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Narrated by:
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Alma Cuervo
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By:
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Elizabeth Bear
About this listen
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Wilhelmina Heidle, the fourth child and only daughter of the king of the world's wealthiest nation, has grown up in the shadows. Kept hidden from the world in order to serve as a spy for her father - whose obsession with building his empire is causing a war - Wil wants nothing more than to explore the world beyond her kingdom, if only her father would give her the chance. Until one night Wil is attacked, and she discovers a dangerous secret. Her touch turns people into gemstone.
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Story doesn’t finish (and a warning for parents)
- By GLENNO on 03-17-22
By: Lauren DeStefano
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Mask of Shadows
- By: Linsey Miller
- Narrated by: Deryn Edwards
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Gender-fluid Sallot Leon is a thief, and a good one at that. But Sal wants nothing more than to escape the drudgery of life as a highway robber and to get closer to the nobles who destroyed home. So when auditions to become a member of The Left Hand - the Queen's personal assassins - are announced, Sal jumps at the chance to infiltrate the court and get revenge. But a childhood as a common criminal hardly prepared Sal for the audition: a fight to the death filled with clever circus acrobats, lethal apothecaries, and vicious ex-soldiers.
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Good audio, okay plot.
- By Aly P on 05-13-19
By: Linsey Miller
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Bloodleaf
- By: Crystal Smith
- Narrated by: Nicola Barber
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Princess Aurelia is a prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt. To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her.
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Not Understanding All the Praise
- By GPChlorine on 08-23-19
By: Crystal Smith
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Compass Rose
- By: Anna Burke
- Narrated by: Annette Romano
- Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Rose was born facing due north, with an inherent perception of cardinal points flowing through her veins. Her uncanny sense of direction earns her a coveted job within the Archipelago Fleet, but it also attracts the attention of Admiral Comita, who sends her on a secret mission deep into pirate territory. Aboard the mercenary ship, Man o' War, Rose joins a ragtag crew under the command of Miranda, a captain as alluring as she is bloodthirsty.
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Excellent
- By Labrys on 07-30-19
By: Anna Burke
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Worldship: Udo the Digger
- Worldship, Book 1
- By: Joshua Gayou
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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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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The Forgotten Locket
- By: Lisa Mangum
- Narrated by: Lisa Mangum
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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The only way to rescue the future is to alter the past. When Abby stepped through the hourglass door, leaving her beloved Dante blind and bleeding on the other side, it was in full faith that she could find a way to repair the damage to the river of time and restore him - as well as her family. It was a desperate chance that seemed worth taking. But Zo had other plans. Now Abby is trapped in a full-fledged battle for her own mind and life and heart.
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Good story, stale reading
- By Alicia Johnson on 06-08-22
By: Lisa Mangum
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Luck in the Shadows
- Nightrunner, Book 1
- By: Lynn Flewelling
- Narrated by: Raymond Todd
- Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Spy, rogue, thief, and noble, Seregil of Rhiminee is many things, none of them predictable. And when he offers to take on Alec as his apprentice, things may never be the same for either of them. Soon Alec is traveling roads he never knew existed, toward a war he never suspected was brewing. Before long he and Seregil are embroiled in a sinister plot that runs deeper than either can imagine and that may cost them far more than their lives if they fail. But fortune is as unpredictable as Alec's new mentor.
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Fantastic Series! Homophobes, shut up!
- By Ted on 09-23-11
By: Lynn Flewelling
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The Oversight
- By: Charlie Fletcher
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Once there were hundreds of members of the Oversight, the brave souls who guard the borders between the mundane and the magic. Now there are only five. When a vagabond brings a screaming girl to the Oversight's London headquarters, she could answer their hopes for new recruit, or she could be the instrument of their downfall.
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Fantastic start to a fantasy series
- By jessica on 06-01-14
By: Charlie Fletcher
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The Ghost and the Graveyard
- Knight Games, Book 1
- By: Genevieve Jack
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Grateful Knight isn’t looking for love when she moves into a rent-free house on the edge of a graveyard. At 22, all she wants is to recover financially so she can move back to the city where she belongs. But sparks fly when the gorgeous cemetery caretaker, Rick, introduces himself and mentions his suspicion that her new house might be haunted. Her attraction to him seems supernatural, and, despite her resolve to not get involved, she literally can’t keep her hands off him.
