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The Killing Star

By: George Zebrowski, Charles Pellegrino
Narrated by: Jay Snyder
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Publisher's summary

The opening chapter of an incredible adventure that includes the destruction of Earth by ten thousand relativistic bombs launched by an alien race. This science fiction thriller follows the desperate struggles of the remnants of humankind to survive in a hostile universe.

©1995 Charles Pellegrino and George Zebrowski (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
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What listeners say about The Killing Star

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good book, but reads more like a thought experimen

The narrator was great. Overall the story was ok. It seemed more like a thought experiment than a story. I was interested in the last quarter of the book and wished the authors had gone into more detail about the alien race.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Easily Overlooked Classic

By far, this one was one of the gloomier peeks into what the universe has in store. The story melts a little into worldbuilding, but the narrative remains strong.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

like a short version of the dark forest

pretty good if you like thus look at the 3 body problem series by cixin

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable Listen

Not what I was expecting, which isn’t a bad thing. Just beware that this particular man vs. alien story is less phew-phew-phew and more chin stroking musefest.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Thought provoking

So many interesting ideas. Some may seem jaded since they have been picked up by more recent SF literature/movies. A compelling listen nonetheless

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A good book then and a better one now

I recall reading A Killing Star back in the mid 90s right after it first came out. Looking back I foubd it interesting then, an insightful "What of..." look at what could now be considered the near future.
Now more than 25 years later and after the development of many of the technology this book featured, it makes me wonder if this hard science fiction tale wasn't a harbinger for the late Steven Hawkings comments about boot announcing our presence to local space. One could speculate he might have read this book and them thought on it long and hard before coming to his own conclusions.
Regardless I would recommend this read for anyone who loves hard sci fi and doesn't mind a philosophy take tied in.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing book

Wish it were longer and showed what became of the Humans. I found this book exciting to read.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

what a view

vary cool has a lot of interesting views an ideas on a reality of did that just happen.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Author often gets distracted in sub-plots.

The underlying story is very well thought out and doesn't require huge leaps to follow.
However, the author seems to get distracted into tangents at the expense of advancing the primary plot.
Tangents range from the sunken Titanic, to Jurassic Park, Mythology without clear connection to the story.
Still a great listen, that I very much enjoyed and wish a follow up existed for.
A dark story that inspires the reader (listener) to hope beyond hope during it's unfolding.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Life's a B&@!%

I'm never going to get folded like that period, I can agree with both sides of the conflict although it's really funny the reason used. 🤣

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