The Sandman – Act III (Audiobook), written by Neil Gaiman and performed by a full cast

On August 12, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Horror, Superhero, Tie-in Novel4 Comments

Publisher: Audible Original (Audiobook – 28 September 2022)

Series: The Sandman – Volume 3

Script: Neil Gaiman and Dirk Maggs (script adapter)

Director: Dirk Maggs

Length: 11 hours and 31 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

After falling in the love with the epic The Sandman comics thanks to their exceptional audiobook adaptations, I finally got to the third audiobook act in this exceptional series by Neil Gaiman, which was another amazing listen.

I have had an outstanding time listening to the first and second volumes of the audiobook adaptations of The Sandman comic. Set partially in the DC universe, the original series, which started in 1989, is one of the most iconic comics of all time and features a unique adventure that only Neil Gaiman can come up with. Following Dream, the anthropomorphic personification of dreams and human imagination, The Sandman is a truly amazing comic that blends horror, fantasy and superhero elements together. Some people might be more familiar with the recent Netflix series that adapted the first couple of comics, and which has a second season on the way.

This series has proven to be extremely exceptional, with Act I perfectly introducing the characters and setting up the initial storyline, while Act II continues some of the key story points and places Dream against various foes, including Lucifer and other dangerous mythical figures. Not only do these audiobooks feature an incredible story and powerful characters but they are brought to life by a truly awesome cast of celebrity actors and audiobook narrators who really lend their all to this performance. As such, when going on a couple of fun road trips this year, Act III was a very easy choice to listen to, and I was extremely curious to see how this series would continue.

In a universe of strange and deadly creatures, many beings are considered immortal, but only seven siblings can truly claim to be endless. The Endless, each a personification of a universal concept, are powerful and mesmerizing in their own way, but the most enchanting and mysterious is Dream. Known by many names, including Morpheus, this being governs the Dreaming, a vast realm of creation’s collected dreams and stories, protecting the imagination that makes life worth living. But circumstances outside of his control have set him on a dark path that not even he can escape from.

After being freed from captivity and deciding the future of Hell, Morpheus finds himself troubled by another failed romance, his own complex past, his previous monstrous decisions, and his often contentious relationship with his family. Visited by his troubled youngest sibling Delirium, Dream embarks on an unusual quest alongside her to find their missing brother, the one member of the Endless to ever give up their role and responsibility, Destruction. But their prodigal sibling does not wish to be found, and many obstacles lie between an Endless reunification. To succeed in their quest, Morpheus will need to revisit the most painful chapter from his past. However, no-one, not even a member of the Endless, comes away from a meeting with Destruction unscathed!

Unsurprisingly, Act III proved to be an exceptional listen, and I once again got wrapped up in the elaborate and compelling web of stories and characters that The Sandman is well known for. Adapted once again by director Dirk Maggs and featuring all of Gaiman’s impressive storytelling and dark characterisations, The Sandman – Act III, was an outstanding listen, and one that I could not get away from. Adapting the Brief Lives and Worlds’ End arcs of The Sandman comic, as well as several additional short stories, Act III was an exceptional addition to this series, especially with the truly exceptional voice cast.

Act III continues the same format and style of the previous The Sandman audiobook adaptations, with the comic broken into several distinctive parts to best tell the elaborate story from the comics. The previously drawn adventures are brought to life here through a combination of excellent narration by Neil Gaiman, who covers many of the characters’ actions and movements, sound effects to represent other unseen elements, and the dialogue of the various characters, with their respective actors often describing the moments going on around them. This results in an intriguing but complex listening experience, and with a runtime of 11 hours and 31 minutes, it is one that you can get through very quickly if you have the time.

This latest audiobook adaptation starts off in an interesting place with the short story The Song of Orpheus, which originally appeared in the Fables & Reflections collection of stories. The Song of Orpheus is a fantastic retelling of the classic Greek myth of Orpheus, with the character reimagined as the son of Morphius and the muse Calliope, the latter of whom was featured in the story Calliope in the Dream Country collection (featured in the Act I adaptation). Gaiman does an excellent job of bringing together the classic Greek mythology of the Orpheus legend with his own characters and the result is a seamless and complex tale. Orpheus’ ill-fated marriage and journey to save his love is aided and hindered by the various members of the Endless, with Morpheus serving as a complex distant father figure. The resulting story may seem familiar to those with knowledge of Greek mythology, but there are some added intriguing twists, and the inclusion of Gaiman’s characters ensure that there is even greater tragedy than the original Greek myth envisioned.

When I started this audiobook, I thought that The Song of Orpheus was interesting start to this act, and in hindsight it was quite a clever decision, as it sets up some of the other arcs extremely well. The story ensures that listeners are well warned about the tragedy and elaborate storylines contained in Act III, while also drawing you in with its inventiveness and complexity. It is also a brilliant production thanks to the combination of cast and background music effects. Regé-Jean Page (of Bridgerton fame), proves to be an outstanding Orpheus, who stands as an interesting contrast to the other established voice actors of this story. There are also some epic musical accompaniment and sound effects that prove vital in showcasing the full impact of this story, and which you honestly need when telling a story about the mythical musician Orpheus. I felt that the musical elements of this chapter deeply helped to enhance the story, especially as there was some great sadness in the sound effects that mirrored the story. This was honestly a very strong start to Act III, and I loved how well it led into the first main story, Brief Lives.

Brief Lives is a particularly epic main story arc for this audiobook which serves as both the plot and emotional heart of Act III. Initially focusing on the incredibly fun character of Delirium, who we only briefly saw in Act II, Brief Lives sees Dream accompany his sister on a road trip to find their lost brother, Destruction. This results in several intriguing mini story arcs as the mismatched and chaotic siblings travel through the mortal world, encountering their family, friends, and former associates of Destruction. At the same time, sinister events begin to impact people associated with their search, and Dream must navigate the increased collateral damage his quest is incurring.

I really loved this arc, and I think that Brief Lives might be one of the stronger The Sandman storylines. The road trip storyline with Dream and Delirium worked to tell this story in a fantastic manner, and I enjoyed how the author took the opportunity to quickly and effectively introduce new intriguing characters whose worlds become impacted by their interactions with the Endless. The long-anticipated reveal about the missing Endless was great, and Gaiman loads in some intriguing examinations about family, destiny and duty. Brief Lives is loaded with a great combination of dark mystery, the author’s gothic vibe, a fantastic layer of humour, and an intense amount of tragedy, all wrapped up with the most unique familial interactions you are likely to see in fiction. The author takes the storylines in some interesting directions, and the resulting emotional richness proves very hard to ignore. The ending of Brief Lives is particularly moving, with a resolution of family drama followed by additional tragedy millennia in the making. This also proves to be quite a key story in the wider The Sandman story, with the consequences radiating out from the events of this road trip have chaotic impacts in the future.

