The Gold Coast
The Three Californias Triptych, Book 2
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Narrated by:
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Stefan Rudnicki
About this listen
This second book in Kim Stanley Robinson's richly detailed Three Californias Triptych reveals a second, all-too-plausible possible future for Orange County.
North America, 2027. Southern California is a developer's dream gone mad: an endless sprawl of condos, freeways, and malls. Jim McPherson, the affluent son of a defense contractor, is a young man lost in a world of fast cars, casual sex, and designer drugs. But his descent in to the shadowy underground of industrial terrorism brings him into a shattering confrontation with his family, his goals, and his ideals.
The Gold Coast is an epic work of science fiction that explores a grim future and what one man can do to turn the tides.
©2013 Kim Stanley Robinson (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. and Skyboat Media, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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(Ian Fleming + Vonnegut) +/- J-P Sartre = 0
- By Darwin8u on 10-30-24
By: Percival Everett
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Jack: Secret Histories
- Young Repairman Jack Series 1
- By: F. Paul Wilson
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Ever come across a situation that simply wasn't right - where someone was getting the dirty end of the stick and you wished you could make things right but didn't know how? Fourteen-year-old Jack knows how. Or rather he's learning how. He's discovering that he has a knack for fixing things. Not bikes or toys or appliances - situations...It all starts when Jack and his best friends, Weezy and Eddie, discover a rotting corpse - the victim of ritual murder - in the fabled New Jersey Pine Barrens. Beside the body is an ancient artifact carved with strange designs.
By: F. Paul Wilson
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When a Stranger Comes to Town
- By: Michael Koryta
- Narrated by: Cindy Kay, Janina Edwards, Fajer Al-Kaisi, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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It's been said that all great literature boils down to one of two stories—a man takes a journey, or a stranger comes to town. While mystery writers have been successfully using both approaches for generations, there's something undeniably alluring in the nature of a stranger: the uninvited guest, the unacquainted neighbor, the fish out of water. In the newest collection of stories by the Mystery Writers of America, each author weaves a fresh tale surrounding the eerie feeling that comes when a stranger enters our midst, featuring stories by prolific mystery writers.
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The narrators are outstanding here.
- By Jennifer Baratta She/Her on 05-16-21
By: Michael Koryta
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Chance of a Lifetime
- A Providence Falls Novel
- By: Jude Deveraux, Tara Sheets
- Narrated by: Susan Bennett
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1844 Ireland, Liam O’Connor, a rogue and a thief, fell madly in love with a squire’s daughter and unwittingly altered the future. Shy and naive Cora McLeod thought Liam was the answer to her prayers. But the angels disagreed and they’ve been waiting for the right moment in time to step in. Now Liam finds himself reunited with his beloved Cora in Providence Falls, North Carolina. The angels have given Liam a task. He must make sure Cora falls in love with another man - the one she was supposed to marry before Liam interfered.
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Disappointing
- By bobbiek811 on 09-21-20
By: Jude Deveraux, and others
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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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The Chronoliths
- By: Robert Charles Wilson
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Scott Warden is a man haunted by the past-and soon to be haunted by the future. In early 21st-century Thailand, Scott is an expatriate slacker. Then, one day, he inadvertently witnesses an impossible event: the violent appearance of a 200-foot stone pillar in the forested interior. Its arrival collapses trees for a quarter mile around its base, freezing ice out of the air and emitting a burst of ionizing radiation. It appears to be composed of an exotic form of matter.
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A haunting, beautiful work...
- By M. Stephenson on 11-20-09
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Sharks in the Time of Saviors
- By: Kawai Strong Washburn
- Narrated by: Jolene Kim, Kaleo Griffith, G. K. Bowes, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1995 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on a rare family vacation, seven-year-old Nainoa Flores falls overboard a cruise ship into the Pacific Ocean. When a shiver of sharks appears in the water, everyone fears for the worst. But instead, Noa is gingerly delivered to his mother in the jaws of a shark, marking his story as the stuff of legends. Nainoa’s family, struggling amidst the collapse of the sugarcane industry, hails his rescue as a sign of favor from ancient Hawaiian gods - a belief that appears validated after he exhibits puzzling new abilities.
