Anne McCaffrey’s son has written this newest book in the Dragonriders of Pern series. Danger threatens as dragons fall ill with an unknown sickness that is devastating the weirs and thus depleting Pern’s primary defense against Threadfall. The search for a cure lies in the knowledge and skill of a geneticist who was one of the original settlers over 500 years earlier and who was instrumental in the creation of the dragons and the fire lizards. Dick Hill returns to the series, and his narration is familiar and comfortable. He draws out the personalities of the characters, as well as their relationships and conflicts. Gentle reverberation is used to set apart the speech between dragon and rider. J.E.M. 2006 Audie Award Finalist © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2005
Duration: 15 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance 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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