A Voice in the Wilderness Audiobook By John Scalzi cover art

A Voice in the Wilderness

The Human Division, Episode 4

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

A Voice in the Wilderness

By: John Scalzi
Narrated by: William Dufris
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $1.43

Buy for $1.43

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

Albert Birnbaum was once one of the biggest political talk show hosts around, but these days he’s watching his career enter a death spiral. A stranger offers a solution to his woes, promising to put him back on top. It’s everything Birnbaum wants, but is there a catch? And does Birnbaum actually care if there is?

"A Voice in the Wilderness" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

Listen to the complete edition of The Human Division, the fifth full-length book by John Scalzi in the Old Man's War universe.©2012 John Scalzi (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Adventure First Contact Military Science Fiction Space Opera
Interwoven Storylines • Witty Writing • Great Performance • Recognizable Character Voices • Engaging Format • Good Flow
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
For the first time, the series of short stories takes the reader to earth where a struggling radio show personality is encouraged to reverse his declining ratings by championing the program by which elderly earthlings are rejuvenated and sent to the stars to fight for the Colonial Union. It’s a controversial move—the Union is not popular on earth at this time—and the results are…surprising.

Surprising

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What did you like best about A Voice in the Wilderness? What did you like least?

I liked that the chapter introduces a new character. I'm disappointed that overall the cost of following the series is not worth it depending on how many chapters are involved.

Would you be willing to try another book from John Scalzi? Why or why not?

I liked "Red Shirts" by John Scalzi. I may buy another book by him, but I won't be buying more chapters of this book unless I can use a credit to buy all the chapters at once.

What does William Dufris bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I like the voices he uses especially for aliens speaking as described by the author.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Can't tell yet beause this is just a single chapter.

Any additional comments?

Refund my money and allow me to pre-purchase all chapters using a single credit.

Should be able to use credit for multiple chapters

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A good and fast short story keeping in the vain of the other chapters. Scalzi delivers another good listen.

A good short story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Episode 4 of The Human Division was not the direct sequel to Episode 3 that I had expected. Instead, this was a short, mostly humorous segment focusing on a broadcaster on Earth and the growing division between Earth and the Colonial Union. It was an interesting side story but did have too much harsh language for my tastes.

Good side story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Typical media personalities causing trouble for ratings or a buck. This time it is for ratings and do they ever go up! Decent story with a little twist at the end. Have to wait another week for it all to continue but, oh well, whatcha gonna do? Time to pre order episode 5.

Thats the media for ya

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

NOT REALLY IT WAS VERY PREDICTABLE. MAN WANTS SUCCESS AND WILL DO ANYTHING FOR IT AND THEN IT GETS HIM

Any additional comments?

SOMETIMES THE USER BECOMES THE USED AND GETS A JUST END

YOU GET WHAT YOU GOT COMING

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you listen to A Voice in the Wilderness again? Why?

Because its fun, its well written, and it makes fun of the likes of Alex Jones and similar wackos.

Would you recommend A Voice in the Wilderness to your friends? Why or why not?

It will entertain. Done.

What about William Dufris’s performance did you like?

Strong and fast paced. Good control of the different character voices and good flow.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Made me smile. That takes a lot.

Commentary on media

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is Episode 4 of the Human Division series. Some reviewers say each episode is a short standalone story, others say Scalzi just divided what would have been one book into multiple separate episodes. I have heard four episodes now, and I am beginning to see that they will likely all combine together into one ending. I would not buy these as standalone books, as they are very short, the plot isn't strong enough and the endings either leave you hanging or, in the case of Episode 4, is just so-so.

The story is better written than much of Scalzi's work I've heard so far. It lacked the irritating transcript style of "he said," "she said" which has absolutely ruined some of his other stories, in my opinion. Reader did a good job, even though it was not a difficult narration to perform.

Okay, but nothing special

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
if you're a scalzi fan you'll eat these up.

love the format of drip feeding snippets, i'll happily interrupt the book i'm listening to for a quick giggle and division catchup.

scalzi popcorn

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you listen to A Voice in the Wilderness again? Why?

I already have done, three times. The story bears repeated telling, since it's part of a greater story being told in multiple chapters, and the nuances show with each replay.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Voice in the Wilderness?

The denouement when the conspiracy is revealed to the main character.

What about William Dufris’s performance did you like?

He has a soothing voice and produces recognisable character voices without apparent effort.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. Twice.

Any additional comments?

I'm enjoying all these chapter releases by John Scalzi and William DuFris

Not just Radio Ga Ga....

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews