John Gardner has 18 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 8 narrators, with an average listener rating of 3.4★ across 9 ratings. The most-rated is Grendel.
Grendel
Summary
World renowned critic John Gardner has received prestigious awards for his wide range of literary achievements, including short stories, novels, and essays. When he turns his talents to retelling "Beowulf", the earliest epic in British literature, the result is a work that combines extensive knowledge with a marvelous strain of pure fun. In Gardner's version of the epic, instead of lauding the helmeted hero, Beowulf, the spotlight shines on Grendel, a beast whose grotesque body and blood thirst condemn him to the life of an outlaw. Grendel is a horrible monster who greedily gobbles up warriors in the Danish mead hall guarded by Beowulf. But within Grendel lurks a soul that delights in dark humor, dramatic pirouettes, and pranks. Both young adult and adult listeners will revel in this powerful complement to a classic tale. George Guidall's narration captures a surreal landscape that shimmers on the other side of the original epic's heroic mirror. What we see is that there's a little bit of Grendel living is each of us.
©1971 John Gardner (P)1997 Recorded Books
Icebreaker
Summary
Bond reluctantly finds himself recruited into a dangerous mission involving an equally dangerous and treacherous alliance of agents from the CIA, the KGB, and Israel's Mossad. The team dubbed "Icebreaker" waste no time double crossing each other, as they try to root out the leader of the murderous National Socialist Action Army, Count Konrad von Gloda, a one time SS officer, who now perceives himself as the New Adolf Hitler.
©2013 John Gardner (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, Inc.
SeaFire
Summary
James Bond is back in action, with the stunning Flicka von Grusse at his side and his license to kill renewed once more. His target is Sir Maxwell Tarn: a businessman whose legitimate empire spans the globe, whose wealth is uncountable, who also deals in illegal weapons on a breathtaking scale. But even Bond is unprepared for the speed of events, as a sting operation in a Cambridge hotel leads rapidly to an assassination in Spain, a fugitive in Israel, and neo-Nazi plotters in Germany. Bond finally catches up with Tarn in Puerto Rico, where his prey becomes his captor. Can he escape in time to stop Tarn?
©1994 Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. James Bond and 007 are registered trademarks of Danjaq, LLC, used under licence by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.
Brokenclaw
Summary
On holiday in Victoria, British Columbia, Bond becomes by intrigued Lee Fu-Chu, a half-Blackfoot, half-Chinese philanthropist who is known as "Brokenclaw" because of a deformed hand. On his return to the UK Bond is tasked to investigate the kidnapping of several scientists who have been working on a new submarine detection system. It becomes clear that Brokenclaw is behind the kidnapping and worse, he has a devastating plan to cause economic meltdown through the collapse of the dollar. Bond has no choice but to enter his lair....
©1990 Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. James Bond and 007 are registered trademarks of Danjaq LLC, used under license by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.
Stillness and Shadows
Summary
Gardner’s relentlessly honest and moving portrayal of a broken marriage, and his ambitious unfinished masterpiece - a metafictional mystery centering around one man’s struggle to recover his lost identity - together in one accomplished volume Stillness: Martin and Joan Orrick - distant cousins who have known each other since early childhood - are in the final throes of a failing marriage. Martin is a compulsive drinker who obsesses about his writing, and Joan is struggling with a debilitating physical condition. Together they search for some type of collective identity, and identify where the dissolution of their love began. Inspired by therapy sessions Gardner experienced with his first wife, Stillness is an insightful portrait of one couple’s struggle for fulfillment in a tumultuous world. Private detective Gerald Craine is pursuing an unknown murderer. At the same time, he himself is the target of an unknown person’s pursuit. Stumbling through an alcohol-soaked haze, Craine desperately seeks meaning and understanding in a world fraught with fragmented narratives. Shadows: John Gardner’s friend Nicholas Delbanco has supplemented this unfinished novel with seven sections from Gardner’s original manuscript that provide critical insight into Gardner’s approach to developing the novel and its characters, giving a rare glimpse inside the creative process of one of the 20th century’s most inventive writers.
