The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, Book 3) by Philip Pullman

The Amber Spyglass
(His Dark Materials, Book 3)
by Philip Pullman
narrated by Philip Pullman
Multicast performance
Produced by Listening Library
Approx 12 hours

I have finally finished the series of "His Dark Materials" by Philip Pullman. I set out on this reading adventure intrigued by the protestations from organized religion when the movie came out. I saw the movie and didn't see what the hubbub was about. So then I thought well maybe it was in the book and they left out parts from the movie to keep the religious right from protesting. After reading the first two books I still didn't see what the big deal was. Basically the series was just another fantasy young adult series that borrowed from many mythologies to create a very creative well told story. With this third book in the series I still wonder why all the fuss, but can see where closed minded individuals who believe "their truth" to be the only truth worry that the series may instigate the young masses to form thoughts on their own. Okay, that was a bit harsh, but I still just don't get it. Yes the third book does see the death of a deity known as "The Authority," but it also sees the death of a fallen angel by the name of Metatron, and yes, this book is Philip Pullman's way of writing a book that promotes an alternative to organized religion, but, the general idea of good triumphing over evil and everyone can make a difference and we must fight for our freewill doesn't make people become evil.

I was very pleased to find the books available in audio book form and especially once I found that the audio book featured a multi-cast as well as being narrated by the author himself. There are many characters in the book and the multi-cast helps to move the story along for the audio book with out the listener having to try to battle with trying to figure who is talking or thinking at the moment. The added bonus of having the author narrate the books helps to uncover intentions of the author himself.

This book may be a bit difficult to summarize because of the many events happening to close out this trilogy so I will touch a bit on the main events, but I will not give up the surprise ending.

Book two, "The Subtle Knife," left the listener with a cliffhanger. Lyra's mom, Marisa Coulter, captured Lyra and Will had just learned he had a task to help Lyra's father, Lord Asriel. Before he goes to the battle of the worlds with Lord Asriel, Will insists on finding and rescuing Lyra. Mrs. Coulter has Lyra in a cave to protect her from the Magisterum, the church/government that rules in Lyra's world. The Magisterum has sent out an assassin to kill Lyra before she can yeild to original sin.

Will has used his knife to escape an attack from the archangel Metatron. He is escorted by 2 angels one flies ahead to tell Lord Asriel of Will's plan while the other stays behind to assist Will. Upon hearing the news, Lord Asriel dispatches a small army to the cave where Lyra is being forced drugs to stay sleeping so she will be undetected, to counteract the zeppelins from the Consistorial Court. He also sends two Gallivespian spies, the Chevalier Tialys and the Lady Salmakia, to protect Lyra. Gallivespians resemble humans, but are approximately four inches tall and they ride dragonflies.

During this time Will runs into Iorek Byrnison, the bear king of the armoured Panserbjørne, who are migrating south to avoid the Arctic melt caused by the effects of Lord Asriel's bridge. Three forces — Will, Iorek, and Balthamos; Lord Asriel's army; and the army of the Magisterium — converge on Mrs. Coulter's cave, where Will is able to wake Lyra with a special powder that he sprays up her nostrils. He is cutting a window into another world when Mrs. Coulter turns and looks directly at him. For a moment, Will is reminded of his own mother; as a result, his concentration falters, and the knife shatters, having been unable to sever his affection. Because the window he has cut is open, Will, Lyra, and the Gallivespian spies manage to escape to another world.

Will and Lyra delay even further their trip to Lord Asriel's by going to the world of the dead. Will and Lyra mean to keep promises to Will's father and Lyra's friend Roger. In the world of the dead Lyra must leave her Daemon on the shore and is separated from her daemon. They soon discover the dead must be released from the abyss and Will uses the Subtle Knife to cut an opening and release the ghosts into the world. Once in the world the ghosts are freed and their atoms are free to mix back into nature.

The major battle begins between Lord Asriel's army and the army of Metatron. Ending with Lyra and Will reuniting with their daemons and Lyra's parents sacrificing themselves to destroy Metatron.

