City of Darkness (audiobook) by Ben Bova


Originally published in 1976.
Published by Audio Literature in 2002
Duration: 3 hours, 24 minutes
Performed by Harlan Ellison.
Unabridged
City of Darkness is my first foray into Ben Bova's work. I've seen his stuff around but never quite picked any of his books up. If this is typical of the quality of his work, I will be back for more.

 The story is set in a future United States in which the cities have been closed. New York City is cut off from the rest of the country except for the summer months - where it becomes a tourist destination away from the unrelenting tedium of suburbia (called "the tracts"). Our protagonist runs away to the city and gets locked in after it is closed at the end of the summer - and he finds out that the city is not empty after all...

 Harlan Ellison makes this audiobook seem like a one man radio play. He does a first-rate job at making the story sing and zing. Take the word of a listener who has heard more than his share of mediocre readers - Ellison deserves an award.

 I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5.

 This audiobook can be found here on Amazon.com: City of Darkness.

 Reviewed on November 13, 2006.

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