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Zoo City Audiobook
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(3.00) - 2,902 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Lauren Beukes's Arthur C Clarke Award-winning novel set in a world where murderers and other criminals acquire magical animals that are mystically bonded to them.
Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit, and a talent for finding lost things. But when a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheck, she’s forced to take on her least favourite kind of job—missing persons.
Being hired by reclusive music producer Odi Huron to find a teenybop pop star should be her ticket out of Zoo City, the festering slum where the criminal underclass and their animal companions live in the shadow of hell's undertow. Instead, it catapults Zinzi deeper into the maw of a city twisted by crime and magic, where she'll be forced to confront the dark secrets of former lives—including her own.
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"When I picked up this book I was actually looking for SF, but Beukes' urban fantasy was a good alternative. A gritty tale of fantasy with social conscience written in a very abled and entertaining manner of a good story teller. Perhaps could have been more gritty, but an excellent read nevertheless."
— Jani (4 out of 5 stars)
Awards
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Winner of the 2011 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel
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A 2011 World Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel
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A 2011 Publishers Weekly Best Book for Science Fiction and Fantasy
Zoo City Listener Reviews
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" This was a really fun read. It's a great mix of high-brow, low-brow, futuristic, and self-referential types of humor. It's a well-balanced, fast-paced thrill ride through a dystopian near-future. "
— Karina, 2/17/2014 -
" The best book I've read so far this year. "
— Ella, 2/9/2014 -
" Not bad, just not my cup of tea. "
— Michelle, 2/7/2014 -
" Again, I enjoyed this but the language and diction were a bit off-putting. I agree that the author was not as good as Lev Grossman, who won the award. "
— Zac, 1/23/2014 -
" It's hard for me to rate books with stars - often I don't do it. Five stars for enjoyment and readability, minus one star for a loss of plot coherence (or at least plot sense) at the end. "
— Molly, 12/11/2013 -
" I enjoyed this book, although not as much as Moxyland. "
— Paolo, 10/18/2013 -
" A really exciting and well done. If I was going to pitch this I'd say it's Phillip Pullman meets Rolling Stone meets District 9. A well-crafted, multi-tiered mystery. Highly suggest! "
— Shauna, 7/30/2013 -
" An Ok book. Single interesting concept behind the story but in the end that wasn't enough to maintain interest. Not my idea of science fiction. "
— Brooks, 7/2/2013 -
" It is very interesting. Seems to go too fast at a certain point. "
— Marty, 6/21/2013 -
" Good stuff. Weird, but good. I'd like to read more about this alternate reality. "
— Sarah, 3/30/2013 -
" Really good premise and characters, but the mystery never really grabbed me and the plot has some serious holes. "
— Mike, 3/19/2013 -
" Holy crap, this book was amazing. I'm a sucker for a noir with a female lead, but this one also has a driving plot, relentless action, great writing, and a world that, surface similarity to Phillip Pullman aside, is uniquely its own. "
— Maya, 1/13/2013 -
" Great characters, great setting, just an astonishing work. "
— Jon, 11/13/2011 -
" 4.5 stars. An excellent book, with memorable characters and fantastic world building. "
— Daniel, 10/31/2011 -
" Again, I enjoyed this but the language and diction were a bit off-putting. I agree that the author was not as good as Lev Grossman, who won the award. "
— Zac, 9/10/2011 -
" Started off promising but eventually suffered from some Urban Fantasy-ism, which to be fair isn't my favorite genre. I liked the writing fine, but found the plot and its resolution unsatisfying and overly complicated. "
— Espana, 9/8/2011 -
" Great concept, not so great follow through. Needs a better editor and less run-on sentences. "
— Sumayyah, 9/6/2011
About Lauren Beukes
Lauren Beukes writes novels, comics and screenplays. She’s the author of the critically-acclaimed international best-seller, The Shining Girls, about a time traveling serial killer, Zoo City, a phantasmagorical Joburg noir which won the 2011 Arthur C Clarke Award, the neo political thriller, Moxyland. She wrote the New York Times best-selling graphic novel, Fairest: The Hidden Kingdom and the Vertigo Comics horror series, Survivor’s Club. She lives in Cape Town, South Africa.
About Justine Eyre
Justine Eyre is a classically trained actress who has narrated many audiobooks, earning the prestigious Audie Award for best narration and numerous Earphones Awards. She is multilingual and known for her great facility with accents. She has appeared on stage, with leading roles in King Lear and The Crucible, and has had starring roles in four films on the indie circuit. Her television credits include Two and a Half Men and Mad Men.