While all this is going on Dr. Mary Malone has stepped through a window from her own world (assumed to be the readers' world/Will's world) into another window into a stranger world. There she meets elephantine creatures who call themselves Mulefa and use large seedpods attached to their feet as wheels. These creatures have a complex culture, intricate language, and an infectious laugh. Although from completely different worlds, Mary and the Mulefa establish a rapport which results in Mary's acceptance into Mulefa community, where she learns that the trees from which the seedpods are gathered have gradually been going extinct for about 300 years. Mary uses the tree sap lacquer and accidentally constructs a telescope (the 'amber spyglass' of the title) that allows her to see the elementary particles known as Dust. Dust adheres to all life-forms that have attained a level of intelligence associated with building civilizations. She sees that Dust is flying away in large streams rather than falling on and nourishing the trees on which the Mulefa mutually depend.

After the battle Will and Lyra are reunited with Dr. Malone and soon learn their ultimate fate as well as the fate of all the worlds. Here is where I'll stop because the end of the book is a bit of a surprise, but I will tell you it is a very beautiful to end this magical tale. Spread the word to all your friends, "This series is a fun romp through fantasy and mythology with a lesson to learn."

"The Dead Girl's Dance" (book 2 of the Morganville Vampire series) by Rachel Caine

"The Dead Girl's Dance"
(book 2 of the Morganville Vampire series)
by Rachel Caine
read by Cynthia Holloway
produced by Tantor Audio


It's time to continue int the Morganville Vampire series by Rachel Caine. Morganville, Texas is home to Texas Prairie University and Vampires. The university attracts new, young "blood" and the vampires rule the town. The locals are all under protection from a vampire patron, the families enter a contract which means they are protected, very much like life insurance, but instead of a payout when you pass on, you simply don't pass on by the hands of a vampire.

Claire Danvers is a super-smart 16 year-old that has graduated high school early and instead of going to a big name university she decides to start out with a couple of years at TPU. After being the butt-end of some hazing she moves off campus and into the Glass House, with the residents that all seem fairly normal, Michael Glass who owns the house, Eve the goth girl and Shane the video gamer. She learns the secrets of Morganville from her new roommates and soon the trouble begins.

After the big battle in book one which lead to the residents of the Glass House receiving protection from Morganville's founder and strongest Vampire, Amelie, It doesn't get any easier. In fact things may have been made worse. During the worst of the battle when things looked grim, Shane made a mysterious phone call, calling in the cavalry. It turns out the cavalry was Shane's dad and the anti-vampire biker gang set to destroy Morganville, at least to kill all vampires.

"The Dead Girls' Dance" starts out right at that cliffhanger of an ending from book one. With Shane's dad ready to kill. He starts out by killing Michael, thinking Michael is a vampire. His cohort stabs Michael then they cut off his head and burys him in the backyard. Not good for the Glass House. The protection was as long as all four friends stayed together and in Morganville and never cross Amelie. Shane's dad is out to kill all vampires and that may just break the protection circumstances.

Hearing that his dad has targeted the vampire Brandon as his first kill, Shane, even though he hates vampires and especially Brandon, goes out to save Brandon. Shane is found next to Brandon's dead body and since that is the most severe law to break in Morganville, killing a vampire, Shane is locked in a cage in the town's square set to die by incineration, unless Claire and the rest can find proof Shane did not do the killing.

So Eve and Michael and Claire set out to find proof. Yes, I said Michael, sure he's not a vampire but he is a ghost. The only problem is that being a ghost he is held by the power of the house, so he cannot leave Glass House, but on the bright side, he cannot die. One of the many plans the group come up with is to find a vampire to help them sneak into the square and help Shane escape. The vampire they find to help them is Sam. Wait till you hear what Sam's secrets are. No I won't tell, you'll have to listen and hear for yourself, otherwise you may not believe me.

To find Sam, Eve and Claire must attend the campus dance called "The Dead Girls' Dance." The problems really hit when Shane's dad and his biker buddies decide to crash the dance.

Once again while Cynthia Holloway does a pretty decent job of reading the story and has pretty good vocal characterization, she still needs to work on her pronunciation skills. On of the words in this one that stands out is here pronunciation of the word "nuclear." You guessed it she pronounces as "Nucular." There are others but that one stands out the most in this book. Other than that some good listening to this Tantor Audio book version of "The Dead Girls' Dance," by Rachel Caine.