I have to say that I was really impressed with how Brief Lives came together. Not only does the elaborate story come across clearly and interestingly with the chapter split, but you really get drawn into every single supporting character that shows up. I particularly enjoyed seeing Delirium getting a whole arc to shine in, and actress Kristen Schaal is perfect as the embodiment of personal chaos, bringing an immense childlike glee to the madcap antics of her character. Schaal perfectly plays off the more serious characters in this story arc, and you can really feel the dancing chaos beneath the surface of her mind as well as how scattered and unconnected she is. The reveal of Destruction as a character was also quite interesting, and I like the author’s take of him being a warm, thoughtful and entertaining destroyer, whose duty has deeply damaged him. David Harewood brings some real compassion and charm to the role of Destruction, and I enjoyed how he played off the sarcastic talking dog Barnabas, voiced by veteran voice actor Harry Myers. The portrayal of Brief Lives also makes excellent use of some musical accompaniment to enhance the emotional impact of the plot, including in some of the story’s heaviest scenes, and this ended up being the most compelling part of Act III to listen to.

The other major storyline in The Sandman – Act III, is the intriguing anthology storyline, Worlds’ End. Like some of the previous arcs in The Sandman, Worlds’ End is more of an indirect addition to the plot, loaded with short stories that show snippets of Dream, the Endless, and other supporting characters, interacting with new and unique figures. However, Worlds’ End is also quite distinctive, especially as Neil Gaiman surrenders his narrator duties in this arc, and instead features multiple guest narrators telling their own tales in a similar manner to The Canterbury Tales. The plot of this arc starts with character Brant Tucker (voiced by Wil Wheaton) and his colleague crashing their car in a freak storm and then finding refuge in the mysterious Worlds’ End inn. Within the inn, they discover multiple unusual travellers from across time and the realms, who have been scattered due to a reality storm and are seeking shelter. To pass the time, the various guests tell stories based on their lives, which paint a complex tapestry of their experiences and the long-reaching influence of the Endless.

I have a lot of love for the various short stories that Gaiman fills The Sandman comics with, but I felt that the collection featured with Worlds’ End were some of his strongest. There are five central stories featured within, and they each provide a complex and wildly different tale of life, loss and adventure, all set in the contexts of different worlds and experiences. Gaiman manages to tell some complex tales in the short time he has with each entry, and the reader comes away with intriguing visions of these unique worlds and characters. There are a few times where the narrative devolves into a story within a story, as narrators begin to recount tales that were told to them (and in a couple of cases you have a story within a story within another story). However, even these prove to be very captivating, and it is a testament to how good a storytelling Gaiman is that readers can moved into multiple interlocking tales and still be intrigued by what is going on. There is also a great mixture of tales here, from a Lovecraftian inspired dream tale, to a hilarious fantasy adventure told by a rambunctious Faerie, and even a classic nautical adventure tale of a handsome sailor boy, which features the return of fan favourite character Hob Gadling. However, my favourite story was The Golden Boy, an intriguing retelling of the story of Prez Rickard, the teenage president protagonist of the classic, if short-lived, Prez comics, which proves to be quite entertaining and haunting, while also showing an idealised vision of America.

I felt that these five stories came across in a very organic way with the differing narrators, and it proved to be a lot of fun to experience the talents of several new or underutilised vocal talents in a strong way here. Wil Wheaton was a great main narrator for the overarching story, and I felt he portrayed a good everyman character experiencing the unnatural for the first time. Billy Boyd and Colin McFarlane both shine as narrators and central characters for their respective stories, and I quite enjoyed the performances of KJ Apa and Jon Culshaw in The Golden Boy, while Simon Jones was an impactful addition to the funeral-focused story Cerements. These actors, and many others, helped to turn Worlds’ End into a compelling and distinctive arc, and I liked how effectively it contrasted with the other The Sandman arcs we have enjoyed. This entire storyline ends on an ominous and prophetic note, as the listener is given a glimpse of major events to come, and Worlds’ End proved to be a great way to conclude Act III.

Overall, these main stories, as well as an additional couple of short stories, proved to be very impressive to read, and I love the complex plots and themes that the author tried to impart. The continuation of a larger storyline, combined with multiple short stories that expands The Sandman universe, works to create an elaborate experience for the listener, and I deeply appreciate the immense imagination that Gaiman puts into his work. The flow from larger, cohesive storylines to a series of shorter tales also works extremely well, and I love how the obvious palate cleaner short stories take on a compelling life of their own. No matter how short, each of the stories in Act III were very well written, and the distinctive blend of dark storytelling, gothic imagination and complex characters makes for some addictive listening. I especially love the recurring trend of normal humans, as well as other more supernatural beings, encountering the various Endless by chance, only to find their lives altered by the experience, often for the worst. The often capricious nature of Dream, as well as some of his siblings, really comes through with Gaiman’s writing and the subsequent acting, and you cannot appreciate just how well-written these figures, and indeed the entire character cast of The Sandman, are, until you experience it for yourself.

Before we get to the end of this review, I must once again strongly compliment just how awesome these The Sandman audiobooks are. Gaiman, Maggs and others do such an incredible job of converting the original comics into this new format, and all the original ideas, actions and compelling figures come across perfectly in the audiobook. The combination of clever narration and on-point dialogue allows listeners to really appreciate the unfolding actions taking place, and effective sound effects add that extra layer of understanding. Throw in some outstanding musical moments, which prove to be particularly impactful in Act III, and this entire audiobook hits the reader hard and ensures that are constantly caught up in the elaborate ideas of the original author. All the storylines come across perfectly, with some slight alterations in the order they appear, and you really come away with an outstanding appreciation for The Sandman, even if you’ve never read the comics.

It goes without saying that Act III once again featured an incredible cast of actors and voice specialists, all of whom perfectly portray the characters they are assigned to. I love how all the key stars from Act I and Act II, once again returned here, and their outstanding voices, combined with some awesome new figures, ensured that every word of this audiobook delighted its audience. I have already mentioned a few key actors above, but I really want to once again highlight the outstanding recurring key cast, who do such a great job here. Series lead James McAvoy is just perfect as Morpheus, and his resonate and powerful voice consistently captures the ethereal, arrogant, and thoughtful qualities of the titular protagonist every time. It is such a pleasure to listen to McAvoy perform once again in Act III, and his excellent voice plays off every other actor in this audiobook so damn well.

Other key returning stars include Kat Dennings, who perfectly portrays Gaiman’s warmer, caring, female Death, who is frankly one of the best characters in the entire series. Andy Serkis has a lot of fun as the raven Matthew, and his scenes with Dream and Delirium are hilarious. Jeffrey Wright, Justin Vivian Bond and Miriam Margolyes each do an amazing job of bringing Destiny, Desire and Despair to life, and you can really feel their ancient power and alternating views of humanity. Justin Vivian Bond’s portrayal of the feckless and fickle Desire is particularly noteworthy, and I love how well this unique character came across. Multiple other actors and established audiobook narrators provide a range of compelling and memorable voices throughout Act III, including several of my favourite audiobook narrators like Ray Porter and Toby Longworth, and I loved every one of their voices. Finally, Neil Gaiman himself serves as an outstanding central narrator for much of the Act III. Gaiman’s distinctive voice perfectly fits the gothic and mysterious vibe of The Sandman comics, and there is no-one else who could narrate these complex ideas and experiences, better than the author who originally came up with them. You will frankly struggle to find a better cast of voice actors in any other audiobook out there, and this outstanding vocal team makes Act III, and indeed all The Sandman audiobooks, something extremely special to enjoy.