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Glad This Was Free
- By Shad Huddleston on 04-01-20
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Black Fridays
- By: Michael Sears
- Narrated by: Erik Bergmann
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Sometimes a man can be redeemed. But not in the way he expects. Jason Stafford is a former Wall Street hotshot who made some bad moves, paid the price with two years in prison, and is now trying to put his life back together. He’s unemployable, until an investment firm asks him to look into possible problems left by a junior trader who died recently in an accident. What he discovers is big - there are problems, all right, the kind that get you killed. But it’s not his only concern. Stafford has another quest as well: to reclaim his five-year-old son, "the Kid", from his unstable ex-wife, and then learn just what it means to make a life with him.
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I enjoyed it. I loved the end!
- By John on 05-16-14
By: Michael Sears
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The Hot Rock
- The First Dortmunder Novel
- By: Donald E. Westlake
- Narrated by: Jeff Woodman
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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John Dortmunder and company are hired by an U.N. African Ambassador to steal the famed Balabomo Emerald from the hands of a rival African country. But their daring and clever burglarly goes awry, and the emerald slips through their fingers. Undaunted, Dortmunder chases the gem by plane, train and automobile in hot pursuit of the hot rock.
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Dortmunder is on his game in this fun introduction
- By William R. on 08-25-11
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Narrator ruins an otherwise interesting book.
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Robinson's best; Pinchot's usual excellence
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Complex, believable, nuanced, riveting
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Narrator ruins an otherwise interesting book.
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Robinson's best; Pinchot's usual excellence
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Good story, HORRENDOUS narration.
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very long
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Its all
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A major new novel from one of science fiction's most powerful voices, Aurora tells the incredible story of our first voyage beyond the solar system. Brilliantly imagined and beautifully told, it is the work of a writer at the height of his powers.
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The Future is Limited, Get Used to It
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New York 2140: Booktrack Edition
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New York 2140: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience! As the sea levels rose, every street became a canal. Every skyscraper an island. For the residents of one apartment building in Madison Square, however, New York in the year 2140 is far from a drowned city. There is the market trader, who finds opportunities where others find trouble. There is the detective, whose work will never disappear - along with the lawyers, of course. There is the internet star, beloved by millions for her airship adventures....
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Best audible production I’ve heard
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Quit listening about a third of the way in.
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What listeners say about The Gold Coast
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- C Lee
- 01-31-22
fantastic!
I loved everything about this book. even it's datedness. my only complaint is, while I loved the narrator's voice and delivery, like so many male narrators he cannot do a woman's voice without making them sound like a 50's grandma or a drag queen. I find that so irritating. just read the female parts like a human being!
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- Michael Sheppard
- 03-10-22
Gold Tech
I got lost and distracted by the defense contract details after 20+ chapters.
I liked the first book a lot better.
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- David W Anderson
- 02-09-22
I Didn't Understand
This novel was well performed, But I really didn't understand the purpose in this series.
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- C. E. Wright
- 04-09-23
Very Satisfying Story
If you know Orange County it is an added plus. It is also important to read this with the two other books in the triptych; they are not a sequence, but three separate to be amazing visions.
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- Monty
- 03-17-23
Brilliant and fascinating
I was fascinated by the depiction of a future Southern California. This book is highly entertaining, and very thought-provoking, as is the case with all of Robinson's work!
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- Vince P
- 03-31-23
Great story weird narration
I really enjoyed the plot but the laugh that the narrator makes is one of the most disturbing sounds in the world.
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- James Weisner
- 07-27-20
Classic Kim Stanley Robinson poetic mysticism
This book was published over 30 years ago and got a few things right.
It predicts a future of autonomous drones and self-driving cars pretty closely.
