The Actual Star
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Carolina Hoyos
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Kareem Ferguson
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Gisela Chipe
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By:
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Monica Byrne
About this listen
David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas meets Octavia Butler's Earthseed series, as acclaimed author Monica Byrne (The Girl in the Road) spins a brilliant multigenerational saga spanning two thousand years, from the collapse of the ancient Maya to a far-future utopia on the brink of civil war.
The Actual Star takes listeners on a journey over thousands of years and six continents—collapsing three separate timelines into one cave in the Belizean jungle.
An epic saga of three reincarnated souls, this novel demonstrates the entanglements of tradition and progress, sister and stranger, love and hate. The book jumps forward and backward in time among a pair of twins who ruled a Maya kingdom, a young American on a trip of self-discovery, and two dangerous charismatics in a conflict that will determine the fate of the few humans left on Earth after massive climate change.
In each era, age-old questions about existence and belonging and identity converge deep underground. Because only in complete darkness can one truly see the stars.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2021 Monica Byrne (P)2021 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Psychologist Loche Newirth becomes hunted when he sees a painting that opens a window onto the afterlife. An ancient order of men seeking to control the art pursue him across the world, through centuries, into madness, and beyond. The first part of Michael B. Koep's the Newirth Mythology The Invasion of Heaven is mystery, adventure, myth, betrayal, murder, and madness. Loche Newirth wonders if it was his fall: The 50-foot drop from the rocky cliff to the icy water below. Is this why he has been hallucinating?
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Good story - well written
- By Amy Q on 05-17-20
By: Michael B. Koep
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Geomancer
- By: Ian Irvine
- Narrated by: Grant Cartwright
- Length: 23 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Two hundred years after the Forbidding was broken, Santhenar is locked in war with the lyrinx - intelligent, winged predators who will do anything to gain their own world. Despite the development of battle clankers and mastery of the crystals that power them, humanity is losing. Tiaan, a lonely crystal worker in a clanker manufactory, is experimenting with an entirely new kind of crystal when she begins to have extraordinary visions.
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About As Satisfying as Coitus Interruptus
- By Craig G. Clark on 07-26-13
By: Ian Irvine
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Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo
- Book One
- By: Obert Skye
- Narrated by: E.B. Stevens
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Fourteen-year-old Leven Thumps (a.k.a. "Lev") is no ordinary boy, but that's exactly what Sabine and his dark shadows want him to believe. They know the fate of the world and the dreams of all mankind can be saved by one boy with a powerful gift, one he has yet to understand or control. Enter Clover, a funny foot-high sidekick; Winter, a girl who can freeze things; and Geth, the rightful heir to the dream world of Foo. Three transplants with only one mission: to retrieve Leven and save Foo.
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Terrible YA Fantasy
- By Arwen on 04-05-12
By: Obert Skye
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Child of the Flames
- A Sword and Sorcery Saga
- By: D.W. Hawkins
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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The Red Swords came with the sunrise and took everything Shawna Llewan held dear. Her family massacred, her home destroyed, she escapes with nothing but her mother’s heirloom and the desire for vengeance. When she’s found by Dormael, a Warlock of the Conclave, she learns that her mother’s keepsake - the very reason her family was killed - holds the power to unleash boundless destruction.
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Great start!
- By Gordon on 08-18-19
By: D.W. Hawkins
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The Complete Circle Series
- Black/Red/White/Green
- By: Ted Dekker
- Narrated by: Rob Lamont, Tim Gregory
- Length: 52 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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An epic tale of evil and rescue, betrayal and love, and a terrorist threat unlike anything the human race has ever known.
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I have all ways loved this series
- By Dustin on 09-02-20
By: Ted Dekker
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Dispocalypse
- Dispocalypse
- By: M.A. Rothman
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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In a post-apocalyptic world ruled by a Governor who is both feared and worshipped, Willow is a 17-year-old girl who is trying to get through her last year of studies. But when her father dies, she experiences strange dreams that change everything about how she looks at the world and at herself. Haunted by the tragedy, Willow pushes herself beyond anything she could have imagined she was capable of. It's only when she catches the attention of some of the Governor's informants that her world is turned upside-down.
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the third begining
- By Kim Børsting Jensen on 01-17-24
By: M.A. Rothman
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Ammonite
- By: Nicola Griffith
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Change or die: the only options available on the Durallium Company-owned planet GP. The planet's deadly virus had killed most of the original colonists - and changed the rest irrevocably. Centuries after the colony had lost touch with the rest of humanity, the Company returned to exploit GP, and its forces found themselves fighting for their lives. Afraid of spreading the virus, the Company had left its remaining employees in place, afraid and isolated from the natives.
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Women Are People
- By DC on 11-17-20
By: Nicola Griffith
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Gods of Jade and Shadow
- By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Narrated by: Yetta Gottesman
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own. Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it - and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother.
