The Anthologies & Short Stories category has 2,670 audiobooks on Listento.it, with an average listener rating of 4.3★ across 5,389 ratings. The most-rated is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Summary
Taking place nearly a century before the events of A Game of Thrones, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms compiles the first three official prequel novellas to George R. R. Martin's ongoing masterwork, A Song of Ice and Fire. These never-before-collected adventures recount an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living consciousness. Before Tyrion Lannister and Podrick Payne, there were Dunk and Egg. A young, naïve, but ultimately courageous hedge knight, Ser Duncan the Tall towers above his rivals - in stature if not experience. Tagging along is his diminutive squire, a boy called Egg - whose true name (hidden from all he and Dunk encounter) is Aegon Targaryen. Though more improbable heroes may not be found in all of Westeros, great destinies lie ahead for these two...as do powerful foes, royal intrigue, and outrageous exploits. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a must-have collection that proves chivalry isn't dead - yet.
©2015 George R. R. Martin (P)2015 Random House Audio
Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection
Summary
An all-new Stormlight Archive novella, Edgedancer, is the crown jewel of Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection, the first audiobook of short fiction by number New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson. The collection will include nine works in all. The first eight are: "The Hope of Elantris" (Elantris) "The Eleventh Metal" (Mistborn) "The Emperor's Soul" (Elantris) "Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania, Episodes 28 through 30" (Mistborn) "White Sand" (excerpt; Taldain) "Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell" (Threnody) "Sixth of Dusk" (First of the Sun) "Mistborn: Secret History" (Mistborn) These wonderful works, originally published on Tor.com and elsewhere individually, convey the expanse of the Cosmere and tell exciting tales of adventure Sanderson fans have come to expect, including the Hugo Award-winning novella, The Emperor's Soul and an excerpt from the graphic novel White Sand. Arcanum Unbounded also contains the Stormlight Archive novella Edgedancer, which appears in this audiobook for the first time anywhere. It is a story of Lift, taking place between Words of Radiance and the forthcoming Oathbringer. Other Tor books by Brandon Sanderson The Cosmere The Stormlight Archive The Way of Kings Words of Radiance Edgedancer (Novella) Oathbringer The Mistborn trilogy Mistborn: The Final Empire The Well of Ascension The Hero of Ages Mistborn: The Wax and Wayne Series Alloy of Law Shadows of Self Bands of Mourning Collection Arcanum Unbounded Other Cosmere Novels ElantrisWarbreaker The Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians The Scrivener's Bones The Knights of Crystallia The Shattered Lens The Dark Talent The Rithmatist series The Rithmatist Other books by Brandon Sanderson The Reckoners Steelheart Firefight Calamity
©2016 Dragonsteel Entertainment (P)2016 Macmillan Audio
Brief Cases
Summary
An all-new Dresden Files story headlines this urban fantasy short story collection starring the Windy City's favorite wizard. The world of Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, is rife with intrigue - and creatures of all supernatural stripes. And you'll make their intimate acquaintance as Harry delves into the dark side of truth, justice, and the American way in this must-have short story collection. From the Wild West to the bleachers at Wrigley Field, humans, zombies, incubi, and even fey royalty appear, ready to blur the line between friend and foe. In the never-before-published "Zoo Day", Harry treads new ground as a dad, while fan-favorite characters Molly Carpenter, his onetime apprentice, White Council Warden Anastasia Luccio, and even Bigfoot stalk through the pages of more classic tales. With 12 stories in all, Brief Cases offers both longtime fans and first-time listeners tantalizing glimpses into Harry's funny, gritty, and unforgettable realm, whetting their appetites for more to come from the wizard with a heart of gold. Collection includes: "A Fistful of Warlocks" (from Straight Outta Tombstone, edited by David Boon), read by Cassandra Campbell "B Is for Bigfoot" (from Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron, edited by Jonathan Strahan), read by James Marsters "AAAA Wizardry" (from the Dresden Files RPG), read by James Marsters "I Was a Teenage Bigfoot" (from Blood Lite 3: Aftertaste, edited by Kevin J. Anderson), read by James Marsters "Curses" (from The Naked City, edited by Ellen Datlow), read by James Marsters "Even Hand" (from Dark and Stormy Knights, edited by P. N. Elrodread), read by Jim Butcher "Bigfoot on Campus" (from Hex Appeal, edited by P. N. Elrod), read by James Marsters "Bombshells" (from Dangerous Women, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois), read by Julia Whelan "Cold Case" (from Shadowed Souls, edited by Jim Butcher and Kerrie Hughes), read by Julia Whelan "Jury Duty" (from Unbound, edited by Shawn Speakman), read by James Marsters "Day One" (from Unfettered II, edited by Shawn Speakman), read by Oliver Wyman "Zoo Day" (original), read by James Marsters *The author’s notes that precede each story are read by the author.
