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Revelation Space
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 22 hrs and 12 mins
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Publisher's summary
With no other resources at his disposal, Sylveste forges a dangerous alliance with the cyborg crew of the starship Nostalgia for Infinity. But as he closes in on the secret, a killer closes in on him because the Amarantin were destroyed for a reason. And if that reason is uncovered, the universe - and reality itself - could be irrevocably altered.
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From birth to death, The War is all the citizens of Dystance know. As children it is drilled into their heads that war is the purpose behind all existence. Winter doesn't agree. She's stumbled across remnants of life the way it was before The War began, and now she longs to be as free as her ancestors. With help from her best friend Cedar and the boy she is forbidden to love, Tallow. She believes she can do it. Winter can see a life beyond the Pickets, beyond the constant hunger and the threat of death, beyond the war machine.
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Unbelievable, melodramatic romance.
- By Lynn A Blankenship on 03-28-19
By: Mark Tufo
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Prelude to Extinction
- Xenophobia Series, Book 1
- By: Andreas Karpf
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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When Jack Harrison climbed down the short ladder from the airlock and stepped onto the debris covered soil, the ground crackled with the sound of dried leaves and twigs.
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Don MUST Die
- By SteveK on 02-07-21
By: Andreas Karpf
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Proxima Rising
- Proxima, Book 1
- By: Brandon Q. Morris
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Late in the 21st century, Earth receives what looks like an urgent plea for help from planet Proxima Centauri b in the closest star system to the Sun. Astrophysicists suspect a massive solar flare is about to destroy this heretofore-unknown civilization. Earth's space programs are unequipped to help, but an unscrupulous Russian billionaire launches a secret and highly-specialized spaceship to Proxima b, over four light-years away.
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Story is great, format is not
- By Mike on 04-26-20
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Earth Strike
- Star Carrier, Book One
- By: Ian Douglas
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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There is a milestone in the evolution of every sentient race, a Tech Singularity Event, when the species achieves transcendence through its technological advances. Now the creatures known as humans are near this momentous turning point. But an armed threat is approaching from deepest space, determined to prevent humankind from crossing over that boundary - by total annihilation if necessary.
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Forget the Characters, Just Bring on the Action!
- By Grace Ausley on 05-29-13
By: Ian Douglas
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Beyond Kuiper
- The Galactic Star Alliance
- By: Matthew Medney, John Connelly
- Narrated by: Kyle Perrin, Dylan Sprouse, George C. Romero
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The Galactic Star Alliance has been alive and well for millions of Earth years. Hundreds of thousands of worlds and trillions of beings move across the many home worlds of the Alliance. This revelation invites many questions: How is faster-than-light speed travel possible, and could cohesive, interstellar civilizations exist without it? Is it conceivable to govern a coalition not of different countries but of different species?
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Dirstracting Sound effects.
- By adam on 11-12-20
By: Matthew Medney, and others
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Vigilante
- By: Michael Anderle, Natalie Grey
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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When a mine owner thinks that he's above the law and continues to utilize slave labor to keep his mines running, Barnabas, a former Ranger One, must fight for justice.
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If I could I would give 10 stars..
- By Trish R. on 08-05-21
By: Michael Anderle, and others
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Forerunner
- AI Fleet, Book 1
- By: Isaac Hooke
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Jain was the lieutenant commander of an elite SEAL team. He was accustomed to order and discipline, which he used to give the men under his command that particular brand of killer instinct his unit was known for.But one day that semi-comfortable, ordered life ended when he opened his eyes to find his body replaced by a starship. His mind had become its AI core. He is somewhere in deep space. Most of his systems are badly damaged. He has no memory of how he got here, or what his mission is. Evidence points to an attack by an unknown entity.
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Ugh
- By General Tso on 05-11-21
By: Isaac Hooke
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Assemblers of Infinity
- By: Kevin J. Anderson, Doug Beason
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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The crew of Moonbase Columbus makes an amazing discovery on the far side of the Moon - a massive alien structure is erecting itself, built up atom by atom by living machines, microscopically small, intelligent, and unstoppable, consuming everything they touch. The mysterious structure begins to expand and take shape, and its creators begin to multiply. Is this the first strike in an alien invasion from the stars? Or has human nanotechnology experimentation gone awry, triggering an unexpected infestation?