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I can’t finish this
- By zoomcity on 08-07-19
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Elfland
- Aetherial Tales, Book 1
- By: Freda Warrington
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Elfland is an intimate, sensual novel of people—both human and Aetherial—caught between duty and desire. It is a story of families, and of Rose Fox, a woman born to magic but tormented by her place in her adopted world.Led by Auberon Fox, a group of Aetherials—call them the Fair Folk, if you will—live among us, indistinguishable from humans. Every seven years, on the Night of the Summer Stars, Lawrence Wilder, the Gatekeeper, throws open all gates to the Other World. But this time, something has gone wrong.
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Miscommunication is an obnoxious plot device
- By Robin on 05-26-16
By: Freda Warrington
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Star Eater
- By: Kerstin Hall
- Narrated by: Samara Naeymi
- Length: 15 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Elfreda Raughn will avoid pregnancy if it kills her, and one way or another, it will kill her. Though she's able to stomach the gruesome day-to-day duties, the reality of preserving the Order's magical bloodline horrifies her, but the Sisters of Aytrium have sworn to pay a price for the safety of their nation. Elfreda wants out, whatever the cost. So when a shadowy cabal approaches her with an offer of escape, she leaps at the opportunity. As their spy, she gains access to the highest reaches of the Order....
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Strong performance in a cannibalistic world
- By Bri N Miller on 06-23-21
By: Kerstin Hall
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A Song of Wraiths and Ruin
- By: Roseanne A. Brown
- Narrated by: Jordan Cobb, A. J Beckles
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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For Malik, the Solstasia festival is a chance to escape his war-stricken home and start a new life with his sisters in the prosperous desert city of Ziran. But when a vengeful spirit abducts his younger sister, Nadia, as payment to enter the city, Malik strikes a fatal deal - kill Karina, Crown Princess of Ziran, for Nadia’s freedom. But Karina has deadly aspirations of her own. Her mother, the Sultana, has been assassinated; her court threatens mutiny; and Solstasia looms like a knife over her neck. Grief-stricken, Karina decides to resurrect her mother through ancient magic.
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A truly unique and beautiful tale....
- By Anonymous User on 08-18-20
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Anticipation
- A Novel
- By: Melodie Winawer
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy, Samantha Desz, Jonathan Davis, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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From the author of the “engrossing historical epic” (Booklist) The Scribe of Siena comes a thrilling tale set in the crumbling city of Mystras, Greece, in which a scientist’s vacation with her young son quickly turns into a fight for their lives after they cross paths with a man out of time.
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Historical novel with a twist
- By Jbbee on 07-05-22
By: Melodie Winawer
What listeners say about The Actual Star
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- David Risner
- 03-28-22
maybe I'm daft, but I did not get how it ended
It took some time to get into it with the jumping around, but it was good. And then it ended. It didn't seem like an end. It didn't make much sense. Maybe I'm to empirically minded to get it.
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- Joseph Valentine
- 05-09-22
masterpiece time spanning epic
masterpiece is the best word I can come. it ties together 3 different epochs past present and future as if they were intimately connected through the timeless non-western mythos of the mayan worldview and calendar
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- twinzmom
- 04-23-24
Friggin weird
I don’t know what this is but I’m gonna listen again before I reestablish time and space
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-13-21
Speculative fiction enters a whole new dimension
What this book accomplishes in three separate storylines across 2,000 years is mind blowing. The connectivity of the separate stories is electric, the narrative swims tantalizingly close, like the stories will arc, but they stay true to their pathways. Speculative fiction is rich even without such a solid historical foundation, in layering a world 1,000 years from now on the archeological backbone of what we know of the ancient Maya and the reckless abandon of Capitalism and Populism in the here and now, the author has built an entirely plausible future for humans and the planet and their relationship to it. I would’ve read each of these as a separate book bit together they take speculative fiction to a whole new dimension.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Jeff Koeppen
- 05-29-22
Excellent Time Hopping Mindbender
The Actual Star is a brain-bender and was not an easy read for me. It consists of three separate but interwoven story threads set in three different eras which come together (sort of) at the end in an epic conclusion that makes sense (kind of). You know you are in for a ride when your book comes with a 17-page glossary of terms for the in-the-future portion of the novel. This hefty book was a little intimidating at first glance.
The novel jumps around between the three different periods but begins in 1012, set in a Mayan kingdom in Belize. A royal brother and sister set of twins are preparing to rule their kingdom but face difficulties as there are rumors of rebellion and the climate is changing, and their and the surrounding kingdoms are in decline due to this. The twins’ beloved younger sister is also featured in this section. She takes mushrooms early on and begins to have visions and plays an important role as this storyline progresses. We are introduced to a nearby sacred cave, supposedly a portal to the Mayan underworld, which ultimately becomes a central part of all three timelines.
