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Song of Time cover art

Song of Time

Written by: Ian R. MacLeod
Narrated by: Rachel Atkins
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Publisher's Summary

A man lies half-drowned on a Cornish beach at dawn in the furthest days of this century. The old woman who discovers him, once a famous concert violinist, is close to death herself--or perhaps a new kind of life she can barely contemplate. Does death still exist at all, or has it finally been obliterated? And who is this strange man she's found? Is he a figure returned from her past, a new Messiah, or an empty vessel? God or the Devil?

Filled with love and music, death and life, mind-bending ideas and simple humanity amid the ruins of a post-apocalyptic India, the Song of Time won both the Arthur C. Clarke and John W. Campbell awards in 2009.

From the author: "The narrator in my novel Song of Time speaks, quite literally, into the mind of the reader. For this reason alone, I'd like to think that it's particularly well suited to the talking book medium. But what's so heartening is then to find a voice, in Rachel Atkins, which is so quietly and compellingly right for the story. Song of Time told by her sounds and feels the way I hoped it would as I wrote it - not simply a work of "SF", but a novel of the future."

©2010 Ian R. MacLeod (P)2010 Audible Ltd

What the critics say

"A slow, sensitive first-person account of what it means to be human and vulnerable...a book which confirms MacLeod as one of the country's very best literary SF Writers". ( The Guardian)
"The narrator in my novel Song of Time speaks, quite literally, into the mind of the reader. For this reason alone, I'd like to think that it's particularly well suited to the talking book medium. But what's so heartening is then to find a voice, in Rachel Atkins, which is so quietly and compellingly right for the story. Song of Time told by her sounds and feels the way I hoped it would as I wrote it - not simply a work of "Sci Fi", but a novel of the future." Ian R. MacLeod

What listeners say about Song of Time

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Listening at the gym...it’s tougher than my workout.

I’m listening to this during my sessions at the gym. Honestly, pressing play on this book is harder than combined leg/back day. It is without a doubt, one of the most boring and bleak sci-fi books I’ve ever absorbed. I like arty. The Hyperion series is one of my faves and it deals with a lot of poetry and societal themes. This book is sanctimonious and ham handed in it’s lecturing on society, politics and environmentalism. Throw in the boring musical aspects and you’ve got a recipe for wasted time. 2 hours left and I dislike it so much that I just couldn’t wait to finish it to review. It’s so annoyingly terrible that I’ve been thinking about how much I hate it in my spare time. Narrator is great though as always.

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