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City
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
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Publisher's summary
Here is a masterful tale of an Earth overrun by ants, a series of parallel worlds ruled by dogs, and a Jupiter where the human race finds its Gold Age - if "human" it could still be called.
BONUS AUDIO: City includes an exclusive introduction by Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Mike Resnick.
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Professor James Lowry didn’t believe in spirits, or witches, or demons. Not until a gentle spring evening when his hat disappeared, and suddenly he couldn’t remember the last four hours of his life. Now, the quiet university town of Atworthy is changing - slightly at first, then faster and more frighteningly each time he tries to remember.
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The Best of Hubbard
- By JJ on 01-31-15
By: L. Ron Hubbard
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Fahrenheit 451
- By: Ray Bradbury
- Narrated by: Tim Robbins
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Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television "family."
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Wish I Hadn't Cliff Noted This in High School
- By Joel on 03-27-17
By: Ray Bradbury
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Gateways
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It isn’t easy to get a group of bestselling SF authors to write new stories for an anthology, but that’s what Elizabeth Anne Hull has done in this powerhouse book. With original, captivating tales by Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, David Brin, Cory Doctorow, Neil Gaiman, Joe Haldeman, Harry Harrison, Larry Niven, Vernor Vinge, Gene Wolfe, and others, Gateways is a SF event that will be a must-buy for SF readers of all tastes, from the traditional to the cutting edge; from the darkly serious to the laugh-out-loud funny.
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Spectacular.
- By Steve Reid on 08-21-15
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Worldship: Udo the Digger
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- By: Joshua Gayou
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- Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
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Udo's biggest problem isn't being a digger (that's low class), or staying drunk (that's damn expensive), or avoiding the Dwergaz (they're monsters), or even pissing off the supposed Gods. It's that his reality...well, it isn't what he thought. And now, he can't even afford to drink because his so-called friend Nicz is cutting into his business, digging up tin, iron, and copper. So Udo forms a new plan: clay. After all, clay jars are used to store everything: meat, herbs, and, his personal favorite, ale.
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I am confused.
- By Ahkia on 06-02-20
By: Joshua Gayou
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Dreams and Shadows
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- By: C. Robert Cargill
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
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There is another world than our own - one no closer than a kiss and one no further than our nightmares - where all the stuff of which dreams are made is real and magic is just a step away. But once you see that world, you will never be the same. Dreams and Shadows takes us beyond this veil. Once bold explorers and youthful denizens of this magical realm, Ewan is now an Austin musician who just met his dream girl, and Colby, meanwhile, cannot escape the consequences of an innocent wish.
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An Amazing Book
- By hermanous on 04-14-13
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The Book of Magic
- By: Gardner Dozois - editor, Scott Lynch, Elizabeth Bear, and others
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Hot on the heels of Gardner Dozois's acclaimed anthology The Book of Swords comes this companion volume devoted to magic. How could it be otherwise? For every Frodo, there is a Gandalf... and a Saruman. For every Dorothy, a Glinda... and a Wicked Witch of the West. What would Harry Potter be without Albus Dumbledore... and Severus Snape? Figures of wisdom and power, possessing arcane, often forbidden knowledge, wizards and sorcerers are shaped - or misshaped - by the potent magic they seek to wield.
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some stinkers mostly good
- By M.T. on 12-11-18
By: Gardner Dozois - editor, and others
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What listeners say about City
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- MarilynArms
- 08-17-17
Despite the year, unique and innovative
City is a 1952 science fiction novel by Clifford D. Simak. The book is episodic with eight or nine (depending on which version you read) short stories that have “bridges” between episodes. Version of the book after 1980 includes the ninth tale, “Epilogue.”
The novel contains eight stories which are the mythology of the Dogs. Each tale is preceded by doggish notes and learned discussion. An editor’s “preface” notes after each telling of these legends, suggest that puppies will ask many questions, for example:
“What is Man?” they’ll ask.
Or perhaps: “What is a city?”
Or maybe:”What is a war?
There is no positive answer to any of these questions.”
In the world where these stories are legends, there are no humans, no cities, and no war.
Generally, I find old science fiction awkward and occasionally dull. In City, the technology and science is dated, but the concepts are as innovative and unique as they were when I first read the book in the 1960s.
This “remembered human world” questions whether or not humankind will continue as a species, but not for the usual reason. Quite the opposite.
In these stories, earth was repaired in every way you can imagine. There is enough of everything — food, money, housing. Roads are useless because everyone flies. Cities are empty. Everyone lives in the country. Crime disappears and mutants have strange powers, especially telepathy.
