John E
- 8
- reviews
- 6
- helpful votes
- 39
- ratings
-
The Emperor and the Endless Palace
- By: Justinian Huang
- Narrated by: Dylan J. Locke, Will Dao, Telly Leung
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Across these seemingly unrelated timelines woven together only by the twists and turns of fate, two men are reborn, lifetime after lifetime. Within the treacherous walls of an ancient palace and the boundless forests of the Asian wilderness to the heart-pounding cement floors of underground rave scenes, our lovers are inexplicably drawn to each other, constantly tested by the worlds around them.
-
-
Pushed/forced/couldn’t stand it
- By Cameron T. on 02-05-25
- The Emperor and the Endless Palace
- By: Justinian Huang
- Narrated by: Dylan J. Locke, Will Dao, Telly Leung
sexy, fun, beautiful prose
Reviewed: 04-08-24
I went in with low expectations but was delighted to find a highly enthralling story of love, messy relationships and lots of hot scenes to boot. I thought the choice to make the story switch between characters whom were connected, but a few thousand years apart was a really good choice and kept things spicy with lots of great cliff hangers and twists. If you're a fan of fantasy, gay erotica or both (like myself) definitely pick this up!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Clean
- The New Science of Skin
- By: James Hamblin
- Narrated by: Barrett Leddy
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Keeping skin healthy is a booming industry, and yet it seems like almost no one agrees on what actually works. What one person says is vital another says is toxic. We have not cured acne or eczema, allergies keep getting worse, and autoimmune conditions are becoming increasingly common. In Clean, doctor and journalist James Hamblin explores how we got here, examining the science and culture of how we care for our skin today.
-
-
Pretty topical
- By DT on 08-02-20
- Clean
- The New Science of Skin
- By: James Hamblin
- Narrated by: Barrett Leddy
Engaging and fascinating
Reviewed: 05-13-22
think I will be adding this to my shelf of favorite non fiction titles, it touched on just about everything I find fascinating in human health sciences
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Scatter, Adapt, and Remember
- How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction
- By: Annalee Newitz
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In its 4.5 billion–year history, life on Earth has been almost erased at least half a dozen times: shattered by asteroid impacts, entombed in ice, smothered by methane, and torn apart by unfathomably powerful megavolcanoes. And we know that another global disaster is eventually headed our way. Can we survive it? How?
As a species, Homo sapiens is at a crossroads. Study of our planet’s turbulent past suggests that we are overdue for a catastrophic disaster, whether caused by nature or by human interference.
It’s a frightening prospect, as each of the Earth’s past major disasters—from meteor strikes to bombardment by cosmic radiation—resulted in a mass extinction, where more than 75 percent of the planet’s species died out. But in Scatter, Adapt, and Remember, Annalee Newitz, science journalist and editor of the science Web site io9.com explains that although global disaster is all but inevitable, our chances of long-term species survival are better than ever. Life on Earth has come close to annihilation—humans have, more than once, narrowly avoided extinction just
during the last million years—but every single time a few creatures survived, evolving to adapt to the harshest of conditions.
This brilliantly speculative work of popular science focuses on humanity’s long history of dodging the bullet, as well as on new threats that we may face in years to come. Most important, it explores how scientific breakthroughs today will help us avoid disasters tomorrow. From simulating tsunamis to studying central Turkey’s ancient underground cities; from cultivating cyanobacteria for “living cities” to designing space elevators to make space colonies cost-effective; from using math to stop pandemics to studying the remarkable survival strategies of gray whales, scientists and researchers the world over are discovering the keys to long-term resilience and learning how humans can choose life over death.
Newitz’s remarkable and fascinating journey through the science of mass extinctions is a powerful argument about human ingenuity and our ability to change. In a world populated by doomsday preppers and media commentators obsessively forecasting our demise, Scatter, Adapt, and Remember is a compelling voice of hope. It leads us away from apocalyptic thinking into a future where we live to build a better world—on this planet and perhaps on others. Readers of this book will be equipped scientifically, intellectually, and emotionally to face whatever the future holds.
-
-
This is how we'll do it...
- By Bryant on 06-24-15
- Scatter, Adapt, and Remember
- How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction
- By: Annalee Newitz
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
great read, very interesting
Reviewed: 10-03-20
This is how to make geology, anthropology and speculative technology interesting. After reading some of her fiction I was very happy to hear that same infectious flavor extended to Newitz's non-fiction. Farr is also a great reader and I had to keep checking that it wasn't Newitz herself reading since she performed so fluidly.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful

-
Dawn
- Xenogenesis, Book 1
- By: Octavia E. Butler
- Narrated by: Aldrich Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a world devastated by nuclear war with humanity on the edge of extinction, aliens finally make contact. They rescue those humans they can, keeping most survivors in suspended animation while the aliens begin the slow process of rehabilitating the planet. When Lilith Iyapo is "awakened", she finds that she has been chosen to revive her fellow humans in small groups by first preparing them to meet the utterly terrifying aliens, then training them to survive on the wilderness that the planet has become. But the aliens cannot help humanity without altering it forever.
