Audiobooks

Ark by Veronica Roth: Narrated by Evan Rachel Wood

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

Veronica Roth’s Ark, her contribution to the Forward collection, is perhaps the most emotive and well-developed character study of the things I’ve read from her. I enjoyed the Divergent series as an adult, enough so that I was disappointed the movies never completed the story even as the movie adaptations managed to disappoint in the liberties taken with the narrative. In only a small handful of pages (under two hours of audiobook), Roth succeeded in capturing a particularly satisfying, somber snapshot of the world weeks away from an unavoidable apocalypse.

As an asteroid approaches the planet, sure to make it uninhabitable for humanity, we join Samantha and a small group of orphan scientists in Svalbard, Norway where they are cataloging and collecting biological samples of as much plant life as can be salvaged. A similar project is simultaneously taking place in Australia, focused on animal life. These small pockets of humanity are all that remain on an evacuated Earth. The rest of the human population had already left aboard generation ships, while those dedicated to the flora and fauna catalog risk everything by remaining until only a matter of a few weeks until impact. As the time approaches to say goodbye, we manage to feel some small amount of the desolation and loss through the quality of Roth’s storytelling.

Evan Rachel Wood’s narration is spectacular. Her voice easily capturing the interwoven tone of sadness and hope of this short tale. I’d honestly love to hear her narrating more audiobooks. She’s got a terrific range and capacity to bring characters to life.

Hunter by Mercedes Lackey: Narrated by Amy Landon

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

Mercedes Lackey’s Hunter is the beginning of a trilogy that starts off feeling like it’s got a fair amount in common with a some of the more popular post-apocalyptic YA series; books written by Marie Lu, James Dashner, Suzanne Collins, Veronica Roth, and others. Though this novel does slip away from that feeling of being geared toward a young adult audience as it progresses, that feeling never quite dissipates altogether.

Lackey does manage to set herself apart from those other authors by deviating from the trend of dystopian science fiction and instead embedding within her post-apocalyptic America a dark fantasy environment that fans of her other books will recognize as being where she truly excels. My first experiences with Mercedes Lackey were thrilling, slow burn, dark fantasy standalone novels and series. She truly plays to her strengths with this first installment of the Hunter trilogy, and it pushes her into a whole different ballpark from those contemporary post-apocalyptic authors I’d mentioned previously.

We follow Joyeaux Charmand as she leaves the comfort and relative peace of her mountain enclave where she has trained to be a hunter, an individual capable of magic and the ability to summon “hounds” from another realm in order to combat a veritable plethora of monsters and creatures collectively referred to as “Othersiders” throughout the story. Borrowing from folklore from any and all cultures around the world, Lackey populates this version of America with creatures that may be familiar to some and unfamiliar to others (depending on your own cultural heritage or exposure to others). Joyeaux (Joy) is called to Apex, a massive, protected city on the East Coast where anyone with the skills to be a hunter are supposed to be sent for the purpose of training and employment by what is a strange military government.

It was after Joy arrived in Apex that I began to see strong correlations with The Hunger Games books, in that these hunters are treated as celebrities and forced to perform for cameras that are constantly monitoring them. That’s where the similarities disappear.

There is action, ample supernatural and fantasy elements, some horror, a bit of romance, a decent bit of intrigue and political thriller mixed into the narrative, and a great deal of character development. As an introduction to a trilogy, Lackey spends a great deal of time on the world-building, and she does an excellent job.

As I had picked this up as an audiobook, I feel it is worth noting that the narration captures Joy’s simpler perspective and relative (though not overwhelming) naiveté to a degree I found impressive. The voices are largely distinct and easily discernible as separate characters.

The Land: Swarm: Chaos Seeds Book V by Aleron Kong

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

This installment is primarily focused on Richter deciding to be more actively involved in the day-to-day life of the mist village. This book is largely dedicated to self-improvement and the development of skills and abilities. There are some major events included, just the same, and the battle that concludes the story is intense and well-written.
As with all of the other books in the series, I’ve listened to this on Audible. The narration is terrific and it flows perfectly with the story being shared. The first three books have been my favorites in the series, but this book and the fourth are still well-worth listening to or reading.

The Land: Catacombs: Chaos Seeds Book IV by Aleron Kong

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

With a title of Catacombs, I suspected that we would be exploring deeper into the tunnels beyond the Great Seal. There are definitely tunnels and subterranean adventures, but not the ones I went into this anticipating. With the pace we’re addressing some of the things I expected to see explored further, it seems like we’ll never get there in four more volumes in the series.
There’s nothing disappointing about the book or the narration for the audiobook, but I’m starting to worry that we’ll never see some of the adventures I’ve been waiting to witness.
I’m currently listening to the fifth audiobook in the series and I will absolutely still be picking up the remaining three books of this series.

The Land: Alliances: Chaos Seeds Book III

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

The title seems a bit misleading, knowing that we were expecting Richter to develop an alliance with the dwarves (as had been discussed in the previous volume in this series)…beyond that, it’s an excellent addition to Richter’s adventure in The Land.
As with the previous book, this one begins with another hint of a deeper tale and huge things looming on the horizon before it picks up where we left off.
As with the other books, I’m listening to these as audiobooks. The writing and narration are such a perfect complement to one another and I find myself listening with greater frequency the further I get into the series.

The Land: Forging: Chaos Seeds Book 2 by Aleron Kong

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

If you are unfamiliar with the author, Aleron Kong, and his fantastic ongoing American LitRPG series (now two series) of novels, you are missing out. Not only are the stories entertaining and endlessly fascinating, but the community built up around love of these books is similarly amazing. I recommend checking these books out, the audiobook versions are my personal preference.

The second book in the series picks up right where the first left off, with a brief introduction that clearly sets the stage for something huge on the horizon.
These books are the first audiobooks I’ve bothered listening to, initially just when I was at the gym three days a week for an hour or so at a stretch…and now I find myself listening to this series while I’m sitting in my office, working on things that don’t interfere with my ability to concentrate on the story. The writing (the characters and the adventures themselves) and the narration are superb and captivating.
There is plenty of conflict, high-stakes action, and exploration…precisely as you’d hope to find.

https://www.amazon.com/The-Land-Forging-Aleron-Kong-audiobook/dp/B072VRDT7M?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_dp

Emergency Skin by N.K. Jemisin

/ MeltdownMessiah / Leave a comment

N.K. Jemisin’s Emergency Skin is a short story with a large message.
It’s a story about how much better off we might be if the world weren’t so full of greedy, self-entitled, self-important individuals. It’s a story with strong anti-racist, anti-sexist, and anti-imperialist sentiment showcased in a distant future tale. We have a 1,000 lightyear distant colony founded on the sort of fantasy meritocracy that might evolve from too many read-throughs of Atlas Shrugged, built on slave labor that is never acknowledged as slave labor, while the ruling class conveniently avoids any acknowledgment of the fact that they’re the real parasites. The “haves” fled an Earth approaching total ecological collapse, taking everyone and everything they valued in the process…assuming that the planet would fail without them there.
Little did they know the world could survive without them, perhaps better than it would have if they’d remained.
It’s difficult to avoid spoilers in the review of a short story, and I’ve danced around quite a few. Just read it or listen to it for yourself. It’s thought-provoking and engaging…and the audiobook is narrated by Jason Isaacs, who does a fantastic job (as I imagine you would expect).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X7HG6GW/