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Beyond the Burn Line

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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. Adventure First Contact Science Fiction Fiction
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Contrary to other reviewers I thought the narrator was perfect for the atmosphere of this strange old world/new world story. This isn’t a novel I would usually choose but it was the Guardian’s choice for 2022 sci-fi so I took a chance. Absolutely loved it. Listening again.

Intriguing

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the story develops slowly but is worth sticking with. The narrator is terrible, there's no feeling, no difference in voice of characters, barely any attention to punctuation. It's a shame because with a good narrator this would be an excellent book

Good story, terrible narrator

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Beautiful elegant prose, superbly and perfectly voiced. This is a new British SF author for me and I’m looking forward to reading more of McAuley’s work. Original and innovative.

Engaging, engrossing and elegantly written

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Enjoyed the story, it was slightly let down by the narrator, who has the tone of a talking computer at times. But don’t let this put you off. I got used to his voice and the story is very good. Well worth a listen.

Good story

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People need to earn a living so sorry but worst narration I've ever experienced

Thought it was AI narration. Intonation was weird

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