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Surface Detail
- A Culture Novel
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 20 hrs and 23 mins
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It begins in the realm of the Real, where matter still matters. And it begins with a murder.
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- By: A. C. Hadfield
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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They tried to destroy our planets. Our way of life. They tried to send us into extinction. But we, the Coalition, fought them and won. That was a decade ago. They’re known as the Host: a cabal of aliens seeking to dominate our sector of space. And they’re back - with help from a powerful new enemy. We’re outnumbered and unprepared. But there is hope. An ancient race of long-dead but technologically advanced aliens called the Navigators have a ship called the Blackstar that could potentially turn the tide. That is if I, Kai Locke, a humble ship racer, can find it and learn how to harness its power in time.
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Newly found love.
- By L. Rampey on 03-22-19
By: A. C. Hadfield
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Tantalus Depths
- By: Evan Graham
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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The Tantalus 13 survey expedition went off the rails as soon as Mary Ketch and the crew of the Diamelen learned that the thing beneath their feet wasn’t a planet. An impossibly vast and ancient artificial structure lies below, hidden from the universe under a façade of cratered stone. SCARAB arrived on Tantalus 13 two years ago. An artificially intelligent, self-constructing factory, it was supposed to aid the crew in their mission, to meet their every need.
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Good primer for Young Adults new to sci-fi!
- By Philip Maddox on 10-09-22
By: Evan Graham
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Hyperion
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
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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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The Shrike Awaits. Enter The Time Tombs...
- By Michael on 10-13-12
By: Dan Simmons
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Mech Zero: The Dominant
- By: B. V. Larson
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 1 hr and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Death awaits the curious! Out along the rim of the galaxy hangs a loose configuration of some 60 stars known as the Faustian Chain. This whorl of sparkling suns is rich in planets and occupies an irregular volume of space some 20 light years in diameter. From an external viewpoint, the Chain presents a colorful display of plasma-streams, luminous nebulae and sparkling pinpoints of light.
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No hero's here
- By SteveM on 07-17-16
By: B. V. Larson
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InterWorld
- By: Neil Gaiman, Michael Reaves
- Narrated by: Christopher Evan Welch
- Length: 5 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Joey Harker isn't a hero. In fact, he's the kind of guy who gets lost in his own house. But then one day, Joey gets really lost. He walks straight out of his world and into another dimension. Joey's walk between the worlds makes him prey to two terrible forces: armies of magic and science who will do anything to harness his power to travel between dimensions.
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A good listen
- By Gurmukh on 10-31-07
By: Neil Gaiman, and others
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In the Ocean of Night
- Galactic Center, Book 1
- By: Gregory Benford
- Narrated by: Maxwell Caulfield
- Length: 12 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 2019. NASA astronaut Nigel Walmsley is sent on a mission to intercept a rogue asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Ordered to destroy it, he instead discovers that it is actually the shell of a derelict space probe - a wreck with just enough power to emit a single electronic signal….
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Like some Space with your Soaps?
- By Bradley on 05-15-12
By: Gregory Benford
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Requiem for a Ruler of Worlds
- The First Adventure of Alacrity Fitzhugh & Hobart Floyt
- By: Brian Daley
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Mankind was beginning its third leap into the Galaxy, but Old Earth had so long kept to herself that her people were unable to travel safely among the rough-and-tumble cultures that had evolved on distant worlds. That annoyed Earth's rulers, for Hobart Floyt--a minor Terran bureaucrat-- had been left a mysterious inheritance by the deceased ruler of a small but wealthy interstellar empire.
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Best Sci Fi Fun anywhere!
- By A. Foxter on 07-07-15
By: Brian Daley
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The Atlantis Ship
- By: A. C. Hadfield
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Carson Mach, a former war hero turned freelancer, seeks the biggest payday of his life when he's tasked to hunt down a ghost ship that has echoed through the centuries. The legendary Atlantis ship has become a reality, appearing at the Commonwealth frontier and obliterating an orbital station.
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Very Good Story, Looking Forward to the Next Book
- By Striker on 09-13-15
By: A. C. Hadfield
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There is a world that hangs suspended between triumph and catastrophe, between the dismantling of the Wall and the fall of the Twin Towers, frozen in the shadow of suicide terrorism and global financial collapse. Such a world requires a firm hand and a guiding light. But does it need the Concern: an all-powerful organization with a malevolent presiding genius, pervasive influence and numberless invisible operatives in possession of extraordinary powers?
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must hear to fully appreciate.
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A solid sci-fi novel
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Two thirds through and quit
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I love Neal, but Good lord... ugh!
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The sun is bloated, diseased, dying perhaps. Beneath its baneful light, Shadrapar, last of all cities, harbours fewer than 100,000 human souls. Built on the ruins of countless civilisations, Shadrapar is a museum, a midden, an asylum, a prison on a world that is ever more alien to humanity. Bearing witness to the desperate struggle for existence between life old and new is Stefan Advani: rebel, outlaw, prisoner, survivor.