“When Shadows Fall” by L. Ron Hubbard

“When Shadows Fall”
by L. Ron Hubbard
Multicast performance
Produced by Galaxy Press
Approx 2 hours

Once again I sit back with an audio book and have some fun. This time it's as if I'm jumping back in a time machine and going back about 50 or so years, and picking up some science-fiction pulp stories. That's right it's another L. Ron Hubbard audio book collection of his short stories. Hubbard wrote many short stories during the '30s through the '50s, they range in genre from westerns to sci-fi, from fantasy to piracy, and every one of his early stories have been packaged up in both book and audio book form. They consist of two or three stories within the same genre to fill up the audio book with two hours of listening pleasure.

Galaxy audio has produced the audio books with multi-cast performances, sound effects and incidental music that not only assist in the story telling but also give the feel of the times the stories were written. The characterizations from the performers' voices create an ambiance that boosts you into a jet pack and thrusts you into the hey day of sci-fi storytelling.

This collection, "When Shadows Fall" includes the following stories; the title story "When Shadows Fall," "Tough Old Man," and "Battling Bolto." Each one has the L. Ron Hubbard twist to the end that leaves the listener smiling or saying, "hmmm...." or both. Either way they are very fun to hear.

"When Shadows Fall" tells the story of Earth after most of its population has left to colonize the universe leaving the planet depleted of its natural resources. The few inhabitants have very little food, fuel, air or water. The Earth president and council decide to make a last ditch effort and pool all remaining resources to send out among the stars to ask for help. They only come up with enough for three expeditions each led by a completely different personality, one a military leader, another a financial leader and the third an artisan/story teller. Will any of these expeditions be able to gather help to save Earth?

"Tough Old Man" is an adventurous and fun story about a man named Moffat who is sent for final training under the Senior Constable of the Frontier Patrol, old Keno. All the others sent to train under old Keno have returned to turn in their badges because they couldn't keep up with the old man. Moffet is determined. He powers through the severities of the planets climates of extreme cold, extreme heat and rocky landscape. What it takes to be Senior Constable is a a surprise to Moffat.

"Battling Bolto" is a hilarious space age snake oil salesman story. A young hick is hired as a smith to create robot skins for a man selling robots to planets on the fring, you know, backwoods planets. He soon dons one of the robot skins and is set out to deceive the hicks by acting as a fighting robot. This one has one of the best twists I've ever read in a story and is a must listen.

So go on out pick up the collection "When Shadows Fall" and have some fun with an audio book.

Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires Series #1) by Rachel Caine

Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires Series #1)
by Rachel Caine
read by Cynthia Holloway
produced by Tantor Audio
approx. 8.5 hours

Finally a young adult vampire series you can really sink your teeth into. (I know too much, right?) Seriously Rachel Caine has created in the Morganville Vampire series a return to the good old days of when vampires were enemies and not something to fall in love with. And now Tantor Audio has brought the first book to life in audio book form.

Overall, Cynthia Holloway, does a very nice job of delivering the story as told from Claire Danvers a super smart 16 year old in her first year of college. However there are a couple of pronunciation issues that should have been cleared up before production. One that stands out is the word settee. Ms. Holloway pronounces as "setty" instead of set-tee. There are only a couple of other words that grated on me but this one was repeated several times in the book and just felt like nails on a chalkboard. If it weren't for the intriguing story I would have been turned off a bit from the book. Aside from a couple of mispronunciations, Ms. Holloway does a great job of helping to distinguish who is talking and thinking with slight voice variations and emotes the danger and and even sometimes humor Rachel Caine uses to create a world full of vampires.

The story in this first book of the series of Morganville Vampires, Glass Houses, introduces the listener to the town of Morganville, Texas, home of Texas Prairie University sometimes called T-P eeewwww. A town that is populated by some strange people and even stranger yet, the town is run by Vampires. Each person has a sort of insurance policy that protects them from the vampires, when the person turns 18 they must find some vampire family to "insure" them or risk becoming food for the vamps.

Claire Danvers is a 16 year old who, due to her super smarts, has graduated high school early and before heading to a major university has opted to attend TPU. The problem is her smarts gets her on the wrong side of Monica Morell, the most popular girl in school. When Claire corrects Monica and makes her look dumb in front of friends, Claire becomes marked for violence. Monica and the Monikettes beat up Claire and steal her clothes from her dorm room. Claire decides to be safe she will have to move off campus. She discovers that The Glass House residents are looking for a fourth roommate and after meeting with Shane and Eve she has to meet with Michael, the owner of the house and who only makes his appearances after sunset.

