Diverse Energies
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
About this listen
Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education
A collection of dystopian short stories featuring diverse main characters and by authors of color.
"No one can doubt that the wave of the future is not the conquest of the world by a single dogmatic creed but the liberation of the diverse energies of free nations and free men. No one can doubt that cooperation in the pursuit of knowledge must lead to freedom of the mind and freedom of the soul." -President John F. Kennedy, from a speech at University of California, March 23, 1962
In a world gone wrong, heroes and villains are not always easy to distinguish and every individual has the ability to contribute something powerful. In this stunning collection of original and rediscovered stories of tragedy and hope, the stars are a diverse group of students, street kids, good girls, kidnappers, and child laborers pitted against their environments, their governments, differing cultures, and sometimes one another as they seek answers in their dystopian worlds. Take a journey through time from a nuclear nightmare of the past to society's far future beyond Earth with these eleven stories by masters of speculative fiction. Includes stories by Paolo Bacigalupi, Ursula K. Le Guin, Malinda Lo, Cindy Pon, Daniel H. Wilson, and more.
©2023 Tobias S. Buckell (P)2023 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
- A Hunger Games Novel
- By: Suzanne Collins
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 16 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the 10th annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to out charm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low.
-
-
Bad part
- By Edgars Dumins on 05-19-20
By: Suzanne Collins
-
Running from Destiny
- New Beginnings, Book 1
- By: M.A. Rothman
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eighteen-year-old Jason Rogers’ life is turned upside-down when he finds himself in the custody of an unnamed government agency that is falsely accusing him of being responsible for the explosion that caused the death of his parents. Anya is 17 - a teenager who wishes she could be normal for once - but she’s not. A secret government agency, headed by none other than her father, knows how to leverage the dangerous capability she was born with. All goes well for her until one of the agents turns on her.
-
-
warning
- By Leon Seraph on 07-14-23
By: M.A. Rothman
-
Wastelands 2
- More Stories of the Apocalypse
- By: John Joseph Adams - editor, Junot Díaz, Hugh Howey, and others
- Narrated by: J. Paul Boehmer, Cassandra Campbell, Orson Scott Card, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wastelands 2: More Stories of the Apocalypse is a new anthology of postapocalyptic literature from some of the most renowned authors in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres today, including George R. R. Martin, Hugh Howey, Junot Díaz, David Brin, and many more. This eclectic mix of tales explores famine, death, war, pestilence, and harbingers of the biblical apocalypse.
-
-
Better than the first anthology.
- By @CHESSNUT on 05-29-16
By: John Joseph Adams - editor, and others
-
Sanctuary
- By: Paola Mendoza, Abby Sher
- Narrated by: Paola Mendoza
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We meet 16-year-old Vali on the eve of a raid of her small Vermont town that sends her, her mother, and her younger brother on the run from the Deportation Forces. In this near-future America, all citizens are chipped at birth and this chip is used to track their movements from bus stops to schools to grocery stores. Vali and her mother are undocumented, but at least Vali has a counterfeit chip—until it starts malfunctioning. Now on the run, Vali and her family are desperately trying to make it to California, a sanctuary state that is being walled off from the rest of the country.
-
-
One of those books young adults SHOULD read...
- By NMwritergal on 08-04-24
By: Paola Mendoza, and others
-
Children of Blood and Bone
- By: Tomi Adeyemi
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
-
-
Beautifully Written
- By Samantha on 03-09-18
By: Tomi Adeyemi
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
- A Hunger Games Novel
- By: Suzanne Collins
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 16 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the 10th annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to out charm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low.
-
-
Bad part
- By Edgars Dumins on 05-19-20
By: Suzanne Collins
-
Running from Destiny
- New Beginnings, Book 1
- By: M.A. Rothman
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Eighteen-year-old Jason Rogers’ life is turned upside-down when he finds himself in the custody of an unnamed government agency that is falsely accusing him of being responsible for the explosion that caused the death of his parents. Anya is 17 - a teenager who wishes she could be normal for once - but she’s not. A secret government agency, headed by none other than her father, knows how to leverage the dangerous capability she was born with. All goes well for her until one of the agents turns on her.
