The White Light of Tomorrow
First Earth, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Matt Armstrong
About this listen
In a future dominated by the church and defended by the sword, one piece of forbidden technology may change all the rules.
Adrian of Tarsus is a veteran Knight Hospitaler. His adopted daughter, Mariel, serves as his squire, and together they travel the galaxy aboard the ancient merchant ship Miranda. Adrian uses his position as a church enforcer to provide cover for his real quest: A cure for Mariel's mysterious and painful illness, which worsens every day.
Trouble is, Adrian's certain the cure requires Machina Infernus, heretical technology forbidden by the church, and not even a knight can hide from the holy office of the universal inquisition.
When the Miranda's crew are ambushed while acquiring such an object, Adrian turns to Sabine Adler, an old flame and specialist in Machina, for help.
But once on the planet Bethany, Sabine's home and the seat of Christendom, assassins come out of the woodwork and everyone seems to want Adrian's relic - mercenaries, cultists, thugs, politicians, even the inquisition. Most troubling of all are a pair of unusual nuns who claim to know the location of the lab where the relic originated, and the fact that one of them bears a striking resemblance to Mariel.
Adrian has survived years of galactic crusades and church politics, but these women may be the death of him.
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131 Days: Omnibus 1
- Books 1-3
- By: Keith C. Blackmore
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 40 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Once every year, in the city of Sunja, gladiators Baylus, Goll, and Halm meet in the arena known as Sunja’s Pit. Their battles are epic, but deadlier still are the shadowy forces that conspire against them outside the Pit. Only by applying their brutally honed survival instincts can these brave warriors hope to win their freedom and exact grisly revenge upon their enemies.
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Narration is amazing, story is a joke
- By Vi on 12-11-22
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The Councillor
- By: E.J. Beaton
- Narrated by: Moira Quirk
- Length: 19 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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When the death of Iron Queen Sarelin Brey fractures the realm of Elira, Lysande Prior, the palace scholar and the queen’s closest friend, is appointed Councillor. Publically, Lysande must choose the next monarch from amongst the city-rulers vying for the throne. Privately, she seeks to discover which ruler murdered the queen, suspecting the use of magic. Resourceful, analytical, and quiet, Lysande appears to embody the motto everything in its place. Yet while she hides her drug addiction from her new associates, she cannot hide her growing interest in power.
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Amazing!
- By Mouktar on 03-19-21
By: E.J. Beaton
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Hypertek
- Skiptracer, Book 1
- By: Micky Neilson
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Blake Harley is a Skiptracer - a kind of bounty hunter - on the faraway construct world of Concourse Prime. Hired by a corporate client to secure an overdue product, he'll make some quick cryp and be on to the next job. Easy. Except, this job is anything but simple. The product is tied to the immensely powerful and ultra-secret Hypertek, leaving Blake with a choice: be a good soldier, or refuse to help MagnaCorp become the most powerful entity in the system. Another problem: everyone else in Concourse Prime is gunning for the product as well.
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Unfortunately, the book wasn't for me!
- By Lonnie-The GreatNorthernTroll-Moore on 04-13-20
By: Micky Neilson
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Hollow Space: Venture
- Xantoverse Series
- By: C.F. Barnes, T. F. Grant
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
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Forced to hyperjump during a brutal ambush, Sara Lorelle, navigator of the Venture, the last human colony ship, discovers a terrible truth: They've jumped to somewhere that shouldn't exist. Trapped inside a pocket universe known only as Hollow Space, where technology inexplicably fails, Sara and her crew have to face the lethal politics of their only destination, Haven - a decrepit station, home to deadly aliens and rival factions that soon sees the Venture crew up to their necks in danger.
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Firefly Meets Babylon 5/Galactica/Star Wars Hybrid
- By Striker on 05-24-15
By: C.F. Barnes, and others
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Inception
- A Near Future Thriller
- By: Jonathan Yanez
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 49 mins
- Unabridged
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My history is unknown. My present is violent. My future may be more dangerous still. I use my unique skillset in one of the Moon’s many watering holes. Here, miners can spend their hard-earned money to forget that they’re not among the wealthy elite in the paradise colony on Mars. When a known crime boss walks in, events will begin to unfold hinting at a dark past and an even murkier future.
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Hunh?
- By Linda Luella on 11-08-19
By: Jonathan Yanez
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Black Phoenix
- By: Wayne Wightman, B. V. Larson
- Narrated by: Christian Rummel
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Earth’s first colony ship finally reaches the target world. The excitement of planetfall is indescribable, but quickly transforms into sick disappointment when they find the atmosphere is a roiling mass of hydrochloric acid, carbon dioxide, and other deadly poisons. They fly onward, seeking better planets. They find them, but none are ideal. The search goes on for a century, then longer still. As they move farther from Earth, aliens discover the intruding ship, and they begin to investigate humanity. They find our species unacceptable.