©1986 The Estate of John Gardner (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
Jason and Medeia
Summary
A mythological masterpiece about dedication and the disintegration of romantic affection. In this magnificent epic poem, John Gardner renders his interpretation of the ancient story of Jason and Medeia. Confined in the palace of King Creon, and longing to return to his rightful kingdom Iolcus, Jason asks his wife, the sorceress Medeia, to use her powers of enchantment to destroy the tyrant King Pelias. Out of love she acquiesces, only to find that upon her return Jason has replaced her with King Creon's beautiful daughter, Glauce. An ancient myth fraught with devotion and betrayal, deception and ambition, Jason and Medeia is one of the greatest classical legends, and Gardner's masterful retelling is yet another achievement for this highly acclaimed author.
©1973 John Gardner (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
In the Suicide Mountains
Summary
An intricately woven fable filled with magical creatures—and astonishing surprises. In this wonderful fantasy, John Gardner weaves tales within tales to bring a magical world to vivid life. When three travelers on their way to the Suicide Mountains meet an enigmatic man, the Abbot of the Ancient Monastery, they begin a series of wild adventures in which they must confront mystical creatures—and come to terms with the roles fate has determined for each of them.Superbly imagined and brimming with philosophical insight, In the Suicide Mountains is a tribute to Gardner’s passion for medieval storytelling, and an unforgettable novel in its own right.
©1977 Boskydell Artists Ltd. (P)2013 Audible Inc.
Never Send Flowers
Summary
In different corners of the world four high-profile figures are assassinated in less than a week. Nobody links the deaths but one thing is certain: each of them has been stalked, sought out, and killed with care and preparation. Then a sinister connection is established: a single, blood-tipped rose is sent to each funeral and an unremarkable female agent is murdered in Switzerland. When MI5 come to MI6 to ask for help M brings in his best. At first, a weekend abroad seems tempting to James Bond: especially when he's paired with Flicka von Grusse, a gorgeous Swiss intelligence officer. But this is a perilous assignment that starts with the mysterious actor David Dragonpol and leads them to Athens, Milan, and on to EuroDisney...and an explosive climax.
©1993 Ian Fleming Publications, Ltd. (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. James Bond and 007 are registered trademarks of Danjaq, LLC, used under licence by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.
Nickel Mountain
Summary
John Gardner's most poignant novel of improbable love. At the heart of John Gardner's Nickel Mountain is an uncommon love story: When at 42, the obese, anxious, and gentle Henry Soames marries seventeen-year-old Callie Wells - who is pregnant with the child of a local boy - it is much more than years which define the gulf between them. But the beauty of this audiobook is the gradual revelation of the bond that develops as this unlikely couple experiences courtship and marriage, the birth of a son, isolation, forgiveness, work, and death in a small Catskill community in the 1950s. The plot turns on tragic events - they might be accidents or they might be acts of will - involving a cast of rural eccentrics that includes a lonely amputee veteran, a religious hysteric (thought by some to be the devil himself), and an itinerant "Goat Lady." Questions of guilt, innocence, and even murder are eclipsed by deeds of compassion, humility, and redemption, and ultimately, by Henry Soames' quiet discovery of grace.
©1963, 1973 John Gardner (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
Scorpius
Summary
When the body of a mysterious woman is found to be carrying the phone number of James Bond, Bond is called in by M to help the investigation. But before he can even reach headquarters he is nearly run off the road in a high-speed motorway chase. Someone wants Bond dead. Then Bond discovers that the woman was a member of a cult society known as "The Meek Ones," with murky links to a wealthy arms dealer. Soon, hideous acts of terrorism begin to roll out across Britain and Bond finds himself in a race against time to track down the faceless criminal behind the horror....
©1988 Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. James Bond and 007 are registered trademarks of Danjaq LLC, used under license by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.
Nobody Lives Forever
Summary
"Take care 007. Take special care. The continent's a hotbed of villainy these days and you can never be too careful." Bond was supposed to be on leave. But SPECTRE leader Tamil Rahani, dying from injuries suffered at Bond's hand, is determined to make it the holiday to die for. With a price on his head, Bond must evade the world's greatest assassins in a ruthless game of cat-and-mouse across Europe, while trying to save the lives of the two women who matter to him most, his housekeeper May and Miss Moneypenny. But Bond has been a target before. And when it comes to staying alive, nobody does it better than 007.
©1986 Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. James Bond and 007 are registered trademarks of Danjaq LLC, used under license by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.
