Tony Roberts has a plummy voice touched with petulance. This tone was appropriate when he played the hapless good-looking friend in early Woody Allen movies. The undertone of disappointment is also apt for this beloved first novel by Kurt Vonnegut. CAT'S CRADLE was published in 1963. The hero is named Jonah, and the news is always bad. The world doesn’t end with a bang, or a whimper. It ends with Ice Nine and a rueful chuckle. Vonnegut’s own voice—roughed by a million cigarettes—is heard in an interview tacked on at the end. “My dying words are ‘Life is no way to treat an animal,’” he said, and then he laughed. The great-hearted pessimist of American literature died in 2007 at the age of 84.
Pub Date: 2007
Duration: 7 hrs
Publisher: Harper Audio/ Caedmon
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
