New Reviews: Science Fiction

Tim Campbell narrates a pulse-pounding adventure featuring a tough-as-nails mercenary outfitted with cybernetic limbs and tasked with an unusual mission. Mat's arms and legs are varied military-grade weapons that make him the best soldier on the black market. His latest job promises a huge score that turns out to be a person: Silvia, a genetically engineered assassin. Campbell... Read More

Pavi Proczko narrates the continuing adventures of players trapped within an MMORPG. Hall has played Sky Realms Online since the beta, and for the last few months he's been living in that virtual world. He's even become a bit of a legend while also finding love and a home, but he's then forced to depart to find a precious resource. Proczko's crisp and clear narration imbues the... Read More

Stephanie Willis and Oliver Thorn narrate this compelling debut, a promising start to a planned series. In an alternate 2007, a document leaked by famous whistleblower Nils Ortega reveals that the U.S. government is hiding alien life on Earth. Though Nils appears only through his various correspondence, Thorn conveys his callous self-importance, which belies his outwardly... Read More

James Fouhey's outstanding narration heightens every nuance of the complicated characters and lush world-building in this queer space adventure. Orphaned by war, Ettian has built a life for himself as a military pilot when he learns that his best friend is heir to the empire that destroyed his homeworld. Then an attempted assassination causes the boys to flee on a cross-galaxy... Read More

Theo Solomon's narration is astounding in this story of a ruined future in which humanity is slowly dying and technology is viewed as magic from the past. While the audiobook is outstanding in its examination of humanity's struggle in an evolving world, it's the authenticity of Solomon's voice that makes it so emotionally compelling and deeply personal. He crafts every word... Read More

Emily Woo Zeller's clear and dramatic narration transports listeners to a world of interstellar politics and romance. Lady Catarina von Hasenberg is the youngest sibling at High House, and others overlook her--but she hides superhuman strengths. Zeller portrays Catarina's public persona as bright and bubbly, while her inner monologue reflects her intelligence and anxiety over... Read More

In Szpara's complex, engrossing novel, narrators Vikas Adam and Mark Sanderlin create utterly credible main characters. In a not-so-distant future in Maryland, children inherit the debts of their ancestors and must either go to debtors' prison or become dociles, indentured servants who perform whatever services are demanded. Alex, the CEO of Dociline, the drug that keeps... Read More

Braden Wright narrates a space opera with startling parallels to the current world situation. When an unexpected discovery brings a potentially devastating war to the Eight Worlds, the rival Landry and Peregoy regimes must decide just how far they are willing to go to protect their respective interests. Wright smoothly navigates both the sci-fi technospeak and the metaphysical... Read More

Sixteen short stories from well-known and not-so-well-known writers cover a wide array of fantasy and science fiction. Narrators Kimberly Alexis and Holter Graham have an opportunity to draw from their arsenal of accents as they travel the universe in this anthology. They both are called upon to narrate stories for authors for whom they have narrated before, as well as for some... Read More

Narrator Emily Woo Zeller's versatility is well matched to the latest installment in Lowell's engaging Smuggler's Tales series. As Natalya and Zoya contemplate their careers, they agree to investigate a missing vessel, which leads to a rescue mission in Toe-Hold space. Zeller's pacing maintains momentum throughout the involved narrative, guiding listeners through long-term... Read More

Narrator Tim Gerard Reynolds portrays E.A.Smithe, a hard-boiled detective with a soft spot or two for a child who is trying to discover if her father is dead. Smithe is a clone who has the voice of a deceased mystery writer. In a future hundreds of years from the present, Smithe and two fellow clones, a cookbook writer and a romance writer, forge a complex relationship.... Read More

Narrator Cassandra Campbell exquisitely evokes the existential dread that permeates Josh Malerman's well-wrought follow-up to his popular sci-fi suspense novel, BIRD BOX. America remains rife with creatures that drive viewers insane. Blindfolded and hooded, Malorie has kept her now-teenage children safe for 16 frightening years. Then they learn that Malorie's parents may be... Read More

Kevin R. Free narrates the first full-length Murderbot novel, after four previous novellas. Once again, Murderbot has to rescue its humans from the idiotic mess they have gotten themselves into when it would really rather be left alone to watch its media in peace. Narrator Free perfectly captures the acerbic, exasperated tone of Murderbot that makes it so relatable. He also... Read More

Shayna Small eagerly narrates a cyberpunk thriller in which a gamer unravels a conspiracy. Ashley "Ashura the Terrible" Akachi is a legend in a near-future VR game. Her life takes a turn, though, when she discovers a far-reaching conspiracy involving the game publisher and her love interest. Small gives the characters distinct vivid voices, making it effortless for listeners to... Read More

Narrator Bayo Gbadamosi returns to perform the thrilling finale of the Wormwood Trilogy, which revolves around the alien-infested city of Rosewater in Nigeria. The audiobook picks up where THE ROSEWATER INSURRECTION left off. Homians, the aliens occupying corpses using an advanced psychic technology called xenosphere, prepare for the annihilation of humans. Beloved characters... Read More