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By:
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Austin Bunn
About this listen
Winner, 2017 APA Audie Awards - Best Short Story/Collections
A brilliant, inventive debut story collection in the vein of Kevin Wilson and Wells Tower.
Brimming with life and unforgettable voices, the stories in Austin Bunn's dazzling collection explore the existential question: what happens at the end, and what lies beyond it? In the wry but affecting "How to Win an Unwinnable War", a summer class on nuclear war for gifted teenagers turns a struggling family upside down. A young couple's idyllic beach honeymoon is interrupted by terrorism in the lush, haunting "Getting There and Away". When an immersive video game begins turning off in the heartbreaking "Griefer", an obsessive player falls in love with a mysterious player in the final hours of a world.
Told in a stunning range of voices, styles and settings - from inside the Hale-Bopp cult to the deck of a conquistador's galleon adrift at the end of the ocean - the stories in Bunn's collection capture the transformations and discoveries at the edge of irrevocable change. Each tale presents a distinct world, told with deep emotion, energizing language and characters with whom we have more in common that we realize. They signal the arrival of an astonishing new talent in short fiction.
Includes a bonus monologue, "Basement Story".
Bunn is a screenwriter (Kill Your Darlings), former journalist (New York Times Magazine, Wired and elsewhere) and performer, whose work has been performed at The Moth, WBEZ and public radio.
©2015 Austin Bunn (P)2016 Austin BunnListeners also enjoyed...
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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- Narrated by: Anne Bobby, Jonathan Davis, Katherine Kellgren, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The best stories pull readers in and keep them turning the pages, eager to discover more—to find the answer to the question: "And then what happened?" The true hallmark of great literature is great imagination, and as Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio prove with this outstanding collection, when it comes to great fiction, all genres are equal.
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Performance
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Few authors write with such sheer love of story and language as T. C. Boyle, and that is nowhere more evident than in his inventive, wickedly funny, and always entertaining short stories. Here are 14 new tales previously unpublished in book form. By turns mythic and realistic, farcical and tragic, ironic and moving, Boyle's stories have mapped a wide range of human emotions. The stories here reflect his maturing themes.
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Mixed Bag
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Shadow Show
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- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Ray Bradbury - peerless storyteller, poet of the impossible, and one of America's most beloved authors - is a literary giant whose remarkable career spanned seven decades. Now 26 of today's most diverse and celebrated authors offer new short works in honor of the master; stories of heart, intelligence, and dark wonder from a remarkable range of creative artists.
-
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THE MAN WHO FORGOT RAY BRADBURY
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 05-27-17
By: Sam Weller - editor, and others
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Battleborn
- By: Claire Vaye Watkins
- Narrated by: Ali Ahn, Morgan Hallett, Laura Knight Keating, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Like the work of Cormac McCarthy, Denis Johnson, Richard Ford, and Annie Proulx, Battleborn represents a near-perfect confluence of sensibility and setting, and the introduction of an exceptionally powerful and original literary voice. In each of these ten unforgettable stories, Claire Vaye Watkins writes her way fearlessly into the mythology of the American West, utterly reimagining it.
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Wonderful magnificent stories beautifully told
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Lit
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Lit follows Mary Karr's descent into the inferno of alcoholism and madness - and her astonishing resurrection. Karr's longing for a solid family seems secure when her marriage to a handsome, Shakespeare-quoting poet produces a son they adore. But she can't outrun her apocalyptic past. She drinks herself into the same numbness that nearly devoured her charismatic but troubled mother, reaching the brink of suicide. A hair-raising stint in "The Mental Marriott" awakens her to the possibility of joy, and leads her to an unlikely faith.
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Finally! One for the "Win" column
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In Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her work has earned her comparisons to Karen Russell and Kelly Link, she has a voice that is all her own. In this electric and provocative debut, Machado bends genre to shape startling narratives that map the realities of women's lives and the violence visited upon their bodies.
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Beautiful
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Stories
- All-New Tales
- By: Neil Gaiman - author/editor, Al Sarrantonio - editor, Joe Hill, and others
- Narrated by: Anne Bobby, Jonathan Davis, Katherine Kellgren, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The best stories pull readers in and keep them turning the pages, eager to discover more—to find the answer to the question: "And then what happened?" The true hallmark of great literature is great imagination, and as Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio prove with this outstanding collection, when it comes to great fiction, all genres are equal.
-
-
Something for Everyone
- By Nicole on 05-24-17
By: Neil Gaiman - author/editor, and others
-
A Death in Kitchawank, and Other Stories
- By: T. C. Boyle
- Narrated by: T. C. Boyle
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Few authors write with such sheer love of story and language as T. C. Boyle, and that is nowhere more evident than in his inventive, wickedly funny, and always entertaining short stories. Here are 14 new tales previously unpublished in book form. By turns mythic and realistic, farcical and tragic, ironic and moving, Boyle's stories have mapped a wide range of human emotions. The stories here reflect his maturing themes.
