Firebird
An Alex Benedict Novel
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Narrated by:
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Jennifer Van Dyck
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By:
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Jack McDevitt
About this listen
A new Alex Benedict novel from "a master of describing otherworldly grandeur" (Denver Post).
Forty-one years ago, the renowned physicist Chris Robin vanished. Before his disappearance, his fringe-science theories about the existence of endless alternate universes had earned him both admirers and enemies. Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath discover that Robin had several interstellar yachts flown far outside the planetary system, where they too vanished. And following Robin's trail into the unknown puts Benedict and Kolpath in danger.
©2011 Cryptic, Inc. (P)2011 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Boss loves to dive historical ships, derelict spacecraft found adrift in the blackness between the stars. Sometimes she salvages for money, but mostly she's an active historian. She wants to know about the past--to experience it firsthand. Once she's dived the ship, she'll either leave it for others to find or file a claim so that she can bring tourists to dive it as well. It's a good life for a tough loner, with more interest in artifacts than people.
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NOT Clive Cussler in Space
- By W. S. on 03-18-10
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The Unincorporated Man
- By: Dani Kollin, Eytan Kollin
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 23 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The Unincorporated Man is a provocative social/political/economic novel that takes place in the future, after civilization has fallen into complete economic collapse. This reborn civilization is one in which every individual is incorporated at birth and spends many years trying to attain control over his or her own life by getting a majority of his or her own shares. Life extension has made life very long indeed.
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Hmm
- By CB on 06-15-09
By: Dani Kollin, and others
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Not Alone: First Encounter
- By: Craig A. Falconer
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Not Alone: First Encounter is a prequel to the globally acclaimed Not Alone series, set several years before two worlds collide under the weight of the grandest conspiracy of all time. For the first time ever, First Encounter lifts the curtain on a deadly series of events surrounding the initial meeting between the ruthless Richard Walker - untouchable head of the controversial Interspace Defense Agency - and a young truth-seeker from Birchwood, Colorado....
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Already part of Not Alone: Origins
- By Danny on 07-25-21
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The Collapsing Empire
- The Interdependency, Book 1
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
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THE STUPIDITIES OF COURT
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 04-01-17
By: John Scalzi
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Left Behind
- A Novel of the Earth's Last Days
- By: Tim LaHaye, Jerry B. Jenkins
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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What would happen if millions of people around the world suddenly disappeared one day? In this fascinating apocalyptic thriller, best-selling Christian inspirational authors LaHaye and Jenkins pool their considerable talents to answer that question. Narrator Richard Ferrone's unusually deep and hypnotic voice will keep you right in the middle of this not-unimaginable end of the world nightmare.
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Great series!
- By Shannon L Hendon on 08-03-04
By: Tim LaHaye, and others
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Factoring Humanity
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In the near future, a signal is detected coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Mysterious, unintelligible data streams in for ten years. Heather Davis, a professor in the University of Toronto psychology department, has devoted her career to deciphering the message. Her estranged husband, Kyle, is working on the development of artificial intelligence systems and new computer technology utilizing quantum effects to produce a near-infinite number of calculations simultaneously.
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Novel alien first contact
- By Michael G Kurilla on 05-28-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
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Beyond the Aquila Rift
- By: Alastair Reynolds
- Narrated by: Tom Dheere
- Length: 1 hr and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Beyond the Aquila Rift: It's shorthand for the trip no one ever hopes to make by accident. The one that will screw up the rest of your life, the one that creates the ghosts you see haunting the shadows of company bars across the whole Bubble. Men and women ripped out of time, cut adrift from families and lovers by an accident of an alien technology we use but rarely comprehend.
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Great story, mediocre audio book.
- By Amazon Customer on 04-17-12
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Fundraising the Dead
- A Museum Mystery
- By: Sheila Connolly
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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At The Society for the Preservation of Pennsylvania Antiques, fundraiser Eleanor "Nell" Pratt solicits donations - and sometimes solves crimes. When a collection of George Washington's letters is lost on the same day that an archivist is found dead, it seems strange that the Society president isn't pushing for an investigation. Nell goes digging herself, and soon uncovers a long, rich history of crime.
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Not Sure About This Series
- By Chalis on 11-21-14
By: Sheila Connolly
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StarFire
- Vince Lombard, Book 1
- By: Mike Lee
- Narrated by: Jason Brenizer
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Captain Vince Lombard, G-Marine company commander, is tasked with tracking down a stray ship. The Alliance Military Ship StarFire has gone silent, and previous attempts to locate her have resulted in the loss of more ships. After two previous wars with xenospecies humanity bumped into while expanding into space, no one knows what might be the cause of StarFire's missing in action status.
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Good solid Sci-Fi
- By Bob H. on 10-25-14
By: Mike Lee
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Methuselah's Children
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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After the fall of the American Ayatollahs as foretold in Stranger in a Strange Land and chronicled in Revolt in 2100, the United States of America at last fulfills the promise inherent in its first Revolution: for the first time in human history there is a nation with Liberty and Justice for All. No one may seize or harm the person or property of another, or invade his privacy, or force him to do his bidding. Americans are fiercely proud of their re-won liberties and the blood it cost them; nothing could make them forswear those truths they hold self-evident. Nothing except the promise of immortality…
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A delight to revisit a science fiction classic
- By Anne on 02-16-13
What listeners say about Firebird
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- William c l
- 05-15-23
More on the adventures of Chase
Another good book in series. Doing a reread so I’m fresh for village in the sky
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- Oystein L.
