Book description
City Under the Stars: A Journey Beyond the Wall
Gardner Dozois left us too soon, but not before completing this remarkable expansion of his earlier novella with Michael Swanwick. What began as "The City of God" twenty-five years ago has finally reached its full potential in "City Under the Stars."
The story follows Hanson, a man trapped in a post-utopian nightmare where gods dwell just fifteen miles away, separated by an iridescent wall. His daily existence consists of backbreaking labor, shoveling coal while staring at the barrier that divides humanity from divinity. When personal tragedy strikes, Hanson makes a desperate choice-he abandons his city and ventures into the unknown wilderness.
Dozois crafts Hanson's journey with the skill of a master storyteller who understands both the weight of despair and the pull of transcendence. The audiobook format brings particular power to this tale, as the listener experiences Hanson's isolation and wonder through carefully rendered pacing and atmospheric sound design.
What unfolds after Hanson crosses into the divine city defies expectations. The impossible becomes merely the beginning of something far more complex and morally ambiguous. Dozois doesn't offer easy answers about faith, divinity, or human nature. Instead, he presents a world where the line between paradise and prison blurs in fascinating ways.
The author's decades of experience as both writer and editor of science fiction shine throughout. His prose carries the reader forward with natural momentum, while his world-building feels both alien and disturbingly familiar. This is classic science fiction at its finest-using the fantastic to examine very human questions about belief, survival, and what we're willing to sacrifice for transcendence.
"City Under the Stars" stands as a fitting capstone to Dozois's remarkable career.
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Playing a wide variety of audio formats
Works on all devices with iOS 13 and newer
Huge amount of features for a small price
Frequent updates to add new features and improve existing ones
Advanced playback controls
Live sound processing
Changing the timbre of the reader's voice and noise reduction
Translated into more than 20 languages
If you love listening to fiction audiobooks, ListenBook has features to make the process easier.
Edit book data: title, author, cover
Use equalizer to make the sound comfortable for you
Adjust the playback speed
Enjoy dark and light app themes
Supported formats: MP3, M4B, AWB, FLAC, OGG audio files and many more (must be DRM free)
Auto-Bookmarks make it easy to find your place
AirPlay support allows redirection of audio output.
VoiceOver support
Dark mode for night owls
Convenient bookmarking system helps you mark the most important places.
Unlimited bookmarks for each audiobook
Put your own cover on the wager
Share your audiobook with friends
Lock-screen control
Customise app with extensive options
Sleep timer with shake to reset, set custom notification sounds, and a few unique options
Auto rewind depending on paused time, customize rewind times to your liking
Removing background noise from recordings made in classrooms and meetings
Changing the timbre of the reader's voice for a better listening experience