©2018 Jim Butcher (P)2018 Penguin Audio
Breakfast at Tiffany's
Summary
Golden Globe-winning actor Michael C. Hall (Six Feet Under) performs Truman Capote's provocative, naturalistic masterstroke about a young writer's charmed fascination with his unorthodox neighbor, the "American geisha" Holly Golightly. Holly - a World War II-era society girl in her late teens - survives via socialization, attending parties and restaurants with men from the wealthy upper class who also provide her with money and expensive gifts. Over the course of the novella, the seemingly shallow Holly slowly opens up to the curious protagonist, who eventually gets tossed away as her deepening character emerges. Breakfast at Tiffany's, Truman Capote's most beloved work of fiction, introduced an independent and complex character who challenged audiences, revived Audrey Hepburn's flagging career in the 1961 film version, and whose name and style has remained in the national idiom since publication. Hall uses his diligent attention to character to bring our unnamed narrator’s emotional vulnerability to the forefront of this American classic.
©1950, 1951, 1956, 1958, 1978, 1979, 1984 Truman Capote. Copyright renewed 1986 by Alan U. Schwartz (P)2014 Audible Inc.
Runaway
Summary
The stories in this collection are about women of all ages and circumstances. The runaway of the title story is a young woman who is incapable of leaving her husband. In another, a country girl emerging into the larger world via a job in a resort hotel discovers in a single moment of insight the limits and lies of passion. Three stories concern the same woman - in the first, she escapes from teaching at a girls' school into a wild love affair; in the second, she returns with her child to the home of her parents, whose marriage she finally begins to examine; and in the last, her vanished child turns up caught in the grip of a religious cult. In these and other stories, Alice Munro's understanding of the people about whom she writes makes their lives as real as our own.
©2004 Alice Munro (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America
The Churn: An Expanse Novella
Summary
From New York Times best-selling author James S. A. Corey... Before his trip to the stars, before the Rocinante, Amos Burton was confined to a Baltimore where crime paid you or killed you. Unless the authorities got to you first. Set in the hard-scrabble solar system of Leviathan Wakes, Caliban's War, Abaddon's Gate, and the upcoming Cibola Burn, The Churn deepens James S. A. Corey's acclaimed Expanse series.
©2014 James S.A. Corey (P)2014 Hachette Audio
Hellgoing
Summary
Winner of the 2013 Scotiabank Giller Prize. Short-listed for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. Selected as an Amazon.ca Best Book and for The Globe's Top 10 Books of 2013. With astonishing range and depth, Scotiabank Giller Prize finalist Lynn Coady gives us nine unforgettable new stories, each one of them grabbing our attention from the first line and resonating long after the last. A young nun charged with talking an anorexic out of her religious fanaticism toys with the thin distance between practicality and blasphemy. A strange bond between a teacher and a schoolgirl takes on ever deeper and stranger shapes as the years progress. A bride-to-be with a penchant for nocturnal bondage can't seem to stop bashing herself up in the light of day. Equally adept at capturing the foibles and obsessions of men and of women, compassionate in her humour yet never missing an opportunity to make her characters squirm, fascinated as much by faithlessness as by faith, Lynn Coady is quite possibly the writer who best captures what it is to be human at this particular moment in our history.
©2013 Lynn Coady (P)2017 Audible, Inc.
Exhalation
Summary
One of The New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year A National Best Seller One of the Best Books of The Year: The Washington Post • Time Magazine • NPR • Esquire • Vox • the A.V. Club • the Guardian • Financial Times • the Dallas Morning News “Exhalation by Ted Chiang is a collection of short stories that will make you think, grapple with big questions, and feel more human. The best kind of science fiction.” (Barack Obama, via Facebook) "The universe began as an enormous breath being held." In these nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories, Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine. In “The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate”, a portal through time forces a fabric seller in ancient Baghdad to grapple with past mistakes and second chances. In “Exhalation”, an alien scientist makes a shocking discovery with ramifications that are literally universal. In “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom”, the ability to glimpse into alternate universes necessitates a radically new examination of the concepts of choice and free will. Including stories being published for the first time as well as some of his rare and classic uncollected work, Exhalation is Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic - revelatory.
