Beyond the Burn Line
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Narrated by:
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Neville Watchurst
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Written by:
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Paul McAuley
About this listen
What will become of us?
In the deep future beyond the burn line of the Anthropocene and the extinction of humanity, the city states of an intelligent species of bear have fallen to a mind-wrecking plague. The bears' former slaves, a peaceable, industrious and endlessly curious people, believe that they have inherited the bounty and beauty of their beloved Mother Earth. But are they alone?
After the death of his master, a famous scholar, Pilgrim Saltmire vows to complete their research into sightings of so-called visitors and their sky craft. To discover if they are a mass delusion created by the stresses of an industrial revolution, or if they are real—a remnant population of bears which survived the plague, or another, unknown intelligent species.
Risking his reputation and his life, Pilgrim's search for the truth takes him from his comfortable home in the shadow of a great library to his tribe's former home on the chilly coast of the far south, and the gathering of a dangerous cult in the high desert. Whether or not the visitors are real, one thing is certain. Pilgrim's world and everything he thought he knew about his people's history will be utterly changed.
McAuley's fabulous far future, impacted by the consequences of global warming, colonisation and historical injustices, explores and reflects our own challenges while telling a fast paced story of discovery and adventure.
©2022 Paul McAuley (P)2022 GollanczWhat listeners say about Beyond the Burn Line
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Pam Sykes
- 2022-10-13
Great story, weak narration
Plot details are easily available so I won’t go into them, but this is a thoughtful and engaging novel undermined by a mediocre, wooden narration. Also it ends on a cliffhanger without giving any indication if it’s due to be the start of a series, or if we’re just supposed to make an ending up for ourselves and move on. Very frustrating.
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Overall
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- mavo
- 2023-03-24
To Boldly Go...
Only a science fiction writer of McAuley's experience and breadth of imagination could create such a world out of the ashes of our own. The plot construction is complex but flows easily from one character to another and the details connect in that satisfying way that gives readers an 'aha moment' when the connection is discovered. The characters, especially those of 'the people', are entrancing and their cultural practices speak to things our world has forgotten. The role of humanity in what happens to the earth is the most powerful theme and the book is thought provoking as well as delightful. In the end, however, he seems to have continued past the ending of one narrative arc and passed through into the beginning of another one. I'm all right with this...as long as he writes a sequel. Soon as, please.
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