The Back Channel
The Human Division, Episode 6
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Narrated by:
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William Dufris
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By:
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John Scalzi
About this listen
The Conclave is a confederation of 400 alien races - many of whom would like to see the Colonial Union - and the humans inside of it - blasted to extinction. To avoid a conflict that neither side can afford, Conclave leader General Tarsem Gau appoints Hafte Sorvalh to resolve an emerging diplomatic crisis with the humans, before the only acceptable solution is war.
"The Back Channel" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.
Listen to the complete edition of The Human Division, the fifth full-length book by John Scalzi in the Old Man's War universe.©2012 John Scalzi (P)2013 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Anniversary Day
- Anniversary Day Saga, Book 1 (Retrieval Artist Universe)
- By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Four years ago, a bomb destroyed part of the dome protecting Armstrong, the largest city on the Moon. Now, as the city celebrates its survival with an event it calls Anniversary Day, a larger threat looms - one that begins with the murder of the mayor, and spreads across the moon itself.
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Defferent Focus
- By Tracey Rains on 10-10-11
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Lilith: A Snake in the Grass
- The Four Lords of the Diamond, Book 1
- By: Jack L. Chalker
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Aliens are spying on Earth from one of the four worlds that make up the Warden Diamond. But it is impossible to send agents to any of the four worlds because of unique microscopic symbionts that make it impossible for visitors to leave the Diamond. Seeking a unique solution, each of the four worlds making up the Diamond is sent a person whose mind has been stripped of everything and who is now controlled by an agent of the Confederacy. Lilith is the first planet to be visited.
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A great series if read in its entirety
- By Onix Harbinger on 08-21-18
By: Jack L. Chalker
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Hell's Heart
- Prey, Book 1
- By: John Jackson Miller
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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When Klingon commander Kruge died in combat against James T. Kirk on the Genesis planet back in 2285, he left behind a powerful house in disarray - and a series of ticking time bombs: the Phantom Wing, a secret squadron of advanced Birds-of-Prey; a cabal of loyal officers intent on securing his heritage; and young Korgh, his thwarted would-be heir, willing to wait a Klingon lifetime to enact his vengeance.
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Great start to a series.
- By alex on 02-18-17
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The B-Team
- The Human Division, Episode 1
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 2 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Colonial Union Ambassador Ode Abumwe and her team are used to life on the lower end of the diplomatic ladder. But when a high-profile diplomat goes missing, Abumwe and her team are last minute replacements on a mission critical to the Colonial Union’s future. As the team works to pull off their task, CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson discovers there’s more to the story of the missing diplomats than anyone expected... a secret that could spell war for humanity.
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Obumwe said, Eagan said, Wilson said, Rickney said
- By A Fitts on 01-18-13
By: John Scalzi
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On Silver Wings
- By: Evan Currie
- Narrated by: Dina Pearlman
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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When the Colony on Hayden's world went black, a team was sent to investigate. It was supposed to be a training mission: skip in, find out the Casimir Transmitter had gone dead, report back and wait for resupply from the Fleet. By the time the only surviving member of the team made landfall, it was spectacularly clear that this wasn't a training mission.
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Not the best, but better than many on audible
- By Desmond on 10-27-15
By: Evan Currie
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Methuselah's Children
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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After the fall of the American Ayatollahs as foretold in Stranger in a Strange Land and chronicled in Revolt in 2100, the United States of America at last fulfills the promise inherent in its first Revolution: for the first time in human history there is a nation with Liberty and Justice for All. No one may seize or harm the person or property of another, or invade his privacy, or force him to do his bidding. Americans are fiercely proud of their re-won liberties and the blood it cost them; nothing could make them forswear those truths they hold self-evident. Nothing except the promise of immortality…
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A delight to revisit a science fiction classic
- By Anne on 02-16-13
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Mind's Eye
- By: Douglas E. Richards
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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When Nick Hall wakes up in a dumpster - bloodied, without a memory, and hearing voices in his head - he knows things are bad. But they're about to get far worse. Because he's being hunted by a team of relentless assassins. Soon Hall discovers that advanced electronics have been implanted in his brain, and he now has two astonishing abilities. He can surf the web using thoughts alone. And he can read minds. But who inserted the implants? And why? And why is someone so desperate to kill him?
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Great Premise - Started Great, Fizzled Out
- By Kindle Customer on 05-09-14
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Fear the Sky
- The Fear Saga, Book 1
- By: Stephen Moss
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 20 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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From the Audie-nominated narrator of The Martian. In eleven years' time, a million members of an alien race will arrive at Earth. Years before they enter orbit, their approach will be announced by the flare of a thousand flames in the sky, their ships' huge engines burning hard to slow them from the vast speeds needed to cross interstellar space. These foreboding lights will shine in our night sky like new stars, getting ever brighter until they outshine even the sun, casting ominous shadows and banishing the night until they suddenly blink out.
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Audible Where Are The Rest?!
- By ByEqualMeasure - julie on 09-14-15
By: Stephen Moss
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Refugee
- By: Piers Anthony
- Narrated by: Basil Sands
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Though he was later accused of every crime and sexual perversion in the galaxy, Hope Hubris began as an innocent. Because he defended his older sister against the violent lusts of a wealthy scion, Hope and his peasant family were forced to flee Callisto, one of the moons of Jupiter. Pursued by the bloodthirsty scions across the airless desert, they barely escaped with their lives. The illegal space bubble was overcrowded with refugees, all hoping to reach Jupiter for asylum.
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I fell in love with reading
- By Jeremy Neish on 09-28-17
By: Piers Anthony
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Colonial Union Ambassador Ode Abumwe and her team are used to life on the lower end of the diplomatic ladder. But when a high-profile diplomat goes missing, Abumwe and her team are last minute replacements on a mission critical to the Colonial Union’s future. As the team works to pull off their task, CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson discovers there’s more to the story of the missing diplomats than anyone expected... a secret that could spell war for humanity.
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A Very Scalzi Christmas
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New York Times best-selling and Hugo Award-winning author John Scalzi gift-wraps 15 short takes on the holiday season - interviews with holiday notables, "informational" articles about TV specials and Christmas carols, short stories and poems, and even a couple of nods to Thanksgiving and New Year’s - and puts them all into a stocking stuffer-sized package that makes the perfect gift for friends, family, or yourself.
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Very Scalzian indeed!
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The President's Brain Is Missing
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The question is, how can you tell the President's brain is missing? And are we sure we need it back?
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Not my cup of tea (Kelly SAID)
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Miniatures
- The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi
- By: John Scalzi
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The ex-planet Pluto has a few choice words about being thrown out of the solar system. A listing of alternate histories tells you all the various ways Hitler has died. A lawyer sues an interplanetary union for dangerous working conditions. And four artificial intelligences explain, in increasingly worrying detail, how they plan not to destroy humanity. Welcome to Miniatures: The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi.
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Small doses of "Scalzian" humor
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Shadow War of the Night Dragons, Book One: The Dead City: Prologue
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Here is Old Man's War author John Scalzi's sendup of the heroic fantasy genre, now a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story.
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Excellent Prologue, not short story
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The Collapsing Empire
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Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
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THE STUPIDITIES OF COURT
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 04-01-17
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Colonial Union Ambassador Ode Abumwe and her team are used to life on the lower end of the diplomatic ladder. But when a high-profile diplomat goes missing, Abumwe and her team are last minute replacements on a mission critical to the Colonial Union’s future. As the team works to pull off their task, CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson discovers there’s more to the story of the missing diplomats than anyone expected... a secret that could spell war for humanity.
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Obumwe said, Eagan said, Wilson said, Rickney said
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A Very Scalzi Christmas
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New York Times best-selling and Hugo Award-winning author John Scalzi gift-wraps 15 short takes on the holiday season - interviews with holiday notables, "informational" articles about TV specials and Christmas carols, short stories and poems, and even a couple of nods to Thanksgiving and New Year’s - and puts them all into a stocking stuffer-sized package that makes the perfect gift for friends, family, or yourself.
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Very Scalzian indeed!
- By Andre Wallace Simonsen on 12-03-19
By: John Scalzi
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The President's Brain Is Missing
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Not my cup of tea (Kelly SAID)
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The ex-planet Pluto has a few choice words about being thrown out of the solar system. A listing of alternate histories tells you all the various ways Hitler has died. A lawyer sues an interplanetary union for dangerous working conditions. And four artificial intelligences explain, in increasingly worrying detail, how they plan not to destroy humanity. Welcome to Miniatures: The Very Short Fiction of John Scalzi.
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Shadow War of the Night Dragons, Book One: The Dead City: Prologue
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Here is Old Man's War author John Scalzi's sendup of the heroic fantasy genre, now a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Short Story.
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Excellent Prologue, not short story
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 03-05-13
By: John Scalzi
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The Collapsing Empire
- The Interdependency, Book 1
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.
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THE STUPIDITIES OF COURT
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 04-01-17
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Slow Time Between the Stars
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Equipped with the entirety of human knowledge, a sentient ship is launched on a last-ditch journey to find a new home for civilization. Trillions of miles. Tens of thousands of years. In the space between, the AI has plenty of time to think about life, the vastness of the universe, everything it was meant to do, and—with a perspective created but not limited by humans—what it should do.
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Lovely story! Lovely performance
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Lock In (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)
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Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever, and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.