©2019 Ted Chiang (P)2019 Random House Audio
Seven Stones to Stand or Fall
Summary
The author presents a collection of seven short stories set in the Outlander universe, never before published together, including two original stories and featuring beloved character Jamie Fraser. "Beseiged": Protagonist is Lord John Grey, a secondary character in the Outlander novels and a main protagonist of the Lord John novels, Diana's related series (never before published). "A Fugitive Green": Protagonist is Hal Grey, John's brother (never before published). "Virgins": Protagonists are Jamie Fraser at age 19 and his friend and future brother-in-law, Ian Murray. (Originally published in the Tor Books anthology Dangerous Women in 2013. Dell published as an individual e-novella in 4/2016.) "The Space Between": Protagonist is Michael Murray, who is the son of Ian and Jenny Murray (Jenny is Jamie's sister and a main character in her own right in both the books and TV show). (Originally published in the Tor anthology The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination in 2012 and as an individual e-novella by Dell in 4/2014.) "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows": Tells the story of the parents of Roger Wakefield (a major character in the books, just introduced at the end of the second season of the show and will continue to grow in importance); features Claire's husband, Frank Randall. (Originally published in the Gallery anthology Songs of Love and Death in 2010 and as an individual e-novella by Dell in 12/2012.) "The Custom of the Army": Protagonist is Lord John Grey. (Originally published in the Tor anthology Warriors (1) in 2010. Dell published as an e-novella in May 2012.) "Lord John and the Plague of Zombies": Protagonist is Lord John Grey. (Originally published in Ace anthology Down These Strange Streets in 2012. Dell published as an e-novella in 2013).
©2016 Diana Gabaldon (P)2017 Recorded Books
The Things They Carried
Summary
This modern classic and New York Times best seller was a finalist for both the 1990 Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award and has become a staple of American classrooms. Hailed by The New York Times as "a marvel of storytelling", The Things They Carried’s portrayal of the boots-on-the-ground experience of soldiers in the Vietnam War is a landmark in war writing. Now, three-time Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston, star of the hit TV series Breaking Bad, delivers an electrifying performance that walks the book’s hallucinatory line between reality and fiction and highlights the emotional power of the spoken word. The soldiers in this collection of stories carried M-16 rifles, M-60 machine guns, and M-79 grenade launchers. They carried plastic explosives, hand grenades, flak jackets, and landmines. But they also carried letters from home, illustrated Bibles, and pictures of their loved ones. Some of them carried extra food or comic books or drugs. Every man carried what he needed to survive, and those who did carried their shattering stories away from the jungle and back to a nation that would never understand. This audiobook also includes an exclusive recording “The Vietnam in Me,” a recount of the author’s trip back to Vietnam in 1994, revisiting his experience there as a soldier 25 years before, read by Tim O’Brien himself. The Things They Carried was produced by Audible Studios in partnership with Playtone, the celebrated film and television production company founded by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, and producer of the award-winning series Band of Brothers, John Adams, and The Pacific, as well as the HBO movie Game Change.
©1990 Tim O'Brien (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
Tin Man: A Galaxy's Edge Prequel
Summary
The heart of a hero. In the wilds of a jungle planet, the Legion fights in brutal combat as Republic marines fly their SLICS from one tragedy to the next. H292, a repurposed warbot, shows the heart of a hero as he wades into the battle not to destroy - but to save.
©2018 Jason Anspach and Nick Cole (P)2020 Podium Publishing
Sharp Ends
Summary
Sharp Ends is the ultimate collection of award-winning tales and exclusive new short stories from the master of grimdark fantasy, Joe Abercrombie. Violence explodes, treachery abounds, and the words are as deadly as the weapons in this rogue's gallery of sideshows, backstories, and sharp endings from the world of the First Law. The Union army may be full of bastards, but there's only one who thinks he can save the day single-handed when the Gurkish come calling: the incomparable Colonel Sand dan Glokta. Curnden Craw and his dozen are out to recover a mysterious item from beyond the Crinna. Only one small problem: No one seems to know what the item is. Shevedieh, the self-styled best thief in Styria, lurches from disaster to catastrophe alongside her best friend and greatest enemy, Javre, Lioness of Hoskopp. And after years of bloodshed, idealistic chieftain Bethod is desperate to bring peace to the North. There's only one obstacle left - his own lunatic champion, the most feared man in the North: the Bloody-Nine…. For more from Joe Abercrombie, check out: The First Law Trilogy The Blade Itself Before They Are Hanged Last Argument of Kings Standalone Novels in the First Law World Best Served Cold The Heroes Red Country
©2016 Joe Abercrombie (P)2016 Hachette Audio
Uncommon Type
Summary
A collection of 17 wonderful short stories showing that two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks is as talented a writer as he is an actor. A gentle Eastern European immigrant arrives in New York City after his family and his life have been torn apart by his country's civil war. A man who loves to bowl rolls a perfect game - and then another and then another and then many more in a row until he winds up ESPN's newest celebrity, and he must decide if the combination of perfection and celebrity has ruined the thing he loves. An eccentric billionaire and his faithful executive assistant venture into America looking for acquisitions and discover a down and out motel, romance, and a bit of real life. These are just some of the tales Tom Hanks tells in this first collection of his short stories. They are surprising, intelligent, heartwarming, and, for the millions and millions of Tom Hanks fans, an absolute must-have! Featuring additional performances by Peter Gerety, Peter Scolari, Cecily Strong, Holland Taylor, and Wilmer Valderrama on "Stay with Us".
