For some of us, it’s music. The Top 20, Oldies, genre-specific music, or even soundtracks from movies, shows, and games. For others, it’s podcasts and talk radio ranging from the serious to the silly. And then there are audio books, which is a Godsend for someone with my work schedule. I have very little time to read with my eyes these days, but I do have time to listen to a chapter or two here and there, and my tastes in audio books are as varied as my taste in music: nonfiction books on the craft of writing or on historical figures and events, or fiction books from any number of genres (Epic fantasy, urban fantasy, sci-fi action, military fiction, and Japanese light novels to name a few).
What are you into? What helps get you through the day, whether it’s a day of work or chores? As we enter more deeply into Spring, I foresee lots of yard work and car washing days ahead, which leaves plenty of time for listening to whatever suits your fancy.
And speaking of audiobooks…
Our feature this week is John Drake’s “Killing Chance” available on Audible! Drake’s satirical style is on full display in this humorous take on Genghis Khan’s rampages across the old world. Bryan Stansbury does an amazing job bringing it to life with his narration of the story:
Sending his human resources manager on a reconnaissance mission to the great Jin city of Rhizun seemed like a good idea to Genghis Khan at the time, until a serendipitous scroll appears with revelations of a secret heir to the khanate. To save his legacy, Genghis sends his Mongol horde into Jin lands with nothing more than the fiercest army the world has ever known and several hundred of Captain Kupcayk’s famous buns. Unfortunately for Genghis, his successor is on the wrong side of the city walls.
While we’re on the audiobook train, we might as well mention a couple more in the relatively new release hopper! Next up is Casey Moore’s Witch Hunt, the fourth full-length novel in the JTF-13 military fantasy series. If you’ve read any of Casey Moore’s Four Horsemen Universe stuff, you know he can do action right:
They’ll fight the unseen evil, on the land or on the sea!
During one of the earliest blockade actions of the Civil War, Sergeant Alexander Philips of the United States Marine Corps witnesses an unspeakable horror. With no explanation, he finds himself in charge of a group of hotheads and misfits in a strange, unorthodox unit. His new commander is the enigmatic Lieutenant Addison Green, who knows nothing about the military, but a great deal about something else entirely. He comes bearing a collection of weapons geared toward fighting something other than Confederates.
The marines of M Company take part in the Battle of Roanoke Island, doing a job far different than that of the other soldiers. They learn their true purpose – hunting the monsters that flood into the world in times of conflict. In the jungles of Roanoke, they find their first mission – to hunt down the mysterious woman in white, a witch who commands the legions of hell and enchants the unsuspecting.
Their journey takes them through Saint Augustine and behind enemy lines to New Orleans, where they find an even greater threat to the Union than they ever expected.
J.L. Curtis’s latest Rimworld: The Rift is next on our list. The third book in the Rimworld series, this one follows the story of a ship captain and his only companion, an AI with seemingly more to it than meets the eye…
Danny Ortega was a failure. He couldn’t tolerate the implant to be a starship captain….
But Danny Ortega has run his deep-space research vessel Ghost alone for years, flaky AI and all, mapping the most unstable and unexplored regions of the Rift for the Cartographers Guild. When his latest mission lands in a mass graveyard of ships, including some ships out of legend, lost for hundreds of years, the guild isn’t happy with him.
He picks up a misfit crew out of the asteroids, and the games begin!
Turns out he’ll need them not just for research and salvage, but to help him keep his ship! As word gets out that he has artifacts and is returning remains, Danny finds he’s gone from chasing a prize to becoming one himself….
Unfortunately for his enemies, Danny didn’t get his own ship by being an easy target or giving up. His odd connections and crew have plenty of surprises up their sleeves, too!
Happy listening!