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Alien nanotech unbound
- By Michael G Kurilla on 08-08-12
By: Kevin J. Anderson, and others
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Storm Clouds
- The Guild Wars, Book 1
- By: Chris Kennedy, Mark Wandrey
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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The Peacemaker-enforced ceasefire brought an end to the hostilities, but not a resolution, and now it’s up to the Four Horsemen to forge a lasting peace. Alexis Cromwell, despite her pregnancy, heads off to Capital with Nigel Shirazi to obtain justice from the enigmatic Mercenary Guild Council, but when they arrive, they’re quickly embroiled in galactic politics, and find out the situation is far, far worse than they could possibly have imagined.
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wow I can't wait for the next installment!!!!!
- By Mike on 06-24-20
By: Chris Kennedy, and others
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One of John Lee's best performances
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Spearpoint, the last human city, is an atmosphere-piercing spire of vast size. Clinging to its skin are the zones, a series of semi-autonomous city-states, each of which enjoys a different---and rigidly enforced---level of technology. Following an infiltration mission that went tragically wrong, Quillon has been living incognito, working as a pathologist in the district morgue.
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Critically acclaimed author Alastair Reynolds holds a well-deserved place “among the leaders of the hard-science space opera renaissance." ( Publishers Weekly). In Blue Remembered Earth, Geoffrey Akinya wants nothing more than to study the elephants of the Amboseli basin. But when his space-explorer grandmother dies, secrets come to light and Geoffrey is dispatched to the Moon to protect the family name - and prevent an impending catastrophe.
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A surprising and staisfying departure for Reynolds
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In the 1800s, a sailing ship crashes off the coast of Norway. In the 1900s, a Zepellin explores an icy canyon in Antarctica. In the far future, a spaceship sets out for an alien artifact. Each excursion goes horribly wrong. And on every journey, Dr. Silas Coade is the physician, but only Silas seems to realize that these events keep repeating themselves. And it's up to him to figure out why and how. And how to stop it all from happening again.
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An entirely new level of science fiction
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Science fiction in Deep time
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Proof that a good story doesn't require a trilogy
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Century Rain
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Three hundred years from now, Earth has been rendered uninhabitable due to the technological catastrophe known as the Nanocaust. Archaeologist Verity Auger specializes in the exploration of its surviving landscape. Now, her expertise is required for a far greater purpose. Something astonishing has been discovered at the far end of a wormhole: mid-twentieth-century Earth, preserved like a fly in amber.
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One of John Lee's best performances
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Critically acclaimed author Alastair Reynolds holds a well-deserved place “among the leaders of the hard-science space opera renaissance." ( Publishers Weekly). In Blue Remembered Earth, Geoffrey Akinya wants nothing more than to study the elephants of the Amboseli basin. But when his space-explorer grandmother dies, secrets come to light and Geoffrey is dispatched to the Moon to protect the family name - and prevent an impending catastrophe.
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A surprising and staisfying departure for Reynolds
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In the 1800s, a sailing ship crashes off the coast of Norway. In the 1900s, a Zepellin explores an icy canyon in Antarctica. In the far future, a spaceship sets out for an alien artifact. Each excursion goes horribly wrong. And on every journey, Dr. Silas Coade is the physician, but only Silas seems to realize that these events keep repeating themselves. And it's up to him to figure out why and how. And how to stop it all from happening again.
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An entirely new level of science fiction
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A vast conflict, one that has encompassed hundreds of worlds and solar systems, appears to be finally at an end. A conscripted soldier is beginning to consider her life after the war and the family she has left behind. But for Scur - and for humanity - peace is not to be.
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A great story ruined by narration.
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Best yet of the Revelation Space series
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Consider Phlebas: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience! The first audiobook in Iain M. Banks's seminal science fiction series, The Culture. Consider Phlebas introduces listeners to a utopian conglomeration of human and alien races that explores the nature of war, morality, and the limitless bounds of mankind's imagination.
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Music is super distracting and constant
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Winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, Red Mars is the first book in Kim Stanley Robinson's best-selling trilogy. Red Mars is praised by scientists for its detailed visions of future technology. It is also hailed by authors and critics for its vivid characters and dramatic conflicts.
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very long
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Beyond the Aquila Rift
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Performance
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Beyond the Aquila Rift: It's shorthand for the trip no one ever hopes to make by accident. The one that will screw up the rest of your life, the one that creates the ghosts you see haunting the shadows of company bars across the whole Bubble. Men and women ripped out of time, cut adrift from families and lovers by an accident of an alien technology we use but rarely comprehend.
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Great story, mediocre audio book.
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Revenger: Booktrack Edition
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Revenger: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience! Revenger is a rocket-fueled tale of space pirates, buried treasure, and phantom weapons, of unspeakable hazards and single-minded heroism...and of vengeance.... Adrana and Fura Ness are the newest crew members of the legendary Captain Rackamore's ship, using their mysterious powers as Bone Readers to find clues about their next score.
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Terrible mixing ruined the experience
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Permafrost
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2080: At a remote site on the edge of the Arctic Circle, a group of scientists, engineers, and physicians gather to gamble humanity’s future on one last-ditch experiment. Their goal: to make a tiny alteration to the past, averting a global catastrophe while at the same time leaving recorded history intact. To make the experiment work, they just need one last recruit: an ageing schoolteacher whose late mother was the foremost expert on the mathematics of paradox. 2028: A young woman goes into surgery for routine brain surgery.
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Not your father's SciFi!
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The Dreaming Void
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AD 3580. The Intersolar Commonwealth has spread through the galaxy to over a thousand star systems. It is a culture of rich diversity with a place for everyone. A powerful navy protects it from any hostile species that may lurk among the stars. For Commonwealth citizens, even death has been overcome.
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What can I say
- By Randall on 05-08-18
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Fallen Dragon
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In the distant future, corporations have become sustainable communities with their own militaries, and corporate goals have essentially replaced political ideology. On a youthful, rebellious impulse, Lawrence joined the military of a corporation that he now recognizes to be ruthless and exploitative. His only hope for escape is to earn enough money to buy his place in a better corporation.
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Possibly my new favorite Hamilton novel
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Blindsight
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Set in 2082, Peter Watts' Blindsight is fast-moving, hard SF that pulls readers into a futuristic world where a mind-bending alien encounter is about to unfold. After the Firefall, all eyes are locked heavenward as a team of specialists aboard the self-piloted spaceship Theseus hurtles outbound to intercept an unknown intelligence.
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Gothic Horror Hard Science Fiction
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The Abyss Beyond Dreams
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The year is 3326. Nigel Sheldon, one of the founders of the Commonwealth, receives a visit from the Raiel - self-appointed guardians of the Void, the enigmatic construct at the core of the galaxy that threatens the existence of all that lives. The Raiel convince Nigel to participate in a desperate scheme to infiltrate the Void. Once inside, Nigel discovers that humans are not the only life-forms to have been sucked into the Void. The humans trapped there are afflicted by an alien species of biological mimics.
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Intersection of the Void and Commonwealth - Super
- By C. Hartmann on 10-30-14
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The Forever War
- By: Joe Haldeman
- Narrated by: George Wilson
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
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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A classic.
- By John on 09-24-08
By: Joe Haldeman
What listeners say about Revelation Space
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Laura
- 04-02-09
Enjoyed this book
This book exceeded my expectations. When I picked this audiobook, I was looking for a science fiction novel leaning more towards hard science fiction and less Star Trek (though I do like Star Trek). I thought it might be somewhat dry with details but it wasn't. I want more... :)
For someone looking for a science fiction novel that combines a good amount of detail scientific (lots of detail in some areas) with futuristic fantasy and suspense, this is a good audiobook to get. The audience of this book should be mature as the book is graphic and dark in some areas but nothing too extreme, would make a good R rated movie as it has lots of oportunity for great space scenes and CGI.