©2017 Tom Hanks (P)2017 Random House Audio
I, Robot
Summary
Here are stories of robots gone mad, of mind-read robots, and robots with a sense of humor. Of robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world - all told with the dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction that has become Asmiov’s trademark. The three laws of Robotics: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm 2) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. With these three, simple directives, Isaac Asimov changed our perception of robots forever when he formulated the laws governing their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitive origins in the present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future - a future in which humanity itself may be rendered obsolete.
©1950, 1977 Isaac Asimov (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.
Homeless Bodies and Other Stories
Summary
Homeless Bodies and Other Stories is an original fiction podcast featuring audio-exclusive short stories from award-winning authors and Sunday Times best-sellers, inspired by objects & artefacts from Wellcome Collection’s permanent exhibition, 'Medicine Man', in London. Exploring themes of otherness, humanity, history, society and belief, Homeless Bodies and Other Stories brings together a gripping collection of tales that are unsettlingly eerie and provokingly current. Objects that inspired Audible’s collection of stories include: a trepanned skull, drilled with holes to release trapped spirits; an iron scold’s bridle, used to punish ‘gossiping’ women; a 19th Century fragment of tattooed skin; a phrenology skull and an 18th Century wax vanitas head. With six original, audio-exclusive stories, the collection includes brand new writing from: Imogen Hermes Gowar, Andrew Michael Hurley, Laura Purcell, Sarah Moss, Oyinkan Braithwaite and Haroun Khan. Homeless Bodies and Other Stories sees these six authors probe the dark and twisted corners of humanity in an attempt to better understand ourselves and our place in the world with stories crafted specifically for the spoken-word. Before their stories, listeners will hear each of the authors in conversation with Wellcome’s curators as they find out more about their chosen object’s history. With original musical composition and stirring sound design by Hana Walker-Brown. This is an Audible Original Podcast. Free for members. You can download all 6 episodes to your Library now.
©2019 Laura Purcell, Imogen Hermes Gowar, Andrew Michael Hurley, Haroun Khan, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Sarah Moss (P)2019 Audible, Ltd.
How to Pronounce Knife
Summary
Winner of the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalist for the 2021 National Book Critics Circle Award Number-One National Best Seller Named one of Time Magazine's Must-Read Books of 2020 and one of the best books of spring 2020 by The New York Times, Salon, Vanity Fair, Bustle, The Millions, and Vogue, and featuring stories that have appeared in Harper's, Granta, The Atlantic, and The Paris Review, this revelatory book of fiction from O. Henry Award winner Souvankham Thammavongsa establishes her as an essential new voice in Canadian and world literature. Told with compassion and wry humor, these stories honor characters struggling to find their bearings far from home, even as they do the necessary "grunt work of the world". A young man painting nails at the local salon. A woman plucking feathers at a chicken processing plant. A father who packs furniture to move into homes he'll never afford. A housewife learning English from daytime soap operas. In her stunning debut book of fiction, O. Henry Award winner Souvankham Thammavongsa focuses on characters struggling to make a living, illuminating their hopes, disappointments, love affairs, acts of defiance, and above all their pursuit of a place to belong. In spare, intimate prose charged with emotional power and a sly wit, she paints an indelible portrait of watchful children, wounded men, and restless women caught between cultures, languages, and values. As one of Thammavongsa's characters says, "All we wanted was to live." And in these stories, they do - brightly, ferociously, unforgettably. A daughter becomes an unwilling accomplice in her mother's growing infatuation with country singer Randy Travis. A boxer finds an unexpected chance at redemption while working at his sister's nail salon. An older woman finds her assumptions about the limits of love unravelling when she begins a relationship with her much younger neighbor. A school bus driver must grapple with how much he's willing to give up in order to belong. And in the Commonwealth Short Story Prize-shortlisted title story, a young girl's unconditional love for her father transcends language. Unsentimental yet tender, and fiercely alive, How to Pronounce Knife announces Souvankham Thammavongsa as one of the most striking voices of her generation.
