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All Systems Red
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 3 hrs and 17 mins
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The Calculating Stars
- A Lady Astronaut Novel
- Written by: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the East Coast of the US, including Washington, DC. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the Earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space and requires a much-larger share of humanity to take part in the process. Elma York’s drive to become the first lady astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.
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disappointing!
- By Babak on 2019-09-08
Written by: Mary Robinette Kowal
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The Cloud Roads
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Moon has spent his life hiding what he is - a shape-shifter able to transform himself into a winged creature of flight. An orphan with only vague memories of his own kind, Moon tries to fit in among the tribes of his river valley, with mixed success. Just as Moon is once again cast out by his adopted tribe, he discovers a shape-shifter like himself... someone who seems to know exactly what he is, who promises that Moon will be welcomed into his community.
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Awful. I wonder if this book is the same one....
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Written by: Martha Wells
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We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
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There's a reason We Are Legion was named Audible's Best Science Fiction Book of 2016: Its irresistibly irreverent wit! Bob Johansson has just sold his software company for a small fortune and is looking forward to a life of leisure. The first item on his to-do list: Spending his newfound windfall. On an urge to splurge, he signs up to have his head cryogenically preserved in case of death. Then he gets himself killed crossing the street. Waking up 117 years later, Bob discovers his mind has been uploaded into a sentient space probe with the ability to replicate itself.
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Didn't think I'd like it, but I loved it
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Gideon the Ninth
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Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap out of the audio, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy. Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse.
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Friggin' brilliant
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Redshirts
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Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the facts that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces; (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations; and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.
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Stars can’t do it justice
- By Anonymous User on 2018-09-14
Written by: John Scalzi
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A Wizard of Earthsea
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When Sparrowhawk casts a spell that saves his village from destruction at the hands of the invading Kargs, Ogion, the Mage of Re Albi, encourages the boy to apprentice himself in the art of wizardry. So, at the age of 13, the boy receives his true name - Ged - and gives himself over to the gentle tutelage of the Master Ogion. But impatient with the slowness of his studies and infatuated with glory, Ged embarks for the Island of Roke, where the highest arts of wizardry are taught.
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Wish there had been more
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Written by: Ursula K. Le Guin
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The Calculating Stars
- A Lady Astronaut Novel
- Written by: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the East Coast of the US, including Washington, DC. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the Earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space and requires a much-larger share of humanity to take part in the process. Elma York’s drive to become the first lady astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.
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disappointing!
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Written by: Mary Robinette Kowal
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The Cloud Roads
- Written by: Martha Wells
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Overall
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Performance
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Moon has spent his life hiding what he is - a shape-shifter able to transform himself into a winged creature of flight. An orphan with only vague memories of his own kind, Moon tries to fit in among the tribes of his river valley, with mixed success. Just as Moon is once again cast out by his adopted tribe, he discovers a shape-shifter like himself... someone who seems to know exactly what he is, who promises that Moon will be welcomed into his community.
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Awful. I wonder if this book is the same one....
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Written by: Martha Wells
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We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
- Bobiverse, Book 1
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There's a reason We Are Legion was named Audible's Best Science Fiction Book of 2016: Its irresistibly irreverent wit! Bob Johansson has just sold his software company for a small fortune and is looking forward to a life of leisure. The first item on his to-do list: Spending his newfound windfall. On an urge to splurge, he signs up to have his head cryogenically preserved in case of death. Then he gets himself killed crossing the street. Waking up 117 years later, Bob discovers his mind has been uploaded into a sentient space probe with the ability to replicate itself.
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Didn't think I'd like it, but I loved it
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Written by: Dennis E. Taylor
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Gideon the Ninth
- Written by: Tamsyn Muir
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Overall
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Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap out of the audio, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy. Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse.
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Friggin' brilliant
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Redshirts
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Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the facts that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces; (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations; and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.
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Stars can’t do it justice
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Written by: John Scalzi
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A Wizard of Earthsea
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When Sparrowhawk casts a spell that saves his village from destruction at the hands of the invading Kargs, Ogion, the Mage of Re Albi, encourages the boy to apprentice himself in the art of wizardry. So, at the age of 13, the boy receives his true name - Ged - and gives himself over to the gentle tutelage of the Master Ogion. But impatient with the slowness of his studies and infatuated with glory, Ged embarks for the Island of Roke, where the highest arts of wizardry are taught.
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Wish there had been more
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Written by: Ursula K. Le Guin
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A Psalm for the Wild-Built
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It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.
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A warm and cozy read
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A Dead Djinn in Cairo
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Egypt, 1912. In an alternate Cairo infused with the otherworldly, the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities investigate disturbances between the mortal and the (possibly) divine. What starts off as an odd suicide case for Special Investigator Fatma el-Sha’arawi leads her through the city’s underbelly as she encounters rampaging ghouls, saucy assassins, clockwork angels, and plot that could unravel time itself, in P. Djèlí Clark's Tor.Com Original, A Dead Djinn in Cairo.