Death Is Forever
Summary
The Cold War is over. After two British agents die under mysterious and strangely old-fashioned circumstances in Germany, Bond is paired up with beautiful CIA agent "Easy" St. John. He's been assigned to track down the surviving members of "Cabal," a Cold War-era intelligence network that received a mysterious and unauthorized signal to disband. It's not long before Bond and Easy find themselves playing a life-or-death game as they try to figure out who they can trust. All the while, Cabal agents are dying one by one....
©1991 Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. James Bond and 007 are registered trademarks of Danjaq LLC, used under license by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.
The Man from Barbarossa
Summary
James Bond has been partnered with an Israeli Mossad agent, Pete Natkowitz, and assigned to work with the KGB to infiltrate a terrorist group. The group, The Scales of Justice, are demanding the trial of a suspected Nazi war criminal and each day of delay brings another death. Posing as a TV crew, Bond and the other agents attempt to discover the group's real motive. When Bond realizes that the real aim is to supply Iraq with nuclear weapons just before the United Nations-led coalition invades he faces the most crucial mission of his life.
©1991 Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.
No Deals, Mr. Bond
Summary
Two female agents of Operation Cream Cake - double agents and honey traps against the KGB - are murdered. Bond must find the others and conduct them to safety before they meet a similar fate. In a race against time, Bond travels to Ireland and the KGB is soon on the scene. But all is not as it seems and soon Bond finds he needs all his wits to negotiate a labyrinth of double-crossing that is to lead him to a bewildering showdown in a remote corner of the Kowloon province of Hong Kong, where, weaponless, he is hunted by four assassins. No Deals, Mr Bond is the sixth in the best-selling series created by John Gardner, and one of the most original and unpredictable.
©1987 Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. James Bond and 007 are registered trademarks of Danjaq LLC, used under license by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.
Win, Lose or Die
Summary
When M receives word that a known terrorist organization is planning to infiltrate and destroy a top-secret British Royal Navy aircraft carrier-based summit of world leaders, James Bond is returned to active duty in the Royal Navy. Promoted from Commander to Captain, Bond is expected to infiltrate the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible and identify potential sleeper agents. As he struggles to complete his mission, a massive war game is being carried out between the American, British, and Soviet Navies. And when Bond gets caught up in a murder investigation the safety of the most powerful leaders on the planet hangs in the balance....
©1989 Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. James Bond and 007 are registered trademarks of Danjaq LLC, used under license by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.
Role of Honour
Summary
"People notice things and word around Whitehall is that Commander Bond is living a shade dangerously - gambling, the new Bentley, er...ladies, money changing hands...." Following scandal and his shock resignation from Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, James Bond becomes a gun for hire; able, and willing, to sell his lethal skills to the highest bidder. And SPECTRE, it seems, are eager to have the disgraced British super spy on their payroll. But before he can be fully embraced by his new employer - and deadliest enemy - 007 must first prove his loyalty. And in doing so he must threaten with nuclear annihilation everything he has fought his whole life to defend. Until honor is fully restored.... Gardner's stunning reinvention of Bond secured critical acclaim and blockbusting sales around the world. Role of Honour, the fourth book in the series, kept 007 at No.1.
©1984 Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. James Bond and 007 are registered trademarks of Danjaq LLC, used under license by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.
Cold
Summary
James Bond is on a mission that will become an obsession. It starts the night Flight 229 is torn apart at Washington airport, killing 435 passengers. But the victim who matters to Bond is the Principessa Sukie Tempesta: once his lover, still his friend. The search for Sukie's killers will turn out to be the most complex and demanding assignment of Bond's career. Across continents and through ever-changing labyrinths of evil, he follows the traces of clues into the center of a fanatical society more deadly than any terrorist army. Its code name is COLD.
©1996 Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved. James Bond and 007 are registered trademarks of Danjaq, LLC, used under licence by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd.
The Return of Moriarty
Summary
Once again, the game is afoot . . . What really happened in Switzerland between Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes in 1891? And why is Holmes, now in London at 221B Baker Street, curiously uncooperative with Scotland Yard’s inquiries? Furthermore, why has Moriarty planned a grand meeting with the international crime syndicate? These are the questions that make up the larger mystery of the sinister Professor Moriarty’s return.
©1974 John Gardner. All rights reserved. Introduction copyright © 2012 by Otto Penzler. All rights reserved. (P)2012 AudioGO