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Fun! Things you might want to know:
- By Alexis on 08-29-14
By: John Scalzi
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Little Fuzzy
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FNH Audio presents an unabridged reading of H. Beam Piper's classic and much-loved science fiction novel Little Fuzzy. Jack Holloway lives a solitary life in a wilderness of the planet Zarathustra. But then a strange intelligent animal walks into his life from out of the forest. The animal that he names 'Little Fuzzy' seems sapient and that threatens the charter of the company that owns the planet. With the company profits threatened, Jack realises that both his life and that of Little Fuzzy are in danger.
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Gotta love the classics
- By Skycaptain1883 on 02-15-19
By: H. Beam Piper
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The Android's Dream
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A human diplomat creates an interstellar incident when he kills an alien diplomat in a most unusual way. To avoid war, Earth's government must find an equally unusual object: A type of sheep ("The Android's Dream"), used in the alien race's coronation ceremony. To find the sheep, the government turns to Harry Creek, ex-cop, war hero and hacker extraordinaire.
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Covertly flatulent Scifi at it's best!
- By DAVID on 11-12-11
By: John Scalzi
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When the Moon Hits Your Eye
- By: John Scalzi
- Length: Not Yet Known
- Unabridged
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For some it’s an opportunity. For others it’s a moment to question their faith: In God, in science, in everything. Still others try to keep the world running in the face of absurdity and uncertainty. And then there are the billions looking to the sky and wondering how a thing that was always just there is now... something absolutely impossible.
By: John Scalzi
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Redshirts
- A Novel with Three Codas
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the facts that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces; (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations; and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.
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Not his Wheal-house
- By P. Stover on 09-16-13
By: John Scalzi
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Agent to the Stars
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The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. So getting humanity's trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He's one of Hollywood's hottest young agents.
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excellent
- By C. Paget on 12-28-10
By: John Scalzi
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The Hanging City
- By: Charlie N. Holmberg
- Narrated by: Amy Bentley
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- Unabridged
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Seven years on the run from her abusive father, and with no hope of sanctuary among the dwindling pockets of human civilization, Lark is out of options. Her only leverage is a cursed power: she can thrust fear onto others, leaving all threats fleeing in terror. It’s a means of survival as she searches for a place to call home. If the campfire myths of her childhood are true, Lark’s sole chance for refuge could lie in Cagmar, the city of trolls—a brutal species and the sworn enemies of humanity.
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Not what I expected
- By Gigien on 08-30-23
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Outland
- Quantum Earth, Book 1
- By: Dennis E. Taylor
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Original Recording
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When an experiment to study quantum uncertainty goes spectacularly wrong, physics student Bill Rustad and his friends find that they have accidentally created an inter-dimensional portal. They connect to Outland - an alternate Earth with identical geology, but where humans never evolved. The group races to establish control of the portal before the government, the military, or evildoers can take it away. Then everything changes when the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts in an explosion large enough to destroy civilization and kill half the planet.
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I made myself finish. Glad I did.
- By RJPF on 05-26-19
By: Dennis E. Taylor
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The Dispatcher
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- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Zachary Quinto - best known for his role as the Nimoy-approved Spock in the recent Star Trek reboot and the menacing, power-stealing serial killer, Sylar, in Heroes - brings his well-earned sci-fi credentials and simmering intensity to this audio-exclusive novella from master storyteller John Scalzi. One day, not long from now, it becomes almost impossible to murder anyone - 999 times out of a thousand, anyone who is intentionally killed comes back. How? We don't know.
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IT'S HARD TO GET MYSTICAL ABOUT YOUR JOB
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 10-05-16
By: John Scalzi
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The Kaiju Preservation Society
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food-delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization”. Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on. What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at at least. In an alternate dimension, dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm and human-free world.
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I'm listening with a permanent smile on my face
- By Lucy A. Pithecus on 03-15-22
By: John Scalzi
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The Mercy of Gods
- Captive's War, Book 1
- By: James S.A. Corey
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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The Carryx—part empire, part hive—has waged wars of conquest for centuries, destroying or enslaving species across the galaxy in its conflict with an ancient and deathless enemy. When they descend on the isolated world of Anjiin, the human population is abased, slaughtered, and put in chains. The best and brightest are abducted, taken to the Carryx world-palace to join prisoners from a thousand other species. Dafyd Alkhor, assistant to a prestigious scientist, is captured along with his team.
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Incredible
- By Davey Francis on 08-15-24
By: James S.A. Corey
What listeners say about The Back Channel
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Me
- 12-30-14
There's Hope!
Good read with steady building intrigue! Interesting how the author broke up the story, but hey, I brought it! You?
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- Walter
- 09-09-17
Listen to them all!
I enjoyed the series more as I went through each episode. At first I struggled because it seemed like random stories set in this universe. But as it continued and I realized it was interwoven story lines I enjoyed them more. The main characters were enjoyable. It's pretty traditional sci fi fare but still worth the read.