-
-
Mixed Bag
- By AuntGert on 09-22-20
By: T. C. Boyle
-
Shadow Show
- All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury
- By: Sam Weller - editor, Mort Castle - editor
- Narrated by: George Takei, Edward Herrmann, Kate Mulgrew, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ray Bradbury - peerless storyteller, poet of the impossible, and one of America's most beloved authors - is a literary giant whose remarkable career spanned seven decades. Now 26 of today's most diverse and celebrated authors offer new short works in honor of the master; stories of heart, intelligence, and dark wonder from a remarkable range of creative artists.
-
-
THE MAN WHO FORGOT RAY BRADBURY
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 05-27-17
By: Sam Weller - editor, and others
-
Battleborn
- By: Claire Vaye Watkins
- Narrated by: Ali Ahn, Morgan Hallett, Laura Knight Keating, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Like the work of Cormac McCarthy, Denis Johnson, Richard Ford, and Annie Proulx, Battleborn represents a near-perfect confluence of sensibility and setting, and the introduction of an exceptionally powerful and original literary voice. In each of these ten unforgettable stories, Claire Vaye Watkins writes her way fearlessly into the mythology of the American West, utterly reimagining it.
-
-
Wonderful magnificent stories beautifully told
- By Pedro Ramirez on 12-03-15
-
Lit
- A Memoir
- By: Mary Karr
- Narrated by: Mary Karr
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lit follows Mary Karr's descent into the inferno of alcoholism and madness - and her astonishing resurrection. Karr's longing for a solid family seems secure when her marriage to a handsome, Shakespeare-quoting poet produces a son they adore. But she can't outrun her apocalyptic past. She drinks herself into the same numbness that nearly devoured her charismatic but troubled mother, reaching the brink of suicide. A hair-raising stint in "The Mental Marriott" awakens her to the possibility of joy, and leads her to an unlikely faith.
-
-
Finally! One for the "Win" column
- By Kim on 03-22-10
By: Mary Karr
-
Her Body and Other Parties
- Stories
- By: Carmen Maria Machado
- Narrated by: Amy Landon
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
In Her Body and Other Parties, Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her work has earned her comparisons to Karen Russell and Kelly Link, she has a voice that is all her own. In this electric and provocative debut, Machado bends genre to shape startling narratives that map the realities of women's lives and the violence visited upon their bodies.
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Beautiful
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For years Chuck Palahniuk has reserved his best storytelling for his readings, often choosing to read a new short story instead of whatever novel he is supposed to be promoting. Make Something Up compiles these previously unpublished tales for the very first time, plus the Byliner social media insta-classic "Phoenix" and Palahniuk's most notable pieces from Playboy.
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Odd choice for narrator
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- Stories
- By: Ottessa Moshfegh
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan, Richard Poe
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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There's something eerily unsettling about Ottessa Moshfegh's stories, something almost dangerous, while also being delightful and even laugh-out-loud funny. Her characters are all unsteady on their feet in one way or another; they all yearn for connection and betterment, though each in very different ways, but they are often tripped up by their own baser impulses and existential insecurities.
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Funny, Dynamic Writing
- By Sofia Macht on 06-13-18
By: Ottessa Moshfegh
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The Best Horror of the Year, Volume 4
- By: Ellen Datlow - author/editor, Stephen King, Peter Straub
- Narrated by: Meredith Mitchell, Rebecca Mitchell, Michael Healy, and others
- Length: 16 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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With tales from Laird Barron, Stephen King, John Langan, Peter Straub, and many others, and featuring Datlow’s comprehensive overview of the year in horror, now, more than ever, The Best Horror of the Year provides the petrifying horror fiction readers have come to expect - and enjoy.
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Only a few decent stories in this bunch.
- By Jerry on 12-06-14
By: Ellen Datlow - author/editor, and others
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Stiltsville
- By: Susanna Daniel
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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One sunny morning in 1969, near the end of her first trip to Miami, twenty-six-year-old Frances Ellerby finds herself in a place called Stiltsville, a community of houses built on pilings in the middle of Biscayne Bay. It's the first time the Atlanta native has been out on the open water, and she's captivated. On the dock of a stilt house, with the dazzling skyline in the distance and the unknowable ocean beneath her, she meets the house's owner, Dennis DuValand, a new future reveals itself.
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boring, slow, and... who cares?!
