A teen named Halloween awakes from a nightmare convinced someone's out to kill him. Or was it only a virtual nightmare? For that matter, is HE real? In this dystopian future nothing is certain except that our hero is in mortal danger. He must save not only himself, but the entire human race. The lad himself tells the tale in this rousing sci-fi thriller, which is interrupted occasionally by virtual warnings from a cyborg voice (impersonated by Beth McDonald and aided by clever editing). As Halloween, Clayton Barclay Jones sounds appropriately young. Unfortunately, he also sounds inexperienced. After an energetic opening, he soon disengages from his text, which he merely recites with less technique than the material demands. Y.R.
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2003
Duration: 8 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: HighBridge 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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