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Refreshing and marvelous fantasy setting
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The Kaiju Preservation Society
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When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food-delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization”. Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on. What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at at least. In an alternate dimension, dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world.
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Strong Sunday School energy.
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Children of Time
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Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden.
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SF masterwork in the style of Brin or Vinge
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Written by: Adrian Tchaikovsky
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Infinite
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The Galahad, a faster-than-light spacecraft, carries 50 scientists and engineers on a mission to prepare Kepler 452b, Earth's nearest habitable neighbor at 1400 light years away. With Earth no longer habitable and the Mars colony slowly failing, they are humanity's best hope. After 10 years in a failed cryogenic bed - body asleep, mind awake - William Chanokh's torture comes to an end as the fog clears, the hatch opens, and his friend and fellow hacker, Tom, greets him...by stabbing a screwdriver into his heart. This is the first time William dies.
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Excellent Excellent Excellent
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Outland
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- Original Recording
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When an experiment to study quantum uncertainty goes spectacularly wrong, physics student Bill Rustad and his friends find that they have accidentally created an inter-dimensional portal. They connect to Outland - an alternate Earth with identical geology, but where humans never evolved. The group races to establish control of the portal before the government, the military, or evildoers can take it away. Then everything changes when the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts in an explosion large enough to destroy civilization and kill half the planet.
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Excellent!
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Written by: Dennis E. Taylor
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Witch King
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- Unabridged
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After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well. But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence?
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Interesting world, could lose the flashbacks tho
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Written by: Martha Wells
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Hyperion
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On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.
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Simmons is a complete hack
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Written by: Dan Simmons
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The Singularity Trap
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Dennis E. Taylor, author of the best-selling Bobiverse trilogy, explores a whole different, darker world in this sci-fi stand-alone. Determined to give his wife and children a better life back home, Ivan Pritchard ventures to the edge of known space to join the crew of the Mad Astra as an asteroid miner. He's prepared for hard work and loneliness—but not the unthinkable. After coming into contact with a mysterious alien substance, Pritchard finds an unwelcome entity sharing his mind, and a disturbing physical transformation taking place.
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Ray Porter is quickly becoming a favourite.
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Written by: Dennis E. Taylor
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The Forever War
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- Unabridged
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William Mandella is a soldier in Earth's elite brigade. As the war against the Taurans sends him from galaxy to galaxy, he learns to use protective body shells and sophisticated weapons. He adapts to the cultures and terrains of distant outposts. But with each month in space, years are passing on Earth. Where will he call home when (and if) the Forever War ends?
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Definitely your grandfathers sci-fi novel
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Written by: Joe Haldeman
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Annihilation
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- Unabridged
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Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. This is the 12th expedition, and their group is made up of four women. Part of their mission is to map the terrain and collect specimens, and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself. They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers, but it's the surprises that came across the border with them, and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another, that change everything.
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3.5 stars
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Written by: Jeff VanderMeer
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Shards of Earth
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- Unabridged
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Idris has neither aged nor slept since they remade his mind in the war. And one of humanity’s heroes now scrapes by on a freelance salvage vessel, to avoid the attention of greater powers. Eighty years ago, Earth was destroyed by an alien enemy. Many escaped, but millions more died. So mankind created enhanced humans such as Idris - who could communicate mind-to-mind with our aggressors. Then these ‘Architects’ simply disappeared, and Idris and his kind became obsolete.
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Amazing but not for the uninitiated
- By Jonathan Alexiou on 2022-01-27
Written by: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Publisher's Summary
All Systems Red is the tense first science fiction adventure novella in Martha Wells' series The Murderbot Diaries. For fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or Iain M. Banks' Culture novels.
All Systems Red tackles questions of the ethics of sentient robotics. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self-discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans.
In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.
But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn't a primary concern.
On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied 'droid - a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as "Murderbot."
Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is. But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.
Featured Article: 20 Best Sci-Fi Audiobooks for Exploring New Worlds
There is no genre that lends itself better to audio narrative than Science Fiction does. There is a magic that transports listeners to new worlds of wonder and mystery that is heightened by expert voice actors and narrators. A great writer can create an imaginative new world or dystopian civilisation, but it is up to the narrator to bring this world to life around you. We’ve gathered together 20 of the top science fiction audiobooks ranked not only for their stories but for the emotive and compelling narrative performances. Let these award winning tales and voices carry you away to worlds unknown.
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What listeners say about All Systems Red
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2018-12-03
NOTE This book is only 3 hours long!
