The Lightest Object in the Universe
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Gabra Zackman
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By:
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Kimi Eisele
About this listen
What if the end times allowed people to see and build the world anew? This is the landscape that Kimi Eisele creates in her surprising and original debut novel. Evoking the spirit of such monumental love stories as Cold Mountain and the creative vision of novels like Station Eleven, The Lightest Object in the Universe tells the story of what happens after the global economy collapses and the electrical grid goes down.
In this new world, Carson, on the East Coast, is desperate to find Beatrix, a woman on the West Coast who holds his heart. Working his way along a cross-country railroad line, he encounters lost souls, clever opportunists, and those who believe they'll be saved by an evangelical preacher in the middle of the country. Meanwhile, Beatrix and her neighbors begin to construct a cooperative community that suggests the end could be, in fact, a bright beginning.
Without modern means of communication, will Beatrix and Carson reach each other, and what will be left of the old world if they do? The answers may lie with a fifteen-year-old girl who could ultimately decide the fate of the cross-country lovers.
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Fifteen of the biggest names in weird literature come together to pay tribute to Hellboy and the characters of Mike Mignola’s award-winning line of books! Assembled by Joe Golem and Baltimore co-writer Christopher Golden, this anthology boasts 15 original stories by the best in horror, fantasy, and science fiction, including Seanan McGuire (October Daye series), Chelsea Cain (Heartsick), Jonathan Maberry (Joe Ledger series), and more! The new writer of Hellboy and the BPRD, iZombie co-creator Chris Roberson, pitches in as well!
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An assortment of good times.
- By Chris E. on 02-28-20
By: Various
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Trashlands
- By: Alison Stine
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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A few generations from now, the coastlines of the continent have been redrawn by floods and tides. Global powers have agreed to not produce any new plastics, and what is left has become valuable: Garbage is currency. In the region-wide junkyard that Appalachia has become, Coral is a “plucker", pulling plastic from the rivers and woods. She’s stuck in Trashlands, a dump named for the strip club at its edge, where the local women dance for an endless loop of strangers and the club's violent owner rules as unofficial mayor.
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Trashlands
- By Richard W. Carlson on 01-10-23
By: Alison Stine
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Vanishing Falls
- A Novel
- By: Poppy Gee
- Narrated by: Caroline Lee
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Deep within the lush Tasmanian rainforest is the remote town of Vanishing Falls, a place with a storied past. The town’s showpiece, built in the 1800s, is its Calendar House - currently occupied by Jack Lily, a prominent art collector and landowner; his wife, Celia; and their four daughters. The elaborate, eccentrically designed mansion houses one masterpiece and 52 rooms - and Celia Lily isn’t in any of them. She has vanished without a trace.… Joelle Smithton knows that a few folks in Vanishing Falls believe that she’s simple-minded.
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OK Story
- By Cindy House on 12-21-21
By: Poppy Gee
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Growing Things and Other Stories
- By: Paul Tremblay
- Narrated by: Sean Crisden, Graham Halstead, Cassandra Campbell, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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A chilling collection of psychological suspense and literary horror from the multiple award-winning author of the national best seller The Cabin at the End of the World and A Head Full of Ghosts. A masterful anthology featuring 19 pieces of short fiction, Growing Things and Other Stories is an exciting glimpse into Paul Tremblay’s fantastically fertile imagination.
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Paul Tremblay is totally nuts.
- By Gary & Jay on 07-07-19
By: Paul Tremblay
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The Saturday Night Ghost Club
- A Novel
- By: Craig Davidson
- Narrated by: Corey Brill
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Growing up in 1980s Niagara Falls - a seedy but magical, slightly haunted place - Jake Baker spends most of his time with his uncle Calvin, a kind but eccentric enthusiast of occult artifacts and conspiracy theories. The summer Jake turns 12, he befriends a pair of siblings new to town, and so Calvin decides to initiate them all into the "Saturday Night Ghost Club." But as the summer goes on, what begins as a seemingly light-hearted project may ultimately uncover more than any of its members had imagined.
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Emotionless
- By Noura on 10-18-20
By: Craig Davidson
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June Bug
- By: Chris Fabry
- Narrated by: Chris Fabry
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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For as long as she can remember, June Bug and her father have traveled the back roads of the country in their beat-up RV, spending many nights parked at Walmart. One morning, as she walks past the greeter at the front of the store, her eyes are drawn to the pictures of missing children, where she is shocked to see herself. This discovery begins a quest for the truth about her father, the mother he rarely speaks about, and ultimately herself.
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Get Out The Box Of Tissues
- By 20eagle16 on 07-03-21
By: Chris Fabry
What listeners say about The Lightest Object in the Universe
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amanda HD
- 08-03-24
Terrific Storytelling!
I really enjoyed this book! I like that it is both a road novel and a slow collapse novel. The way the storylines converge is very compelling -- my anticipation towards the end was over the top. I stopped the book with an hour and a half remaining to check whether the author had written a follow up (not yet it seems), because I would love more from this universe and these characters. Also another fabulous read from narrator Gabra Zackman, who is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.
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- Erica Manfred
- 07-09-20
Reminds me of Octavia Butler
For fans of the late, great Octavia Butler here is The Lightest Object in the Universe, a tender take on the apocalypse by another female sci fi writer. I prefer sci fi by women since it generally is more about characterization and less about weaponry and this book is a prime example. It's lyrical and poetically written, without being pretentious--and has a compelling plot that drives the narrative. It's an exploration of life after a flu pandemic and other unnamed disasters shut down the nation's electric grid and government. No internet, no food, no water, no gas, no nothing. If you ever wondered how you--and the world-- would survive without electricity this book gives you some idea. Cleverly Eisele comes up with an old technology--AM radio-- as a communication device. An activist-type woman named Beatrix who believes in community starts her own radio show and figures out how to broadcast it from California (I think) A mysterious charismatic preacher named Blue takes over the airwaves and promises a wonderful life to all who take a journey to the "center" to join him. The book follows Beatrix, her soulmate Carson who starts traveling by foot from New York to get to her and a teenage girl and her grandmother who travel to the center with disastrous consequences. Even though Eisele is realistic about the apocolypse-- there are marauding gangs of teenagers who terrorize her town--she also shows how good people who want to stick together can do just that and save each other and possibly the world. Narration on this also lovely--matches the spirit of the book.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Karen Johnston
- 03-08-23
Possibility is possible when we imagine it
I almost didn’t read this book, because of one of the very critical reviews left here. I am so glad I did not listen to that one. I found the story to capture my imagination and my heart. And while it is not a great book or story, it is a good story and a good book. And I appreciate the depiction of people coming together to rebuild community, which I found to be just as realistic as the depiction of total chaos and violence. I think the more time we spend now imagining the possibilities of cooperation after collapse, the more likely they are to be possible. The narrator did a fine job. My mind will turn back to the story many times in the coming years.
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-26-19
This year’s Station 11
The apocalypse has come— no electricity, no government, viral flu. But still we hang on. The story follows 3 characters: Beatrix, Carson and Rosie. Carson leaves the East to find Beatrix in California. Beatrix, who has never stayed home long enough to make contact with her community, finds that community, including Rosie, a 15 yr old. Against this is a radio broadcasting zealot promising a better life. Great character development and pace.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Monica M. Severino
- 09-27-19
Okay story if you can tolerate the performance
I found the narrator to be deeply annoying. She has a pattern of nasal staccato followed by a melodious patch and back. Once you hear it, you can’t unhear it.
Almost turned it off, but persevered. It sounds like a YA novel (not sure if it is??). It draws comparison to Station Eleven, which I enjoyed more.
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1 person found this helpful
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- NMwritergal
- 09-12-19
A kinder, gentler slow apocalypse
I tend to like the soft or slow apocalypse genre. and this was no exception. I also gravitate toward books that can tell the story and have well-rounded characters without a ton of violence. It's a rare novel that gets 4 stars out of me!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Adhann
- 10-07-24
gorgeous evolution
everything about this novel - language, story, telling - beautiful, important, even imminent. reading is also well-suited to the tale.
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- Michael
- 09-14-19
Bad Dystopian
I love great dystopian fantasy, but this was not that.
This literally seemed crazy to me. The electrical grid goes down, many have died. The survivors must find a way to survive. What will be the primary focus for survival? Of course, the answer is so obvious, NPR...National Public Radio...is what the world needs. Nevermind there is no power thus limited radios, we must start broadcasting helpful homemaking tips and inspiring fiction stories.
There is also a bad religious guy promising salvation over the radio, but that arc is too boring to mention. As is the love story. The book starts with the two lovers separated by thousands of miles of the dystopian United States. Will they reach each other? More importantly, why would anyone care. The relationship predates the start of the book, and it not well developed, so I was not clear why I should care about them getting together. There are also marauding bands of evil-doers, but not to worry as they are really only misunderstood young boys on BMX bikes and only need NPR to convert them back to caring productive youths.
I really don’t think this was a dystopian parody.
The narration was not too bad, but could not help the inane plot.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Chester Johnson
- 07-18-19
Don't waste your time.......
I thought this book would he a refreshing change for dystopian post apocalyptic novels, billed as an upbeat, human story of the apocalypse. I quickly found out why it was billed this way. Imagine reading a book of this genre written by a hippie Communist protester and how it would turn out...........and that is this book.
The main character is your classic hippie protester, who looks down her nose at people who do the hard jobs in this post apocalyptic story, like the armed protectors, scavengers, ham radio operators, and others of their perfect co-op commune, I'm surprised the author even bothered to include police types in her story given her obvious disdain for them. The author also mentions the need for firearms in this world for her story many places, yet still the idea doesn't gel well with her world view, so she goes out of her way to minimize their use in the utopian commune she struggles to create in this book.
Her dystopian picture while beautifully written is not believable in the slightest bit, and that brings the rest of the novel down, as the story really drags on most of the book. The only two characters given any real depth in this book are the romantically involved main characters traveling across the nation to reach each other again, and even these 2 aren't very relatable. All other characters in this story are intentionally marginalized and not fleshed out at all.
I almost stopped reading about a quarter of the way, and then again halfway through the book, but slogged through to the end. 2 out of 5 star read.
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7 people found this helpful
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- oley
- 03-04-21
Only read for class
Liberal book. Story doesn’t seem realistic. Only read a bit for class, then dropped that class
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