The author does a good job of revealing just enough details and forshadowing to keep up the suspense without being predictable, puts you on the edge of your seat. The story is very emmersive and I look forward to continuing on in the world with Revelation Ark.
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31 people found this helpful
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- David
- 05-17-11
Good but slow slower-than-light space opera
Alastair Reynolds is one of the leading lights writing this generation's space opera, and his perspective (European, a PhD in Astronomy) gives his stories a very contemporary feel. I like the hard SF setting, with slower-than-light starships and ancient, dead civilizations instead of living aliens, and parts of this book were quite spooky and sinister. When the crew is prowling the corridors of the huge spaceship Infinity avoiding "rats" and other creatures controlled by a hostile intelligence, it felt like one of those old sci-fi horror movies.
Revelation Space is full of great ideas, especially in the conclusion, where it turns out that the small and large intrigues of the main characters have all been leading them to a confrontation on a much larger scale than they imagined: a threat that could end the human race. I like high-stakes stories like this. So this book was basically a recipe for everything I should love in a sci-fi novel.
So why only 3 stars? Because another crucial ingredient for me (and this is very much my own preference, which is why other people may love this book) is characters who feel real and who I like at least a little. Reynolds's characters aren't as wooden as those of some other hard SF writers, and he gives them plenty of background and motivation and personality, but after describing all those things, he doesn't spend much time letting them live and breathe and reminding you why they are interesting. They just go about their business executing the plot. As soon as the book ended, I was thinking about the story and the technology, but the characters were mostly forgettable.
Unfortunately, there were also parts of the book that just plain bored me; listening to the audio, sometimes my mind drifted and I didn't catch (or care about) all the details. Also, I just did not like John Lee's narration. He gave everyone an accent, not always distinct ones, and I didn't like all the voices.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Doug D. Eigsti
- 01-21-14
Compendium of Technological Marvels
This is book one in the main sequence of the Revelation Space series. Based on listener recommendations I postponed listening until after first hearing CHASM CITY. And it was a good thing I did or I would have never gotten around to Chasm City. This book has many of the same elements, many of the same political machinations, the same level of fantastic technology, but none of the spark of genius, none of the psychological surprises of Chasm City that make it so fantastic. Sure there are glimpses of what Reynolds is capable of but, on its own, this book does not inspire. What this book does offer is an extensive compendium of advanced technological marvels. It hearkens me back to some of the Science Fiction of old where the gadget was the thing. I would compare this to Herman Melville’s MOBY DICK. But before you think this is a glowing recommendation, please read on. My assessment of Moby Dick is this: It is an exciting 70 page revenge novella imbedded in a tedious 400 page Maritime encyclopedia. Revelation space is a seventy megabyte (70 MB) short story encased in a one gigabyte (1GB) speculative fiction catalog of ideas. It has the scant characterization one would expect from a short story, and also like a short story, has great ideas that make it worthwhile. One thing I can say in its defense: This book, like any Hard Science Fiction stripped of story and characters, is still a fascinating exploration into scientific speculation, while Epic Fantasy stripped of the same is just so much double double toil and trouble. All in all it is a interesting book, but more for the ideas than for the characterization or for the story.
John Lee, who is much better reading Chasm City, is here less engaging. His smooth voice never seems to impart any sense of urgency to the experience, and this book does need some inspired help. He does have a wonderful sonorous voice that is never tiring, so he makes it pleasant to plod through the litany of technological wonders hour after hour. My chief complaint for him is that some of his women sound more masculine than his men. Maybe I am being too critical of the novel REVELATION SPACE because I see enough potential here to hear the series out to the end, and Chasm City shows how good this series can be. I guess that I am just a sucker for a gadget story.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Emanuel
- 05-10-12
Boring!