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Uggggh
- By JonH on 09-20-19
By: Wayne Wightman, and others
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The Last Swordsman
- The Last Swordsman, Book 1
- By: Benjamin Corman
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Nikolis’ parents are dead - murdered before his eyes. What’s worse, they were traitors to the crown. At least that’s what he hears the village folk saying moments before he is whisked away to the castle of Highkeep. There he finds himself before the aged King Alginor, a man brought to a boil by his very presence.
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This book is horrible
- By Amazon Customer on 09-10-20
By: Benjamin Corman
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Reign of Stars
- By: Tim Pratt
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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When the leader of the ruthless Technic League calls in a favor, the mild-mannered alchemist Alaeron has no choice but to face a life he thought he'd left behind long ago. Accompanied by his only friend, a street-savvy thief named Skiver, Alaeron must head north into Numeria, a land where brilliant and evil arcanists rule over the local barbarian tribes with technology looted from a crashed spaceship.
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Narrator
- By Carolyn V on 05-27-16
By: Tim Pratt
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Incursion
- The Necromancer's Key, Book 1
- By: Mitchell Hogan
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 15 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Seventeen years have passed since the Necromancer Queen Talia was overthrown and slain, and her capital city destroyed by the Knights of the Order of Eternal Vigilance. Anskar DeVantte, raised in the sacred disciplines of the Order, is now ready to face the brutal initiation trials to become a consecrated knight-sorcerer. But the further Anskar rises in the ranks the more his faith wavers. As troubling powers awaken within him, a schism grows between Anskar and his hallowed Order, and he draws the hungry gaze of the vanquished queen’s fanatical followers.
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Michael Kramer!
- By Momof3inSLC on 07-24-20
By: Mitchell Hogan
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Outpost
- By: W. Michael Gear
- Narrated by: Alyssa Bresnahan
- Length: 18 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Donovan is a world of remarkable wealth that comes at a high price. When Supervisor Kalico Aguila's ship arrives, she discovers a failing colony, its government overthrown, the few remaining colonists gone wild. Donovan could make her career - or kill her. Planetside, Talina Perez is one of three rulers of the Port Authority colony - the only law in the one remaining town. With the Corporate ship demanding answers about the things she's done, Perez could lose everything, including her life. For Dan Wirth, Donovan is a last chance. A psychopath with a death sentence looming over his head, he will make a desperate play for power. No matter who he has to corrupt, murder, or destroy. Captain Max Taggart is the Corporation's enforcer. But is it too late to seize control of Donovan?
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Must have been written for teenage girls
- By Bob on 03-30-20
By: W. Michael Gear
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Terran Armor Corps: Volume 1
- Terran Armor Corps, Book 1-3
- By: Richard Fox
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 21 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Soldiers of the Terran Armor Corps wage war across the stars. Wired into mechanized battle suits, they fight the terrifying battles that must be won, no matter the cost. Their deeds are legend, their reputation feared by the enemies of Earth and her allies, but how the Corps forges young men and women into mighty warriors is shrouded by mystery. Roland Shaw lost his parents to war; he volunteers for the Armor Corps to honor their memory and discover just how far he can push himself.
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interesting premise, poorly exectuted
- By Derek M. Jones on 04-06-21
By: Richard Fox
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Embers of War
- By: Gareth L. Powell
- Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella, Amy Landon, Greg Tremblay, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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From BSFA award-winning author Gareth L. Powell comes the first in a new epic sci-fi trilogy exploring the legacies of war. The sentient warship Trouble Dog was built for violence, yet following a brutal war, she is disgusted by her role in a genocide. Stripped of her weaponry and seeking to atone, she joins the House of Reclamation, an organization dedicated to rescuing ships in distress. When a civilian ship goes missing in a disputed system, Trouble Dog and her new crew of loners, captained by Sal Konstanz, are sent on a rescue mission.
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Narrator has an annoying cadence
- By Hilmi S Alkindy on 09-20-20
By: Gareth L. Powell
What listeners say about The White Light of Tomorrow
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kate @MLHearingThings
- 12-11-19
Vivid and well paced, but frustrating
The White Light of Tomorrow is a wonderfully vivid sci-fi space-romp, which imagines a future in which many of Earth's old stories and traditions have been incorporated into a "second-coming", and the resurgence of the religious strongholds that bolstered the Crusaders of yore. It took me a little while to get to grips with this topsy-turvy world, which was simultaneously primitive and speculative. D. Pierce Williams' colourful, descriptive writing helped me visualise its unique blend of history and technology, and whether the crew were inside the Miranda or traversing the malodorous pig planet, their travels were easy to imagine.