©2020 Souvankham Thammavongsa (P)2020 McClelland & Stewart
Forbidden Desires: The Complete Series
Summary
From New York Times best-selling author Kendall Ryan comes Forbidden Desires: The Complete Series, containing every title in the sexy and intense best-selling series. This box set includes four best-selling novels: Dirty Little Secret, Dirty Little Promise, Torrid Little Affair, and Tempting Little Tease. Come meet the sexy and seductive Kingsley brothers!
©2018 Kendall Ryan (P)2018 Kendall Ryan
Evidence of the Affair
Summary
The repercussions of an illicit affair unfold in this short story by bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid. Dear stranger… A desperate young woman in Southern California sits down to write a letter to a man she’s never met - a choice that will forever change both their lives. My heart goes out to you, David. Even though I do not know you… The correspondence between Carrie Allsop and David Mayer reveals, piece by piece, the painful details of a devastating affair between their spouses. With each commiserating scratch of the pen, they confess their fears and bare their souls. They share the bewilderment over how things went so wrong and come to wonder where to go from here. Told entirely through the letters of two comforting strangers and those of two illicit lovers, Evidence of the Affair explores the complex nature of the heart. And ultimately, for one woman, how liberating it can be when it’s broken.
©2018 Rabbit Reid, Inc. (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
Stories of Your Life and Others
Summary
This new edition of Ted Chiang's masterful first collection, Stories of Your Life and Others, includes his first eight published stories. Combining the precision and scientific curiosity of Kim Stanley Robinson with Lorrie Moore's cool, clear love of language and narrative intricacy, this award-winning collection offers listeners the dual delights of the very, very strange and the heartbreakingly familiar. Stories of Your Life and Others presents characters who must confront sudden change-the inevitable rise of automatons or the appearance of aliens-while striving to maintain some sense of normalcy. In the amazing and much-lauded title story (the basis for the 2016 movie Arrival), a grieving mother copes with divorce and the death of her daughter by drawing on her knowledge of alien languages and non-linear memory recollection. A clever pastiche of news reports and interviews chronicles a college's initiative to "turn off" the human ability to recognize beauty in "Liking What You See: A Documentary." With sharp intelligence and humor, Chiang examines what it means to be alive in a world marked by uncertainty and constant change, and also by beauty and wonder.
©2002 Ted Chiang (P)2014 Tantor
Trigger Warning
Summary
Neil Gaiman returns to dazzle, captivate, haunt, and entertain with this third collection of short fiction following Smoke and Mirrors and Fragile Things--which includes a never-before-published American Gods story, "Black Dog", written exclusively for this volume. In this new anthology, Neil Gaiman pierces the veil of reality to reveal the enigmatic, shadowy world that lies beneath. Trigger Warning includes previously published pieces of short fiction--stories, verse, and a very special Doctor Who story that was written for the fiftieth anniversary of the beloved series in 2013--as well as "Black Dog", a new tale that revisits the world of American Gods, exclusive to this collection. Trigger Warning explores the masks we all wear and the people we are beneath them to reveal our vulnerabilities and our truest selves. Here is a rich cornucopia of horror and ghost stories, science fiction and fairy tales, fabulism and poetry that explore the realm of experience and emotion. In "Adventure Story"--a thematic companion to The Ocean at the End of the Lane--Gaiman ponders death and the way people take their stories with them when they die. His social media experience "A Calendar of Tales" are short takes inspired by replies to fan tweets about the months of the year--stories of pirates and the March winds, an igloo made of books, and a Mother's Day card that portends disturbances in the universe. Gaiman offers his own ingenious spin on Sherlock Holmes in his award-nominated mystery tale "The Case of Death and Honey". And "Click-Clack the Rattlebag" explains the creaks and clatter we hear when we're all alone in the darkness. Full of wonder and terror, surprises and amusements, Trigger Warning is a treasury of delights that engage the mind, stir the heart, and shake the soul from one of the most unique and popular literary artists of our day.
©2015 Neil Gaiman (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers