Turning Orson Scott Card’s THE CALL OF EARTH into an audiobook presents a challenge to the director and the reader since Card saddled his main characters with names like General Vozmuzhalnoy Vozmozhno, Rashgallivak, and Gaballufix. But narrator Stefan Rudnicki makes it sound easy. These names just roll off his tongue. He has similar success with all the tongue-twisting names of people in this faraway world of Harmony. Rudnicki is a master of scene setting, his calm, paternal voice laying the groundwork for a story of intense passion and intrigue. This is the second book in a series. Harmony is populated by descendants of Earth and has long been protected by a god-like computer called the Oversoul. Things are fine until Vozmozhno defies “god” and conquers the female-dominated city of Basilica.
Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2008
Duration: 11 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Blackstone 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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