Machine Audiobook By Elizabeth Bear cover art

Machine

White Space, Book 2

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Machine

By: Elizabeth Bear
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
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In this “spectacularly smart space opera” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) set in the same universe as the critically acclaimed White Space series and perfect for fans of Karen Traviss and Ada Hoffman, a space station begins to unravel when a routine search and rescue mission returns after going dangerously awry.

Meet Doctor Jens.

She hasn’t had a decent cup of coffee in 15 years. Her workday begins when she jumps out of perfectly good space ships and continues with developing treatments for sick alien species she’s never seen before. She loves her life. Even without the coffee.

But Dr. Jens is about to discover an astonishing mystery: two ships, once ancient and one new, locked in a deadly embrace. The crew is suffering from an unknown ailment and the shipmind is trapped in an inadequate body, much of her memory pared away.

Unfortunately, Dr. Jens can’t resist a mystery and she begins doing some digging. She has no idea that she’s about to discover horrifying and life-changing truths.

Written in Elizabeth Bear’s signature “rollicking, suspenseful, and sentimental” (Publishers Weekly) style, Machine is a fresh and electrifying space opera.

©2020 Elizabeth Bear. All rights reserved. (P)2020 Orion Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Adventure Fiction First Contact Science Fiction Space Opera
Excellent Space Opera • Twisty Mystery • Distinct Character Voices • Sophisticated Thinking • Hopeful Storytelling
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Bear's second White Space novel builds on a strong debut, feeling more confident in the universe being built. The pace, characters, setting, and commentary are all engrossing.

An engaging and smart sci-fi

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I love Elizabeth Bear's stories. However, I had trouble with this one for a simple, yet important reason: The ad nauseum lengths of the inner monolog of Dr Jens became so annoying I took to skipping chapters. After a discourse or three on the pain she lives with, why am I listening to a regurgitation of the same issue again and again, oh and let's not forget, again. I guess what it comes down to is this not being a favorite Bear story. Is it enough to turn me away from this author? Absolutely not, but for me Machine gets a C-

Not Her Best Work

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This was better than the first book. I really like the main character. The performer did an excellent job. highly recommended

Exciting

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Great world building, great character, and the very few pronunciation mistakes (which may not really have been) by Adjoa Andoh don't take away from brilliant and beautiful narration. Such a wonder, rich voice. It was a pleasure to listen to.

This takes place in the same universe as as the previous book but doesn't really directly rely on knowledge from that book. Very glad I ignored the few people who said ugly things about the narration. I totally enjoyed this.

I liked this one a lot. Fantastic world building

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I actually liked this one even more than the first book of which it has a few surprise guests but not enough to take away from it as a stand alone. Really enjoyed the voice actres/actress that I was excited to recognize. I only wish there was a little bit more continuity with singers voice but that’s not even a factor. Loved this

Black Women reading scifi YES please

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An engaging parable of our present, beautifully read. Recommended. Plus a bunch of useless words to meet the review minimum.

Everything SF is for

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Bear is at the top of her craft. I don't read a lot of science fiction but the White Space series captured me completely. Bear's stories remind me of novels by Ursula Le Guin and Margaret Atwood. She imagines future societies in a way that reflect on the here and now by implication. What would the future look like if humans on Earth had finally gotten desperate enough to work together and they'd saved the planet? What was left of it anyway. And then mastered space travel? What role would they play in a truly multicultural civilization out there in the galaxy? Where machines have personhood. Where ships travel faster than the speed of light in something called white space? Where there is no bigotry, no poverty, no crime, no shame, and humans haven't lost their sense of humor? What could possibly go very, very wrong? Machine is my favorite kind of book, a well-written story that takes you to places you've never been before and challenges you to think hard about what you find there.

Literary Science Fiction

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The voices the narrator created for the characters were so good - this was an epic listen.
It’s another marvelous Elizabeth Bear book. She is a world builder on par with Frank Herbert.

Spectacular Narrator

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There are a lot of amateurs writing sci-fi now.....probably a good thing, but you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a really good combination of story, characters and imagination. This is a REALLY good one. Excellent narration as well.

Sophisticated thinking, fun book

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As a person with the “hidden” disability of chronic pain, it’s refreshing to encounter a hero - not transcending, but - finding their power from within their disability. I found this story far from whiny as others have suggested. Instead it does a masterful job of pulling the reader/listener into the unique challenges of a person in pain in an empathetic, but not pitying, way. Understanding the protagonist’s condition and situation is essential to both the plot and her character arc. It’s ridiculous for anyone to suggest that it drags the story down as it is THE story. It’s ok to not like a book, but suggesting excisions that would fundamentally lobotomize the story only manages to expose one’s blind spots.

This book expands the world building of the series in interesting ways while being a fun whodunnit. I wasn’t sure I’d like the medical setting but it provided an opportunity to introduce a lot of new fun (and funny) species into the world. It’s actually not too medical and the primary arc is 100% sci-fi. The characters are charming within their flaws while the story evokes the idealism of some of the most earnest “Starfleet trying hard to live up to its promise” episodes of Star Trek.

And as always, Andoh is an exquisite narrator. She brings unparalleled depth to any story she narrates, but her acting talents have a chance to really come through in a few notably emotional and climactic moments. I wish she narrated all audiobooks.

Fun space whodunnit

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