Science Fiction Audiobooks | Science Fiction & Fantasy

Virus: A BBC Radio full-cast drama Audiobook

A love story, about flu. It's January 1969, the winter after the summer of love, and Jill and David's fledgling relationship is about to be put to test by the outbreak of Hong Kong Flu. As they huddle under blankets together, full of flu, neither of them is aware of how this moment will impact them in both the near and distant future. Over five episodes, we follow Jill’s story across five decades as she struggles with the highs and lows of life, love and viral infection. At the same time the story tracks the life of Hong Kong Flu – how, over 45 years, it traversed the globe, evolved and was ultimately superseded by new, more virulent strains, such as Swine Flu and now COVID-19. Using cutting edge science – of transmission, viral evolution and genetic predisposition – it tells the story of flu, and investigates the unique qualities of Jill's genome which make her a 'severe responder'. The human story at the heart of this drama underlines the deep connection we have to the viruses that survive through us, and how illness can shape the course of our lives. First broadcast in 2014 under the title ‘My Life with Flu’, this programme has new resonance today in the time of coronavirus. It touches on many of the subjects that we are now all too familiar with – the ease of transmission, the way that some people react more severely than others to flu, how the body’s reaction to the flu virus creates a perfect climate in the lungs for pneumonia to develop, and flu’s deadly potential. Cast and credits Narrator.... Eiry Thomas Jill/Polly.... Hannah Daniel David.... Ronan Summers John.... Liam Williams Older Jill… Sharon Morgan Older David… William Hope Older John… Simon Armstrong Doctor.... John Norton Protestor/Yvette/Paramedic 2.... Eirlys Bellin Minister/Paramedic 1/Doctor.... Alun Raglan Directed by James Robinson Produced in collaboration with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute A BBC Cymru/Wales Production First broadcast 27-31 October 2014

Sarah Woods (Author), Full Cast, Hannah Daniel, Liam Williams, Ronan Summers (Narrator)

Audiobook

Chaos Reigning: A Novel

Interplanetary intrigue and romance combine in this electrifying finale to the Consortium Rebellion series. As the youngest member of her High House, Catarina von Hasenberg is used to being underestimated, but her youth and flighty, bubbly personality mask a clever mind and stubborn determination. Her enemies, blind to her true strength, do not suspect that Cat is a spy—which makes her the perfect candidate to go undercover at a rival House’s summer retreat to gather intelligence on their recent treachery. Cat’s overprotective older sister reluctantly agrees, but on one condition: Cat cannot go alone. Alexander Sterling, a quiet, gorgeous bodyguard, will accompany her, posing as her lover. After Cat tries, and fails, to ditch Alex, she grudgingly agrees, confident in her ability to manage him. After all, she’s never found a person she can’t manipulate. But Alex proves more difficult—and more desirable—than Cat anticipated. When she’s attacked and nearly killed, she and Alex are forced to work together to figure out how deep the treason goes. With rumors of widespread assaults on Serenity raging, communications down, and the rest of her family trapped off-planet, Catarina must persuade Alex to return to Earth to expose the truth and finish this deadly battle once and for all. But Cat can’t explain why she’s the perfect person to infiltrate hostile territory without revealing secrets she’d rather keep buried. . . .

Jessie Mihalik (Author), Emily Woo Zeller (Narrator)

Audiobook

Network Effect

Martha Wells' New York Times and USA Today bestselling Murderbot series exploded onto the scene in 2017, and the world has not been the same, since. Murderbot returns in its highly-anticipated, first, full-length standalone novel, Network Effect. You know that feeling when youre at work, and youve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you're a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you're Murderbot. Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable A.I. youll read this century. Im usually alone in my head, and thats where 90 plus percent of my problems are. When Murderbot's human associates (not friends, never friends) are captured and another not-friend from its past requires urgent assistance, Murderbot must choose between inertia and drastic action. Drastic action it is, then.

Martha Wells (Author), Kevin R. Free (Narrator)

Audiobook

Of Ants and Dinosaurs

In a sunlit clearing in central Gondwana, on an otherwise ordinary day in the late Cretaceous, the seeds of Earth's first and greatest civilization were sown in the grisly aftermath of a Tyrannosaurus' lunch. Throughout the universe, intelligence is a rare and fragile commodity - a fleeting glimmer in the long night of cosmic history. That Earth should harbour not just one but two intelligent species at the same time, defies the odds. That these species, so unalike - and yet so complementary - should forge an alliance that kindled a civilization defies logic. But time is endless and everything comes to pass eventually... The alliance between ants and dinosaurs, was of course, based on dentistry. Yet from such humble beginnings came writing, mathematics, computers, fusion, antimatter and even space travel - a veritable Age of Wonder! But such magnificent industry comes at a price - a price paid first by Earth's biosphere, and then by all those dependent on it. And yet the Dinosaurs refused to heed the Ants' warning of impending ecological collapse, leaving the Ant Federation facing a single dilemma: destroy the dinosaurs, destroy a civilization... or perish alongside them? Praise for the author: "China's answer to Arthur C. Clarke" THE NEW YORKER "Wildly imaginative, really interesting ... The scope of it was immense" BARACK OBAMA "A milestone in Chinese science fiction" NEW YORK TIMES "A marvellous mélange of awe-inspiring scientific concepts, clever plotting and quirky yet plausible characters" TLS "A unique blend of scientific and philosophical speculation, politics and history, conspiracy theory and cosmology" GEORGE R.R. MARTIN