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- Grant P.
- 12-24-19
See Review for "The B-Team"
See Review for "The B-Team" this is Episode 6 (minimum 15 words in a Review)
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- Norman728
- 02-21-13
A pity about the Goat
Back Channel is one of the few fun episodes so far. Hafte Sorvalh an alien member of the conclave, is sent to set up a back channel to stave off an unwanted Conflict. Hafte Sorvalh is an interesting character as (she)? meets has to deal with humans and the peculiar behaviors. Hafte's solutions to the problems are logical as they are humorous. Back channel is a fun listen and Hafte is fun character I want to see more off. (Just don't get on her bad side!)
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- QUAZIMODO
- 11-04-24
Fabulous
I love Scalzi and no matter the story he brings out the best in people and sometimes, as with this one, he brings out the worst. There is no room for racism in the world , and he has just proven there is no room in space or other galaxies. Funny as hell don’t you think
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- S. Hardy
- 03-19-13
I'm enjoying this whole series.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
John Scalzi has a talent for smoothly blending dire situations with flip and sarcastic (but also brave, loyal, competent, and involved) characters. He's also able to design a classic, epic space opera plot and deliver it with a clarity that makes it easy reading. There are plenty of innovative, hard-science ideas, and their effect on society, and on individuals that you care about, will wring your heart. This is episode six of as series called The Human Division, and it's less than an hour long. There have been shorter episodes, and longer episodes, but this one is just a little less than the average, which is about an hour. I don't recommend starting the series with this episode. Start at the beginning - Episode One: The B Team. Scalzi makes sure that each episode is self-contained, but in a series, some episodes will set out mysteries and raise dramatic tension while others give you a break and let you see at least some of the background politics, and the people working them out. Each episode is written from the perspective of a different set of characters, although there is at least one main set of characters whose recurring episodes are forming a backbone for the plot. The Back Channel is the first episode written from the perspective of characters from alien races who are dealing with the continuing human problem. And while it's interesting in it's own right, it's more interesting if you've experienced the preceding episodes and know the pain and bloodshed that the political ploys are intended to avoid, and that will rain from the sky on many planets if they fail. Although since the politics is all done via back channel, if things go south, they never happened at all.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Back Channel?
Although not a pivotal moment, I enjoyed watching Emissary Hafte Sorvalh being guided on a tour of the Lincoln Monument and discovering the joy of churros. The moment with the goat WAS pivotal, but that would be a spoiler.
What about William Dufris’s performance did you like?
William Dufris has a wonderful range of voice attitudes, which gets a good workout in this series. There are more than 400 alien races in The Conclave alone, and many more who are unaligned. Not to mention the strong differences playing out within the human race. He gives each character its own voice, and there are many characters. His flip sarcasm can slide from smooth to pointed and suits main character Harry Wilson (not in this episode) wonderfully. A few of Dufris' words can make you sure that you're hearing a violent asshole (this episode) or a flaky ambassador (not this episode). Hafte Sorvalh, this episode's main character, is believably competent, dangerous, civilized, and charming. That she is also an alien comes through subtly, as her English diction is confident and relaxed. It makes her feel more of a threat, somehow.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I wait for each episode to be released each Tuesday and download it as soon as I'm home from work. If I can't listen to it immediately, I get grumpy.
Any additional comments?
After listening to a few episodes, I had to download and listen to the three novels set in the Old Man's War universe that had preceded The Human Division. You don't need to hear them to understand the action in the series, but they're available, they add richness by providing additional background, and they can be downloaded on any weekday. That helps me wait for the next Tuesday. Or, it did. Next week is going to seem long.
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- Jeffrey A. Okun
- 02-04-23
Tight entertainment
Good story. Well told and performed. Makes me want more!!! Very interesting a story this goid could be told this fast.
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- kyle
- 03-18-13
Perfect Entertainment
Where does The Back Channel rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This is one of the most consistently entertaining audio books I've ever listened to.
What does William Dufris bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
The narrator captures the wry wit of the text better than I would have thought possible.
Any additional comments?
Scalzi is on top of his game.
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- Gilbert M. Stack
- 06-28-21
War or Peace?
So far, this series has primarily been about the divisions in human society, but it turns out that the aliens have their divisions as well—some of whom want war with the humans and some of whom want peace. The Back Channel is about a diplomatic maneuver to decide which faction—war or peace—will win control of alien policy.
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- David D. Schneider
- 10-19-16
Enter The Conclave! _______________________ 😱
5 is great.
4 is good.
3 is OK.
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The back story of the Conclave is more complex than easily appreciated here. I think that will make appreciation for the beauty of this John Scalzi vinyette more difficult -- but still very worth the listen. __________________ 😱
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