Act III of The Sandman audiobook was another exceptional listen and one that proves pretty impossible to stop listening to. The combination of captivating storylines, outrageous characters, and a huge array of vocal and acting talents make this an easy five-star listen, and I can personally guarantee that The Sandman – Act III makes for an excellent accompaniment to a long road trip. While I’m sure that recent controversies might impact this, I hope we get the fourth act in this epic series soon, and I cannot wait to see how Morpheus’s tragic and complex tale ends.

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Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Audiobooks with Special Narrators

On August 22, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, List6 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, participants get a freebie list that they can build around a specific genre. As such, I’m going to go back to my favourite format for enjoying all things fiction and craft a list around audiobooks, which fans of this blog will know I have a major liking for. In particular, I am going to look at those very awesome audiobooks that make excellent use of a special narrator.

All audiobook fans know that the one thing that can make or break an audiobook is the narrator. A talented narrator with a great voice can turn any book into something spectacular, while a bad narrator can tank even the very best story. In some very awesome cases, the audiobook’s producers manage to get their hands on someone particularly special to narrate their product for them, and this usually works out to be pretty damn epic. Now, when I talk about special narrators, I’m talking about either major celebrities, or someone who already has a significant connection with the book/franchise, and whose inclusion ensures that the listener can really get absorbed into the resultant audiobook. I have had the very great pleasure of listening to several amazing examples of these special narrators turning already epic books into first-class listens, and I thought this would be a fantastic time to highlight them here.

To appear on this list, the audiobook had to feature the voice of a celebrity or an actor best known from another media, and whose inclusion as a narrator was particularly significant. I chose to exclude a couple major audiobook productions that went out of their way to get a ton of celebrity voices, such as World War Z or The Sandman, mainly because they recently appeared on another Top Ten List, but also because that felt a little like cheating. Despite this, I still had a good collection of first-rate audiobooks that featured very special narrators. All these epic and unique narrators helped to deeply enhance the audiobook they lent their voices to, and I would strongly recommend the resulting products as a result. So let’s see who made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

The Law, written and narrated by Jim Butcher

It often doesn’t work when an author narrates their own audiobook, especially if their series is already well known for having an excellent narrator, but I felt Jim Butcher did a pretty good job voicing his most iconic character in this audio adaptation of The Law novella.

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The Padmé Trilogy, written by E. K. Johnston, narrated by Catherine Taber

The Padmé trilogy of Star Wars novels was an intriguing young adult series that worked to expand on the story of Padmé Amidala from the prequel trilogy. Now, while this series from E. K. Johnston, made up of Queen’s Shadow, Queen’s Peril and Queen’s Hope, is quite good in its own way, the audiobook versions are deeply enhanced by the inclusion of narrator Catherine Taber, the voice of Padmé from The Clone Wars animated series. Taber really brings this iconic character to life again in this new format, and her voice work deeply enhances this fantastic read.

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The Night Fire, written by Michael Connelly and narrated by Titus Welliver and Christine Lakin

The audiobook versions of Michael Conelly’s books are usually pretty damn awesome, but I had a particularly good time with The Night Fire, mainly because it had a great voice cast behind it. While Christine Lakin does an excellent job, for the purposes of this list I am mainly highlighting the inclusion of Titus Welliver, who plays the character of Harry Bosche in the Bosche television series. His use as a narrator here is brilliant, and I loved the continuity in these latest audiobooks.

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The Final Girl Support Group, written by Grady Hendrix and narrated by Adrienne King

Grady Hendrix’s outstanding horror thriller, The Final Girl Support Group, featured a ton of amazing homages to classic slasher films, but its best is probably the inclusion of Adrienne King as the audiobook narrator. King, who is best known for her role as the final girl in the original Friday the 13^th film was an inspired choice for narrator, and I loved the added authenticity her performance gave this fantastic audiobook.

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Top Ten Tuesday:

The Lord of the Rings, written by J. R. R. Tolkien and narrated by Andy Serkis

Let’s start with a true classic and focus on the latest The Lord of the Rings audiobooks. While The Lord of the Rings books are always pretty damn awesome, these new audiobooks are further enhanced by the inclusion of legendary actor Andy Serkis as narrator. Serkis gives a 110% performance in these audiobooks, gifting wonderful voices to all the characters, not just Gollum, and even trying to emulate the voices of fellow Lord of the Rings film cast members. His exceptional voice work and elaborate performance greatly enhances these amazing audiobooks, and The Unseen Library strongly recommends this format as a result.

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Dresden Files audiobooks, written by Jim Butcher and narrated by James Marsters

I doubt anyone familiar with my blog will be too surprised that I am featuring the Dresden Files audiobooks on this list. I have had such an epic time with this series over the last few years, and part of the reason why is because each of the audiobooks is narrated by actor James Marsters, who I have been a huge fan of since Buffy the Vampire Slayer first came out. Marsters is such a talented narrator, and he really dives into the various characters featured in the Dresden Files books, including series protagonist Harry Dresden. The actor’s fun and emotional take on the protagonist really makes these audiobooks come to life, and every single one of them that I have listened to, including Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Summer Knight, Death Masks, Blood Rites, Dead Beat, Proven Guilty, White Night and Battle Ground, are so much better with Marsters’ expert narration. I cannot recommend this audiobook series enough as a result, and Marsters will make you fall in love with this exceptional urban fantasy series.

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Welcome to Night Vale and It Devours!, written by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor, narrated by Cecil Baldwin

Another series I have to recommend thanks to my Guest Review section are the fantastic Welcome to Night Vale audiobooks. Welcome to Night Vale is a beloved and weird sci-fi podcast that has been ongoing for several years now, picking up a dedicated following. As part of this, the creators have also written several books, including Welcome to Night Vale and It Devours!, which provide some extra fun insight into this crazy series. The audiobook versions of these novels are particularly fun because they are narrated by Cecil Baldwin, who serves as one of the main voices of the Welcome to Night Vale podcast. While I haven’t personally listened to these books, my editor and occasional contributor Alex swears by them and I had to include them on this list as a result. Alex really loved Baldwin’s voicework in these two audiobooks and she assures me that his inclusion as narrator ensures that these are required listening for all fans of this iconic podcast.