Shane whose sister died after Monica, under instructions from the vampires, set fire to Shane's family home, makes a deal with the vampires to keep Claire from further attack. This deal could mean the death of Shane. In order to null the deal Claire has to make a better offer to the vampires.

Eve a goth girl that is hated by the vampires because they feel she is making fun of them, tells Claire of something the vampires want and have been looking for for ages. Claire must find this lost article and bring peace to the town of Morganville. In doing so Claire discovers Michaels secret and is burdened with another secret. All this on the shoulders of a 16 year-old genius.

With exciting vampire battles and the hazing of college life, "Glass Houses" is a very nice introduction to a series of vampire books that brings back the stories of hunting vampires rather than falling in love with them. So if you are a fan of the other young adult vampire stories, pick up this ongoing series for some real vampire battles.

"Superman: The Never Ending Battle" (Justice League of America) by Roger Stern

"Superman: The Never Ending Battle" (Justice League of America)
by Roger Stern
Multicast production
Produced by GraphicAudio
Approx 6 hours


I never really thought about it before, but comic books can really be philosophical pieces of literary art. I know that I had a friend that was a Literature/Composition instructor at a small community college in Missouri and he would assign the class comic books as a reading assignment and while getting a small laugh from the students, he would continue to tell them that the words in comic books can create as much of an atmosphere as the images. With the few novels in the market based on comics this imagery must be carried further. Sometimes it's a hit or miss but that is true with any novel. In this novel not only is the imagery there but the author, Roger Stern, has thrown in a bit of a philosophical view of what makes a superhero keep doing what he's doing.

To explain what makes a superhero keep helping even though he (or she) may be fighting a never ending battle, Stern uses the example of George Washington and the founding fathers of the USA mixed in with the Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership. Those commandments are:

1. People are illogical, unreasonable and self-centered - Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives - Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies - Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow - Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable - Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest people, with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds - Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs but only follow top dogs - Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight - Build anyway.
9. People really need help, but may attack you if you do help them - Help them anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have and you may get kicked in the teeth. Give the world your best anyway.

So now we know what guides Superman and why he does what he does, let's talk about this audio book.

First and foremost this audio book is another spectacular production by GraphicAudio. When it comes to bringing a novel based on a comic book to life in audio book form I know GraphicAudio will do it right. With an amazing cast of voices, spectacular sound effects and sensational background music GraphicAudio makes this audio book a definite "Movie in your Mind."

The title of the book seems ominous enough that it will be a superior foe, but that is not the case, the foe seems to be a terrorist who wants to rule the world with chaos. To begin the chaos a small time villain is recruited. This guy is the Weather Wizard. He begins to bring severe storms to all the hometowns of the superheroes of the Justice League. In a team effort the Justice League must combat the devastation in their hometowns while at the same time trying to find who is causing the mess and stopping him.

While the book does focus primarily on Superman all the superheroes of the Justice League are found in action, and not just small cameos. So, for some good old fashioned comic book fun pick up this audio book from GraphicAudio.

"Bad Things Happen" by Harry Dolan

"Bad Things Happen"
by Harry Dolan
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons
2009

So do you ever get bored with a whodunit novel because by the first chapter you've already figured it out? I do, and the more I read mysteries and detective stories it seems easier to figure out. Well, this is definitely not the case with Harry Dolan's debut novel "Bad Things Happen." In fact just when you think you've got it figured out Dolan throws in another possibility and suspect and red herring, you have to figure out which is which. That's what makes reading this book fun.

From the very first sentence, "The shovel has to meet certain requirements," the reader is thrust into the world of mysteries, writers, publishers and murder.

David Loogan is a man with a past. A past he doesn't want anyone to know. Maybe that's a red herring or maybe that's true. Maybe he's just a private person. When asked what he does for a living he says he's a gardener or a juggler depending on the person. But when he picks up a copy of a magazine called "Gray Streets," David becomes a writer. David writes a story that fits into the realm of the magazine, full of whodunits, mysteries, murders and thrillers. The magazine is published in Ann Arbor, where David has recently rented from a professor who is on sabbatical.

David takes the manuscript, in an unmarked envelope, and anonymously delivers it to the magazine's editor. The next day David rewrites the story making it a little better and does the same with the rewrite. He does the same with a third re-write but this time when he goes to drop off the manuscript the owner of the magazine, Tom Kristoll, catches him and makes David an offer to become editor of "Gray Streets." David and Tom hit it off and become good friends. When David begins having an affair with Tom's wife the future is changed.