- By nursebettyknitting on 05-24-14
By: Susanna Daniel
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Double Feature
- A Novel
- By: Owen King
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Unraveling the tumultuous, decades-spanning story of the Dolan family’s friends, lovers, and adversaries, Double Feature is about letting go of everything - regret, resentment, ambition, dignity, moving pictures, the dead - and taking it again from the top. Combining propulsive storytelling and mordant wit against the backdrop of indie filmmaking, Double Feature brims with a deep understanding of the trials of ambition and art, of relationships and life, and of our attempts to survive it all.
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Worst book ever! Well maybe.
- By Randall on 08-11-17
By: Owen King
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Marlena
- A Novel
- By: Julie Buntin
- Narrated by: Emma Galvin
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Everything about 15-year-old Cat's new town in rural Michigan is lonely and off-kilter until she meets her neighbor, the manic, beautiful, pill-popping Marlena. Cat, inexperienced and desperate for connection, is quickly lured into Marlena's orbit by little more than an arched eyebrow and a shake of white-blond hair. As the two girls turn the untamed landscape of their desolate small town into a kind of playground, Cat catalogues a litany of firsts - first drink, first cigarette, first kiss - while Marlena's habits harden and calcify.
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A Brilliant, Agonizing Portrait of a Young Woman
- By Sudi on 06-06-17
By: Julie Buntin
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Strong Motion
- By: Jonathan Franzen
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 20 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Louis Holland arrives in Boston in a spring of ecological upheaval (a rash of earthquakes on the North Shore) and odd luck: the first one kills his grandmother. Louis tries to maintain his independence, but falls in love with a Harvard seismologist whose discoveries about the earthquakes' cause complicate everything.
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Compelling Story, Ridiculous Narrator
- By DianeReads on 02-28-16
By: Jonathan Franzen
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A Doubter's Almanac
- A Novel
- By: Ethan Canin
- Narrated by: David Aaron Baker
- Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Milo Andret is born with an unusual mind. A lonely child growing up in the woods of Northern Michigan in the 1950s, he gives little thought to his own talent. But with his acceptance at UC Berkeley, he realizes the extent - and the risks - of his singular gifts. California in the '70s is a seduction, opening Milo's eyes to the allure of both ambition and indulgence. The research he begins there will make him a legend; the woman he meets there - and the rival he meets alongside her - will haunt him for the rest of his life.
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The curse of genius?
- By Bonny on 03-03-16
By: Ethan Canin
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How Like a God
- By: Brenda W. Clough
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 8 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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What would it be like, to get absolute power? Would you wear a cape and fight crime? Rule the planet? Or perhaps you would be like Rob Lewis, and watch your world collapse around you. Does absolute power corrupt absolutely? Rob is going to find out.
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At one point the main character rapes at 13 year old girl
- By Richard Davis on 05-29-21
By: Brenda W. Clough
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Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See
- By: Juliann Garey
- Narrated by: Dan Butler
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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In her tour-de-force first novel, Juliann Garey takes us inside the restless mind, ravaged heart, and anguished soul of Greyson Todd, a successful Hollywood studio executive who leaves his wife and young daughter and for a decade travels the world giving free reign to the bipolar disorder he's been forced to keep hidden for almost 20 years.
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Psychosis or Syphilis?
- By Vira on 04-02-13
By: Juliann Garey
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Outside Looking In
- A Novel
- By: T. C. Boyle
- Narrated by: Johnathan McClain
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1943, LSD is synthesized in Basel. Two decades later, a coterie of grad students at Harvard are gradually drawn into the inner circle of renowned psychologist and psychedelic drug enthusiast Timothy Leary. Fitzhugh Loney, a psychology PhD student, and his wife, Joanie, become entranced by the drug’s possibilities such that their “research” becomes less a matter of clinical trials and academic papers and instead turns into a freewheeling exploration of mind expansion, group dynamics, and communal living.
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STORYTELLING AS CONSCIOUSNESS-RAISING
- By Christopher Meeks on 05-25-19
By: T. C. Boyle
What listeners say about The Brink
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- jbud95
- 06-12-17
Incredibly written, captivating performances
This collection was incredibly written, and the performances were captivating. Each story was its own unique world, covering various genres from sci-fi to romance to realistic fiction. A few of the stories I wasn't a fan of, not because of the writing style, but because of my dislike of the characters, which in and of itself is a sign of good writing. My favorite story was "The End of the Age Is Upon Us," with "How to Win an Unwinnable War" coming in at a close second. My least favorite story was "Hazard 9." The bonus story at the end of the book was also interesting and captivating.
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- Victor @ theAudiobookBlog dot com
- 03-13-16
I love at least three of these stories
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes, awesome stuff
Any additional comments?
Last week I’ve received the audiobook version of The Brink: Stories by Austin Bunn from a great female narrator that I admire very much. She knew that I started theAudiobookBlog and she wanted to see if I will enjoy this collection of short stories, and I DID, very much!
