Reddit reviews The Phantom of the Earth: An Epic Sci-Fi Saga, Books 1-5

The Phantom of the Earth series, it is free on Amazon for now.

Since last week here's what most catches my eye the week ending Tuesday Sep 20:

• Warp By Lev Grossman, Narrated By Kirby Heyborne -- Grossman's previously nearly dustbinned debut novel, back in a new release complete with its first audiobook edition, with a new foreword read by the author. I've had the opportunity to tease /u/LevGrossman about this being his most valuable book (copies of the original edition were going for quite a bit!) in front of a lecture hall audience, and have been counting down the days to its re-release: "The lost literary origin story of best-seller Lev Grossman - including a new foreword about how and why he wrote his first novel: 'It is the intense, concentrated, boiled-down essence of the unhappiest years of my life'. Twentysomething Hollis Kessler languishes in a hopelessly magician-less world (with the exception of a fleet-footed nymph named Xanthe) not too far from where he graduated college. His friends do, too. They sleep late, read too much, drink too much, talk too much, and work and earn and do way too little. But Hollis does have an obsession: There's another world going on in his head, a world of excitement and danger and starships and romance, and it's telling him that it's time to stop dreaming and get serious. This republication of Lev Grossman's debut novel, Warp, shows the roots of his Magicians hero Quentin Coldwater in a book that is for anyone (and everyone) who has ever felt adrift in their own life."
  
• The Family Plot By Cherie Priest, Narrated By Kate Udall -- Holy smokes, I've had my head under a rock not to already have Priest's latest on my personal book release calendar? A Music City salvage crew finds much, much more than it bargained for on the Winthrop estate, where the 30-gravestone family cemetery is not as "decorative" as they've been told...
  
• As /u/goose_on_fire mentioned already this morning, Death's End by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu, narrated by P. J. Ochlan, the concluding third book of The Three Body Problem series, the groundbreaking, bestselling, award-winning Chinese science fiction epic of first contact and interstellar war.
  
• The Strange Birth, Short Life, and Sudden Death of Justice Girl by Julian David Stone, read by Stefan Rudnicki for Skyboat Media: "Winner of the 2014 Next Generation Indies Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction. The golden age of live television comes to vivid life with the memorable and entertaining tale of Jonny Dirby, who unintentionally captivates the imagination of America with his creation of the hit show Justice Girl. This fun, engrossing work of historical fiction transports listeners back to a time when television shows were chaotic tightrope acts balancing the agendas of actors, studio executives, advertisers, and politicians—and all of it broadcast live to fifty million viewers without the security of a safety net."
  
• Little Nothing By Marisa Silver, Narrated By Saskia Maarleveld for Dreamscape -- "A stunning, provocative novel, Little Nothing is the story of Pavla, a child scorned for her physical deformity, hunted and tormented as a woman, whose passion and salvation lies in her otherworldly ability to transform herself and the world around her."
  
• The Queen of Blood: The Queens of Renthia, Book 1 By Sarah Beth Durst, Narrated By Khristine Hvam for Harper Audio -- a major new fantasy from the South African author Durst (The Lost) with a well-voiced narration from Hvam: "An idealistic young student and a banished warrior become allies in a battle to save their realm in this first book of a mesmerizing epic fantasy series filled with political intrigue, violent magic, malevolent spirits, and thrilling adventure."
  
• Midnight Burning: The Norse Chronicles, Book 1 Written by: Karissa Laurel, Narrated by: Jessica Joens for Red Adept -- Alaskan-set urban fantasy with some real "bite" to it. Note: the audiobook was not apparently 100% fully edited on release day, hopefully an updated file will be provided to Audible shortly for those who can't take the (few, thankfully) repeated lines.
  
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer By Mark Twain, Narrated By Nick Offerman -- Offerman's delivery for Twain's classic may not suit everyone, but it's spot-on for me and my memories of this book, and you can pick it up for just $1.99 if you buy the (free) Kindle edition
  
• Zero-G: Book 1: A Novel By William Shatner and Jeff Rovin, Narrated By William Shatner -- 11 hours of Shatner in my ear, talking space? Hm... A new novel from the author of the TekWar series and, of course, Denny Crane. Oh yeah. And that Captain Kirk fellow. "In the year 2050, the United States sends the FBI to govern its space station, the Empyrean. Under the command of suave 80-year-old director Samuel Lord, the Zero G men are in charge of investigating terrorism, crime, corruption, and espionage and of keeping an eye on the rival Chinese and Russian stations."
  
• Fractures: Extraordinary Tales from the Halo Canon By Tobias Buckell, Troy Denning, Matt Forbeck, Kelly Gay, Christie Golden, Kevin Grace, and Morgan Lockhart, Narrated By Scott Brick
  
• Fiction: The Wonder by Emma Donoghue, Narrated By Kate Lock -- "In Room author Emma Donoghue's latest masterpiece, an English nurse brought to a small Irish village to observe what appears to be a miracle - a girl said to have survived without food for months - soon finds herself fighting to save the child's life."
  
• Fiction: The Lesser Bohemians: A Novel By Eimear McBride, Narrated By Eimear McBride - "One night an 18-year-old Irish girl, recently arrived in London to attend drama school, meets an older man - a well-regarded actor in his own right. While she is naive and thrilled by life in the big city, he is haunted by more than a few demons, and the clamorous relationship that ensues risks undoing them both."
  
• Fiction: The White Boy Shuffle: A Novel, Slumberland: A Novel, and Tuff: A Novel By Paul Beatty, Narrated By Prentice Onayemi -- earlier novels by the author of the absolutely fantastic The Sellout, now in audio
  
  And a few more from the small/mid/indie press world:
  
  
• Twilight of the Dragons: The Blood Dragon Empire, Book 2 By Andy Remic, Narrated By Barnaby Edwards (Angry Robot, Audible)
  
• The Way into Darkness: The Great Way, Book 3 By Harry Connolly, Narrated By Michael Kramer for Podium Publishing
  
• The Phantom of the Earth: An Epic Sci-Fi Saga, Books 1-5 By Raeden Zen, Narrated By John Lee for Podium Publishing -- a "Whispersync Deal" at $3.99+$3.47 if you start with the Kindle edition for this series pitched as "Herbert's Dune meets Banks' The Player of Games in The Phantom of the Earth, a spellbinding science fiction epic set deep underground after the fall of civilization on Earth's surface."
  
• The Year's Top Ten Tales of Science Fiction 8 By John Barnes, David Brin, Aliette de Bodard, Ian McDonald, Sean McMullen, Alastair Reynolds, Michael L. Shoemaker, Narrated By Tom Dheere, Nancy Linari
  
• In Perpetuity By Jake Bible, Narrated By Michael T. Bradley
  
• Artifact By Vaughn Heppner, Logan White, Narrated By Luke Daniels
  
  MOST MISSING:
  
  
• Oh no. Damn it. The run of "missing in audio" Tor.com Publishing novellas continues with Brian Evenson's "The Warren", which has been one of my most anticipated books of the entire year. Well, I suppose I still have eyeballs to read with: "X doesn’t have a name. He thought he had one—or many—but that might be the result of the failing memories of the personalities imprinted within him. Or maybe he really is called X. He’s also not as human as he believes himself to be. But when he discovers the existence of another—above ground, outside the protection of the Warren—X must learn what it means to be human, or face the destruction of their two species."
  
• Leigh Statham's THE PERILOUS JOURNEY OF THE MUCH-TOO-SPONTANEOUS GIRL, book two in her Steampunk series: "A solid plan, a trusted friend, and the finest warship France has to offer, won't be enough to keep her out of trouble."