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Gothic Horror Hard Science Fiction
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Solaris
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At last, one of the world’s greatest works of science fiction is available - just as author Stanislaw Lem intended it. To mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of Solaris, Audible, in cooperation with the Lem Estate, has commissioned a brand-new translation - complete for the first time, and the first ever directly from the original Polish to English. Beautifully narrated by Alessandro Juliani ( Battlestar Galactica), Lem’s provocative novel comes alive for a new generation.
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A comment on negative reviews
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The metropolis of New Crobuzon sprawls at the center of the world. Humans and mutants and arcane races brood in the gloom beneath its chimneys, where the river is sluggish with unnatural effluent and foundries pound into the night. For a thousand years, the Parliament and its brutal militias have ruled over a vast economy of workers and artists, spies and soldiers, magicians, crooks, and junkies. Now a stranger has arrived, with a pocketful of gold and an impossible demand. And something unthinkable is released.
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Brilliant, wonderful book -- horrible recording
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The Three-Body Problem
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Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion.
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They create a computer using a 30 million man Army
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What listeners say about Surface Detail
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Moore Creative
- 01-15-16
Ian Banks is a master of surprise endings
Where does Surface Detail rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
An excellent dramatization by Peter Kenny! Such voices and inflection. An excellent story with plenty of "stuck in the driveway still listening to a chapter end" moments.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Surface Detail?
Like a collection of short stories with different characters that do not overlap, the culmination of the plot brings all characters together in a meaningful way that is enhanced by the disparate nature of their origins and motivations. Ian Bank's brilliance, though shines in his presenting the expected showdown events with turns and points unexpected. Throw in complete surprise elements and you have a riveting story that ends with a bang.
Which character – as performed by Peter Kenny – was your favorite?
the difference in voices, accents, speed and delivery intonations as different between characters, that's what I love about Peter Kenny's craft.
Any additional comments?
I struggled to find a good order to read Ian Banks books, having stumbled upon "Use of Weapons" in a list of "best surprise endings with a twist" sci-fi stories ever. They were right, it is an amazingly excellent surprise twist that you have to make sure doesn't get spoiled for you.
That book, Use of Weapons is a great introduction to the Culture novels as it outlines many of the structures and ideas of the Culture. So I would definitely recommend it as a first book to read. This one, "Surface Detail" is another of course, and here is how I would recommend anyone read their first few...
1. Use of Weapons - Introduction to the Culture
2. The Player of Games - Story set in Culture environment
3. Surface Detail - Story that furthers Culture views, values and SC workings
I'm off now to pick my next Culture novel to dive into.
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1 person found this helpful
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- monicae
- 04-11-16
Good Book
Narrator was fantastic!! Book was interesting. One does need a background w/ the Culture to enjoy this book.
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- Dogmouth
- 11-08-19
My Favorite Sci-fi Novel
Amazing book, amazing narration. So many interesting ideas. Just finished a re-listen. Culture at its very best.
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- Chris H
- 11-11-21
Good but not his best
I didn't love this one. I gave it 5 stars anyway because it's still far ahead of most things that other people give 5 stars to. But to me it was showing signs he was tired of the culture universe. It didn't have the same sweeping grandeur that the earlier novels, like Consider Phlebas, and Excession, had. It wasn't as much fun. But it was still great fun, and the culture was still the top dog and did what it had to and should do.
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Overall
- Matt Carothers
- 06-21-11
If you like Alastair Reynolds or Peter F. Hamilton
... you'll love this. I picked this up because Reynolds lists Banks as one of his inspirations, and I was not disappointed! The narrator is excellent too.
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- Zerocleft
- 05-11-22
incredible
this is ne of the few truly original and interesting sci-fi universes. I highly recommend the series.
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- J Adams
- 09-07-24
Peter Kenny is great!
I love the Culture novels. Kenny is a fantastic narrator, the best I've listened to so far.
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- wendy
- 10-25-11
Latest Culture novel is great!
Would you listen to Surface Detail again? Why?
Yes, I would. This was one of my favorite books recently.
What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)
As with many Banks books, I did feel that the ending was a bit rushed. Part of that could be my sadness that this one was ending and now there will be a multi year wait for his next Culture novel!
Which scene was your favorite?
I liked the best the chase scene on the underground city with the Special Circumstances Agent.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes!
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8 people found this helpful
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- Peter
- 05-06-15
Brilliant storytelling!
As always, a very good listen with fairly mindboggling changes in storytelling perspective. Somewhat demanding and compex. If you let your attention drop for a while the narrative could litteraly have you transported to an entirely new part of the universe or even another dimension altogether! But to me this is what Iain Banks is all about.
Peter Kennedy is absolutely fantastic. His ability to make up new phrasings, dialects and voicings for the sometimes very disparate character gallery is second to none. His personification of Culture drones, minds and other wierd aliens sometimes make me laugh out loud (not always part of the social contract when commuting to work)...
A solid listen for Culture fans!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- James Wright
- 03-07-11
Absolutely fantastic
I've read a few of the culture novels, I love the way Mr Banks describes the technology and AI of the culture ships and drones. The story was very interesting and kept me entertained, however by far the most enjoyable part of the experience is narration by Mr Kenny, his voice characterisations where amazing and very convincing! This is definitely worth a credit. I'm looking forward to listening to Consider Phlebas and Transition.
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