforcement, genetic experimentation, adding intelligence to formerly unintelligent things, and many other ideas. And they are great stories by some of the best new scifi writers. And I thought the reading was superb. On the contrary, actors often make the best readers. Next task for me is to see what else each these authors have written.
18 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lisa
- 03-28-14
Excellent - one of the recent best!
I held off on this series for a long time because of the not so stellar reviews. I am quite perplexed now. Not only was this very refreshing from just the style point of view, each story was excellent and each reader did a superb reading. All I can think of that some of the people that bought this expected shoot-em-up vapid adventure/action stories.
These stories are very like both the old and new Star Trek series - they make you think about ethics and morals.
Unlike many other stories, both long and short, I was interested in what the future held for our characters.
This was very interesting, refreshing and even suspenseful. I'm going to go and the the first book now.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joey
- 09-17-12
One of the first books I ever listened to
I've now been through this title twice - it was just as good the second time around as it was the first. Its a wonderful read - a future that could happen and who knows, might. I like the collaborative style that the different short stories bring and well, the reading talent, amazing. If I could suggest two titles that every audio book nut should read - METAtropolis and METAtropolis: Cascadia are the two!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chris
- 10-23-13
a little dissapointing
Having enjoyed the concept of the first Metatropolis, I was excited to listen to this one. I was hoping for more of what made the first so good. The creativity of the first collaboration just wasn't here. These stories aren't quite as strong but rely on the inclusion of characters from the first to maintain the readers interest.
A good choice if you wondered what happened to a character. Most of the readers are mediocre and tend to act more than narrate.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- R. J. Monts
- 10-08-11
Good collection with an exception
This is a good collection of stories with a cohesive arc. The stories are interesting and held my attention, but some of the stories were less than subtle and a little heavy handed. In particular the final story that deals with a preacher replacing his faith in a divine plan with a faith in humanity. I cannot fault the author too much, characters in short stories are often 2 dimensional out of necessity, but some of the characterizations are a bit too easy. Other than that, I enjoyed this story and the performance of the Star Trek actors was thoroughly professional. Some of the best readings I have heard on audible are in this collection.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Terry_Pat
- 05-15-11
Excellent sequel to METAtropolis
Even tho' a Sci-Fi fan, I had found METAtropolis disjointed, difficult to follow, and had to listen to the story 2x to establish a foothold on what Jay Lake was trying to accomplish. NOT SO with Cascadia.
I found Cascadia entertaining, easy to follow (with the exception of Bull Dancers), most of the narration well done, even tho' for some of the narrators this is not a primary occupation, but most of all, the characters thoroughly engaging, realistic, so much so that I sort of hated to see some of the short stories stop. There was good interplay between the stories, but not so obvious that it felt like one long novel. It seemed clear that the authors had worked well together, with Jay Lake accomplishing some good coordination. It also takes place primarily in the geographic area where I live. .
I heartily recommend the book to any Sci-Fi fan; it will probably appeal to most people interested in our country's future.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rebecca
- 10-03-13
Great compilation and follow up!
Where does METAtropolis: Cascadia rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I've enjoyed mostly all of my audiobooks, but this one is near the top.
What did you like best about this story?
The authors came back and followed up on loose ends from the last book that made me so happy. I like how they all can focus on the events going on in the Cascadia area and have linked everything. I can't wait until the next book comes out later this month!
Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?
I was also pleasantly surprised by the cast of readers being I listen to books on my commute to work. LeVar Burton brought be back to my childhood sitting in front of the tv watching Reading Rainbow. I loved watching him read to me! But I also recognized Jonathan Flakes which brought me back to Star Trek when my parents watched it. And I investigated and realized all of the readers for these 6 short stories were from that show. Great choices.
Any additional comments?
All I have to say is WOW! I was drawn to the first METAtropolis because I am a writer and I appreciate several writers coming together to create the world and then branch off to create the characters. I was a bit skeptical and not sure about how I felt about some of those stories. But they are doing a great job at keeping consistency with quality.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall

- Mr. C. I. Siddall
- 04-13-13
Futures to aim for rather than avoid
Take the finest organic creative talents, stew them over an apocalyptic dystopia, then carefully refine and mature in optimism. Stir in a balanced amount of green and blue sky thinking. And you'll have Metatropolis: Cascadia.
As the follow-up to the original Metatropolis it benefits from the lessons learned there. A tighter geographical focus and a shared backstory that ties in several pieces.
A capable crew of narrators; all of whom are Star Trek alumni, adds a little more geek credibility to garnish the dish. And the duties are ably handled. There is one common ingredient to the stories and it's a rare one. Hope. In sci-fi there's a lot of endless boots stamping on faces that the protagonists have to fight; here that boot has landed, moved on and this is what happens afterwards. Quite a while afterwards.
This means some of you are going to hate it. That's okay. The two key pieces for me are The Bull Dancers by Jay Lake which ties into the backstory more so than the others. And the fascinating Water Into Wine by Mary Robinette Kowal. Don't let anyone tell you that Viniculture isn't fertile ground for speculative writing.
Overall a fine body of work and one which I hope will bear further fruit.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Hoerbuch-fan
- 03-31-11
Lots of SciFi goodness
I thought it would be impossible to top the original Metatropolis, but Cascadia does it - in spades. There is a greater unity to the stories - all set in a plausible near-future in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. Jay Lake's opening story and Ken Scholes' closing story are especially connected, and provide perfect bookends. The added bonus is terrific narration by some of the most memorable actors of the Star Trek franchise. It would be hard for me to pick a favorite, but you can't go wrong with the likes of LeVar Burton, Kate Mulgrew or Wil Wheaton. A great listen all around!
3 people found this helpful