Berserkers

The Beginning

By: Fred Saberhagen

Narrated by: Barrett Whitener

Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

There had been a battle. The berserker had met some terrible opponent, and had taken a terrible wound. A cavity two miles wide and 50 miles deep had been driven in by a sequence of shaped atomic charges, through level after level of machinery, deck after deck of armor and had been stopped only by the last inner defenses of the buried unliving heart. The berserker had survived and crushed its enemy, and soon after, its repair machines had sealed over the outer opening of the wound, using extra thicknesses of armor. When Hemphill sees the blasted cavity, what little of it his tiny spacesuit lamp can show, he feels a shrinking fear greater than any in his memory. Stopping on the edge of the void with his arm instinctively around Maria, he is stunned by the realization of just what fighting the berserker means. They have already come an hour's journey from the airlock, through weightless vacuum inside the great machine. Hemphill, his pistol ready, has a bomb, and 200 feet of cord tied around his left arm, when he recognizes the once-molten edge of the berserker's great scar for what it is: the damned thing has survived a level of attempted destruction that not only had hardly weakened it, but rendered the bomb Hemphill carried under his arm only a pathetic toy.

©1998 Fred Saberhagen (P)1998 Blackstone Audiobooks

most painful narration, constant long pauses

narrator speaks haltingly , says sentence or two then pauses for two seconds, constantly. playing at faster speed did not help

Loved it. Great stories, fast action

This is actually a bunch of short stories which have no relation to the series itself. These are comic book stories that I can only compare the The Animatrix DVD which was a series of stories based on The Matrix series.

Not worth the original asking price of $50 but well worth the subscription price of audible. I actually listened to this 2 times I loved it so much.

Within 20 seconds of the first story you are deep in the heart of the Berserker story. There is no buildup. Each 30 minute story takes you directly into a short story involving a battle with a Berserker. These are the stories that a full novel would leave out. For example, the story of a Berserker who wasnt fully completed, captures a human who then tells it that its purpose is to make humans laugh.

If you remeber the TV series AMAZING STORIES then you will understand this audible release.

Overall I loved it. Just keep in mind that the characters are not too important but the story is. There is even a sad story which is based on the old Greek legend of Orpheus and his trip to hell to get his lover back.

You'll get a basic idea of where the Berserkers came from, their size, their power, and the battle that they wage against all life. Not needed to to understand the series but a great set of stories to further advance the concept. Could be read before or after any of the books in the regular series

SCI-FI FAN

This book is very good in my opinion as is the
rest of the Berserkers series from author Fred Saberhagen. I have read the complete series and
have not been disapointed.

A beautiful world of horrible acts

This novel was a great way to pass the time while driving. The chapters are separate stories taking place in the same universe the Fred builds for us.

Overall I Did Enjoy It and Would Recommend It

It took a while for me to get use to the narrator. He was a little choppy, but oddly enough his character voices were smooth. I eventually got the hang of his style and was able to manage.
The book itself I had been meaning to pickup for a while. I enjoyed the anthology style of stories, giving the read a glimpse around the universe of the effect the Berserkers were having.

Great book abuse!

Would you consider the audio edition of Berserkers to be better than the print version?

Read the printed book, I've done both.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Several short stories, no favorite.

What didn’t you like about Barrett Whitener’s performance?

If you like plenty of time to think between sentences, this guy is for you. He takes periods seriously. Pause between almost all sentences as long as many pause between chapters. He is articulate, but ......... you ................ may ........... find............ the................ pauses............... a................ bit .............. much.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not really, but I read these when they came out long ago.

Any additional comments?

Really good stories that are the predecessors of Terminators.

A Great Series by One of the Great Syfy Authors

Where does Berserkers rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 10%. (I've listened to over 500 books since Books On Tape began offering them in the 1980s. The writing is tight, solid and moves you along. Each major character shines out.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Berserkers ... since they are the consistent theme throughout the series. They change and adopt and evolve as Bad Life ... humans .... fight them for survival

What about Barrett Whitener’s performance did you like?

Seamless. You aren't listening to him ... you are in the scene.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wanted to finish it quickly ... but not to force myself to listen to it in one sitting. My wife has other ideas for my retired time.

Any additional comments?

Listen to or read Saberhagen.

The way it was written

Perhaps the narration style was a bit dry, but in fact, that's how the book was written. I picked up this recording by accident, having confused it with the Bolo series by Keith Laumer. The concept is similar: war machines gone out of control and surviving through the ages to wreak havoc on later generations. It's an imaginative concept, leading to interesting stories by both authors. Getting back to this book, though, Saberhagen packages a bunch of short stories as historical research by an objective narrator. The characters' thoughts and actions are there, but are often minimalized. The short stories were probably written at different times and collected into this work. I say this because the style seems to change from time to time.
So, did I like it? Let me first say that THIS BOOK IS NOT THE BEGINNING of the series - it was published later and meant to capitalize on the success of the series. It provides some backstory and context for the other berserker stories. I liked it as a survey work, not as a story in and of itself. This book should be read AFTER one or more of the other Berserker books. I think the narrator did a decent job given the material, but ask yourself whether you would prefer to read a history book yourself, or have it read to you? Having said that, I did listen to the book all the way through again, and enjoyed it despite the fact it got rather slow-paced in places.

Great Maybe Not BUT...........

I have read the vast majority of these stories in this collection. While the narrator may leave something to desire, the storys and their organization is brilliant. I highly recommend that anyone who likes classic sci-fi get this audiobook. While I would not recommend an outright purchase, if you have a premium subscription this audiobook is well worth a one book credit. Download - listen - enjoy, I do not think you will be disappointed at least not to badly.

Killing machines

I really like the berserker books, but the narrator is very bad. It almost sounds like he is reading in an echo chamber.