Steel Beach
Eight Worlds, Book 2
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Narrated by:
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David Stifel
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By:
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John Varley
About this listen
A science fiction epic from "the best writer in America" (Tom Clancy) - Hugo and Nebula award-winning author John Varley.
Fleeing Earth after an alien invasion, the human race stands on the threshold of evolution. Their new home is Luna, a moon colony blessed with creature comforts, prolonged lifespans, digital memories, and instant sex changes.
But the people of Luna are bored, restless, suicidal - and so is the computer that monitors their existence....
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What would happen if the ancient prophecy of the End of Days came true? It is certainly the last thing Eric Katz, a secular archaeologist from Los Angeles, expects during what should be a routine dig in Jerusalem. But perhaps higher forces have something else in mind when a sign presaging the rising of the Third Temple is located in America, a dirty bomb is detonated in downtown Tel Aviv, and events conspire to place a team of archaeologists in the tunnels deep under the Temple Mount.
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Terribly misinformed
- By Stretchr on 09-27-20
By: Harry Turtledove
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Black Phoenix
- By: Wayne Wightman, B. V. Larson
- Narrated by: Christian Rummel
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Earth’s first colony ship finally reaches the target world. The excitement of planetfall is indescribable, but quickly transforms into sick disappointment when they find the atmosphere is a roiling mass of hydrochloric acid, carbon dioxide, and other deadly poisons. They fly onward, seeking better planets. They find them, but none are ideal. The search goes on for a century, then longer still. As they move farther from Earth, aliens discover the intruding ship, and they begin to investigate humanity. They find our species unacceptable.
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Uggggh
- By JonH on 09-20-19
By: Wayne Wightman, and others
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The Keep
- The Adversary Cycle, Book 1
- By: F. Paul Wilson
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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"Something is murdering my men." Thus reads the message received from a Nazi commander stationed in a small castle high in the remote Transylvanian Alps. Invisible and silent, the enemy selects one victim per night, leaving the bloodless and mutilated corpses behind to terrify its future victims. When an elite SS extermination squad is dispatched to solve the problem, the men find something that's both powerful and terrifying. Panicked, the Nazis bring in a local expert on folklore - who just happens to be Jewish - to shed some light on the mysterious happenings.
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At long last, The classic horror novel on Audible
- By Shieldslinger on 07-22-20
By: F. Paul Wilson
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To Be Taught, If Fortunate
- By: Becky Chambers
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 4 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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At the turn of the 22nd century, scientists make a breakthrough in human spaceflight. Through a revolutionary method known as somaforming, astronauts can survive in hostile environments off Earth using synthetic biological supplementations. With the fragility of the body no longer a limiting factor, human beings are at last able to journey to neighboring exoplanets long known to harbor life. A team of these explorers, Ariadne O’Neill and her three crewmates, are hard at work in a planetary system 15 light-years from Sol, on a mission to ecologically survey four habitable worlds.
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"Gay & Lesbian"?!? This is solid Sci-Fi
- By Jennifer on 09-16-19
By: Becky Chambers
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Hellboy: Oddest Jobs
- By: Author Various
- Narrated by: Seth Podowitz
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Longtime contributor to the Hellboy mythos Christopher Golden brings together a crew of luminaries including Joe R. Lansdale and China Miéville, cross-genre sensation Barbara Hambly, celebrated mystery writer Ken Bruen, best-selling science-fiction and fantasy novelist Tad Williams, and a bevy of other skilled storytellers eager to spin a tale or two about the world's greatest paranormal detective. Some of the biggest names in horror, mystery, and fantasy come together to pay homage to Mike Mignola's Hellboy!
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could go with more authors that know Source materi
- By bEnemy on 07-25-23
By: Author Various
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You're Going to Mars!
- By: Rob Dircks
- Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Living and slaving in Fill City One, you get used to the smell. We call it the Everpresent Stink. But every once in a while, on a spring day with a breeze, it clears away enough to remind us that there is something more out there. Most Fillers' wildest dreams would be just to get past the walls and live in the mainland. But my dream? It’s a little bigger. I’m going to Mars.
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Reviewers Choice Award, its that good
- By Midwestbonsai on 11-13-18
By: Rob Dircks
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Flashforward
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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A scientific experiment begins, and as the button is pressed, the unexpected occurs: everyone in the world goes to sleep for a few moments while everyone's consciousness is catapulted more than twenty years into the future. At the end of those moments, when the world reawakens, all human life is transformed by foreknowledge.
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How would you digest the fruits of knowledge??
