Nneka Okoye narrates a melancholy character study focused on six teenage astronauts who journey to another planet. Earth is dying, and England's advanced space agency sends a team to a nearby hospitable planet. The journey will take more than 20 years and is recounted through the viewpoints of the specially trained teenagers. Okoye's youthful delivery of narrative and distinct voice for each character mesh beautifully with the slow-building drama. She shifts between disparate accents with aplomb while maintaining emotional cadences suited to each person. The story lags a bit in the middle and shifts tone in an abrupt fashion near the end, but Okoye's emotive and focused narration keeps the listening experience even, engaging, and engrossing.
Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2019
Duration: 14 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781471180767
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio UK
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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