Classic science fiction writer Philip K. Dick became a legendary writer because of visionary ideas that broke genre boundaries and offered fresh new stories of bleak and harrowing futures. This story is the one that put him on the map, as Dick paints a bleak portrait of a post-World War II America that is jointly occupied by Nazi Germany and Japan. The very notion is downright scary, and narrator Tom Weiner delivers a classic performance that captures the Orwellian atmosphere that abounds in this tale while giving a nod to radio announcers from the 1940s. His voice is somewhat robotic and rigid, but it serves the plot all the more as his characters are incredibly rich and perfectly realized. One of the best and most complex readings this year!
Pub Date: 2008
Duration: 8 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
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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