Battlefield Earth

Gr 9 Up—Put aside any reservations you might have about the author's politics and religious ideology and prepare to enjoy what might be the biggest audio adventure you'll ever experience. With 67 actors playing 198 different characters, this qualifies as an epic listen—and one that won't deter younger students. Fans of science fiction and any sort of adventure story will find this immersive listening experience to their liking. In 3000 AD, the Earth is a desolate place, conquered hundreds of years earlier by Psychlos, a sociopathic race of nine-foot-tall aliens intent upon mining any and all minerals they can find. Johnny Good Boy Tyler, a young member of a primitive tribe living in a desolate village outside what used to be Denver, is distressed by the fear and apathy of the other tribe members. He's is intent upon disproving the legend that the lush plains below are inhabited by monsters. He leaves to find a better place to live and is captured by Terl, security chief of the closest mining compound, who desperately wants to find a way to be transferred to a more civilized planet and sees Johnny as his meal ticket if he can force him to mine a vein of gold he discovered. Johnny gradually develops a plan to sabotage the ore shipments going back to the Psychlos. What follows is a wild series of battles as various lost pockets of humanity are found and recruited to help free Earth. There are a few minor issues: dialogue is at times a bit difficult to hear and the sound effects indicating struggling or fighting sometimes seem the same. But these quibbles pale in comparison to the overall enjoyment this production offers. It has the potential to be an amazing portal for reluctant readers wanting to try more challenging fiction.—John Clark, Hartland Public Library, ME