Is Emily Janice Card's slow, measured narration a deliberate reflection of the slowing of the Earth's rotation that forms the backdrop of this novel? Card speaks even more slowly when she's portraying Real Timers, people who are trying to let their bodies’ circadian rhythms adjust to the new longer days and nights, and it's incredibly effective. The story unfurls like one endless summer day as protagonist Julia enters her own age of miracles, balancing on the cusp of young adulthood and watching her family's ordinary dramas unfolding in extraordinary times. Card's mild, young voice suits Julia, and it softens some of the horrors she and everyone else on the planet experience—mysteriously dying birds and whales, the sun's radiation let loose, a wholly uncertain future. J.M.D. 2013 Audies Winner © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: June 26, 2012
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780307970701
Publisher: Random House Audio
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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