Earthbound

By: Joe Haldeman

Narrated by: Annie Henk

Hugo and Nebula Award winner Joe Haldeman ranks among the greatest science fiction authors to ever live. This thrilling entry from his Marsbound saga finds the mysterious alien Others prohibiting humans from space travel by destroying Earth’s fleet of starships in a display of unimaginable power. But Carmen Dula, the first human to encounter the Others, is determined to find a way to reclaim the future that has been stolen from humankind.

©2011 Joe Haldeman (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

The final book in the trilogy did not disappoint

Would you consider the audio edition of Earthbound to be better than the print version?

I actually read the print version AND listened to the audio version and enjoyed them both for different reasons. This was very well done.

Which character – as performed by Annie Henk – was your favorite?

Carmen Dula

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Can't tell what it was without giving away an important part of the story, but yes, there are several.

Any additional comments?

My favorite audio book of the trilogy is Starbound. There are three different narrators and they really brought the book to life. I'm always sad to read the last book in a series, as was the case with this one. Excellent tale and commentary on society.

An interlude before the final book?

This is a followup to Haldeman's earlier books: Marsbound and Starbound. However, there is no resolution to the dilemma set up in the earlier books. The description of the book here at Audible hinted that there would be a solution but we are left hanging. Carmen does not "find a way to reclaim the future that has been stolen from humankind." Perhaps Haldeman is writing a fourth book. Hope so. His writing and ideas are superior as always. Good reader also.

Disappointing

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

This book was ok, but a very unsatisfying ending to the series

Do you think Earthbound needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I would love to have another book with a real resolution to the story.

Droning Reader, only got 10 minutes in

Would you try another book from Joe Haldeman and/or Annie Henk?

I like the stories from Joe Halderman, but reader of this book was awful.
I had to stop only 10 minutes in. The way she read it made the story very confusing and not very interesting.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I deleted the book from my phone.

Do yourself a favor and skip this conclusion

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

If you think the zombie Apocalypse would be fun - but without the zombies - then this book is for you.

What could Joe Haldeman have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The author could have made this a proper conclusion by putting the science back with the fiction. I read this series because of my fascination with the question : "If we made a starship - what would happen next?" Relativity in the real world is interesting. Real life, everyday problems with colonizing space is fascinating. This story is a standard Mad Max earth story. In fact - by removing the aliens from the book and you stil have a novel about the collapse of society and its aftermath. Perhaps interesting - but not what I signed up for and certainly not an ending to a trilogy about interstellar travel.

Which scene was your favorite?

The Epilogue - which contained the first bit of science fiction in the entire book. This 3 minute summary outclassed the rest of the book.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Earthbound?

I would not have released this book as an ending to the saga. Change the character names, remove the aliens and make it a Mad Max style book.

Any additional comments?

Those who liked the first 2 entries in the series - don't bother with this one. Close your eyes and use your imagination to conclude the series. Anything you come up with will far exceed what the author produced.