The story itself is ok. Not amazing. Hugely disappointed that I used a credit on a short 3 hour disappointment.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Fraser
- 2021-11-07
Fun but far too short! Greedy author.
If it lasted 3 times longer, I would buy the next. Insufficient content for cost.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Laure & Ludovic
- 2021-02-03
I recommend to Sci-Fi loving introverts
Easy listen and very entertaining. If you’re an introvert you’ll definitely relate to Murderbot. I only wish it lasted longer.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Lindsay B.
- 2020-05-02
A series worth re-reading!
I'm not sure exactly what it is about this series, but since I initially bought and read it, I've read it again once every couple of months. It never gets stale. If anything, I pick up on many of the nuances I missed during the first pass. There is so much about this series to love, including the narration. This is my go-to book to read when life gets a little out of hand.
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1 person found this helpful
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- CC
- 2020-04-06
Murderbot is great!
This is actually my first audiobook. I enjoyed the story and I'm definitely into finishing the whole series. The narrator was pretty good too! It's entertaining and a cool story. Definitely recommend!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Dan Barcza
- 2020-03-13
Excellent story. Too short.
The author could combine the novels in this series together into one book and it would have worked well.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Taylor Dall
- 2020-02-06
wonderfully glib
Qick and easily digested. immediately started it over. if you've ever felt like the quiet one in a group with a quiet and private sense of humor this protagonist will speak to you.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Ilovenineinchnails
- 2018-09-05
Great little read :)
Pretty good narrator. Really liked the story and gonna start book 2 right away! I'm happy I came across this little story.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Marcus
- 2023-11-23
Murderous Humour
Who knew a murderbot would be so hilarious and relatable ? Not the best narration but he suits the robotic monologue.
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- Vincent Quintin
- 2023-11-22
just want give 5 star
great novella with all the right stuff. to short. great narration. recommend highly. very funny
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- Garrett Stone
- 2018-11-05
I just wish all four stories were one book...
Martha Wells tells a great story, with a fantastic protagonist that I can genuinely relate to. While many people might think of a sci fi setting and picture themselves as a dating adventure hero, I think Murderbot might be the closest thing to how I would picture myself in such a setting; uncomfortable talking to people, would rather be relaxing and enjoying books or movies than pretty much anything else, and when called upon to do battle, might just have 40-60% of my body shot off. I enjoyed every bit of the story.
The good news is that it's a short novels, so I can easily listen to it again. The bad news is that all 4 of the novellas in the series cost as much as full-length books, which means it costs 4 credits (or $ equivalent) to get as much content as you would get in 1 or 2 standard novels. That part burns a bit, but all in all, still probably worth it.
#tagsgiving #sweepstakes
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198 people found this helpful
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- Steve
- 2018-07-20
Good...but...
The story was interesting and it has a great "hook" to bring you into the story-line rather quickly, however the book falls short toward the end. Now the problem could be me...in that this appears to be an "episode" rather than an a stand alone novel. I only listen to audiobooks, so it may very well be classified as a novella or a multi-part book.
Given that it costs me 1 credit for only a little over 3 hours of listening; I don't think I will be continuing on with the other episodes. The story and performance just don't seem worth the time/money when I could spend that same credit on 11+ hours of some riveting story.
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161 people found this helpful
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- Michael - Audible Editor
- 2017-11-06
I LOVE MURDERBOT
This book was just what I needed to get my out of a recent listening rut. I had been pouring through longer literary fiction type stuff that was really heady and then I started this on a whim and it was a sheer delight.
The world-building is immaculate, the plot is solid and well-paced, but most importantly MURDERBOT. S/HE is the man. I'm assuming he's a man because of the narrator's voice, but I think he's just an asexual SEC Unit that is supposed to be a killing machine but just wants to watch movies.
So relateable. And I just really love how Martha Wells crafts the environment kind of secondarily, you don't even notice that she is describing and explaining details about the world because it all takes a back seat to Murderbot's sardonic, sarcastic observations.
I had only two issues with this story.
1. It is too short
2. The ending is abrupt! It could have been flushed out a lot more, but just kind of cut off.
Now I'm left hoping for a sequel, hopefully one that has a little more meat, because this stuff is delicious.
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128 people found this helpful
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- Elle L.F.
- 2018-10-30
This series is 12 hours for $40.
interesting book could have been flushed out a bit more. 3 hours for over $10 it was a bit ridiculous. Each book in the four-part series is 3 hours. That's $40 for 12 hours of listening. Quite expensive and frankly it feels like a gimmick or a trick. I won't buy any more until they come out in a single Book for a better price. Be warned.
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118 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 2018-08-30
Where’s the rest of the book?
This book is amazing, but it’s like the beginning of a story. This book is a novella not a novel! I know I would highly enjoy this series, but I will not be buying the next book and paying full price for a 150ish page book.