The whole book has been well written and carefully edited, I do think this novel will divide opinions into those who love the almost-cyberpunk world which juxtaposes knights and sinister religious orders with extraordinarily futuristic tech, and those who find the speculative leap out into a future that has returned to the dark ages confusing.
Though I enjoyed the story overall, I felt that it suffered from the dated perspectives that have often held science fiction and fantasy books back from creating female characters who are as rounded and at ease with their environment as the men. It's not that they are badly drawn, just that they each tick a few too many boxes that we have seen before, and under the weight of the same gaze. Each of the book's most prominent women calls to a narrow stereotype or male fantasy, which is tiresome.
Despite the very cheesy, outdated female characters, the story itself actually had very good pace and held my attention throughout. The search for Mariel's cure and the sinister forces that threatened to thwart the crew's progress retained the tension needed to drive the mystery, and held enough twists and turns to entertain at each stage. It did not feel very contemporary in style, and I think it would be kinder to think of it as a homage to the classic stories of one's youth than to judge it too much by modern expectations.
The narrator, Matt Armstrong, really helped bring the Miranda's crew to life. His performance was enthusiastic and engaging, with good definition of voices for the various characters. There were a few slightly-dodgy accents, but most of them were identifiable. I especially liked the fact that there were so many accents from right across our own Earth populating Williams' future worlds. It helps give the book's universe more texture, and Armstrong managed to keep track of them all. I would certainly look out for other audiobooks narrated by Matt Armstrong, as he kept me engrossed in the story and helped maintain a sense of connection to the people at its heart, however alien their environment and experiences may have become.
I would recommend this audiobook to people who like classic sci-fi and exploring new worlds, but who will not be put off by its nostalgia for less enlightened times.
*I received this audiobook free of charge in the hope of an honest, unbiased review.
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- Lomeraniel
- 12-22-19
Interesting premises but failed execution
In a distant future, humanity has colonized other planets, and at some point, the connection with Earth got lost. An event called the Advent happened, and the order of the galaxy changed completely, having the Inquisition the absolute power in a world where technology got forbidden. Adrian de Tarsus, a Knight Hospitaler, travels aboard the Miranda, a spaceship owned by a Turkish, with his adoptive daughter, Mariel, who is also his squire.
This book sounded so interesting when I read the blurb, and despite taking me some time to get into the story, I found the premises truly amazing. A future society in which things have changed completely and our current technology was banned and forgotten. People collecting and trafficking with technology, a mystery box that could have been used for genetic engineering, two characters with the same face, and the Inquisition, more alive and gruesome than ever before. I was really looking forward to this book, as the premises were so good, but the execution did not work for me. I failed to get engaged in the story as I did not see a clear motivation from the start. Ok, Mariel had terrible migraines, but we are not explained what they really entail, the prognosis, and how they affect Marie’s daily life. Also, I did not care much for Mariel or any of the other characters. They were two-dimensional, and I found many parts of the story terribly sexist. Almost all female characters were at some point in the story damsels in distress, waiting to be saved by Adrian. Mariel is a 14-year-old teenager, who has lived with Adrian for the past 10 years, and suddenly she lusts for him? Okay, not very plausible but stranger things can happen. What I just can accept is Adrian’s attitude and actions regarding this. Sorry, I just cannot accept this.
The writing was rich but the dialogs were stiff and did not feel natural. It is clear that Williams is very well versed in Medieval History, as he uses many specific terms that I am sure not many people are familiar with. This made the reading a bit of a heavy task, but it was also interesting because it was something different from most books I have listened to lately. Some descriptions were quite vivid, focusing on smells, but most of the time I felt I was not able to “see” my surroundings. I wanted to see how people dressed, how they looked like, how the landscapes and cities were, and somehow I missed it. The same happened with many transitions in the story, being too abrupt. Sometimes it was difficult to realize what was really happening.
The world-building was interesting but it did not stand very well on its own. We missed some background. I know that this is often done in dystopian books, in which we get a weird future without much explanation, but things were just not adding up very well here. Technology was banned, but there were spaceships traveling between worlds. Depending on the grade of technology it was a lesser or a greater sin, but all characters seemed to accept spaceships, and all the equipment within, in a world that had returned to the Middle Ages. From what I’ve read, electricity itself was not banned but we did not get where the line was regarding technology in homes.
I really wanted to love this book but the story and world-building felt too far fetched. It also did not help that I did not care for any of the characters and I was so disappointed at how women were depicted. The religious aspect was also quite heavy. This will probably improve in future books, but I did not find many redeeming qualities towards the end. I made an effort to finish the book, I wanted to see if something good was going to come out of this, but it was just not0t enough for me.
Matt Armstrong’s narration was very enjoyable, as his compelling tone contributed to keeping me interested. There were many different characters in the book, and although some accents were a bit forced, Armstrong made an amazing job at keeping things consistent. His interpretation of Adrian was awesome.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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