Tom calls David late one night and asks for his help in burying the body of a man killed in Tom's house. Soon Tom is found murdered. (or is it suicide?) The primary suspect in what is probably a murder is found dead in his car, at first it looks like suicide but Elizabeth Waishkey, the homicide detective is not sold on that idea. When the man who was supposed to have been buried by David and Tom shows up to help David solve the murder of Tom Kristoll the mystery moves on further.

With the constant turns and twists and subplots this is the kind of book that keeps you wondering what could possibly happen next. Let me be the first to tell you that this book does not give up it's secrets until the very end, and even then leaves you wondering. This is one of those perfect reads that you need to snuggle down next to a warm fire and read the night away.

"The Professor was a Thief" by L. Ron Hubbard

"The Professor was a Thief"
by L. Ron Hubbard
Multicast performance
Produced by Galaxy Press
Approx 2 hours

Remember the days of the "Pulps?" The small magazines that printed short stories that ranged from westerns to pirate adventures to science-fiction were a staple for many readers during the early part of the 20th century. I was always a fan of comic books and on occasion bought the Isaac Asimov monthly magazines. But the real pulps preceded comic books, with titles like "Fantastic Adventures" and "Astounding Science-Fiction." Well L. Ron Hubbard wrote many stories that appeared in many of those pulps and now Galaxy Press is putting those stories together in collections of two or three stories in one book or in this case in one audio book. Let me tell you not only are they interesting stories but they are very fun to hear.

In this audio book there are three fun science-fiction stories written in the 1930s through the 1950s. The title story in the collection, "The Professor was a Thief" was even adapted as a radio play for the early 50s radio program "Dimension X."

"The Professor was a Thief" is about an ace reporter, Pop, as he is called by the staff, who is being forced to retire from a New York newspaper and before his retirement he is demoted to less important stories. Pop is given a magazine article about a physicist that has been shunned by the scientific community. It seems the professor has some outrageous claims about making the shipping industry almost otherworldly. After visiting the eccentric professor at his home, Pop is shown the professor's train collection which is in a room that is a scale model of the United states. the trains are there but no cities. Pop leaves not finding a decent story in the case and finds himself back in the office when calls begin coming in about major New York landmarks disappearing, Grant's Tomb, Pennsylvania Station and the Empire State Building completely gone. Soon Pop discovers the professor has a secret and that he is a thief.

The second story in this collection "Battle of Wizards," is a fun science-fiction story that pits Science up against Magic. Earth’s Mineralogy Service has its sights set on Deltoid, a planet rich in “catalyst crystals in a natural state.” Angus McBane, a Civil Affairs officer, is sent to Deltoid to resolve the conflict between the humans and the planet’s native inhabitants. This sets the stage for a battle between science (McBane) and magic (a local tribal chief). The winner gets rights to the planet and it's resources.

Finally we come to the third story in this audio book, "The Dangerous Dimension." This story is a humorous story with a touch of a morality tale. This is the story of a professor who discovers an equation that allows him to teleport himself anywhere he can imagine, whether he wants to or not. It is actually a pretty funny little story and does bring to question if someone discovers such a thing should the knowledge be shared.

The voice work, music and sound effects in this production all work together to give the listener an authentic mid-20th century pulp magazine feel.

"Hater" by David Moody

"Hater"
by David Moody
Read by Gerard Doyle
Produced by Blackstone Audio
approx 7.5 hours


In the modern world the internet is king. This is proven simply by you reading this review here online. David Moody took advantage of the mass audience created by the internet, by first publishing his book "Hater" online. Once the novel became popular publishers scrambled to make this book a publishing success. Now "Hater" is available as and audio book, and I'm here to tell you this apocalyptic novel is well performed by Gerard Doyle and Blackstone Audio.

In "Hater" the world seems to be tearing itself apart through the madness of man. Seemingly normal people are reacting as if a switch goes off and suddenly killing their fellow man. In the beginning of the book the main character, Danny McCoyne, through whose eyes we watch the destruction of society, witnesses a man in morning rush hour foot traffic attack an elderly woman with brutality unexplained. The man viciously attacks and doesn't stop until he finally kills her by stabbing her with an umbrella. When the crowd tries to stop the man he turns on them and fights to the end. Upset by the scene Danny arrives at work shaken. Danny is an everyday average guy with a wife and three children who works in the parking division for the city. His job consists of a constant barrage of anger from the people who get tickets or worse, their car gets clamped. He is also under constant scrutiny from his supervisor. So Danny has a bit of anger he keeps under control all the time. But no anger he holds could measure up to what horror unfolds in his world.