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The Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice, written by Richard Osman and narrated by Lesley Manville

I have a lot of love for Richard Osman’s first two Thursday Murder Club novels, especially in their audiobook format. That is because the awesome narration of actress Lesley Manville is so damn exceptional and she gives perfect voices to all the great cast members. Manville really showcases her vocal skills in these first two books, and thanks to her outstanding narration, The Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice both ended up being amongst my favourite audiobooks of 2020 and 2021 respectfully.

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Sylvanas, written by Christie Golden and narrated by Patty Mattson

There are some pretty awesome Warcraft/World of Warcraft audiobooks out there, but probably one of the best in terms of narration has to be last year’s outstanding listen, Sylvanas. Not only does Sylvanas have a great story behind it that examines one of the most complex characters in the Warcraft cannon, but the production team sought to bring some major authenticity and power to the audiobook version by utilising voice actor Patty Mattson as narrator. Mattson is probably best known for voicing Sylvanas Windrunner in World of Warcraft, so her inclusion here as narrator is an epic choice, as she already embodies the book’s main character/narrator perfectly. Having Sylvanas’ story told to you in her own voice is so damn cool, and it turns this audiobook into an epic listen, especially for dedicated Warcraft fans.

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The Salvage Crew, written by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and narrated by Nathan Fillion

I must admit that one of the main reasons that I originally listened to the compelling and freaky science fiction audiobook, The Salvage Crew, was because it featured Nathan Fillion as narrator. Fillion, who voices the machine protagonist, unsurprisingly does an amazing job in The Salvage Crew, and his silky tones really drag you into this elaborate tale. While I did deeply enjoy Wijeratne’s clever writing, I doubt I would have checked it out without Fillion, who really does an amazing job as a narrator.

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Redshirts, written by John Scalzi and narrated by Wil Wheaton

Redshirts by amazing author John Scalzi is a hilarious and exceedingly clever parody/homage to the classic Star Trek series that shows the perspective of the doomed redshirts who are highly aware of their lack of survivability. I have a lot of love for this novel, and the audiobook is particularly cool, especially because they chose the perfect narrator for it, with Star Trek: The Next Generation star, Wil Wheaton. Wheaton has a lot of fun narrating this outstanding book, and there is something particularly fun having an iconic cast member reading this a clever Star Trek parody. I was laughing myself silly the entire time I was listening to this book, and I doubt I would have had as much fun without Wheaton’s fantastic inclusion.

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Star Wars: Ahsoka, written by E. K. Johnston and narrated by Ashley Eckstein

With the Ahsoka television series starting up tomorrow night, I definelty needed to highlight an awesome audiobook from a few years ago that makes perfect use of a special narrator. This audiobook is Ahsoka by E. K. Johnston and it features the excellent voice work of Ashley Eckstein, who is the definitive Ahsoka for The Clone Wars fans. This novel follows the character in the immediate aftermath of Revenge of the Sith and Eckstein unsurprisingly kills it, showcasing her impressive vocal range while also telling a unique Ahsoka tale that only she can.

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The Bullet That Missed, written by Richard Osman and narrated by Fiona Shaw

Now I am slightly cheating here by including the third Thursday Murder Club novel, The Bullet That Missed, separately on this list, but I’m justifying it because it features a different special narrator. The Bullet That Missed was a particularly impressive entry in this great series, and I made sure to grab the audiobook version as soon as possible. While I was initially disappointed that Leslie Manville wasn’t returning, I swiftly got over that the moment I found of Fiona Shaw of Harry Potter, Andor and Killing Eve fame was replacing her. Shaw also does an exceptional job narrating this novel and while she does emulate Manville in places, Shaw really puts her own spin on the narration, producing an exceptional listen. I really loved how Shaw effortless stepped in for this third book and her narration deeply enhances some of the best elements of The Bullet That Missed, including the pure Britishness of the story. I am very happy that Shaw will be returning for the upcoming Thursday Murder Club book, The Last Devil To Die, and I cannot wait to hear her bring this new novel to life.

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The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line, written by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham and narrated by Kristen Bell

The final audiobook I want to highlight is the awesome Veronica Mars tie-in novel, The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line, which is set after the Veronica Mars film. While I really did enjoy the clever mystery, intense personal story and intriguing expansion of the Veronica Mars mythos it contained, the true highlight of this audiobook has to be the fact that they get Kristen Bell to narrate it. Bell obviously has no problem bringing this elaborate Veronica Mars story to life and her narration is exceedingly impressive, cleverly capturing not only her own character, but several other figures from the show. This is probably one of my favourite pieces of tie-in media and Bell’s amazing narration is a key reason for this.

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That’s my latest list. As you can see, I have had the pleasure of listening to several outstanding audiobooks that feature some brilliant and distinctive special narrators. All 10 entries above come very highly recommended and you are guaranteed to love all of them, especially with their outstanding narrators.

Top Ten Tuesday – Audiobook for a Road Trip (June 2022)

On June 21, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, List4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official topic for this week’s Top Tuesday revolved around Bookish Wishes, however, I am going to do something a little different and instead head back to my favourite format, audiobooks, with a list revolving around suggested books to listen to on road trips.

A couple of years ago I did a fun list where I presented my top ten suggestions for audiobooks that would be awesome for a road trip. Road trips are always a great time to listen to some fantastic books, and I have personally had a great time listening to audiobooks while driving. I actually just got back from a big road trip a few weeks ago where my wife and I listened to several impressive audiobooks as we made our way around Australia. These cool audiobooks, several of which made the list below, proved to be incredibly entertaining, and the long hours of driving just flew by as a result. So, I thought that this would be a great time to update this list, especially as I have listened to some more epic audiobooks since the last time, I wrote this list.

People familiar with my blog will know that I am a big fan of audiobooks; in many ways, they are some of the best way to enjoy a book from a talented author. However, not all good audiobooks make for great entertainment on a road trip. With that in mind, I have scrolled through some of my favourite audiobooks to find the ones I think would be the best for anyone taking a long trip. To make this list, the audiobooks I chose had to not only be amazing novels but also had to have an excellent narration and the ability to keep a driver or passengers’ attention on a long trip. While I know that some people are going to be experiencing particularly long trips, I tried to feature audiobooks with shorter runtimes so that those who are taking shorter excursions (say a roundtrip of eight or nine hours) can get through an entire book without trying to make time at home to finish it off. That being said a few longer novels did end up making the cut, but all of these are great for longer trips. I also tried to avoid any novels that would require a great deal of prior knowledge or hard-to-obtain background information so that everyone in the car could enjoy the book without any need for explanation or lectures from those people more familiar with the series. To that end, I have tried to avoid any novels that are later entries in a series or which require some form of assumed knowledge about a franchise. I also tried to avoid anything that was a particularly extreme example of a genre (like fantasy or science fiction), and instead looked to include novels that would appeal to a wider group of readers. While I have included a couple of tie-in novels, I tried to use those books that require only a smidge of familiarity with their respective franchise to enjoy, and I am confident anyone can easily enjoy any book I ended up featuring.