The stories focus around one wealthy family named Webster and their robot Jenkins, . Over time, the name Webster becomes the noun “webster,” meaning “human.” Each story builds on a previous one. All discuss the breakdown of the urban world. The breakdown isn’t a bad thing because human life is enormously better.
And then, there’s Jupiter.
Doug Webster hates the new world. He’s an agoraphobic. Although the word “agoraphobic” is never used, Webster (all his family members share the same issue) becomes ill if he is has to go out into the bigger world. At some point, Webster provides dogs with speech and improved vision. Meanwhile, the breakdown of civilization allows roaming mutant geniuses to make their own odd changes to earth. Joe, a wandering mutant, decides to see what would happen to ants if they remained active and free of hunger year round.
The ants form an industrial society and eventually take over “our” earth while humans go somewhere else — as do the dogs. A lot of stuff happens and there isn’t a lot of specific information provided. You will need your imagination.
Dogs see other worlds. They always have. Their worlds are “cobbly worlds.” In case you were wondering, cobbly worlds are why your dog barks at seemingly nothing. Dogs bark to warn the cobblies to stay away. Other worlds familiar to us, are invisible to Dogs.
Ultimately, humans abandon earth and dogs have nothing but mythical memories of humans. They are not even sure we ever existed. The stories in this book are their myths and legends. A few dogs believe humans existed, but most do not. I really enjoyed the book. I also enjoyed the audiobook. If science fiction is your thing, this book is worth your time.
And don’t forget about those cobbly worlds.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Matt Lamb
- 07-28-16
Interesting but not profound
Between chapters they warn you might not understand or you might be upset. It's an interesting story but not as profound as it professes to be.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Jiri Klouda
- 05-25-20
Will a pandemic replace flying cars?
It has been a great book 30 years ago when I read it for the first time and it is even better now reading it with life experience. Since reading it for the first time I was hoping that internet and robotics would allow people to move apart and live wherever they like. It seems like we might be finally getting there now. Would cities really become obsolete one day?
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Overall
- Holly Helscher
- 06-14-10
Disturbing
This was a book I couldn't stop reading and it was also a book I couldn't stop thinking about once it ended. It's message was thought provoking. A story of a family, the Websters, the plot evolves into the ultimate destruction of humanity. And yet we see that other alien races in the novel tend to make similar errors as they, too evolve. Life's questions, such as "to kill or not to kill" and "what does it mean to be human" and even the more abstract scifi rule to not interfere with another race are prevalent throughout the novel. If you are looking for a light reading experience, this is not the novel to read. But if you are looking for a book that will evoke discussion and comment on the human condition, this is a gold mine. Do not let the age of the book fool you into thinking it is no longer pertinent. The story is more pertinent today than it could have been when it was first written. The author's own comment prior to the Epilogue was intriguing. The narrators were very good and overall, this was an excellent read. I am delighted I bought it.
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28 people found this helpful
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- Regis Marco
- 04-19-19
I was happy to rediscover this master piece
I read the story when I was in my teens. It was in a different language at the time. So happy to listen Simak's simple an wonderful words. I since have read other of his novels, I had forgotten that the author was obsessed with the end of our civilization. probably because he went through the two world wars. City or (Demain les chiens) remains my favorite.
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2 people found this helpful
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- M. Peca
- 09-06-22
Dragged
I read a interview, it said I was one of his best . I don’t think so I’ve read other stuff of smile and and I really enjoyed them this was kinda of draggy not as put together as some of the other other stories I have read . although this is like having a little mini story stuck together in one book and I hate that
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- h4xr4nubs
- 10-05-19
Wonderful Masterful Sci Fi
A fantastical recollection of humanity from the perspective of another race! At times the perspective makes you wonder about human influence and what the human race aspires to achieve!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Michael Connor
- 01-18-19
a unique view of the future
A well structured unique perspective of the future. Simak, anckors the story around a single family and their contribution to the future of mankind. But their contributions take unexpected paths.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Maximus
- 12-22-16
touching and brilliant
this book ripped my brain apart it's so amazing. it doesn't feel crusty at all in fact it is still incredibly relevant
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- R. Simon
- 11-15-21
Excellent and a must listen.
Just a great wonderful book and one that gets you to really thinking about the future of the human race. I can see some aspects of this book come to pass. A wonderful but sad sort of ending an ending like those of never being able to go home again because your home is no longer standing. The loss of an age you can never go back to, being force to go forward kicking and screaming.
Taken from the point of view of dogs is genus, one wonders just what it would be like to live 10,000+ years and be able to remember it all, a machine could handle it a human mind would go insane even in a mechanical matrix. The gift of a AI robot is that it is not encumbered with any humanity.
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