-
-
warning
- By Leon Seraph on 07-14-23
By: M.A. Rothman
-
Wastelands 2
- More Stories of the Apocalypse
- By: John Joseph Adams - editor, Junot Díaz, Hugh Howey, and others
- Narrated by: J. Paul Boehmer, Cassandra Campbell, Orson Scott Card, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wastelands 2: More Stories of the Apocalypse is a new anthology of postapocalyptic literature from some of the most renowned authors in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres today, including George R. R. Martin, Hugh Howey, Junot Díaz, David Brin, and many more. This eclectic mix of tales explores famine, death, war, pestilence, and harbingers of the biblical apocalypse.
-
-
Better than the first anthology.
- By @CHESSNUT on 05-29-16
By: John Joseph Adams - editor, and others
-
Sanctuary
- By: Paola Mendoza, Abby Sher
- Narrated by: Paola Mendoza
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We meet 16-year-old Vali on the eve of a raid of her small Vermont town that sends her, her mother, and her younger brother on the run from the Deportation Forces. In this near-future America, all citizens are chipped at birth and this chip is used to track their movements from bus stops to schools to grocery stores. Vali and her mother are undocumented, but at least Vali has a counterfeit chip—until it starts malfunctioning. Now on the run, Vali and her family are desperately trying to make it to California, a sanctuary state that is being walled off from the rest of the country.
-
-
One of those books young adults SHOULD read...
- By NMwritergal on 08-04-24
By: Paola Mendoza, and others
-
Children of Blood and Bone
- By: Tomi Adeyemi
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls. But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope. Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
-
-
Beautifully Written
- By Samantha on 03-09-18
By: Tomi Adeyemi
-
Matched
- Book 1
- By: Ally Condie
- Narrated by: Kate Simses
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die. Cassia has always trusted the Society’s choices. And when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, she is certain he’s the one - until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now she is faced with impossible choices: Between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s ever known and a path no has dared to follow...between perfection and the truth.
-
-
Giver Goes Green
- By FanB14 on 12-26-12
By: Ally Condie
-
Always Coming Home
- A Novel
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Yareli Arizmendi, Isabella Star LeBlanc
- Length: 23 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Always Coming Home is Ursula K. Le Guin’s fictional ethnography of the Kesh, a people of the far future living in a post-apocalyptic Napa Valley. Having survived ecological catastrophe brought on by relentless industrialization, the Kesh are a peaceful people who reject governance and the constriction of genders, limit population growth to prevent overcrowding and preserve resources, and maintain a healthy community in which everyone works to contribute to its well-being. This richly imagined story unfolds through a series of narrated “translations” that illuminate individual lives.
-
-
Anyone who would give this a bad score is boring
- By Josh on 09-18-23
-
We Set the Dark on Fire
- By: Tehlor Kay Mejia
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children. Both paths promise a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class. Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student, but her pedigree is a lie. She must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society. And school couldn’t prepare her for the difficult choices she must make after graduation.
-
-
Undeveloped story and characters and setting
- By Hsin Yao Chou on 11-08-20
By: Tehlor Kay Mejia
-
Tru Lockhart
- Secrets Don't Stay Buried
- By: Derek Clark, Michael Laemmle
- Narrated by: Brandon Francis
- Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One evening, Tru Lockhart gets a bizarre visit from his father Argus, who has escaped from an institution for the criminally insane. Tru is certain that murder is on his father's mind. Instead, Argus performs a bizarre ceremony that will trigger a startling chain of events, plunging Tru into many oddball worlds, and into the hands of many outlandish villains.
-
-
A Tale of Redemption and Mystery
- By Wilson J. Mayo on 08-12-23
By: Derek Clark, and others
-
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
- By: Erika L. Sánchez
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga's role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.
-
-
FOR LATINAS WHO ARE OFTEN TOLD THEY "SOUND WHITE"
- By Alex on 12-14-18
By: Erika L. Sánchez
-
Survive the Dome
- By: Kosoko Jackson
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jamal Lawson just wanted to be a part of something. As an aspiring journalist, he packs up his camera and heads to Baltimore to document a rally protesting police brutality after another Black man is murdered. But before the protest even begins, the city implements a new safety protocol: the Dome. The Dome surrounds the city, forcing those inside it to subscribe to a total militarized shutdown. No one can get in, and no one can get out. Alone in a strange place, Jamal doesn’t know where to turn….
-
-
Engaging futuristic thriller
- By C. Hall on 05-01-22
By: Kosoko Jackson
-
Nocturna
- By: Maya Motayne
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a talented face-shifter, it’s been years since Finn has seen her own face, and that’s exactly how she likes it. But when Finn gets caught by a powerful mobster, she’s forced into an impossible mission: steal a legendary treasure from Castallan’s royal palace or be stripped of her magic forever. After the murder of his older brother, Prince Alfehr is first in line for the Castallan throne. But riddled with grief, Alfie is obsessed with finding a way to bring his brother back, even if it means dabbling in forbidden magic.
-
-
Loved it!
- By Ruthi on 05-16-19
By: Maya Motayne
-
Attack of the Black Rectangles
- By: A.S. King
- Narrated by: Pete Cross, Gretchen Bender, Amy Sarig King, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Mac first opens his classroom copy of Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic and finds some words blacked out, he thinks it must be a mistake. But then when he and his friends discover what the missing words are, he's outraged. Someone in his school is trying to prevent kids from reading the full story. But who? Even though his unreliable dad tells him to not get so emotional about a book (or anything else), Mac has been raised by his mom and grandad to call out things that are wrong.
-
-
great story and message for anyone
- By Anonymous User on 09-21-22
By: A.S. King
-
American Dirt
- A Novel
- By: Jeanine Cummins
- Narrated by: Yareli Arizmendi
- Length: 16 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lydia Quixano Pérez lives in the Mexican city of Acapulco. She runs a bookstore. She has a son, Luca, the love of her life, and a wonderful husband who is a journalist. And while there are cracks beginning to show in Acapulco because of the drug cartels, her life is, by and large, fairly comfortable. When Lydia’s husband’s tell-all profile of Javier, the jefe of the newest drug cartel that has gruesomely taken over the city, is published, none of their lives will ever be the same.
-
-
Completely unrealistic
- By Marlene L Marquez on 02-12-20
By: Jeanine Cummins
-
Wool
- The Silo Saga, Book 1
- By: Hugh Howey
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 15 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world outside has grown toxic, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. The remnants of humanity live underground in a single silo. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they want: They are allowed to go outside.
-
-
THIS is a strong female character
- By Alex on 03-23-23
By: Hugh Howey
-
Ninth House
- By: Leigh Bardugo
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang, Michael David Axtell
- Length: 16 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug-dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. In fact, by age twenty, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most prestigious universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?
-
-
UTTERLY DISAPPOINTED.
- By Tavan Hiestand on 11-21-19
By: Leigh Bardugo
-
The Beekeeper of Aleppo
- A Novel
- By: Christy Lefteri
- Narrated by: Art Malik
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nuri is a beekeeper and Afra, his wife, is an artist. Mornings, Nuri rises early to hear the call to prayer before driving to his hives in the countryside. On weekends, Afra sells her colorful landscape paintings at the open-air market. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the hills of the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo - until the unthinkable happens. When all they love is destroyed by war, Nuri knows they have no choice except to leave their home. But escaping Syria will be no easy task: Afra has lost her sight.
-
-
Just TOO AWFULLY DEPRESSING WITHOUT ending with any hope
- By Abby Mamacos on 07-28-20
By: Christy Lefteri
What listeners say about Diverse Energies
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- t randolph
- 09-17-23
I always like short stories because
I can flip through the short stories which were not so great. 1st half much better than 2nd half - v. imaginative and concisely written. (the only story I liked in the 2nd half was a woman scouting 'round and about on some messed-up planet) Overall, a great book to get.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- serafine klarwein
- 10-26-23
Violent, depressing and not the best Le Guin
I push through the stories because I wanted to get to Le Guin and hope to find some gems on the way. I did find one which was a great tale of the Truman show variety and an interesting reflection on the consequences of utopian corporate behaviour. But a hyper violent bloody deli battle was just gratuitous. Le Guin was good as always but lacked the kind wisdom that I love about her more developed novels.
People are too easy to give lots of stars which leads some us dissatisfied.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!