Starswarm cover art

Starswarm

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Starswarm

By: Jerry Pournelle
Narrated by: Lloyd James
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Only £0.99 a month for the first 3 months. Pay £0.99 for the first 3 months, and £8.99/month thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Start my membership

About this listen

 Kip has a secret. A young boy who lives with his uncle at the Starswarm Station research outpost on planet Paradise, he has heard a voice in his head for as long as he can remember. The voice guides him in all his decisions, helping him through situations with useful information and helpful insight.

One day, finally daring to ask the voice some tough questions, Kip discovers that his computer scientist parents implanted an artificial intelligence chip in his skull, which connects with a powerful mainframe computer via satellite. He also learns that his parents died under suspicious circumstances and that his very existence is a well-kept secret that will soon come to light - putting his own life and the whole of outpost Starswarm in grave danger.

©1998 Jerry Pournelle (P)2000 Blackstone Audio Inc. Fiction Science Fiction Space Opera Fantasy

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Artemis War Omnibus cover art
No Mercy cover art
Stonefather cover art
Citizen of the Galaxy cover art
Bob and Nikki: Publisher's Pack cover art
Jurassic Park cover art
Humanity Unlimited Publisher's Pack 1 cover art
The Ranch: Jack Sterlings Legacy cover art
The Spaceship Next Door cover art
Burke's War cover art
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) cover art
Hyperion cover art
Deadly Game cover art
Snow Crash cover art
Treason cover art
Rewinder cover art

Critic reviews

"An extremely strong story....plenty of suspenseful action in a well-realized setting." ( Booklist)
"This is one you won't want to miss. [A] taut, credible, fast-paced adventure story." ( Science Fiction Chronicle)
"SF veteran Pournelle demonstrates his gift for traditional SF adventures in this coming-of-age tale that combines fast-paced action with...an appealing protagonist." ( Library Journal)
All stars
Most relevant
for me the definition of a great book is one you can bot put down. this is one of those. if you like sci-fi and suspense, go for it.

pageturner

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Good story with some thought-provoking ideas which held my attention until towards the end when it became quite militaristic with some rather unpalatable (to me) macho overtones. The threads eventually tied together well with a fairly satisfying ending.

There was much I liked about the story. The central character was interesting as were the indigenous inhabitants of the planet. Not quite 5 star and probably only just 4 but overall, I enjoyed it.

Good story with some thought-provoking ideas.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A terrific story, read brilliantly. The narrator really makes this a compelling and enjoyable listen.

Excellent reading

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The story was quite interesting and original enough to enjoy. Well paced, too. I especially enjoyed the idea of the artificial intelligence (AI) chip in the boy's head, as well as some other surprises of the planet.

The problem though was the narrator. I can't say that he was exactly bad, he tried to vary the voices and to put emotions into them. That he managed good enough. But - oh my - I hate his voice as such, the vibe to it! I can't stand it, it gives a very weird feeling to the book and it totally doesn't fit well with it. And he can't make woman's voices at all! It felt VERY weird to listen to him as Gwen, the AI, you couldn't picture a woman there even in your wildest dreams and you have to listen to it a lot and pretend you understand it as a woman speaking. I have to admit, it put me off a bit. I don't know what could've been the solution - maybe another narrator for women roles... Or a different narrator altogether.

But to conclude - the story beat the narration and it's a good choice of a book to listen to.

Interesting story, mediocre narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Honestly I wasn't sure what to expect as I'd never read anything by the author before. You can be assured I'm looking up more books already!

A great little find. A strong story with no weak threads. My only niggle was a rather abrupt ending - although I guess thats not a bad thing in a way as it did leave me wanting more. I don't see a listing of another book following on but I would greatly appreciate one.

Great Story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews