Audiobooks by Steven Barnes

A powerhouse trio of science fiction greats has united to further explore the planet Avalon, first introduced in their classic novel The Legacy of Heorot. "Once upon a long, long time ago, our parents and grandparents left a place called Earth. They traveled across the stars in a ship called Geographic to find paradise." A new generation is growing up on the island paradise of Camelot, ignorant of the Great Grendel Wars fought when their parents and grandparents first arrived on Earth. Setting out to explore the mainland, this group of young rebels feels ready to fight any grendels that get in their way. On Avalon, however, there are monsters that dwarf the ones their parents fought, and as the group will soon learn, monsters also dwell in the human heart. Avalon does not give up her secrets easily, and some of those mysteries are wicked as sin and blacker than the grave. "Few writers have a finer pedigree than those here...As one might suspect, Beowulf's Children is seamless...An absorbing, substantial, and finally rather masterful novel."-Los Angeles Times

Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven, Steven Barnes (Author), Tom Weiner (Narrator)

Audiobook

Beowulf’s Children

A powerhouse trio of science fiction greats has united to further explore the planet Avalon, first introduced in their classic novel The Legacy of Heorot. 'Once upon a long, long time ago, our parents and grandparents left a place called Earth. They traveled across the stars in a ship called Geographic to find paradise.' A new generation is growing up on the island paradise of Camelot, ignorant of the Great Grendel Wars fought when their parents and grandparents first arrived on Earth. Setting out to explore the mainland, this group of young rebels feels ready to fight any grendels that get in their way. On Avalon, however, there are monsters that dwarf the ones their parents fought, and as the group will soon learn, monsters also dwell in the human heart. Avalon does not give up her secrets easily, and some of those mysteries are wicked as sin and blacker than the grave.

Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven, Steven Barnes (Author), Tom Weiner (Narrator)

Audiobook

Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Story

Casanegra follows the adventures of Tennyson Hardwick, a gorgeous, sexy former actor and gigolo living on the fringes of the good life in Hollywood. This story combines the glamour of Hollywood with the seedy hopelessness of the inner city. In this hot and steamy mystery, Tennyson is an actor struggling to hang on to his career and redeem his sex-for-pay history that estranged him from his family—especially his father, a decorated LAPD captain who raised Tennyson to call him "Sir." Now, in the wake of his father's sudden stroke, Tennyson has to save himself from taking the fall for a murder. In the process he discovers his hidden talents—the hard way. Blair Underwood, a Golden Globe–nominated actor and the author of Before I Got Here, joins bestselling novelists Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes to create a cool, irresistible character in Tennyson Hardwick, and this gritty, provocative mystery will keep readers craving more.

Blair Underwood, Steven Barnes, Tananarive Due (Author), Richard Allen (Narrator)

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Dream Park

A group of pretend adventurers suit up for a campaign called "The South Seas Treasure Game." As in the early role-playing games, there are dungeon masters, warriors, magicians, and thieves. The difference? At Dream Park, a futuristic fantasy theme park full of holographic attractions and the latest in VR technology, they play in an artificial enclosure that has been enhanced with special effects, holograms, actors, and a clever story line. The players get as close as possible to truly living their adventure.All's fun and games until a park security guard is murdered, a valuable research property is stolen, and all evidence points to someone inside the game. The park's head of security, Alex Griffin, joins the game to find the killer, but finds new meaning in the games he helps keep alive.

Larry Niven, Steven Barnes (Author), Grover Gardner (Narrator)

Audiobook

Great Sky Woman

Hugo Award nominee Steven Barnes is a successful novelist and scriptwriter who has created episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and Stargate SG-1. With Great Sky Woman, he presents a meticulous, vividly imagined vision of the Ibandi-an ancient people striving to maintain their place in the shadow of Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro.