While I did have quite a few criteria to meet, I was eventually able to come up with a good list for this topic, including several honourable mentions. I am pretty happy with how this list turned out and I have personally really enjoyed each of the below audiobooks. I honestly believe that all of them would make for a great listen during an extended bit of travel or a road trip and each of them comes highly recommended.

Honourable Mentions:

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, written by Sarah Kuhn and performed by a full cast – 5 hours and 35 minutes

One of the most purely entertaining and impressive Star Wars audio production, Doctor Aphra is a wonderful listen that covers the storyline of a particularly fun character from the comics. A great story combined with an awesome cast, including Emily Woo Zeller perfectly capturing the fantastic main character.

Tomorrow, When the War Began, written by John Marsden and narrated by Suzi Dougherty – 7 hours and 20 minutes

An old favourite of mine, Tomorrow, When the War Began is the exceptional introduction to the brilliant Australian young adult Tomorrow series by John Marsden. This audiobook is very easy to get into and you will swiftly fall in love with this amazing series.

The Salvage Crew, written by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and narrated by Nathan Fillion – 8 hours and 21 minutes

Come for the Fillion and stay for the unique science fiction story.

Planetside, written by Michael Mammay and narrated by R. C. Bray – 8 hours and 38 minutes

An insanely addictive science fiction thriller, Planetside is a particular favourite of mine and the audiobook, featuring the voice of the excessively talented R. C. Bray, is a great listen that will appeal to everyone.

Top Ten List:

World War Z, written by Max Brooks and performed by a full cast – 12 hours and 9 minutes

It is appropriate that the first entry on this list be the book that inspired me to go back and revisit this topic with the impressive World War Z by Max Brooks. I had been meaning to read World War Z for ages and finally got a chance with my recent road trip when we listened to the massive, full-cast audiobook version of this iconic zombie novel. I instantly fell in love with the complex story and elaborate take on a zombie apocalypse, especially as the entire novel was enhanced by an incredible cast of narrators. Fantastic actors like Mark Hamill, Alan Alda, Alfred Molina and more, did an incredible job telling this brilliant and powerful story, and the entire production is just perfect. A truly awesome audiobook that made a massive drive go by extremely quickly. Highly recommended!

Redshirts, written by John Scalzi and narrated by Wil Wheaton – 7 hours and 41 minutes

If you want to laugh your way through a quick road trip, then you should think about listening to quirky science fiction author John Scalzi’s Redshirts. A comedic and meta homage to classic Star Trek, Redshirts imagines a fictional, Enterprise-esque spaceship that faces episodic danger that always leads to the death of its lower ranked crew members. When the crew start to notice just how deadly their job has become, they go to extraordinary lengths to avoid it, even if that means escaping to the strangest of places. Incredibly funny, but with some real heart to it, Redshirts is a great book to listen to, especially with its narration from Wil Wheaton himself.

The Thursday Murder Club, written by Richard Osman and narrated by Lesley Manville – 12 hours and 25 minutes

One amazing mystery novel that would keep me very entertained on a long trip is British comedian Richard Osman’s debut novel, The Thursday Murder Club. Following four senior citizens as they attempt to solve complex murders around their retirement village, The Thursday Murder Club has an excellent mixture of mystery, humour and likeable characters, and proves to be quite the addictive read. Throw in the perfect narration from actress Lesley Manville, and you have an exquisite listen that is guaranteed to keep you alert and happy all the way to your destination.

Any Discworld novel, by Terry Pratchett

It is no secret that we at The Unseen Library love the incredible Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, with every novel in this impressive series being extremely compelling, clever and hilarious, all at once. Thanks to the series’ great audiobook adaptations, I honestly could have filled every single entry on this list with Discworld books and called it a day. However, as I am limiting this to a single entry, I will instead recommend either a standalone novel, such as Moving Pictures, Pyramids or Small Gods, or one of the cool City Watch novels like Guards! Guards! All of these would be exceedingly high on my list of potential books to listen to on a road trip, and I know I would be very entertained the entire way through.

The Dark and Mind Bullet, written by Jeremy Robinson and narrated by R. C. Bray – 10 hours and 25 minutes (The Dark) and 11 hours and 42 minutes (Mind Bullet)

Just like with my Favourite Books of 2021 list last year, I couldn’t decide on which Jeremy Robinson novel to feature over the other. Both of Robinson’s 2021 releases, The Dark and Mind Bullet, would be perfect for a road trip as they have some very intense and exciting stories to them. While Mind Bullet probably has the narrative that would appeal to the most passengers, its connections to Robinson’s other may confuse new readers. The Dark on the other hand is a much more standalone read, although its darker, horror tones may have less of a fanbase. Both novels however are very, very good reads and their audiobook versions, which feature the incredible voice of R. C. Bray (one of my favourite audiobook narrators), would serve as outstanding entertainment for any long drive.

Legend, written by David Gemell and narrated by Sean Barrett – 13 hours and 13 minutes

Anyone interested in a fantasy epic for their road trip experience would be extremely smart to check out the classic novel, Legend, by the late, great David Gemell. Legend, Gemell’s iconic debut, imagines the ultimate fantasy siege with a massive, unbeatable army besieging an impregnable stronghold garrisoned by a small force of heroes. This outstanding fantasy battle plays out perfectly as an audiobook and you will be enthralled throughout your entire road trip.

Star Wars: Scoundrels, written by Timothy Zahn and narrated by Marc Thompson – 13 hours and 57 minutes

If you wanted to try out a Star Wars story for a long drive than your best bet is probably going to be the Star Wars Legends novel Scoundrels by the superbly talented Timothy Zahn. Despite no longer being canon, Scoundrels has one of the most appealing, fun, and compelling stories out there as it follows several of our favourite scoundrels, including Han, Chewie and Lando, as they embark on an elaborate heist. Containing one of the best Star Wars stories out there, as well as the amazing talents of narrator Marc Thompson, Scoundrels will ensure a very entertained car.

The Gray Man, written by Mark Greaney and narrated by Jay Snyder – 11 hours and 11 minutes

If you’re the sort of person who wants non-stop action for their road trip than you really should load up Mark Greaney’s impressive first thriller, The Gray Man. Following a legendary spy/assassin as he runs a gauntlet of bad guys throughout Europe, this slick novel never slows down and you will love all the thrills, twists and elaborate situations. Set to be a major film in the next few months, an upcoming road trip would be the perfect opportunity to read ahead and the fantastic narration from Jay Snyder really brings the story to life.

Storm Front, written by Jim Butcher and narrated by James Marsters – 8 hours and 1 minute

I had to recommend the Harry Dresden series somewhere on this list and the best option to listen to is probably the first novel Storm Front. Serving as the perfect introduction to Jim Butcher’s urban fantasy series, Storm Front has a great story to it and you have to love the narration from outstanding actor James Marsters. It won’t take long for you to become addicted to this series on your road trip and before you know if you’ll have listened to every single magical adventure.

The Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman, adapted by Dirk Maggs and performed by a full cast – 11 hours and 2 minutes

The final entry for this list is another production we listened to on our recent road trip, the audio adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s iconic The Sandman comic. Performed by an extremely awesome team of actors, including James McAvoy, Taron Egerton, Kat Dennings, Michael Sheen and more, this is a perfect way to enjoy this complex comic and you will have a brilliant time with its elaborate and insanely inventive narrative. We powered through this on our road trip and have already started the second act of it, which would also be a great bit listen for a drive. A fantastic and epic comic turned into an even better audiobook.

Well, that is the end of this latest list. I think it turned out pretty well and if you have some upcoming travel planned you would do well to try out any of the above books. Other outstanding audiobook suggestions can be found in my best audiobooks lists of 2020 and 2021, so you’ll have plenty of ideas for your next drive. Let me know which of the featured audiobooks you enjoyed the most, as well as what productions you would recommend for a car trip in the comments below.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books for a Holiday Road trip

On December 8, 2020 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, List7 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this latest Top Ten Tuesday, participants have a Holiday/Seasonal Freebie, meaning that we can do whatever topic we want, preferably with a seasonable twist to it. Well, down here in Australia, summer has just rocked up and this usually means long drives to family homes for Christmas or to some magnificent stretch of beach for a well-deserved break. While I myself do not have any upcoming travel planned, this topic did get me thinking about trips and I had the idea to try and help those people with upcoming road trips, or any form of extended travel, choose an audiobook to keep you and any potential passengers entertained.

People familiar with my blog will know that I am a big fan of audiobooks; in many ways, they are some of the best way to enjoy a book from a talented author. However, not all good audiobooks make for great entertainment on a road trip. With that in mind, I have scrolled through some of my favourite audiobooks to find the ones I think would be the best for anyone taking a long trip. To make this list, the audiobooks I chose had to not only be amazing novels but also had to have an excellent narration and the ability to keep a driver or passengers’ attention on a long trip. While I know that some people are going to be experiencing particularly long trips in the coming weeks, I tried to feature audiobooks with shorter runtimes so that those who are taking shorter excursions (say a roundtrip of eight or nine hours) can get through an entire book without trying to make time at home to finish it off. That being said a few longer novels did end up making the cut, but all of these are great for longer trips. I also tried to avoid any novels that would require a great deal of prior knowledge or hard-to-obtain background information so that everyone in the car could enjoy the book without any need for explanation or lectures from those people more familiar with the series. To that end, I have tried to avoid any novels that are later entries in a series or which require some form of assumed knowledge about a franchise. While I have included a couple of tie-in novels, I tried to use those books that require only a smidge of familiarity with their respective franchise to enjoy, and I am confident anyone can easily enjoy any book I ended up featuring.

Honourable Mentions:

The Black Hawks, written by David Wragg and narrated by Colin Mace – 12 hours and 9 minutes

Those in a mood for an exciting time of their road trip could do worse than check out this excellent and entertaining debut from last year, The Black Hawks by David Wragg. The Black Hawks is a great read that takes several compelling characters on an action-packed adventure across a dangerous landscape. Filled with betrayal, battle and clever twists, listeners will be well entertained with is book.

Star Trek: Picard: The Last Best Hope, written by Una McCormack and narrated by Robert Petkoff – 11 hours and 40 minutes

While there are several cool Star Trek novels that could make for great road-trip listening, I would personally suggest this fantastic tie-in to the recent Picard television show. Serving as an introduction to the darker Star Trek world Picard encounters in his new television series, there is a lot to love about this book and it is well worth checking out.

Star Wars: Ahsoka, written by E. K. Johnston and narrated by Ashley Eckstein – 7 hours and 4 minutes

After recent developments in the phenomenon that is The Mandalorian, one of the Star Wars audiobooks I would strongly recommend is Star Wars: Ahsoka. The Ahsoka audiobook helps to expand on the character and presents listeners with a compelling and personal adventure. Narrated by Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka in the animated television series, this is a fantastic and timely audiobook to check out on the road this holiday.

Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line, written by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham, and narrated by Kristen Bell – 8 hours and 43 minutes

Speaking of audiobooks that feature iconic characters being voiced by their actors, listeners will have an awesome time with this Veronica Mars tie-in novel, The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line. Written by series creator Rob Thomas and narrated by Veronica Mars herself, Kristen Bell, this is an outstanding tie-in to the clever television show that also contains a compelling crime fiction story and people will be able to quickly power through this on the way to their destination.

Top Ten List (maybe add listening times):

The Salvage Crew, written by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and narrated by Nathan Fillion – 8 hours and 21 minutes

The first entry on this top ten list is The Salvage Crew, a very clever and intense science fiction novel that is guaranteed to keep everyone entertained on your trip. Featuring the silky voice of the one and only Nathan Fillion, you will find yourself entranced with this audiobook, especially as the author backs up the awesome narration with a top-notch science fiction adventure story.

Race the Sands, written by Sarah Beth Durst and narrated by Emily Ellet – 15 hours and 45 minutes

Those readers with a particularly long drive in their future and who are in the mood for an excellent standalone fantasy novel would do well to check out Race the Sands by the always impressive Sarah Beth Durst. Race the Sands is an extremely exciting and compelling novel that features great characters, political intrigue and clever worldbuilding, all set around people racing monsters in the desert. This is a very easy book to listen to and the miles will fly away as you listen to Race the Sands. Just don’t let the race scenes inspire you too much on the road; I don’t want to be responsible for you getting a speeding ticket!

Redshirts, written by John Scalzi and narrated by Wil Wheaton – 7 hours and 41 minutes

If you want to laugh your way through an entire road trip you should definitely check out Redshirts by acclaimed science fiction author John Scalzi. Redshirts is a very entertaining parody of Star Trek and is essentially one big sendup of all the tropes, bad writing and over-the-top characters The Original Series is known for. Despite being a parody, Scalzi comes up with an incredibly clever story that gets extremely meta in places, while also introducing the listener to some very interesting characters who you become surprisingly attached to. Top that off with the narration of Wil Wheaton (who else would you want narrating a Star Trek parody), and you have yourself an exceptionally fun audiobook to listen to. My wife and I recently listened to this on a road trip ourselves and we were absolutely cracking up the entire time, and this comes highly recommended as a result.

The Holdout, written by Graham Moore and narrated by Abby Craden – 10 hours and 15 minutes

Those drivers who would prefer a crime fiction novel should think about checking out The Holdout by Graham Moore. The Holdout is a standalone crime fiction novel that follows an infamous jury who found a notorious murderer not guilty and who must now find out who killed one of their members years later at a reunion. This is an extremely captivating book that features an amazing split-timeline narrative, showing the original trial and the murder investigation set in the present. This is a great novel and listeners will be on the edge of their seat for the entire trip.

Legend, written by David Gemell and narrated by Sean Barrett – 13 hours and 13 minutes

Now if I had a particularly lengthy road-trip on the horizon one of the books I know I would be loading up Legend by David Gemell. While this might not be too practical for shorter trips, I would gladly do a trip twice if it meant I could finish this epic book in one go. Featuring an extended and desperate siege, Legend is one of the better fantasy novels I have had the pleasure of listening to and it does not take long for readers to get utterly enthralled with its impressive and thrilling story.

Star Wars: Scoundrels, written by Timothy Zahn and narrated by Marc Thompson – 13 hours and 57 minutes

While there are a number of awesome Star Wars tie-in novels I could have included on this list, I decided in the end to go with Star Wars: Scoundrels. Scoundrels is an exceptional novel from one of the top authors of Star Wars fiction in the world today, Timothy Zahn. This is an excellent book that features fan favourite characters Han Solo, Chewbacca and Lando engaging in an elaborate heist with a team of rogues and thieves. This is a perfect read for a longer car trip, and it is filled with several fantastic characters engaged in some good-old fashioned thievery in the middle of the Star Wars universe. Requiring very little knowledge about the Star Wars extended universe, this audiobook can be enjoyed by anyone even vaguely familiar with the series and is really worth a listen to.

Tomorrow, When the War Began, written by John Marsden and narrated by Suzi Dougherty – 7 hours and 20 minutes

Those looking for a new series to get obsessed about should use any upcoming road trips as an opportunity to try out the first book in the acclaimed Tomorrow series, Tomorrow, When the war Began. Essentially Australia’s answer to Red Dawn, this book follows a group of teenagers as they try to survive a sudden invasion of Australia by a foreign power. This is one of my absolute favourite series of all times and is probably some of the best Australian young adult fiction ever written. It is extremely easy to power through these audiobooks in a short amount of timer and they would be among some of my first choices if I had a long trip planned.

Any Discworld novel, by Terry Pratchett

I am kind of cheating by including an entire series here, but I could honestly listen to any of these books again and would not hesitate to recommend the entire Discworld series to anyone in the mood for a book that is wacky, clever, compelling and wildly entertaining. Practically any of these books would make for excellent entertainment during a car ride and I find it hard to believe that anyone would be bored while listening to them. While I love each of these books, I would probably recommend either Moving Pictures or Guards! Guards! (both with a runtime of 10 hours and 8 minutes) as they are great entry points to the series for new readers. An incredibly series to get into, you will not regret listening to them these holidays.

Planetside, written by Michael Mammay and narrated by R. C. Bray – 8 hours and 38 minutes

Another great read with a shorter runtime is Planetside by Michael Mammay. Planetside is an incredible novel and it is probably one of my favourite debut novels of all time. Mammay packs an intense and addictive story into this shorter audiobook, and listeners are treated to an outstanding and clever science fiction mystery novel, which sees an old veteran attempt to find a missing soldier on an occupied alien planet and instead uncovers a massive conspiracy. Listeners are guaranteed to be transfixed from start to epic finish with Planetside and it would be an exceptional novel to listen to while on a long drive.

The Anomaly, written by Michael Rutger and narrated by Brandon Williams – 9 hours and 41 minutes

For the final entry on my list, I have included The Anomaly by Michael Rutger. The Anomaly is a great horror novel that follows the makers of a web series as they explore an ancient cave in the Grand Canyon, only to find it filled with ancient terrors. This is a great novel for those who are in the mood for a scary book to listen to on their way home and readers will really love this amazing audiobook. I was particularly impressed with the dark, claustrophobic atmosphere that this audiobook produced and horror buffs will have an amazing time listening to this. That being said, maybe turn it off if you have to drive at night.

Well that’s my latest Top Ten Tuesday list. I think it turned out extremely well, and if you have some upcoming travel planned (or even just some time to kill in lockdown), you would do well to try any of the above books. Let me know which of the featured novels you enjoyed the most, as well as what audiobooks you would recommend for a car trip in the comments below and makes sure you drive safe these holidays.

Throwback Thursday – Redshirts by John Scalzi

On September 11, 2020March 22, 2023 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Comedy/Satire, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Throwback Thursday23 Comments

Publisher: Audible Frontiers (Audiobook – 5 June 2012)

Series: Standalone

Length: 7 hours and 41 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Reviewed as part of my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read.

Prepare to dive into one of the most meta and entertaining novels you will ever read with Redshirts by John Scalzi, a fun and clever Star Trek parody that explores what it must be like to be a background character in a science fiction series.

John Scalzi is a well-established and highly regarded science fiction author responsible for a number of impressive and expansive series. Some of his best-known works include his Old Man’s War series, his Lock In novels and his The Interdependency series, the last of which I have been eying off for a couple of years now and have been meaning to check out. Each of these series sounds really exciting and have received a lot of positive praise from readers and reviewers. In addition, Scalzi has also written three standalone novels, each of which has a very fun concept behind it, including the focus of this review, Redshirts. While I am extremely interested in some of Scalzi’s other works, the moment I found out that he had written a Star Trek parody novel told from the perspective of a redshirt, I grabbed myself a copy of its audiobook format and I have been looking for a chance to listen to it. Last weekend I had a long car trip with my wife/editor Alex, and we decided that listening to Redshirts would be the perfect entertainment for the drive.

Redshirts takes place in humanity’s far future, aboard the flagship of the Universal Union, the starship Intrepid. The Intrepid is the pinnacle of human ingenuity and exploration, containing only the most talented crew and scientists that humanity has to offer. In all respects it seems like the perfect posting for newly commissioned Ensign Andrew Dahl, but it does not take long for Dahl to suspect that there is something seriously wrong aboard the Intrepid. Not only does the lab that Dahl is assigned to have a magical box which solves every major problem that the ship runs into (with only seconds to spare, without fail), but the entire crew is terrified of the captain and his senior officers, actively trying to avoid them and the near constant away missions. The crew has come to realise that the away missions are guaranteed to be lethal, with any crew member who joins likely to die while the senior officers constantly walk away without a scratch (with the exception of the unlucky Lieutenant Kerensky). Now a great deal of energy is place into avoiding an away mission at all cost, with new transfers to the ship kept in the dark until it is too late.

As Dahl and his friends begin to realise the full extent of the terror that has engulfed the ship they attempt to find some sort of answers for what is going on. However, the more deadly adventures that they go on the more obvious it becomes that some mysterious force is controlling their actions and causing their deaths. With the lives of every crewmember aboard the Intrepid at stake, Dahl and his friends are left with only one crazy plan, to hunt down the beings controlling them and convince them to stop no matter the cost. However, what happens when these expendable redshirts end up meeting their own creators?