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74 people found this helpful
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- Richard Reynolds
- 2018-10-02
Three hours, really?
interesting story, but at a mere three hours long, the characters didn't get developed enough for me. Not a bad book, just a short book. To paraphrase Randy Newman, "Short novels got no reason to live"
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73 people found this helpful
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- Areader
- 2017-11-01
All Systems Red does not disappoint.
All Systems Red is the first Murderbot Diary, the adventures of a cyborg security unit who hacked its governor module, named itself “Murderbot” and promptly got addicted to streaming media.
This is its account of its adventures trying to keep a group of human scientists alive on a hostile and unknown world without them figuring out it has free will and leaving itself enough time to watch its soaps. The novella is sharp and witty, with a wry sense of humor and a sharp eye for what makes someone sentient and how freedom doesn’t always mean the same thing to different beings.
Kevin R Free as the narrator does a decent job, but somehow seems to miss the point of Murderbot. Murderbot sounds like a human in its own head, it’s a cyborg, it only pretends to be a robot for the humans. Free has it acting robotic all the time and I thought that made the wry humor a little harder to enjoy. Still it’s a great story with well-rounded characters and I recommend the print and audible versions highly.
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66 people found this helpful
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- David M
- 2018-04-14
A robot too human and humans too robotic
I rarely write a negative review. This book has earned it. The plot was uninteresting and the characters were completely undeveloped and lacking personality. The robot behaved completely human like a brooding teenager from a YA novella.
The narrator appears as uninspired as the book and lacks the energy to bring these anorexic characters to life.
The positive criticism I can provide is that I am glad it was such a short book because I was agonizingly aware of the passage of time. Very disappointed with this purchase.
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- Kevin
- 2019-08-07
Great story, but.... unabridged???
This is the first review I've ever taken the time to write. I really enjoyed this story and it has a lot of potential, but I kept checking to see if I had accidentally skipped a chapter or whether the audiobook had kept playing in the background when I wasn't listening. The catalog description claims this is an unabridged recording, but it absolutely feels like its missing pieces of the story. So now after finishing the book 1, I feel a little cheated by the author and audible. This story has really great potential, but I feel like its missing a lot of detail and I often felt like I missed the first half of the chapter. This caused confusion as my mind raced to try and fill in the gaps which only resulted in paying less attention to the narrative. I have no reason to believe this won't continue for the remaining three books. I feel as though Audible could have easily combined all
four into a single book and charged a single credit. All combined only about 12 hours of listening and this feels about right for a single credit. There are certainly many other excellent books available that are much longer than this.
Now I'm definitely unsure whether I will continue listening to the next 3 unless they are on sale for half price or less.
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- Alison
- 2018-06-08
Murderbot needs new voice
This book, when read, is lively, highly intelligent, incredibly fun read. Somehow, this narrator sucks all of that joy out of it, and his obvious struggles with the names of the other characters is an issue. There's no *life* to this character who, for all that he is indeed a robot, is incredibly alive. Deeply sarcastic, the voice in my head when I read the book is full of intelligence, deadpan line delivery, perfect timing and wit. This narrator isn't. Please, please redo this book with the narrator it deserves. Wil Wheaton? Peter Kenney? So many other choices... but this one does this story, which deserves to shine, no favors.
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- Marion Tournier
- 2018-11-15
Excellent 👌
The story is so great, and the narration just puts this to a whole new level of awesomeness. I listened to it in one setting, I was so hooked. Amazing, I'd totally recommend it to my friends.
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- Anonymous User
- 2023-04-26
Social Anxiety made interesting
Fictional material today tend to overplay the Social Anxiety card, to the point that it has become almost unbearable whenever it comes up on screen or book, and most of the time I dismiss such works of fiction because SA is more an aesthetic item than a subject that drives a narrative now.
Yet here, I enjoyed it, because finally a writer has found a nice twist to it and made it integral to a character that is relatable and full of self-reflecting qualities.
The plot was conventional yet interesting, the length was perfect and the characters were not too clichéd, the humor was good and never too much
I already downloaded the second story and looking forward to listening to it, the narrator was very good !
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- andreas
- 2023-04-03
✨ a very good start
This was very enjoyable.
It was maybe a bit short for my taste but I know I’ll get to have way more time with the main character in the next novels so I’m okay with that.
I loved the writing and the main character and I can’t wait to read more.
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- Client d'Amazon
- 2023-03-20
A well deserved price winning book serie
Smart and very well written, a very relatable murderbot in the beginning of an emotional introspection and origine quest
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- BERTRAND Benjamin
- 2023-02-05
Interesting start
Interesting start to the series. I will listen the rest asap but my only issue at the moment is how slow the narration is.
Overall it’s a decent listen ( I have read the book before ).
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