Other predictions didn't pan out like changes in the institution of marriage and stalled out progress in the developing world.
It's got compelling characters and delivers on that classic KSR poetic mysticism.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Michael G Kurilla
- 01-22-22
'Oranger' orange county
Kim Stanley Robinson's The Gold Coast is the second installment in his California triptych trilogy. Each offering is a standalone tale that outlines possible futures for the region: dystopic, utopic, and just more orange county. This offering is the more orange county with unfettered urban sprawl and concretization of every square of land. While there are a two main characters, a father who works for the defense industry and his slacker son barely getting by, there are other characters including a paramedic, a drug dealer, an artist, a backpacker/surfer, etc. The slacker son gets caught up with an activist protesting the defense industry and ends up taking part in terrorist acts, which may actually be a front for corporate espionage / insurance fraud.
Robinson emphasizes the inherent contradictions between the economic / defense concerns and the original attraction of the region for settlement. He also dramatically points out his concerns and frustrations with the direction of developments. Of note, he highlights the eventual development of drone technology and designer drugs. While the managed automotive technology is yet to be realized, the technology is fascinating. He also intersperses the history of the area that add to the story.
The narration is reasonable with good character distinction, although the non-verbal sounds effects are overdone.
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- Jeff Koeppen
- 04-05-21
Not as Good as the First Book in the Triptych
The Gold Coast is book two on KSR's triptych. This story is set in 2027 and Orange County is totally developed, full of shopping malls, sprawling industrial development, massive residential buildings and the autopia - multi-level electric/magnetic roads (built in the "roaring 20s") filled with programmable self-driving cars. It is a concrete jungle. This book was published in 1988 so KSR is projecting technology and world events out ~40 years, some predictions he gets pretty close and some not so much.
Our Californians are still recording things on CDs and video tape, and there isn't a cell phone to be found. Standard old telephones are still in use, so if you don't want to talk to that annoying friends just leave the phone off the hook like we used to. Houses have video walls which serve as computer screens and television screens, very interesting. Young folks take designer drugs via eyedropper and record their sexual encounters for later viewing. The world is an extension of 1988 in that Russia and the US are still in a cold war, and the development of weapons systems similar to Reagan's "Star Wars" is one of the main topics of this novel.
The narrative switches back and forth between Jim McPherson, a disgruntled twenty-something wannabe author who works part-time as an English teacher and spends a lot of time running with the same group of friends, and his dad Dennis McPherson who is an engineer for a major defense contractor which is trying to land the government contract for an advanced Star Wars weapons system. Sprinkled throughout the book, KSR tells of the past and future (1988 to 2027) history of Orange County and how it became the overdeveloped, overpopulated mess that the novel is set in.
In Dennis' timeline we learn all about what life is like at a defense contractor, how bidding and negotiation with the Department of Defense is handled, details about future weapon design, and how Dennis and his company are hoping to put an end to the cold war once and for all. Concurrently, we see the other side of the coin in Jim's timeline as he and his friends are anti-war and are looking for ways to take down companies like the ones his dad works at. Dennis and Jim aren't close and don't see eye to eye during the course of the novel, but their separate plots converge somewhat at the end.
Just like in The Wild Shore there is a very old man named Tom with memories of the past, and in this novel he happens to be Jim's grandpa.
I thought this novel came together nicely at the end, in a similar way the first novel of this triptych did. I liked it but not as much as The Wild Shore.
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2 people found this helpful
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- deezy
- 03-17-22
a meditation on the endgame of American hollowness
Finished listening in the Owen's River Valley. Told myself I would only read KSR on paper, but I will say the reading is quite good for the three California's.
You can start to see the KSR style we know and love, with a counterpoint between exposition and a thread of action. Compared to The Wild Shore he has alot more to say, the character writing is much stronger, and the ending is on point.
Some might see a 21st century setting with a soviet union still around as hopelessly dated, but all the issues in this book are still as relevant as ever.
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