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  • Earthside

  • Quantum Earth, Book 2
  • Written by: Dennis E. Taylor
  • Narrated by: Ray Porter
  • Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (268 ratings)

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Earthside

Written by: Dennis E. Taylor
Narrated by: Ray Porter
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Publisher's Summary

The fate of mankind is in the hands of a group of 20-something science nerds in the sequel to Outland, by the Audible #1 best-selling author of the “Bobiverse” series.

The Yellowstone super-eruption has put an end to modern civilization. As cities and countries continue to fall, the colony of Rivendell in the alternate Earth known as Outland looks more and more like the only real hope for humanity. But life in Rivendell isn’t getting any simpler, either. Bill and Kevin continue to discover new worlds; the population continues to rise; winter is approaching; and everyone has their own opinion about how things should be run.

Then, a garbled plea for help from Omaha sends most of the security forces back Earthside to investigate, leaving Monica’s police force understaffed just as a large group of refugees arrive with its own ideas and power structure. With threats from both inside and outside, will the colony even survive until spring?

©2023 Dennis E. Taylor (P)2022 Audible Originals, LLC.

What listeners say about Earthside

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

I wanted to like this.

I was soooo looking forward to this book and purchased it as soon as it came available. It unfortunately got lost in all the politics and what seemed like re hashing the same problems. I am a huge fan of Dennis E Taylor and his books but this was a "just an OK' experience for me at best. We have a portal to multiple different earths but instead of exploring we spend time on politics and in fighting. If wanted that I would just watch the news. Ray Porter is, as always, an amazing narrator but when this book ended it didn't leave me wanting or wishing for the next book to come out in this series.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

WOW

Great Listen!! I listened to both books in 3 days. Ray Porter is an amazing narrator!! Keep them coming Dennis!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Nazi's...Really?

Really enjoyed the first book, but this one left me a bit cold at the end. As a "Gerry" I was put off that the folks of Ashland would all be reactionary and not impressed by the abilities of the nerds. Not everyone over the age of 50 it totally blind to the abilities of youths.
Then there was Nazi earth. Like for crying out loud can you be a little more original? The Nazi's had zero chance of conquering the world, let alone North America. The key to world dominance is Sea Power, which the Nazi's had very little of. How about an alternate earth where the American Revolution doesn't take place or is defeated. Or that Louisiana (the Mississippi Watershed) remains French or Spanish and becomes its own country with that heritage? Indigenous earth? Why assume that the indigenous of 2020's aren't far more developed that what was portrayed.
Hopefully the author develops the stories on the other earths.

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Not good

First book was great, i wouldn’t recommend this one. I couldnt get myself to finishing it

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Major plot issues

I wanted to enjoy this book after listening to the Bobiverse series.

In the Bobiverse, the technological breakthroughs are completely believable because they can be attributed to the technical background of Robert/story being set centuries in the future/Bobs effectively being sentient machines operating at incredible speeds.

In the Quantum Earth series, it is really hard to believe that a bunch of teenagers have so much self-organization, emotional maturity, and a plan for everything that the universe throws at them. Sorry, I just couldn’t listen after a while since the plot reads like a superhero novel.

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2 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Disappointing

Despite excellent narration by RC Bray the story is tedious and laboured. Just not in the same league as the Bobiverse series.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Very disappointing but not horrible

This is the best performance by Ray Porter, he gets better each time I listen to him. Unfortunately, quite the opposite trend that Dennis Taylor is taking. I loved the Bob series until the fourth book, which is similar to this book with how it drags on without building up to anything exciting.

This review from another reader sums it up. :

Typical Taylor, nerds once again save the world with high tech. This time not only one nerd (plus copies) but half the university. And how they organize themselves and try to maintain a democracy in a catastrophe situation is about 90% of the book. As in all other Taylor stories, young science nerds are simply the cream of society, military - as long as it serves the nerds - also gets off quite well. The rest of society ... not so much. It gets neatly stereotyped like big and strong = bully; mental disorder = serial killer; older folks = ruthless powermongers and egotistical hangers-on or worse. Politicians, lawyers, etc. = boo.

Brief spoiler, in the story the technology exists to visit Earth in different timelines, so there are very different versions of Earth. This makes for a variety of ways to write an interesting story. What does Taylor do with it? He wastes most of the book on the difficulties of reestablishing or maintaining a democracy. So we're talking about political currents and elections, etc. This is not only absurd and incredibly boring, it also wastes the enormous multi-earth potential, which is only marginally used.

Somehow, after the second Outland book, I'm left with a bland taste, and I now view all of Taylor's other books with some skepticism. He propagates a very techno-elitist worldview. In the midst of a catastrophe, little attention is paid to the inconceivable suffering, especially of the bereaved and survivors, the only important thing is where we get fresh coffee.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Half baked

Own all of his books and for the most part have heartily enjoyed them EXCEPT for this one.

Unlikeable characters - especially Monica.
Convoluted plot that rarely goes anywhere while attempting to go everywhere.
Should have been MUCH longer or the spurious/undeveloped plots culled.
Felt unpolished - like something that needed more time in the oven before serving.
Lots of politics and most of it unwelcome in the context & spirit of the novel.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Uninspiring

Not a lot of thought, or progression of the story in this one. Disappointing with the potential this idea has

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing Follow-up!

It's rare for a post apocalyptic book to trump it's originator but this one does.

can't wait for part 3

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