Doctorow examines the same types of intellectual property and technology issues that he explores in his popular blog, BoingBoing. This downbeat novel recounts the odyssey of two entrepreneurs who simply want to make cool stuff who are brought down by a stagnant corporate culture that sees their innovations as threats. Bernadette Dunne narrates with vigor, focus, and compassion. But she makes a bobble at the outset that geeks will find jarring, incorrectly pronouncing the word "Linux.” Despite Doctorow's emotionally involving characters and apt extrapolations of contemporary trends, one can never fully overlook the book’s tone of didacticism, which is a bit tough to take for 18+ hours.
Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2009
Duration: 18 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Multiple award winner Card is one of the greatest practitioners of science fiction; here he delivers a history fantasy of the Wabash Valley circa 1800, a world of hexes and folk magic. This is the first book about Alvin Maker, the seventh son of a seventh son, who has remarkable psychic powers. Card is a very good narrator, expressive and well paced. One can hear the excitement of an author as he brings his own well described characters to life. There is one momentary technical glitch, the only slip up in an exemplary presentation. Highly recommended for fiction collections everywhere.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 7 hrs
Publisher: The Literate Ear
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Asimov's sweeping tale of the disintegration and fall of the Galactic Empire has never been more relevant or poignant. In the third book of the original trilogy, Dan Lazar handles the material adequately. He uses his limited range of voices nicely, if sometimes amusingly--he sometimes sounds like a foreigner attempting to mimic American accents. Varying pitch and pacing make for a lively narration, and his reading of a precocious young woman, who is ultimately an important figure, is delightful. Technical and editorial problems plague the title. Hearing Lazar repeatedly mispronounce a word that the text itself explains how to pronounce is very frustrating. Intermittent fade-outs on one channel; inconsistencies when switching sides; and low, rumbling background noise mar the sound quality.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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