The Dueling Machine
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The Dueling Machine
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Narrated by:
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Jim Roberts
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By:
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Ben Bova
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Myron Lewis
About this listen
First appearing in the 1963 issue of Analog Science Fact & Fiction, this story may have inspired the "holodeck" concept.
Imagine a mechanism that would end all wars and bloodshed. A machine that can create a virtual world where conflicts seem to be fought but where nobody dies. Dr. Leo's Dueling Machine is just that. When a warrior from the Kerak empire begins to win every time and finds a way to circumvent the machine and actually kill his opponents, the results are devastating and may lead to actual, not virtual war. Dr. Leo and his assistant have to work quickly to discover how this happens to save lives, planets and preserve the peace.
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 217
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 221
The first book in an action–packed new SF adventure series. Vulcan is a factory planet, centuries old, Company run, ugly as sin, and unfeeling as death. Vulcan breeds just two types of native: complacent or tough. Sten is tough. When his family is killed in a mysterious accident, Sten rebels, harassing the Company from the metal world’s endless maze-like warrens. He could end up just another burnt–out Delinquent. But people like Sten never give up.
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5 out of 5 stars
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THE MASTERPIECE BY JERRY SCIARRIO
- By Professor on 10-31-12
By: Chris Bunch, and others
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Requiem for a Ruler of Worlds
- The First Adventure of Alacrity Fitzhugh & Hobart Floyt
- By: Brian Daley
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 65
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 59
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 60
Mankind was beginning its third leap into the Galaxy, but Old Earth had so long kept to herself that her people were unable to travel safely among the rough-and-tumble cultures that had evolved on distant worlds. That annoyed Earth's rulers, for Hobart Floyt--a minor Terran bureaucrat-- had been left a mysterious inheritance by the deceased ruler of a small but wealthy interstellar empire.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best Sci Fi Fun anywhere!
- By A. Foxter on 07-07-15
By: Brian Daley
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Eon
- By: Greg Bear
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 17 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,237
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,092
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,095
Perhaps it wasn't from our time, perhaps it wasn't even from our universe, but the arrival of the 300-kilometer long stone was the answer to humanity's desperate plea to end the threat of nuclear war. Inside the deep recesses of the stone lies Thistledown: the remnants of a human society, versed in English, Russian and Chinese. The artifacts of this familiar people foretell a great Death caused by the ravages of war, but the government and scientists are unable to decide how to use this knowledge.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Am Epic Original SciFi Read Worth Your Time...
- By Michael on 07-01-12
By: Greg Bear
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Queen of Angels
- By: Greg Bear
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 19 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 84
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 68
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Story4 out of 5 stars 68
Emanuel Goldsmith, a famous poet, murdered eight people, then disappeared. Three people want to find him: an aspiring writer, an embittered scientist who wants to use him, and a policewoman who needs to put him in custody before the Selectors, a vigilante organization, get to him first.
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5 out of 5 stars
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fantastic, a whole new experience on audio
- By Tungsten on 04-02-16
By: Greg Bear
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At Any Price & Rolling Hot
- Hammer's Slammers Series
- By: David Drake
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 672
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 588
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 587
This two-story compiliation, read by Stefan Rudnicki, offers two stories from David Drake's popular Hammer's Slammers series. In At Any Price, Col. Alois Hammer's indomitable Slammers are called in to support human colonists against a native uprising in this novel-length adventure. But even though the natives' off-world weapons are no match for the Slammers, their ability to teleport gives them a frightening advantage! In Rolling Hot, the battle-crazed troop of recruits and vets, led by Captain Ranson, must cover 300 miles of hostile enemy territory.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Not a cohesive story or stories
- By Jeffery on 01-19-21
By: David Drake
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Battle Cruiser
- Lost Colonies, Book 1
- By: B. V. Larson
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,768
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,418
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Story4 out of 5 stars 4,407
One starship will either save Earth or destroy her. A century ago our star erupted, destroying Earth's wormhole network and closing off trade with her colonized planets. After being out of contact with the younger worlds for so many years, humanity is shocked when a huge ship appears at the edge of the solar system. Our outdated navy investigates, both curious and fearful. What they learn from the massive vessel shocks the planet.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Disappointing, Juvenile
- By Russ on 12-27-15
By: B. V. Larson
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Cobra Slave
- Cobra Rebellion, Book 1
- By: Timothy Zahn
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 169
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 150
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Story4 out of 5 stars 149
Cobras are technologically-enhanced warriors bred to fight an alien menace no ordinary human can withstand. At the center of action, on the Cobra world of Aventine, is the legendary Moreau clan. While the Cobras are necessary in times of war, in times of peace, they are often reviled by those they have saved. Now, the Cobras have resisted a second invasion of the alien Troft forces, forcing the Troft to a stalemate - even converting some thoughtful Troft into uneasy allies against their kin.
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1 out of 5 stars
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What?
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 07-09-15
By: Timothy Zahn
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Starfire
- By: B.V. Larson
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 13 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,643
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,426
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Story4 out of 5 stars 2,426
On June 30, 1908, an object fell from the sky, releasing more energy than a thousand Hiroshima bombs. A Siberian forest was flattened, but the strike left no significant crater. The anomaly came to be known as the Tunguska Event, and scientists have never agreed whether it was the largest meteor strike in recorded history - or something else. Alien artifacts have been uncovered since the 1908 event, and a new star drive is discovered.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Het
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 04-09-17
By: B.V. Larson
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StarCraft: I, Mengsk
- By: Graham McNeill
- Narrated by: Neil Kaplan
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 206
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 187
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 187
Sixty-thousand light-years from Earth, the corrupt Terran Confederacy holds the Koprulu sector tightly in its tyrannical grip, controlling every aspect of its citizens' lives. One man dares to stand up to this faceless empire and vows to bring it to its knees: Arcturus Mengsk - genius propagandist, tactician, and freedom fighter. A monstrous act of bloody violence sows the seeds of rebellion in Arcturus, but he is not the first Mengsk to rail against such oppression. Before Arcturus grew to manhood, his father, Angus Mengsk, also defied the Confederacy and sought to end its reign.