A thousand years later in 2012 in the fictional city of Anoong, Minnesota a young half-Belizean lady, Leah, who was conceived by her mother there on a missionary trip, plans to travel to Belize to explore her roots and tour the mythical cave. She befriends two of the cave tour guides, who happen to be twin brothers, and hijinks ensue. She becomes infatuated with the cave and longs to explore past what the official government tours allow.
Sidenote: the fictional city of Anoong, Minnesota is located near the real city of St. Cloud, close to where I live. It was funny to read her bumming around town and when she drove to MSP to fly to Belize she would’ve rolled right through my town. Nitpick: Leah and her boyfriend drive out on the ice-covered Mississippi River near St. Cloud in the winter to make out. There is no way a car drives out on the Mississippi River in my neck of the woods in the winter! The ice never gets thick enough to support a motor vehicle as the water underneath is always moving. An easy fix to this would’ve been to have Leah and her boyfriend drive out on to the ice of any area lake. Most lakes have ice fishing houses on them and many have trucks criss-crossing them once the ice is thick enough as roads come right off boat landings. Been there, done that.
Yet another thousand years later in 3012 an outspoken member of society, Niloux, finds herself in hot water as she is questioning the sacred beliefs of her culture, particularly the divinity of St. Leah (the woman from 2012!). This is the part of the novel that requires the aforementioned glossary. The world building in this second is complex and mind-blowing. I know I didn’t understand all of it. In 3012 human society is reeling from the effects of climate change. Population levels have plummeted and civilization has become nomadic and religious, centered on the worship of St. Leah and the two Belizian cave guides. There is some really cool tech. Niloux travels to the Mayan cave from the Middle East in hopes of proving her theory and disproving the overriding religious beliefs of her culture.
It all sounds crazy but it works. I really enjoyed this novel. It was epic. The scope was vast. The main characters are interesting and well fleshed-out. I couldn’t wait to see how the author was going to tie this all together. The ending was confusing and I’m not sure if I fully understood it but I can’t stop thinking about it. I'm going to read more about this book in upcoming days.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Jessie Goldberg
- 10-11-21
A Masterpiece
I don't have enough words for how impressed I am by this book. The author interweaves three epochs - a Mayan past, a contemporary present set in 2012, and a far future in 3012. Every voice, every character, every detail was so distinct. The world-building of the future was wonderfully done. I wish I could sit down with someone and talk it all through because there was so much to absorb and enjoy. It was a little hard to get into the future sequences at the start because there is a heavy mix of Spanish - which I don't know - and made-up words, which I think all would be easier to understand in print. I let that wash past me and over time I picked up more. I was so glad I didn't let that stop me because the world she envisions offers so much to consider. I marvel at the author's creativity. I'll definitely be re-reading in print so I can pick up what I missed in the audio version and savor all the details. The narrators are fantastic. They each have to voice multiple parts and do it expertly. There's a lot of humor in the book and the narration let that come through in ways I really appreciated. I will say that the book comes with a trigger warning about cutting. There are entire hours of narration where cutting isn't an issue, or at most a passing reference, but there are some scenes that could be upsetting. I had a couple of moments where I had to jump ahead 15 or 30 seconds because it was too much for me to listen, but that was enough. It was the same as though maybe in a written book, there might be a couple of pages a reader has to skim due to personal squeamishness.
Another comment - I think this book is categorized as science fiction, but people who don't usually like science fiction shouldn't let that discourage them. The science fiction element is just the vision of what the future could be. Really the book is a literary masterwork on humanity, spirituality, and the ties that bind us. I hope this review encourages someone to read the book! It truly is extraordinary.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Shadia M
- 03-07-23
stunning story telling, transcendant
structurally gorgeous story. keeps you hooked start to finish. every detail matters and is woven together masterfully
the performance is excellent
highly entertaining and engrossing
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- Kindle Customer
- 09-09-22
Best Audio Book So Far
The three eras of this book were so well delivered by the voices of three artists. Their characterizations did honor to this excellently crafted novel by Monica Byrne. I read the book first, then listed to this audio book with my spouse.
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- Thor E Muller
- 03-09-23
Echoes of Cloud Atlas
Rich, provocative and fully realized. It was a slow start for me, but I really into it a third way through, leaving me with a lot of deeply mined themes to reflect on.
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- GG
- 06-10-23
Incredibly creative, still processing
Wow. I'm not sure how to describe this book. Science fiction braided with anthropology, told through 3 story lines: ancient, present day, and future Maya. The stories seem unrelated and unique, but each have a thread, theme, or phrase that ties them together, often through time and space. I have never ready anything like this, it was incredible!
Notes: some of the themes are a bit graphic (cw: self harm, sex)
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