Steven Barnes (Author), Patricia R. Floyd (Narrator)

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Shadow Valley

Publishers Weekly praises Steven Barnes' Shadow Valley as 'all at once rugged and elegant in style, a mix of harsh bloodletting with a primeval close-to-the-land beauty.' This mythical tale'a sequel to Barnes' Great Sky Woman ' is set in Africa in 28,000 B.C. and follows a tribal leader who must find a new land for her people.

Steven Barnes (Author), Patricia Floyd, Patricia R. Floyd (Narrator)

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Star Wars: Clone Wars: The Cestus Deception, A Clone Wars Novel

Ord Cestus, a planet mostly barren and inhospitable to life, was first colonized as a prison world, until a handful of hardy pioneers discovered its rich ore deposits and managed to build up a successful droid-manufacturing industry. But when the Clone Wars erupted, bringing severe rationing of imported resources and a Republic ban on the production of battle droids, Ord Cestus was threatened with imminent economic collapse. Enter the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Separatists, with a life-saving offer to purchase a generous quantity of the planet's most lucrative export: bio-droids. Possessed of tactical capabilities that rival the fighting abilities of even the most advanced Jedi, these sophisticated, techno-organic hybrid units would prove a most formidable weapon if ever deployed for military use. And now the Confederacy's intention to invest in what amounts to an army of bio-droids has sent ripples of alarm through the highest echelons of the Republic government. Determined to halt the bio-droid sale, but fearing a show of force will result in a political backlash, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine dispatches a team of envoys, led by Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Their mission: persuade Ord Cestus's government to abandon its dealings with the Confederacy . . . while secretly stirring up revolution among the planet's struggling underclass. Diplomacy is paramount. But if all else fails, the Republic will not hesitate to launch a full-scale attack, and wipe out not only the means of bio-droid production, but countless lives as well, to demonstrate the consequences of disloyalty. For Obi-Wan, the prospect of such wholesale slaughter only serves to fuel his growing suspicions about the sinister path the Republic seems to be taking. But the brash Jedi Master Kit Fisto and the detachment of clone soldiers assigned to the mission are ready and willing to do the Supreme Chancellor's bidding. As the leaders of Ord Cestus refuse to capitulate and Palpatine rapidly loses patience, Obi-Wan's hopes of a peaceful resolution are dwindling. Now, facing a crisis of conscience, Obi-Wan must find the wisdom and strength to prevent a bloodbath and safeguard the Republic, while abiding by the ancient code to which he has pledged his life. From the Hardcover edition.

Steven Barnes (Author), Jonathan Davis (Narrator)

Audiobook

Star Wars: The Glass Abyss

Brought to you by Penguin. Jedi Master Mace Windu travels to a dangerous, remote planet on a mission that challenges even his deadly prowess - all to fulfill Qui-Gon's last request. The Jedi are reeling from Qui-Gon Jinn’s sudden death at the hands of a Sith. Jedi Master Mace Windu’s feelings about Qui-Gon have always been complicated, and have not been made any simpler in death. While they often disagreed, Mace valued Qui-Gon's unique perspective, and their shared dedication to the Force made them allies. Without Qui-Gon and his unorthodox views, Mace feels out of balance. While considering his fallen friend’s legacy, Mace is surprised to receive a final message from Qui-Gon, marked to be delivered to Mace on the event of Qui-Gon’s death. The message contains a last request: a plea to help the Outer Rim planet of Metagos. Many years ago, a violent solar flare transformed the surface of the desert planet into a landscape of irradiated glass—as beautiful as it is dangerous. Now most of the surviving inhabitants live underground, where rival clans fight to control the planet’s limited resources. As a young Jedi, Qui-Gon protected the Sa’ad farming clan from the planet’s less scrupulous factions. The Sa’ad practice the art of dream-weaving, retaining their waking minds upon sleep in order to communicate and coexist with the wild creatures around them. Qui-Gon vowed to return if they ever required his aid, but now it falls to Mace to fulfill that promise. The Sa’ad’s leader, KinShan Nightbird, has begged for the Jedi’s help in freeing Metagos from the crime lords who threaten to eradicate her people’s way of life. Intent on fulfilling Qui-Gon’s final wishes, Mace travels to Metagos and infiltrates the enemies of the Sa’ad. But as the Jedi Master investigates the intricate web of adversaries and allies, Mace finds himself pushed to the boundaries of the Jedi code, challenging his beliefs and his relationship to the Force itself. ©2024 Steven Barnes (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Steven Barnes (Author), TBD (Narrator)

