City of Darkness [Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Ben Bova (Author), Harlan Ellison (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2002 | Series: Fantastic Audio Series

A teenage boy explores New York, an obsolete city open only to tourists, and becomes involved with the gangs which fight among themselves for survival.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I believe that by far the science fiction author who will have the greatest effect on the science fiction world, and the world as a whole, is Ben Bova."--Ray Bradbury

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Ben Bova

"I believe that by far the science fiction author who will have the greatest effect on the science fiction world, and the world as a whole, is Ben Bova."--Ray Bradbury

City Of Darkness

He's passed his college entrance exams with flying colors. He can do pretty much whatever he wants. But what teenager Ron Morgan wants most is for his father to quit telling him what to do. Quit running his life. What better way to unwind than having a last blowout on Labor Day in the domed playground of Fun City: Manhattan.

Inside the dome, however, Ron loses his wallet and identity card. Worse, he's trapped when the dome closes for the season. There's no way out. Gangs roam the street. Food is scarce. Ron is on his own.

All Ron wanted was some fun. He'll be lucky to escape New York alive....

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Audio Literature; Unabridged edition (January 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574534793
• ISBN-13: 978-1574534795
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,196,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ellison doesn't just read, he performs!, February 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: City of Darkness (Audio Cassette)

Author, Harlan Ellison, dons his acting hat for this performance of Ben Bova's CITY OF DARKNESS. With years of practice performing his own short storys and doing voice overs for such cartoons as MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM, PIRATES OF DARKWATER, and several appearences on the live-action, BABYLON 5, Ellison has honed his vocal craft to a fine edge. The story is good, but the main selling point is the riveting performance by Ellison, which is more then worth the price of admission. Highly recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story, top-notch performance by Harlan Ellison, November 13, 2006

By 

DWD "DWD's Reviews" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: City of Darkness (Audio Cassette)

This is my first foray into Ben Bova's work. I've seen it around but never quite picked it up. If this is typical of the quality of his work, I will be back for more.

The story is set in a future United States in which the cities have been closed. New York City is cut off from the rest of the country except for the summer months - where it becomes a tourist destination away from the unrelenting tedium of suburbia (called "the tracts"). Our protagonist runs away to the city and gets locked in after it is closed at the end of the summer - and he finds out that the city is not empty after all...

Harlan Ellison makes this audiobook seem like a one man radio play. He does a first-rate job at making the story sing and zing. The reviewers who have written complaints below are way off of the mark. Take the word of a listener who has heard more than his share of mediocre readers - Ellison deserves an award.

I give Ellison an A+.

I give the book an A.

Combined score: A+

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story, reader [stinks], April 14, 2002

By 

"tracidb3" (Alabama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: City of Darkness: A Novel (Library Binding)

This was one of the best sci-fi stories i've listened to in a long while but the person reading the book was awful. If you can overlooks his bad performance the story is worth listening too.