Cixin Liu (Author), Bruno Roubicek (Narrator)

Audiobook

Return of the Corinari

A host of new allies . . . A plethora of advanced technologies . . . A daring gamble to advance their forces . . . A chance to retake lost worlds once and for all . . . The Dusahn have been backed into a corner, barely able to hold the worlds of the Pentaurus cluster, let alone the entire sector. Forced to dig in, they may have to resort to drastic measures to save their fledgling empire. Captain Scott must use all his military and diplomatic skills to prepare his forces for the final assault on the Dusahn Empire. But he cannot do it alone. He needs help, and lots of it.

Ryk Brown (Author), Jeffrey Kafer (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Alexander Inheritance

Twice before, mysterious cosmic catastrophes have sent portions of the Earth across space and back in timefirst, with the Grantville Disaster in West Virginia, and then again with a maximum security prison in southern Illinois. Now, the planet is struck with yet another such cataclysm, whose direct impact falls upon the Queen of the Sea, a cruise ship in the Caribbean. When the convulsions subside, the crew and passengers of the ship discover that they have arrived in a new and frightening world. They are in the Mediterranean now, not the Caribbean. Still worse, they discover that the disaster has sent them more than two thousand years back in time. Following the advice of an historian among the passengers, Marie Easley, they sail to Egyptor, at least, where they hope Egypt will be. Sure enough, Egypt is thereruled over by Ptolemy, the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty and one of Alexander the Greats chief generals. Alexander the Great, it turns out, died just two years ago. The western world has just entered what would become known as the Hellenistic Period of history, during which time Greek civilization would spread around the Mediterranean and beyond. But the first fifty years of the Hellenistic Period was the Age of Diadochithe Time of the Successorswhen Alexanders empire would collapse into chaos. By the time the Successors finished their strife, every single member of Alexanders dynasty would be murdered and only three of the generals who began that civil war would still be alive. That is the new world in which the Queen of the Sea finds itself. Can Marie Easley and Captain Lars Flodden guide the crew and passengers through this cataclysm? Fortunately, they have some help: a young Norwegian ships officer who forms an attachment to Alexanders widow; a French officer who is a champion pistol marksman; a canny congressman from Utahand, most of all, many people of the time who are drawn to a vision of the better world of the future.

Eric Flint, Gorg Huff, Paula Goodlett (Author), Graham Winton (Narrator)

Audiobook

New York 2140

New York 2140: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience! * As the sea levels rose, every street became a canal. Every skyscraper an island. For the residents of one apartment building in Madison Square, however, New York in the year 2140 is far from a drowned city. There is the market trader, who finds opportunities where others find trouble. There is the detective, whose work will never disappear - along with the lawyers, of course. There is the internet star, beloved by millions for her airship adventures, and the building's manager, quietly respected for his attention to detail. Then there are two boys who don't live there, but have no other home - and who are more important to its future than anyone might imagine. Lastly there are the coders, temporary residents on the roof, whose disappearance triggers a sequence of events that threatens the existence of all - and even the long-hidden foundations on which the city rests. *Booktrack is an immersive format that pairs traditional audiobook narration to complementary music. The tempo and rhythm of the score are in perfect harmony with the action and characters throughout the audiobook. Gently playing in the background, the music never overpowers or distracts from the narration, so listeners can enjoy every minute. When you purchase this Booktrack edition, you receive the exact narration as the traditional audiobook available, with the addition of music throughout.

Kim Stanley Robinson (Author), Caitlin Kelly, Christopher Ryan Grant, Jay Snyder, Michael Crouch, Peter Ganim, Robert Blumenfeld, Robin Miles, Ryan Vincent Anderson, Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

Audiobook

Gunboat Diplomacy

Before Hr'ent Golramm became a legendary Enforcer for the Peacemaker Guild, he was a mere candidate. Granted, he was a particularly unusual candidate-only six Oogar had ever successfully graduated from the Peacemaker Academy on Ocono, and Hr'ent would be the seventh. Every candidate must pass a commissioning mission in order to graduate, though, and Hr'ent's is unsolvable. The Pushtal of Vorrhurna were once one of the Mercenary Guild's 37 races. After a series of disastrous contracts, the tiger-like aliens lost their status as mercenaries, and the MinSha seized their home world for defaulting on their debt. Eighty years later, the seven Great Clans are but a shadow of their former selves and have resorted to piracy to survive. For his commissioning mission, Hr'ent and a small team of bounty hunters must find a way to put a stop to their predations. No one in the Union has figured out how to herd cats to this point, but Hr'ent is a particularly unusual Peacemaker candidate, who isn't afraid to resort to a bit of gunboat diplomacy to get the Pushtal to listen to what he says, once and for all.

