by Orson Scott Card ; read by Stefan Rudnicki , Scott Brick , Christopher Cazenove , Gabrielle De Cuir , Arte Johnson , Moira Quirk & Orson Scott Card ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2009
Stefan Rudnicki is the guiding force behind this intriguing novel, which involves alternative history and time travel. His deep voice and measured pace lend the sense of dignity and realism needed to sustain the book’s high-concept plot: an attempt to change the devastating effects that Columbus had on natives of the Americas. The paradoxes of causality are also discussed for science fiction fans who require scientific plausibility in order to suspend disbelief. Scott Brick, Gabrielle de Cuir, and Moira Quirk utilize their talents well in voicing the Spanish explorers and the native leaders they influence prior to Cristoforo Colombo's landing. Together, the narrators bring all these characters alive.
Pub Date: April 1, 2009
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
by Alice Hoffman ; read by Mena Suvari ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 8, 2026
Suvari’s strong performance commits to the drama, increasing the stakes of a plot that has more atmospherics than...
This audiobook’s plot satisfyingly deploys familiar motifs of retro New England academia and of witchery as metaphor for the stigmatization of women’s power. Ava and Lauren, in their first year at the elite women’s Radcliffe College in the 1950s, are recruited into the secret Lilith Society of witches. When Mena Suvari is portraying adult Ava and Lauren and their Radcliffe milieu, her narration is delivered as seriously as the women take themselves, in defiance of a sexist era that belittles them. Memories of Ava’s childhood in small-town Maine sound guileless and open, bright with the child’s sparkling potential and curiosity, even as her family cruelly attempts to suppress her magical destiny.
Suvari’s strong performance commits to the drama, increasing the stakes of a plot that has more atmospherics than action.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
Duration: 12 hrs, 50 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668117026
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Sept. 8, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2026
by Mai Mochizuki ; translated by Jordan Taylor ; read by Susan Momoko Hingley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 25, 2026
There’s sweet magic in this comforting tale of a coffee shop run by insightful cats.
Susan Momoko Hingley’s gentle performance suits the themes of introspection and healing as three people confront change and seek their authentic selves. Satsuki, a young actress, almost lost her career after an affair with a married man. Her mother, Fujiko, has also lived outside societal norms as a single mother. Fujiko’s childhood friend and one-time romantic interest, Wataru, is grappling with his own struggles. Though the characters’ voices are not always distinct, Hingley brings sensitivity and emotion to her performance, including her portrayals of the quirky and endearing cats whose astrological interpretations guide the cafe’s customers toward greater self-understanding.
There’s sweet magic in this comforting tale of a coffee shop run by insightful cats.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
Duration: 4 hrs, 34 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217404551
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2026
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