-
-
I couldn't tell if I loved it or hated it.
- By Lindsay on 01-31-16
- Dawn
- Xenogenesis, Book 1
- By: Octavia E. Butler
- Narrated by: Aldrich Barrett
Honestly it might be my favorite audiobook yet
Reviewed: 02-03-20
Get ready for some weird feelings! Butler's excellent imagination and a great reading made this a thrill to listen to. I was totally enraptured thinking about the world she built here.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Recursion
- A Novel
- By: Blake Crouch
- Narrated by: Jon Lindstrom, Abby Craden
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At first, it looks like a disease. An epidemic that spreads through no known means, driving its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived. But the force that’s sweeping the world is no pathogen. It’s just the first shock wave, unleashed by a stunning discovery - and what’s in jeopardy is not our minds but the very fabric of time itself. In New York City, Detective Barry Sutton is closing in on the truth - and in a remote laboratory, neuroscientist Helena Smith is unaware that she alone holds the key to this mystery...and the tools for fighting back.
-
-
Mixed Feelings
- By Breezybealle on 06-12-19
- Recursion
- A Novel
- By: Blake Crouch
- Narrated by: Jon Lindstrom, Abby Craden
Interesting and enthralling
Reviewed: 01-23-20
I generally don't like books that depend on one man or woman to save the world, or that use romance as a narrative frame... however, I will concede that there was plenty outside of the regular tropes to keep this interesting. I could easily see this becoming a TV show or miniseries. Sort of something between the OA and Travelers.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Semiosis
- A Novel
- By: Sue Burke
- Narrated by: Caitlin Davies, Daniel Thomas May
- Length: 14 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Only mutual communication can forge an alliance with the planet's sentient species and prove that mammals are more than tools. Forced to land on a planet they aren't prepared for, human colonists rely on their limited resources to survive. The planet provides a lush but inexplicable landscape—trees offer edible, addictive fruit one day and poison the next, while the ruins of an alien race are found entwined in the roots of a strange plant. Conflicts between generations arise as they struggle to understand one another and grapple with an unknowable alien intellect.
-
-
Weird. But good. But weird.
- By Lilyn G. on 03-20-18
- Semiosis
- A Novel
- By: Sue Burke
- Narrated by: Caitlin Davies, Daniel Thomas May
really interesting world discovery
Reviewed: 05-30-18
Loved this book and it's deep dive into the themes of colonialism and what it means to be human. A lot to think about as the colony grows, shifts and adapts to their environment as well as sociopolitically. Overall I think Burke takes a optimistic standpoint of human ideology, but it's refreshing in a time when it feels difficult to be positive about the human prospect.
The narration was over all very good. I had a little trouble staying engaged in particular during times that Daniel Thomas May adopted a purposefully monotone dictation for one of the main characters later in the story, but it didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying the rest of the reading.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
The Salt Line
- By: Holly Goddard Jones
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 15 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In an unspecified future, the United States' borders have receded behind a salt line - a ring of scorched earth that protects its citizens from deadly disease-carrying ticks. Those within the zone live safe, if limited, lives in a society controlled by a common fear. Few have any reason to venture out of zone, except for the adrenaline junkies who pay a fortune to tour what's left of nature. Those among the latest expedition include a pop star and his girlfriend, Edie; the tech giant Wes; and Marta, a seemingly simple housewife.
-
-
lame, non adventurous melodrama bla bla bla
- By josh on 09-18-17
- The Salt Line
- By: Holly Goddard Jones
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
great summer listen
Reviewed: 09-29-17
I really liked this book, a believable world (if you don't think about it too hard), and lots of deep character development. Jones take on a Jurassic Park style tourism-trip-where-everything-goes-wrong felt fresh and futuristic. The ending I think, was, not my favorite... but it seemed like a good wrap-up on a wild adventure across the Salt Line.
Voice actor was pretty good, my one complaint is that all the men sounded very raspy and similar, or sort-of gave off an evil-villain vibe, and even some of the women I had a hard time distinguishing. These were sort of minor annoyances though and I didn't really notice it anymore about quarter of the way through the book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Stories of Your Life and Others
- By: Ted Chiang
- Narrated by: Abby Craden, Todd McLaren
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stories of Your Life and Others presents characters who must confront sudden change-the inevitable rise of automatons or the appearance of aliens-while striving to maintain some sense of normalcy. In the amazing and much-lauded title story (the basis for the 2016 movie Arrival), a grieving mother copes with divorce and the death of her daughter by drawing on her knowledge of alien languages and non-linear memory recollection.
-
-
Amazing collection of short stories
- By Carolina on 09-15-14
- Stories of Your Life and Others
- By: Ted Chiang
- Narrated by: Abby Craden, Todd McLaren
Amazing!
Reviewed: 02-19-17
Really wonderful stories and great narration. The dude sometimes sounds like Obama. Very good book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!