As the days progress Danny is witness to several people snapping and just killing without remorse and always in brutal fashion. One of Danny's children's school has a child that snaps and brutally attacks and kills a teacher. Soon the television news is reporting several of the violent crimes and it seems something is happening to the city. Those that snap are soon labeled as "Haters." The big question is, what? Is it a virus, a disease, mental instability? Soon the government steps in and takes over the news broadcasts, issues pamphlets and worse yet send out troops and begin gunning down the "Haters." Danny and his family take the government's advice and lock themselves inside the house but with a "Hater" being anyone are they locking out the danger or locking it in?

Gerard Doyle delivers this first person view this end of the world novel with great vocal command. He portrays the gamut of emotions as seen through Danny McCoyne's eyes, flawlessly.

David Moody has written a piece here with intense drama and horror that keeps the listener to the audio book constantly looking into the eyes of a stranger to make sure they are not a "Hater." As a very interesting side-note; filmmaker/Author Guillermo del Toro has purchased the movie rights to this book and is in production to be released some time in 2010.

Green Lantern: Hero's Quest (Justice League of America) by Dennis O'Neil

Green Lantern: Hero's Quest (Justice League of America)
by Dennis O'Neil
Muliticast Performance
Produced by GraphicAudio
approx 6 hours


When you are looking for an audio book and you want something entertaining and worth the time spent listening, you should stop and consider anything produced by GraphicAudio. These guys have set the standard for full production audio books. With superb sound effects, music and acting their promise of "A movie in your mind" is really an understatement. GraphicAudio has a way of recreating the entire universe to blast out of whatever soundsy stem you use to play the audio book.

Even more on that is that when you are looking for super realism that exists in comic books, the GraphicAudio productions of the Justice League universe from DC comics is about the only way to listen to an audio representation of a novel based on super heroes. In this audio book the listener is taken to the beginning and end of the universe with the Green Lantern guiding the way and the production by GraphicAudio makes you feel as though you are hitching a ride with the Green Lantern all the way.

This book is based on Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern. Many old school DC comics fans may know the Green Lantern as Hal Jordan, but at some time in the DC continuum, a new Lantern came about in the form of Kyle Rayner. This novel is that story.

From the beginning we learn how struggling artist Kyle Rayner is given the Green Lantern ring and forced to become the latest incarnation of the Green Lantern. But what does he do with the powers? The ring didn't come with an instruction manual, so not only what Kyle does with the ring have to be learned but also the how.

At this same time the Justice League, consisting of the favorite heroes from DC comics; Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, The Atom, Jonn Jonnz, Plasticman, et. al, become aware of this new Green Lantern. The Justice Leage is concerned as to how Kyle will turn out, will he use the powers for good or evil. After observing him beat down a fighter jet with a dragon created from the ring and then rescuing a man and a little girl from a plane crash using a pair of pliers and a catcher's mitt created from the same ring, they decide to ask him to join on the side of good and join the Justice League.

Kyle, being the geeky kid who never really succeeded at anything isn't sure if he can handle the responsibility and asks for 24 hours to think about the invitation. After discovering that he may be able to handle the responsibility, Kyle returns to the Watchtower, a satellite orbiting Earth that serves as home to the Justice League, the moment he arrives on the station it disappears.

The next day Kyle is summoned by Batman. You NEVER turn down a summons from Batman. Batman is out to discover whether Kyle is responsible for the disappearance. But it is soon discovered that the Oan that gave Kyle the ring, Ganthat, knows why the space station disappeared. Kyle then must travel to the planet of Oa to find the Justice Leaguers. Along this journey Kyle discovers the origin of the Green Lantern corps and the possible destruction of the universe and must battle alone to stop the destruction.

At this point in the book you may not notice but there's some lessons in philosophy, physic and humanity that may make you stop to ponder the meaning of life. This also what makes Kyle Rayner realize that, while he may not have asked for the power, he was born to wield it.

So sit back and enjoy a fun comic audio book with "Green Lantern; Hero's Quest" produced by GraphicAudio.