- 02-29-12
Another great book from McDevitt!
Jennifer Van Dyck is back and sounding greater than ever! Really loved this book! If you struggle in the start please keep in there, as the book only gets better and better! :D
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1 person found this helpful
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- Eric
- 04-02-12
Excellent SciFi Mystery
What made the experience of listening to Firebird the most enjoyable?
The Story was well written, interesting and kept you guessing.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Jack was my favorite character. I enjoyed how he out-thought his opponents and I was sympathetic to his viewpoints.
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1 person found this helpful
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- E.
- 12-27-11
Entertaining, but the narrator is a bit flat.
Would you try another book from Jack McDevitt and/or Jennifer Van Dyck?
The story is compelling enough - starships, scientists, mysterious disappearances and holes in space time. McDevitt seems to be aiming for detailed character development, but instead the story falls a bit flat, with lots of exposition and irrelevant description.
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
Something about the narrator's voice was just a smidge off for my liking - the way she reads dialogue is a bit forced and lacking in believable emotion. It wasn't bad enough to turn me off the story, but it didn't draw me in the way other performances have. I suspect a slightly different narrative performance might have hooked me better.
Was Firebird worth the listening time?
All that said, it kept me intrigued and amused for the entirety of the performance. I was glad to listen, if only to pass the time.
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-08-12
Good story
Would you listen to Firebird again? Why?
Yes. It was an enjoyable story. My first Jack McDevitt book that I have listened and I found it a constant & interesting read. I agree with other reviews that mentioned the AI voices being stilted and the story line a bit tame. I am glad I purchased it despite some poor reviews. The story was exploratory and I was surprised that the narration was from Chase' point of view not Alex's.
Did the narration match the pace of the story?
Yes.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
No. All good.
Any additional comments?
I would give this book the benefit of the doubt and download it. It was a story on a continuum not a lot of peaks and troughs in terms of exciting which makes a change from a book full of twists and turns. Really easy to listen to.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Christopher J. Ward
- 11-23-11
The master story-teller scores again
Jack McDevitt's series of yarns starring Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath, his pilot in a galactic setting. A Talent for War sets the standard for modern SF and is worth reading for a primer.
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1 person found this helpful
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- george
- 12-12-11
Story very good, the reader, just above average.
Would you consider the audio edition of Firebird to be better than the print version?
To answer the above question, I would have to read the print version to answer the question. I've read 3 other Alex Bennedict Novels by Jack McDevitt (this is my first listening to one). Jennifer read the AI's portion in a stilting manner. Wrong. The AI's were programmed for conversation, and she should have read them as close to a free flowing human as possible. But that's not a reason to listen to this book. It's good.
Who was your favorite character and why?
I had no favorite character
What about Jennifer Van Dyck’s performance did you like?
She did female voices okay.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
I'm not a marketing person, so I can't answer that question.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Peter
- 11-24-11
another one
really like the benedict series and this one is no different ,takes you back to the start and then forward again with every thing in between to satisfy and enthrall you about the story..
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2 people found this helpful
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- wendy
- 11-08-11
best Alex Benedict in a while
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes. This has been my favorite Alex Benedict story since the earlier ones (Seeker, Polaris, etc). Devil's Eye and Echo were much less engaging, so it is great to see McDevitt back to form in this story. Really engaging, lots of ingest, and the characters are well drawn.
What other book might you compare Firebird to and why?
This one reminds me of the first Benedict book, A Talent For War
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13 people found this helpful
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- Michael G Kurilla
- 11-20-11
Another solid Benedict mystery
With the latest installment of the Benedict/Colpath series, McDevitt again demonstrates domination of the subgenre of sci-fi mysteries. The entire series is best summed up as Indiana Jones meets Sherlock Holmes in the distant future. In this story, Benedict stumbles upon artifacts from a controversial physicist who simply disappeared 40 years earlier. In trying to establish some background on the events surrounding his disappearance, Benedict displays his adroit detective skills, while at the same time exploring some rather exotic physics that suggests long lost spacecraft may still be out there wandering some interdimensional no man's land. McDevitt also takes the opportunity to explore notions of human consciousness and identity which suggest this will receive more attention in future installments.
As usual, McDevitt's style is unique in generating characters that are quite familiar and very identifiable with today's culture in spite of the 9000 years in the future separation with Earth. Politics, prejudice, and PR still exist in abundance. At the same time, there are discussion of where to go for lunch and dating versus long term commitments that make the characters feel real and approachable.
McDevitt also does a great job of spreading the contributions around without resorting to a strictly ensemble cast of one trick ponies. The casting of Colpath as Dr. Watson and diarist to Benedict is a nice touch that solidifies the Sherlock Holmes reference.
The narration is well done with an excellent range of voices. This is one series that is always something to look forward to the next.
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8 people found this helpful