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Firstborn Audiobook
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(3.57) - 23 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The Firstborn—the mysterious race of aliens who first became known to science fiction fans as the builders of the iconic black monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey—have inhabited legendary science fiction master Sir Arthur C. Clarke’s writing for decades. With Time’s Eye and Sunstorm, the first two books in the acclaimed Time Odyssey series, Clarke and his brilliant coauthor, Stephen Baxter, imagined a near future in which the Firstborn seek to stop the advance of human civilization by employing a technology indistinguishable from magic.
Their first act was the Discontinuity, in which Earth was carved into sections from different eras of history, re-stitched into a patchwork world, and renamed Mir. Mir’s inhabitants included such notables as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and United Nations peacekeeper Bisesa Dutt. For reasons unknown to her, Bisesa entered into communication with an alien artifact of inscrutable purpose and godlike power—a power that eventually returned her to Earth. There, she played an instrumental role in humanity’s race against time to stop a doomsday event: a massive solar storm triggered by the alien Firstborn, designed to eradicate all life from the planet. That fate was averted at an inconceivable price. Now, twenty-seven years later, the Firstborn are back.
This time, they are pulling no punches. They have sent a “Q-bomb.” Speeding toward Earth, it is a device that human scientists can barely comprehend, that cannot be stopped or destroyed—and that will obliterate Earth.
Bisesa’s desperate quest for answers sends her first to Mars and then to Mir, which is itself threatened with extinction. The end seems inevitable. But as shocking new insights emerge about the nature of the Firstborn and their chilling plans for mankind, an unexpected ally appears from light-years away.
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"Fabulous and hard to put down as always though I wasn't a fan of the ending. It was left hanging and open for book 4, which will never happen since Arthur passed away. Total bummer because I really wanted to know what happened next. "
— Tiffin (5 out of 5 stars)
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“Clarke and Baxter have mastered the art of saving the world in blockbuster style.”
— Entertainment Weekly
Firstborn Listener Reviews
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Bob Young, 4/2/2021
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" I so wanted to like Firstborn, but my patience for it fell apart about halfway through. While many of the science-inspired elements were fascinating, some thinly sketched characters and a loose plot eventually turned me off. Still, it's probably a must read if you're into the series. "
— Stephen, 4/26/2011 -
" Enormously disappointing. Weak, agonisingly slow in places, unfocussed and in dire need of professional editing. It isn't even a conclusion to the series, ending with a flaccid open final chapter. Don't bother with this one. "
— Michael, 4/20/2011 -
" I read it in two days! Now much to say, your usual Clarke-ian SF and I felt that the resolution in the end was a bit of a deus ex machina but overall it was a very exciting ride, with brilliant pacing and fantastic ideas! "
— Nikola, 2/7/2011 -
" well, like others...it's too bad the author died and left the book with such an open end (not resolved). So, if you looking for a complete ending. DON'T read this! Still, it was ok book for the genre. I hope the Clarke estate allows another author to finish this series. "
— Sean, 12/25/2010 -
" A lot like Clarke's Final Odyssey "
— Ioannis, 12/16/2010 -
" Somewhat confusing but very interesting. It doesn't end with any kind of finality, however. I wonder if Baxter, the only living co-author of this series, will try to create another edition. It feels like a fourth book in the series was planned before Clarke's death in 2008. "
— Justin, 10/6/2010 -
" "Continued to enjoy the last part of this trilogy. As before, very heavy on hard scifi (Black Holes, Dark Energy, Time Travel), and light on character development." "
— Marc, 7/30/2010 -
" A fitting conclusion to the trilogy. And now maybe we know who those aliens are from "2001"? "
— Karen, 7/21/2010 -
" I really enjoyed this final book of the series and I liked how the authors brought all three books together for a satisfying conclusion. Great story, great book and a great easy summer read. "
— Candace, 6/20/2010 -
" Great book. It seemed to bounce between classic Sci-Fi that I expect from Clarke, and an action-adventure. There were a few chapters that I extremely enjoyed that discussed the implementation of a Space Elevator in great detail. "
— Dave, 7/12/2009
About the Authors
Arthur C. Clarke is considered one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time. He is best known for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, for which he also coauthored the screenplay with Stanley Kubrick for the 1968 Academy Award–winning major motion picture. Besides winning a number of Hugo and Nebula awards, he was awarded the Kalinga Prize, a UNESCO award for popularizing science. He was knighted by the British monarchy and is the only science fiction writer to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He is an international treasure in many other ways: An article written by him in 1945 led to the invention of satellite technology. His books of both fiction and nonfiction have more than one hundred million copies in print worldwide.
Stephen Baxter is an acclaimed, multiple award–winning author whose many books include the Xeelee Sequence series, the Time Odyssey trilogy (written with Arthur C. Clarke), and The Time Ships, a sequel to H. G. Wells’s classic The Time Machine. He lives in England.
About John Lee
John Lee is the winner of numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. He has twice won acclaim as AudioFile’s Best Voice in Fiction & Classics. He also narrates video games, does voice-over work, and writes plays. He is an accomplished stage actor and has written and coproduced the feature films Breathing Hard and Forfeit. He played Alydon in the 1963–64 Doctor Who serial The Daleks.