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Can't stand Grateful
- By Bryn on 01-30-16
By: Genevieve Jack
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House of Furies
- By: Madeleine Roux
- Narrated by: Billie Fulford-Brown
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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After escaping a harsh school where punishment was the lesson of the day, 17-year-old Louisa Ditton is thrilled to find employment as a maid at a boardinghouse. But soon after her arrival at Coldthistle House, Louisa begins to realize that the house's mysterious owner, Mr. Morningside, is providing much more than lodging for his guests. Far from a place of rest, the house is a place of judgment, and Mr. Morningside and his unusual staff are meant to execute their own justice on those who are past being saved.
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One of the characters is Satan..lots of the occult
- By Angela Briggs on 07-25-19
By: Madeleine Roux
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What listeners say about Dust
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-28-20
Not my si-fi grade
I guess I'm just not up to the level of this space fiction. I've listened and read - and still just didn't "Get it". The reader was great but I had real difficulty following the narrative. This may be a super book for those immersed in space fiction - but it wasn't for me. I have read another of Elizabeth Bear's book and like it.
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- Jake
- 01-23-15
A very, very strange book. Not for everyone
What got me to read this is the generation ship/ big ship angle. I am a total sucker for novels in this vein, and that's the only reason I got through this and the second book in the series, Chill.
As strange and otherworldly as the characters are none of them are really likable or well developed. They hang on the strength of their unusualness, aided by a fairly well developed set of technological enhancements that provide enough interesting aspects to keep you going to a point. To the author's credit the setting and various technologies are interesting and mysterious, yet they aren't enough to hide the sheer strangeness of the interactions between characters. There is a sheen of ill-defined sexuality that is hinted at but never well developed enough. The two main characters have a depth and connection that is unwarranted and inexplicable given the background provided.
If, like me, generation ships and arks are your thing, then the draw of this setting and the mysteries the ship holds will be enough to gloss over the unconventional aspects of the rest of the novel.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Elisabeth Carey
- 05-18-18
An absorbing, original generation ship story
<i>Jacob's Ladder</i> is a generation ship, launched by an unusual religious cult, now stranded in orbit around a double star. After 500 years of drifting in orbit, the ship damaged and the the ship's AI fragmented into multiple units that have been dubbed Angels, the ship's population is divided into separate, rival populations in different parts of the ship. Rule and Engine are about to go to war. There's a struggle over who will be the new Commodore.
But the stars are heading toward going nova very soon, and the Angels, with a much better understanding of the ship's danger than the human population have, are engaged in their own struggle. They need to rejoin into a unified whole that can truly operate the somewhat-repaired ship, but each wants to be the dominant personality, too.
In the midst of all this, we meet Rien, a Mean, or servant, in Rule, and Perceval, a knight of of Engine.
What Rien doesn't know at first, but Perceval does, is that they are sisters, intentionally conceived to be hostages. When Perceval is captured during a clash between Rule and Engine, Rien is the one assigned to care for her in what are the last couple of days before Arianne, head of Rule, consumes the symbionts that will give her all of Perceval's knowledge and memories.
What follows is a wild adventure in which we, along with Rien, learn a great deal more about the world of <i>Jacob's Ladder</i>, the intentions of their founders, and the threats the ship faces. Rien, Perceval, their relatives, and the AIs all learn, grow, and face major choices and losses. It's an exciting, interesting, satisfying story.
It's the first of a trilogy, but this part of the story comes to a satisfying conclusion of its own, while leaving room for the arc of the rest of the trilogy.
Recommended.
I bought this audiobook.
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1 person found this helpful
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- D. L. Diehl
- 10-13-17
Love, bioengineering, & knighthood
From the fertile mind of Elizabeth Bear comes a tale of humanity reaching for the stars and love transcendant. A mix of fantasy & sci fi tropes gently blend together in this story of generation ships and melodramatic artificial intelligences at the mercy of the stars. At its heart, it is the story of two half sisters. I love these two. they are the heart and soul of the entire cosmic drama.
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- JanaMacEye
- 01-21-09
A throughly well crafted story
This was my first audio book, as well as my first Elizabeth Bear book. The writing was exquisitely well crafted; her prose was simply wonderful to listen to and, because of this, I plan to read it as well. The story was compelling, leading the reader on to understand the complexities of "the world" that was the stranded generation ship, with its ship mind/AI fragmented into pieces, the "angels". Very ingenious and well done. Without burdening the reader with endless technical descriptions, she illuminates the characters and brings them into vivid focus. The narrator was perfect.
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11 people found this helpful
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- Bells
- 01-01-21
it starts slow but stick with it!
I've read some of her newer books and I love the fact that they are full of context of different types of personalities and people and progressive thoughts such as including people of different genders and different sexualities and different identifications... And I didn't know if that was going to be true in one of her older books... still there it's just much more subtle... The world wasn't really ready for it back then. this trilogy though is very good it's very well done and it's interesting how whoever chooses the readers for these books... I just really appreciate the thought that goes into their choice for readers.
I didn't really know what this book was about when I started it and I didn't kind of understand how to take it in... kind of similar to Firefly in the sense of mixing genres and sometimes it's hard to get your brain around... but it's very well done here and the reason that it's done is actually explained by the story which makes it a lot better for me.
so it seems to be taking place on a starship in the distant future but at the same time everyone seems to be living at the feudal level... like there are the ruling class and then there are the fiefs, etc. it's got a lot of religious vernacular in it but it's capitalizing on the idea that any distant technology will be perceived as magic... And that is really evident here. I really wasn't certain if I was going to enjoy this but I really ended up getting sucked in and I'm definitely going to read the other books in this series to see how it all turns out.
I recommend that you read it especially if you like any crossover between fantasy and science fiction 🥰
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- Johan III
- 04-19-12
A pleasure.
What does Alma Cuervo bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?
She presents theauthors prose with delightful skill.
Any additional comments?
Far superior prose to most in this genre.
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- Michael G Kurilla
- 06-22-12
Generation ship sub-genre tale
Dust is a mildly interesting variation on the generation ship theme. A lost and damaged interstellar space ship circling an unstable star sets the backdrop for a band of space travelers that have "evolved" well beyond human. The timeframe is far future with sophisticated AIs, nanotech, and genetic engineering capable of growing human wings. We begin some time after the accident that has precipitated current events. The ship's crew has bifurcated into two competing groups (former officers and engineers) with an almost Medieval orientation. The original AI has been forced to divide into multiple entities responsible for maintaining unique elements of the ship while at the same time assisting different groups in an attempt to reintegrate and take back total control of the vessel. We follow the journey of two women as they traverse the ship in an attempt to prevent an all out war.
The characters are not well developed and largely unremarkable, except for perhaps the AIs. The whole story has the feel of a shotgun wedding between a sci-fi setting and a vampire romance tale with a hint of homo-erotic innuendos along the way. One gets the feeling that effort was required to prevent choosing a fantasy fork as the story progresses. The ending is less climatic and moreso satisfaction that everything works out, sort of.
The narration is passable, but the flat affect for most of the story does not lend itself for much opportunity to display much in the way of range.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Nick Damato
- 07-15-18
A Challenging Book, may be trying to do too much.
This was quite an odd book. Set in a disabled generation ship that has been stuck in a dying binary star-system for over half a millennium, the human population has devolved into two highly unequal classes, who have further divided into two primary, opposing factions. Simultaneously, the ships AI has fractured into several, strangely anthropomorphic and oddly possessive entities referred to as "Angels" who seem to represent alphas (males?) who are each trying to be the ultimate AI that takes the ship forward in the future. At it's most basic, the story is a complex fable about the divisions between science and religion. However, it also explores power in interpersonal relationships to a great extent. In summary: I think the book is trying to address an awful lot issues with an awful lot of symbology at once. The premise is very good, the world is very cleverly crafted, the visual narrative is very rich, and some the characters were, sadly, a little flat. The flow can shift abruptly at times, which makes it a bit challenging for an audio book and may result in some rewinding. It was not until about 2/3 of the way into the book that it really started to gel but after that it seemed to flow better. It's good enough that I'm going to read the second book.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Keith LaDue
- 06-01-18
I love this book!
This book shows great imagination and a unique take in this genre. I was able to identify with the characters and had apprehension when the characters nearly died...more than once. This book is not predictable, which is always a plus. I believe there is no book 2. There needs to be, I just hope Elizabeth Bear will consider a sequel. Now for the obligatory: "I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."
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