I am going to say right of the bat that both Alex and I absolutely loved this book and we had an incredible time listening to it. A good indication of how much we enjoyed it can be seen in the fact that we easily and eagerly powered through it during the two halves of our car trip without any breaks, laughing our asses off the entire time. Redshirts is an extremely funny and clever novel that acts as both a parody of and a love letter to the Star Trek television show. Scalzi has come up with a truly awesome and enjoyable novel that combines an amazing amount of humour and parody with a clever and heartfelt story. This results in a memorable and addictive tale which you cannot help but enjoy, especially if you are a major fan of Star Trek.

For this great novel, Scalzi has come up with a very compelling and enjoyable story that acts in many ways like a unique combination of Galaxy Quest, The Cabin in the Woods and The French Mistake episode of Supernatural. The story focuses on Ensign Dahl and his friends as they begin to work out the issues aboard the Intrepid. This is a very fast-paced narrative and the reader is soon introduced to all the mysterious events occurring on the ship, from the terrified crew, the weird science, the exceedingly dangerous and improbable away missions and the strange characters who seem to have the answers. All of this is shown to the reader in a very clever way, and while you are expecting many of these events occur, especially if you are familiar with Star Trek, seeing these characters react to the various odd occurrences with realistic shock and scepticism is a great source of entertainment. Following the initial introduction, you get several chapters of the protagonists humorously traversing a chaotic ship full of self-aware redshirts desperately trying to avoid their fates. The various attempts by the characters to understand what is going on and change their fates are amazing, if a little tragic in places, and this is a very comedic part of the book loaded with some of the best jokes at Star Trek’s expense. The story then takes a very interesting change of direction as the protagonists undertake a desperate plan (inspired by a classic Star Trek film) to save the ship and prevent their upcoming deaths. This third part of the book is exceedingly meta, and fans of both Star Trek and surreal, self-referential fiction will love where the story goes and various clever character interactions that occur. These distinctive parts of the book come together extremely well and form an intricate and captivating overall narrative that fits a lot of story elements into a relatively short novel. I had an amazing time listening to this complex story, as not only did it make me laugh, but it also made me care about the various characters who are introduced throughout the course of the book (something which the author is aware of and sadistically exploits at times, especially with that last joke at the end of the main story).

In addition to the main story, Scalzi also features three substantial codas at the end of the novel. These codas are essentially short stories that follow side characters the protagonist meets during the course of the main narrative. While I would normally be a little concerned about some concluding material taking up so much space from an already shortish novel, these codas are extremely well written and contribute a great deal to the book. Titled Coda 1, 2 and 3, the codas are told in the first, second and third person narrative respectively, and contain some truly impressive and touching character-driven narratives. These extremely clever codas really dive down into the psyches and emotions of their respective characters, showing their own complex histories and how their encounter with the protagonist had such a major impact on them. Of the three, my favourite is probably Coda 1, which is easily the funniest, containing a very humorous series of blog posts, although Codas 2 and 3 are both emotionally rich and heart-warming. While some readers may be tempted to skip these codas after the main story is finished, I would very strongly recommend checking each of these out as you are guaranteed to come away being extremely attached to each of these great side characters and also feeling a lot better after hearing each coda’s happy ending.

While Redshirts also has its own unique and captivating story at its heart it is an extremely funny parody of the iconic Star Trek television show. Scalzi is clearly a fan of the series as he expertly works all manner of fun jokes and references to the show into the novel. The Intrepid and its bridge crew are clear parodies of the Enterprise and the main characters of The Original Series, and Scalzi does an amazing job working his narrative around them, emphasising all their iconic character traits and showing just how ridiculous they and their actions are to the eyes of a normal person. This includes the captain’s dramatic tone and way of over exaggerating events, and the poor junior officer with a Russian accent who gets the crap kicked out of him every single episode and yet is fully recovered by the next adventure without a hint of injury or PTSD. Redshirts contains all manner of references or parodies to the over-the-top, badly written or ridiculous elements of the show, and Scalzi lovingly features and critiques them in an amazingly funny way; everything from the evolutionarily questionable alien monsters, the repetitive space battles (those poor people on decks six to twelve!) and the high death toll of the normal crew. The highlight of the book has to be the terrified and disbelieving reactions that each member of the crew has to the events going on around them, and the fun and exaggerated attempts to survive them. I also really loved the comedic metafiction elements of the book, which allowed Scalzi to take some humorous shots at the writers and creators of shows like Star Trek. While this humour is obviously geared towards Star Trek fans, you really do not need to have a lot of in-depth knowledge of the series to appreciate the humour. Anyone who has a passing knowledge of Star Trek and its tropes will find this book deeply amusing and hilarious and you are guaranteed to have a fun time getting through it.

While I absolutely loved Redshirts’ story, I did find that the dialogue was a little clunky in places. While most of the conversation is quite fun and snappy, the overabundance of dialogue tags and the extreme overuse of the word “said” gets repetitive and distracting, especially in scenes where the conversations fly thick and fast. In some heavy dialogue scenes, “character 1 said”, “character 2 said”, “character 3 said” repeats about 20 times in a minute, which is really distracting. If Scalzi had used more variety in indicating which character said what, this book would have been pretty damn perfect. But the story and the comedy were strong enough to overcome most of these issues, and I chose to focus on them instead. However, I can easily see other readers getting a little frustrated with this, which would be a real shame as this is a very fun book.

The audiobook format of Redshirts ran for 7 hours and 41 minutes, although it is a closer to six hours if you decide to skip the codas at the end of the book. This was an extremely easy audiobook to listen to quickly and we absolutely flew through it. One of the main reasons that we were so interested in this book is because the audiobook is narrated by Wil Wheaton. Now, there is obviously a lot of appeal to Wil Wheaton, or any cast member of a Star Trek television show, getting involved in a parody like this, but Wheaton did a pretty good job narrating this audiobook. Wheaton had a great voice for this novel, and he was able to keep the audience’s attention through the entirety of the story. While he did not really change his voice from character to character, the listener was generally able to tell when someone new was talking (ironically thanks to the author’s overuse of “said”). Wheaton was, however, extremely adept at expressing the relevant emotions of the characters through his voice, and the fear, anger, frustration and sheer disbelief of the protagonist and the people he encounters really shines through. I also really enjoyed his portrayal of the Intrepid’s senior crewmembers, each of whom is a parody of the main characters from Star Trek: The Original Series. I particularly had a lot of love for the Captain’s “dramatic voice” that Wheaton did, which really captured the over-the-top tone Kirk had when he was excited or animated. Overall, the audiobook format is a fantastic way to enjoy Redshirts and I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in checking this novel out.

Redshirts by John Scalzi is a masterful and hilarious novel that presents the reader with a wonderful and clever parody to the classic Star Trek television series. While there are some style issues associated with the dialogue, the story is loaded to the brim with all manner of great jokes, interesting characters, compelling plot elements and a whole lot of meta comedy. An absolutely fantastic read that will appeal to all manner of Star Trek fans or people in need of a good laugh, Redshirts comes highly recommended and I can guarantee that Wil Wheaton’s audiobook format will serve as a great form of entertainment for a long road trip.

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