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5 out of 5 stars
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great listening & listening, need more starcraft!!
- By Anonymous User on 12-04-18
By: Graham McNeill
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A Talent for War
- An Alex Benedict Novel
- By: Jack McDevitt
- Narrated by: Gregory Abbey, Jack McDevitt
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 561
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 386
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Story4 out of 5 stars 387
Everyone knew the legend of Christopher Sim. Fighter. Leader. An interstellar hero with a rare talent for war, Sim changed mankind's history forever when he forged a ragtag group of misfits into the weapon that broke the back of the alien Ashiyyur. But now, Alex Benedict has found a startling bit of information, long buried in an ancient computer file. If it is true, then Christopher Sim was a fraud.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Very good - but the cover and title are deceptive
- By Brian on 09-25-10
By: Jack McDevitt
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Battletech Chronicles Books 1-3
- By: Robert Charrette, Michael A. Stackpole
- Narrated by: Christopher Graybill
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 160
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 152
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 152
As a MechWarrior of the Draconis Combine, Minobu Tetsuhara was bound by Bushido - a code that demands loyal service - to the devious Warlord Grieg Samsonov. But when Minobu came upon a strange blue-and-gold Archer, Bushido also dictated that he not destroy the honorable but helpless warrior. And so begins the BattleTech Chronicles, books one, two and three...
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1 out of 5 stars
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Bait & Switch Tactics
- By Scott D. Free on 11-10-20
By: Robert Charrette, and others
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Shadowline
- Starfishers, Book 1
- By: Glen Cook
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 50
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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Story4 out of 5 stars 44
The vendetta in space had started centuries before "Mouse" Storm was born, with his grandfather's raid on the planet Prefactlas, the bloodbath that freed the human slaves from their Sangaree masters. But one Sangaree survived--the young Norborn heir, the man who swore vengeance on the Storm family and their soldiers,in a carefully mapped plot that would take generations to fulfill. Now Mouse's father, Gneaus, must fight for an El Dorado of wealth on the burning half of the planet Blackworld.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Beautiful Performance
- By Cliff on 05-21-18
By: Glen Cook
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Footfall
- By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 24 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,110
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,584
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,582
They first appear as a series of dots on astronomical plates, heading from Saturn directly toward Earth. Since the ringed planet carries no life, scientists deduce the mysterious ship to be a visitor from another star. The world's frantic efforts to signal the aliens go unanswered. The first contact is hostile: the invaders blast a Soviet space station, seize the survivors, and then destroy every dam and installation on Earth with a hail of asteriods.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle at Their Best
- By Flatlander on 06-24-10
By: Larry Niven, and others
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Falling Free
- Miles Vorsokigan, Book 4
- By: Lois McMaster Bujold
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,293
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,816
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,823
Leo Graf was just your average highly efficient engineer: mind your own business, fix what's wrong, and move on to the next job. But all that changed on his assignment to the Cay Habitat, where a group of humanoids had been secretly, commercially bioengineered for working in free fall. Could he just stand there and allow the exploitation of hundreds of helpless children merely to enhance the bottom line of a heartless mega-corporation?
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3 out of 5 stars
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Don't read this one first
- By Carol on 02-20-13
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Fleet of Worlds
- 200 Years Before the Discovery of the Ringworld
- By: Larry Niven, Edward M. Lerner
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 855
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 599
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 604
Fleet of Worlds takes a closer look at Human-Puppeteer (Citizen) relations and the events leading up to Niven's first Ringworld novel. Kirsten Quinn-Kovacks is among the best and brightest of her people. She gratefully serves the gentle race that rescued her ancestors from a dying starship, gave them a world, and nurtures them still. If only the Citizens knew where Kirsten's people came from.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Hurrah!
- By Bruce on 01-25-08
By: Larry Niven, and others
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The Course of Empire
- By: Eric Flint, K. D. Wentworth
- Narrated by: Chris Patton
- Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 183
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 168
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 167
Conquered by the Jao twenty years ago, the Earth is shackled under alien tyranny - and threatened by the even more dangerous Ekhat, one of whose genocidal extermination fleets is coming to the solar system. The only chance for human survival is in the hands of an unusual pair of allies: a young Jao prince, newly arrived to Terra to assume his duties, and a young human woman brought up amongst the Jao occupiers. But, as their tentative alliance takes shape, they are under pressure from all sides.
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4 out of 5 stars
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ERIC FLINT'S VENTURE INTO FULL SCI-FI MODE
- By Professor on 11-01-12
By: Eric Flint, and others
What listeners say about The Dueling Machine
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Veronica Lakewood
- 06-28-16
Seems incomplete.
What did you love best about The Dueling Machine?
Before there was the matrix, the holo deck, virtual reality , lawn mower man there was the dueling machine . One of Bova's best works next to the Voyagers series and the exiles trilogy .
Who was your favorite character and why?
Dr Leoh. A very cool headed man with logical thinking and intuitive process.
What three words best describe Jim Roberts’s performance?
Not so good.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No
Any additional comments?
When I first read this book in the 80s the ending was that they had discovered teleportation using the dueling machine. Furthermore Hector had gotten some Odal's personality traits in the end of the book. I wanted to listen to that version .
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