Hoopla roundup: sci fi & fantasy audiobooks
If you've never heard of Hoopla Digital, I am delighted to introduce you to it! It's a service that, if you live in North America and have a library card, you can almost certainly access for free, borrowing a set number of digital files (your library dictates just how many) per month, from a large selection of ebooks, audiobooks, music, films, and TV shows. But I mainly use it for audiobooks. It's the only way I can afford to listen to books on a regular basis, and this service has gotten me through many a migraine foggy day, when I couldn't do much else besides settle into a comfy chair and listen to a story... Their selection is constantly changing, with titles coming and going, so I'd like to make these Hoopla roundups a regular feature, including both books I've already listened to (or read!) and ones on my to be read (to be listened to?) pile, as I'm doing today...
Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
This title, by an award winning and well-known author of the strange, surreal, and moving, has only been out for a couple of months, and has not only topped the bestseller lists for the genre, but the film rights have already been optioned by Universal Pictures. From the publisher:
"A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented-something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding. Once every cycle, the civilizations gather for Galactivision-part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Instead of competing in orbital combat, the powerful species that survived face off in a competition of song, dance, or whatever can be physically performed in an intergalactic talent show. The stakes are high for this new game, and everyone is forced to compete. This year, though, humankind has discovered the enormous universe. And while they expected to discover a grand drama of diplomacy, gunships, wormholes, and stoic councils of aliens, they have instead found glitter, lipstick, and electric guitars. Mankind will not get to fight for its destiny-they must sing. A band of human musicians, dancers, and roadies have been chosen to represent Earth on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of their species lies in their ability to rock."
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula award for best novella, this one has been on my looking-forward-to-finally-reading pile for a while now. Hoopla also have both sequels! From the publisher:
"Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs. Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti's stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach. If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself - but first she has to make it there, alive."
River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
This novella is nominated for the 2018 Hugos, which is how it made it onto my radar. Paired the the weird and fascinating premise, and I am more than intrigued enough to check it out... Publisher description:
"In the early twentieth century, the United States government concocted a plan to import hippopotamuses into the marshlands of Louisiana to be bred and slaughtered as an alternative meat source. This is true. Other true things about hippos: they are savage, they are fast, and their jaws can snap a man in two. This was a terrible plan. Contained within this volume is an 1890s America that might have been: a bayou overrun by feral hippos and mercenary hippo wranglers from around the globe. It is the story of Winslow Houndstooth and his crew. It is the story of their fortunes. It is the story of his revenge."
This title, by an award winning and well-known author of the strange, surreal, and moving, has only been out for a couple of months, and has not only topped the bestseller lists for the genre, but the film rights have already been optioned by Universal Pictures. From the publisher:
"A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented-something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding. Once every cycle, the civilizations gather for Galactivision-part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Instead of competing in orbital combat, the powerful species that survived face off in a competition of song, dance, or whatever can be physically performed in an intergalactic talent show. The stakes are high for this new game, and everyone is forced to compete. This year, though, humankind has discovered the enormous universe. And while they expected to discover a grand drama of diplomacy, gunships, wormholes, and stoic councils of aliens, they have instead found glitter, lipstick, and electric guitars. Mankind will not get to fight for its destiny-they must sing. A band of human musicians, dancers, and roadies have been chosen to represent Earth on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of their species lies in their ability to rock."
Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula award for best novella, this one has been on my looking-forward-to-finally-reading pile for a while now. Hoopla also have both sequels! From the publisher:
"Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs. Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti's stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach. If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself - but first she has to make it there, alive."
This novella is nominated for the 2018 Hugos, which is how it made it onto my radar. Paired the the weird and fascinating premise, and I am more than intrigued enough to check it out... Publisher description:
"In the early twentieth century, the United States government concocted a plan to import hippopotamuses into the marshlands of Louisiana to be bred and slaughtered as an alternative meat source. This is true. Other true things about hippos: they are savage, they are fast, and their jaws can snap a man in two. This was a terrible plan. Contained within this volume is an 1890s America that might have been: a bayou overrun by feral hippos and mercenary hippo wranglers from around the globe. It is the story of Winslow Houndstooth and his crew. It is the story of their fortunes. It is the story of his revenge."
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