Audiobook

Starborn and Godsons

The long-awaited conclusion of the Heorot series from genre legends Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes Avalon was thriving. The cold sleep colonists from Earth had settled on a verdant, livable world. The fast and cunning predators humans named “grendels” were under control, and the mainland outposts well established. Avalon’s new mainland hydroelectric power station was nearly complete, and when online would compensate for the nuclear power systems lost in the Grendel Wars. Humans would have power, and with power came the ability to make all the necessities for life. They would survive. They would not survive as a spacefaring people. What they were losing faster than they knew was the ability to get to space. But unbeknownst to the planet-bound humans, something was moving out there in the stars, decelerating at a rate impossible for a natural object. And its destination was Avalon. The most probable origin was Earth’s Solar System. This is a novel of first contact—between the human Starborn and the self-named Godsons who followed on, between the first generation of Avalon-born humans and their descendants, and between humans and the almost ineffably alien species native to their new world …

Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven, Steven Barnes (Author), Tom Taylorson (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Barsoom Project

A visionary science fiction classic from Larry Niven and Steven BarnesThe Barsoom Project is the direct sequel to 1981's Dream Park. Eviane's first visit to the state-of-art amusement arena Dream Park ended in disaster: the special effects had seemed more real than life ... until the holograms she was shooting with live ammunition turned out to be solid flesh and blood ... and very, very dead.Haunted by the past, rebounding from a lengthy spell in a mental hospital, she has returned to Dream Park to exorcise a nightmare that has become reality. But in Dream Park, nothing is what it seems. The Inuit mythology controlling the images is part of a "Fat Ripper Special" designed to implant new behavioral memes. The players are struggling against the game master, one another, and their own demons. And there is a killer who wants to ensure Eviane never regains her memory ... no matter what it costs.Blending together hard science fiction with virtual reality and RPG-like fantasy games, The Barsoom Project is science fiction at the cutting edge and a classic creation from two of the genre's most beloved writers.

Larry Niven, Steven Barnes (Author), Grover Gardner (Narrator)

Audiobook

The California Voodoo Game

Dream Park, the ultimate in amusement parks, was about to embark on the greatest game ever: the California Voodoo Game. Across the world bets were being placed; fortunes and reputations hung in the balance. Gaming careers would be made-or destroyed. And the most advanced software package ever invented was going to be tested.But one of the players was a murderer-and worse. Only Alex Griffin, head of Dream Park Security, and Game Master Tony McWhirter guessed the extent of the treachery tainting the Game. Somehow, they had to catch the killer-but above all, the Game must go on ...

Larry Niven, Steven Barnes (Author), Grover Gardner (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Kundalini Equation

The coauthor of Beowulf's Children strikes out on his own with this novel of mystic revelation and martial arts. What if the disciplines we know as the martial arts, meditation, and fasting were mere fragments of a greater, more powerful killing art? What if that hidden discipline could produce in a man the power to manipulate matter and energy at will? What if the effect on the mind were so deadly that, uncontrolled, the result would be an inhuman killer? And what if, unknowingly, a young man in modern-day Los Angeles were to stumble onto the secret, setting in motion The Kundalini Equation? "Barnes gives us characters that are vividly real people, conceived with insight and portrayed with compassion and rare skill-and then he stokes the suspense up to levels that will make the reader miss sleep and be late for work."-Tim Powers, World Fantasy Award-winning author

Steven Barnes (Author), Ron Butler (Narrator)

Audiobook