Austin Bunn is a talented young author that writes with ease and passion stories from different genres. In The Brink he switches from Drama to Thriller, from Mystery to Adventure, and so on. I’m sure everyone will find at lease two or three stories to love, just like I did. In total there are 10 short stories, plus one more as bonus for buying the audiobook.
My top three favorite short stories from The Brink were:
How to Win an Unwinnable War – A smart kid takes a Summer School course from which he wants to learn how to win a Nuclear War.
Getting There and Away – A rich, just married, couple are vacationing in Bali, but there Paradise Island is not what it appears to be.
Ledge – A sailor tells the story of how he arrived at the edge of the World and what he found there.
The rest of this collection is also good, but I wanted to tell you about these three favorites of mine, because I’m still thinking of them after I have finished the audiobook. The characters were very well developed and the plot lines were more then interesting.
The only negative impression with which I’m left after my experience with The Brink: Stories was Griefer. Although I am a gamer, I didn’t synced with Griefer, the story of a gamer consumed by the shut down of an alternate reality massively online multiplayer game. The only thing I liked about it is that’s performed by the author and I enjoyed his narration. Hope he will return as a voice over artist.
Speaking of narrators, the main reason I accepted to try this audiobook was the great cast of actors involved in this project. We have Tanya Eby, known for her narration of the Rizzoli and Isles series by Tess Gerritsen, and Tanya is also the Producer for The Brink. There’s also Luke Daniels, whom I personally love because of his performance of the Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais. Nick Podehl did a great job as well, and as I mentioned before, I liked Austin Bunn’s performance of Griefer and the bonus story that you get if you purchase the audiobook.
Another big plus for The Brink: Stories is the great soundtrack formed by short pieces of music at the beginning of each story. I understand that a few of the songs were written by Austin, and the rest by his brother and friend. Very nicely done!
I’m not into short stories, actually, this is my first collection that I’ve listened to from the beginning to the end, and I’m glad I accepted the challenge. Now, after more then 6 hours spent in the company of the rich characters created by Mr. Bunn, all that I can say is: I hope you’ll take the plot from Ledge and write a full fledged book with it and I will keep an eye on you :).
The Brink: Stories is definitely a better experience as an audiobook because of the amazing narrators that bring all these great stories to life!, and that includes Austin Bunn.
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17 people found this helpful
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- Midwestbonsai
- 05-27-16
kept listening and discovered the complex theme
The Brink: Stories by Austin Bunn reminds me of Forest Gump's box of chocolates - "You never know what you're gonna' get." When I started listening to the first story, I almost turned it off. I feared another "Catcher In The Rye" wannabe was coming at me. Fortunately for me, I kept listening and discovered the complex theme of a boy, a family and the world at the 'Brink" told in a way that had me wanting to slap and then kiss a number of the characters, including the world. Another story takes us on a honeymoon to a tropical paradise, and reminds us know how an ordinary person can become extraordinary given the proper mix of timing and circumstance, and how our actions, or lack thereof, can change worlds. Then there's the ship and her crew hundreds of years ago literally on the 'Brink' that is fascinating, beautiful and terrifying, 'the caramel, nut, mint cream' of the book. All of the stories are beautifully written and each has a unique voice and mood and took me on a literary adventure, more than just the boring commute I've experienced lately. It was both fun and, at times, disturbing to experience stories told from 'the other guy's' point of view. Back when I'd watch 'the news' and they'd interview a victim of a crime, and I'd wonder, 'But what about that other guy?" The one who watched it happen, or the person who had to clean up the mess. Some of these stories give you that experience and it's grand. Llight touches of grit and edge burnish the characters without making us want to face palm for them.
The gentle insertion of music that briefly spaces the stories was a very nice addition.
I'm always wary when the author is also the narrator and I have flashbacks of my "Lord Of The Flies" nightmare. But I was relieved and pleasantly surprised by Mr. Bunn. Good job! Amy McFadden, Luke Daniels, Mikael Narramore, Nick Podehl, Ralph Lister and Tanya Eby were all perfectly cast. The gender of the narrator matched each story and made it so much more 'real' and enjoyable. The production, mood and sound quality are perfection.
Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.
Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog
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11 people found this helpful
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- Sylvester
- 12-12-23
Mostly enjoyable
These stories were eclectic and diverse. The bonus story was a letdown for me, but the rest were intriguing and thought provoking in their own way.
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- Frank
- 10-03-17
Short stories that are hard to follow - some homosexual in nature
This book was a huge letdown. It was advertised as short stories on the end of the world but is actually a bunch of short stories that are so out there that it's hard to keep track of what the characters are saying. Many of the stories have graphic sexual references including one story that deals with homosexual prostitution at which point I stopped listening and I'm going to try and get my money back.
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