The Final Frontier Audiobook By Neil Clarke - editor cover art

The Final Frontier

Stories of Exploring Space, Colonizing the Universe, and First Contact

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The Final Frontier

By: Neil Clarke - editor
Narrated by: Tim Campbell, James Anderson Foster, Mary Robinette Kowal, Karen Cass, James Langton
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The vast and mysterious universe is explored in this reprint anthology from award-winning editor and anthologist Neil Clarke (Clarkesworld magazine, The Best Science Fiction of the Year).

The urge to explore and discover is a natural and universal one, and the edge of the unknown is expanded with each passing year as scientific advancements inch us closer and closer to the outer reaches of our solar system and the galaxies beyond them.

Generations of writers have explored these new frontiers and the endless possibilities they present in great detail. With galaxy-spanning adventures of discovery and adventure, from generations ships to warp drives, exploring new worlds to first contacts, science fiction writers have given readers increasingly new and alien ways to look out into our broad and sprawling universe.

The Final Frontier delivers stories from across this literary spectrum, a reminder that the universe is far large and brimming with possibilities than we could ever imagine, as hard as we may try.

©2018 Neil Clarke (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved. Anthologies & Short Stories Fiction First Contact Science Fiction Space Exploration Interstellar
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collection of short stories is okay does not stand out but it's definitely newer audience newer author focused I enjoyed some of the stories others were tedious is definitely sci-fi philosophy overall not bad

some uncut gems in a few with sparkles

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seened to jump mid episode leaving one story going to the next. without any break.

nothing

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There are a lot of stories to skip through halfway through to find a few worth listening to.

Gems in a sea of mediocrity

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There are some big misses in here, but who cares, it has "Gypsy" by Carter Scholz, the best sci-fi novella ever written. Buy it for that.

Some hits and some misses but read it for one.

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I was looking forward to new material by an attractive selection of some of my favorite SF authors. To my huge disappointment, I have already read--or heard--more than 75% of the contents. As the numbered chapter headings don't include story titles, it's almost impossible to skip around while seeking new stories. And despite the heroic energies of the narrators, the thematic thread was surprisingly dismal and dystopian for a collection about the challenges of outer space and new worlds!

I have listened before to podcasts of material selected by the same editor (Clarkesworld), and while the diversity of content is greater, their narrator mispronounces too many words--ranging from Pleistocene to recombinant--and tends to sink into vocal fry instead of her natural range reading longer stories.

So I had high hopes for this collection: fresh readers and new stories! Alas, I will be asking for the return of my credit.

Nothing New Here!

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Top quality. Get this if you are a proper sf fan. You won't be disappointed.

Thumbs up

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Only the last two stories were known to me from other audible anthologies. Both are fantastic. Unfortunately about a third of the other stories are confused, lacking in conclusion or reason. These are not prosaic abstractions written in an aesthetic sense rather than a narrative. They are just poor narrative with unsympathetic or vague characters and unresolved or unexplored conflict. It also struck me how many characters embraced or embodied a non-traditional sexuality. It makes little enough difference - unless, course, it is of a narrative imperative - but it caused me to double check the selection criteria. I suppose the topic is very 'in' right now. It should mean nothing to a seasoned reader of speculative fiction...or anyone else for that matter.
Recommended to those that have exhausted the supply of sci-fi anthologies on Audible and want their purchase or credit to offer a reasonable length. i.e. over fifteen or so hours.

two-thirds excellent

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