Narrator Ray Sawyer rolls with an eclectic and disparate group of characters who are trying to sort out an intergalactic threat to Earth, providing them with inventive voices and accents. Music from Earth is annoying inhabitants of the planet Ostar so much that they decide to investigate Earth’s defenses in anticipation of blowing it up to make the music stop. Sawyer has fun with the irony and the tongue-in-cheek wordplay between the characters, who range from animals (real and possibly imaginary) to humans and to artificial intelligence that doesn’t know its place. Sawyer keeps the absurdity of the plot under control and delivers a narration that is well paced, lighthearted, and appealing.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2010
Duration: 14 hrs, 45 mins
Publisher: ISIS Audio Books
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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