Favorite Science Fiction Stories, Volume 1

By: Philip K. Dick, Robert Silverberg, Fritz Leiber, Kurt Vonnegut, Marion Zimmer-Bradley

Narrated by: Jim Roberts, Ben Hurst, Cindy Hardin Killavey

Length: 15 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

This first volume of Favorite Science Fiction Stories features "the best of the best" from the Golden Age of science fiction. It includes 21 stories by, among others, Andre Norton, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Robert Silverberg, Stanley G. Weinbaum, Philip K. Dick, Edmond Hamilton, Jack Williamson, Alan Edward Nourse, Fritz Leiber, Frederik Pohl, Fredric Brown, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., and others. This is a must listen for sci-fi buffs and anyone who likes a well written and imaginative story.

Public Domain (P)2009 Jimcin Recordings

Jim Roberts Fails Emotion Test

I was distracted from many of the stories he read by Jim Roberts' flat, didactic reading. He should read scientific or documentary books. Oh, and the word is pronounced "roo-in" not "roon."

Some good stories

Its all a matter of taste. I love short stories, SF and older ones too. But there are other collections that overall I enjoyed much more. None of them were bad or poor. The narrators were very good and understandable.

Worst. Naration. Ever.

Otherwise entertaining classic SF stories by great authors are ruined by bad narrators. I'd like to see this compilation re-done by a competent producer who knows how choose decent narration talent...

not bad but lacks proper chaptering.

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Ok for a straight listen. Bad if you want to select an author and listen to those stories in your own order.

Any additional comments?

Needs to be broken into the separate stories to ease navigation.

I don't usually do this

but to keep others from making the mistake of buying this. The narration is horrible. Its so bad as to kill the otherwise excellent stories. The is nothing good to say about it. Avoid!

Shabby prodution - so-so stories - otherwise awful

This collection sounds like it was recorded in my neighbor's garage and narrated by my neighbors. Or maybe what my high school's electronics club and drama club could put together. Who did the quality control on this project?

Every so often, Audible.com peddles this level of material. Hopefully, potential buyers would read the reviews. I did not because I built up such confidence in other, greater scifi collections offered here. My mistake.

The audio is sub-par -- must be related to the acoustics in my neighbor's garage: sound reflecting off the lawn mower, sacks of fertilizer, and trash cans.

The performances give me the creeps. All of the readers are obviously focused on trying to get it right or just get through it, rather than immersion into the story. Listen to readings by Stefan Rudnicki or Gabrielle de Cuir as contrast.

I guess some of the stories are OK. Unfortunately, even if they were great works, the other distractions of sound and reading prevent a good analysis.

awful, simply awful

The stories are lame, pretty well all of them. There are some great classic sf yarns, however they are not to be found in this collection.

Narrators made this painful

The narrators made this painful to get through. If I was reading it I would have probably enjoyed it but these narrators made this difficult.

half a level above complete boredom

I downloaded this for a 17-hour drive. I was hoping to be mildly entertained, at least enough to stay awake, but all but one or two of these stories pretty much put me to sleep. Maybe sci-fi just doesn't translate well to audiobook, but I can't believe these banal stories actually got published.

Overall disappointing

What would have made Favorite Science Fiction Stories, Volume 1 better?

Perhaps the stories were just too dated? Certainly better narration would have been a significant improvement. I'm not a science fiction aficionado, but I do enjoy good science fiction, such as Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clark, some of Alastair Reynolds and especially John Scalzi. And I really like Philip K. Dick, especially when he is messing with our minds about what is real and what is not.

What could the authors have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

It's not necessarily the authors but the editors. Not sure who really thought these were favorite stories. Whose favorites were they? Maybe my idea of good science fiction is not the same as the editors in whatever year they made the selection.

What didn’t you like about the narrators’s performance?

The narration was terrible. The primary narrator was the definition of one-dimensional. He didn't even make an effort to have the characters sound different or distinctive. I had difficulty following who was talking during conversations.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not really. While there were a couple of stories that the listener can become invested in, overall they seemed unimaginative or predictable.

Any additional comments?

Maybe a short story format is just not for me in audible format.