- By Phelix_da_Kat on 07-23-08
By: Robert J. Sawyer
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Marsbound
- By: Joe Haldeman
- Narrated by: Liza Kaplan
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
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Young Carmen Dula and her family are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime - they're going to Mars. Once on the Red Planet, however, Carmen realizes things are not so different from Earth. There are chores to do, lessons to learn, and oppressive authority figures to rebel against.
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Meh.
- By Wes Parker on 03-19-09
By: Joe Haldeman
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Discount Armageddon
- InCryptid, Book 1
- By: Seanan McGuire
- Narrated by: Emily Bauer
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity - and humanity from them. Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manhattan while she pursues her career in professional ballroom dance. Sounds pretty simple, right?
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I love this book!
- By a on 11-21-12
By: Seanan McGuire
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What listeners say about Steel Beach
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Paulke
- 08-05-20
Philosophical science fiction at its best
An engaging story, even if I didn't know where it was going for a while. Excellent ideas and an exploration of AI and its consequences. Nice nods to The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and other classics. Recommended.
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- D. Sturgeon
- 07-12-19
Excellent Story!
I could find no faults in either the writing or the narration in this fantastic sci-fi tale.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Deedra
- 11-25-19
Steel Beach
I did pretty good at the beginning but I was totally lost by the end.This saga is set on Luna where you can change out your body parst like you do car parts.You can change sex also.You live 100 or more years even if you don't want to. Earth was destroyed long ago but the devastation is still felt. Everyone is bored.David Stifel was a very good narrator. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
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- Ron
- 02-20-24
7 chapters in and I am clueless.
Having listened to seven chapters I am clueless. The story jumps around and now he has been on a beach all alone for a year. Maybe I will try again in a month or so, but for now I give up.
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- Caleb
- 11-02-20
definitely worth it
it seems to meander from time to time, but always picks up the very interesting central plot before boring me
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- Dale R.
- 09-06-21
Top notch writing; Voice actor needs some work
John Varley is one of the best storytellers out there; and here his talents are on full display. The plot is a wandering jumble, full of dead ends, weird twists, and inconsistent pacing. BUT, that's all because the main character/narrator is that kind of person, and there's a ton of personality infused into the narrative. This character would never tell a story without asides, and off-topic background.
The plot itself is a complicated interwoven mix of at least 2 separate stories that need each other I order to resolve. This is not an audiobook to put on in the background--it depends your attention.
If I have one complaint it's with the audio performance. Like most audiobook performers, the narrator tries to give each character a certain voice--or sound. This book has many female characters, and they're critical characters. But this actor--when he voices a female--affects a high-pitched, breathy voice. Every female character sounds like a voice like someone imitating an airheaded-teenager in a comedy skit. It makes it hard to take the characters seriously--and you NEED to take these characters seriously.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Laurance P. Daniel
- 08-23-21
Great story
This book definitely tests your imagination. Definitely not your everyday SciFi. I looked forward to riding with it every day.
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- Michael G Kurilla
- 11-13-22
Lunar living under an AI rule
John Varley's Steel Beach takes place within his Eight Worlds universe. Humanity has been displaced from the Earth by 'invaders.' The lunar refuge, run by the Central Computer (aka CC), is the largest in the solar system. The CC functions as the government with life somewhat idyllic, but the population has turned to destructive pastimes. The main character is a reporter who has been trying to commit suicide and enters into long philosophical discussion with the CC. Halfway through, he elects to change his sex which is quite common. He/She also becomes aware of a splinter group attempting to live on the lunar surface away from the prying eyes of the CC. This eventually leads to violent confrontations.
Varley explores the sudden rupture of societal mores and traditions that accompany the displacement from Earth. At the same time, the advancement of artificial intelligence has reached a stage where human involvement is unnecessary. This leads to two situations: 1) humans have little to do as the CC takes care of everything leading to perverse behaviors; and 2) the AI makes decisions for the 'good' of its human charges leading to abuse and corruption.
The narration is quite good with reasonable character distinction, although a female narrator after the sex change would have been preferred.
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- Daniel Cascaddan
- 09-01-19
an old favorite
It has been many years since I read it for the first time. I mostly had only remembered that I liked it a lot. But now, having reread it, it is really exceptional, especially for us die-hard Heinlein fans. I would particularly recommend that people should re-read Moon is a Harsh Mistress right before this. And maybe also The Rolling Stones. Varley makes a lot of references to Heinlein, especially those two. ;-)
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- Theresa Schultz
- 05-19-22
loved the book, poor performance,not hildy
sorry,reader just isn't hildy, needs more understanding of character and the suspension of disbelief a
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