Well, thats just my opinion. It felt like I was watching(Listening) a foreign movie. Felt like the writer wanted to make sure that you know that he was a well read and intelligent individual and he probably is but it made for a trying story that was easy to get confused with.
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- Don
- 05-23-12
Interwoven story telling at its best
The first book I read in this series was "The Prefect." It was a tough listen in the beginning. Not because it wasn't any good. Quite the opposite, the problem was that I had grown accustomed to performing some other task at the same time that I was listening. I simply could not do that with this series.
Like "The Prefect", "Revelation Space" provides and expensive series of character sketches and plot movements that are so detailed that you have to pay attention. Alastair Reynolds rewards you for that attention, with a well crafted trip through time and space where you slowly learn all of the players and don't truly understand all of their motivations until a climatic explosion at the end.
John Lee's narration complemented the story. But there was a problem which I believe is actually a hold over from the writing of the book. The books are an ensemble of characters all moving towards some event or mystery. So unlike (for example) Charlene Harris's Sookie Stackhouse novels where there is a central character whose point of view you follow, there are multiple characters whose point of view you follow when they are the central character. This happens sometimes within the same chapter. In a book the change can be noted by some kind of break. When you are just listening, if you don't notice the shift in voice (and yes the shifts are there in content and speech patterns) you tend to get confused and misinterpret what is happening.
This is a great book if you want to think and have something that actually grabs your attention. If you are just looking for action through Science Fiction, you won't make it through the first five chapters.
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- Judy
- 09-17-15
Better in hard copy
I bought this after reading another of Reynold's books in hard copy and really enjoying it, but I am about to return Revelation Space unfinished for several reasons.
The first is that I am finding that the world in which it takes place (the universe in the 2600s) is too dystopian for my liking when I have to 'experience' it at spoken speed. I don't think it's any worse than the world in the other Reynold's book I read, but when reading myself, I can move through the more dystopian bits much more quickly, so they are less disturbing and uncomfortable and the narrative is compelling enough for me to want to find out what happens. When listening, I am forced to dwell on the uncomforable bits for too long.
The second is that I don't like John Lee's narration. His voice is pleasant and his characterisation is good, but I listen to books while driving long distances in the country and through headphones when out walking and the variation in volume in Lee's narration means I am unable to find a playback volume that allows me to hear the soft bits well enough to understand them without finding the loud bits uncomfortably loud. In addition, this is a book that has several different sub-plots running at once with (so far) no obvious connection between them. There is absolutely no gap between the end of one 'scene' and the beginning of the next, which I find disorienting.
I certainly plan to read more of Reynold's work, but not in audiobook form.
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- Karlo
- 07-17-13
Great Listen!
It is not an easy listen. You have to really pay attention but it's worth it. Once you get the flow of the story it really is an awesome listen. John Lee is a great narrator, his voices are great. I plan to get rest of the story.
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- Vorthe
- 02-08-16
I lost interest.
I'm halfway thru the book. There are numerous story strands reaching out, but I've lost interest. The story is long winded and overly complicated. I may try again one day when I can give it my undivided attention, but I usually listen to these audio books in the background at work, and this story is just not doing it for me.
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- Thesle
- 05-03-13
You'll keep listening, even with the bad narration
Where does Revelation Space rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
A good book, up there with some of the best story wise, but almost the worst narration I have heard. There are many, many books that have much better narration and it would be nice if they would ditch this guy...
What other book might you compare Revelation Space to and why?
Revelation Space has a grand scheme in mind, like an Asimov series, but also gives you characters with some depth, and leaves you wanting to know more of their back-story, like some Heinlein novels.
Who would you have cast as narrator instead of John Lee?
John Lee starts every sentence with an exclamation and trails off to an almost inaudbile wisper at the end of every sentence. This makes it very difficult to listen to, especially if you are in a car, as you have to put up with a very loud first word just so you can here the next six.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
You'll want to hear how the story pans out, but this bit hear and bit there story telling style gets tiresome after the second book in the series.
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- Rion
- 05-17-18
epic tale
awesome sapce opera. john lee makes a great story epic as usual. definitely reading the whole series
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