Jamie Ibson, Jason Cordova (Author), Graham Rowat (Narrator)

Audiobook

To Ride a Rathorn

P. C. Hodgells latest high fantasy novel is the sequel to Seekers Mask, which in turn follows God Stalk and Dark of the Moon (collected in the Meisha Merlin omnibus Dark of the Gods). These are the chronicles of Jamethiel Priests-bane, otherwise known as Jame, as she struggles to find a place in a universe full of danger, intrigue, and more than a bit of downright lunacy. The current novels title To Ride a Rathorn, comes from the Kencyr phrase that refers to someone attempting something insane, but it is too dangerous for them to stop. The reference is also to a certain young rathorn (think of an armor-plated, carnivorous unicorn with a nasty temper) who is after Jame for killing his mother and about to catch up with her. At Tentir, Jame faces cut-throat competition and finds even more buried, poisonous family secrets. Not only is the Caineron heir sent to humiliate her, but a charming Ardeth Highborn arrives hell-bent on seducing her. Then too, what is she to make of the mysterious White Lady who haunts her dreams, or of the growling monster that prowls Tentirs hallways and is said to eat young cadets for breakfast? For she is learning Tentir has secrets of its own, and it is fighting for its soul. Under political pressure that threatens to compromise its independence, it looks to its Commandant, an honorable man; but also a Caineron. As the college tests Jame, so she tests it. Some things need to be broken.

P.C. Hodgell (Author), Jennifer O'Donnell (Narrator)

Audiobook

Doctor Who: The Third Alien Worlds Collection: 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th Doctor Novelisations

Five exciting novelisations featuring adventures for the Doctor and his companions on weird and wonderful planets. In The Rescue, the First Doctor meets the sole survivors of a crashed spaceliner on Dido. In Doctor Who and the Creature from the Pit, the ruthless Lady Adrasta is keeping an unusual visitor prisoner on the planet Chloris. In The Twin Dilemma, a newly regenerated Doctor tries to become a hermit on the planet Titan 3. In Paradise Towers, the Doctor and Mel meet the residents of a dystopian hell, and in The Happiness Patrol the TARDIS lands in trouble on the colony world Terra Alpha. Maureen O'Brien, Tom Baker, Colin Baker, Bonnie Langford and Rula Lenska are the readers for this quintet of stories based on classic BBC TV serials.

David Fisher, Eric Saward, Graeme Curry, Ian Marter, Stephen Wyatt (Author), Bonnie Langford, Colin Baker, Maureen O'brien, Rula Lenska, Tom Baker (Narrator)

Audiobook

Arcane Kingdom Online: Death Match

A mysterious invitation. A deadly tournament. The fate of the world rests with one summoner and his level-one ghost spirit. With a new class unlocked, Clay has been chosen to compete in the infamous Solmini Summoner Tournament. No big deal, barring the mortality rate for contestants. The plan is simple: compete, survive, and find allies in the growing conflict across Illyria. But with warring factions and political intrigue dominating the desert capital, one false move could spell disaster for Clay and his friends. Let the trials begin.

Jakob Tanner (Author), Ryan Burke (Narrator)

Audiobook

Edges

From the Edge of Apocalypse: Deception Well is a world on the edge, home to an isolated remnant surviving at the farthest reach of human expansion. All across the frontier, other worlds have succumbed to the relentless attacks of robotic alien warships, while hundreds of light years away, the core of human civilization-those star systems closest to Earth, known as the Hallowed Vasties-have all fallen to ruins. Powerful telescopes can see only dust and debris where once there were orbital mega-structures so huge they eclipsed the light of their parent stars No one knows for sure what caused the Hallowed Vasties to fail, but a hardened adventurer named Urban intends to find out. He has the resources to do it. He commands a captive alien starship fully capable of facing the dangers that lie beyond Deception Well. With a ship's company of explorers and scientists, Urban is embarking on a voyage of re-discovery. They will be the first in centuries to confront the hazards of an inverted frontier as they venture back along the path of human migration. Their goal: to unravel the mystery of the Hallowed Vasties and to discover what monstrous life might have grown up among the ruins.

Linda Nagata (Author), Nicole Poole (Narrator)

Audiobook

Science Fiction Audiobooks in Science Fiction & Fantasy