Society still functions in 2021, but radiation contamination from World War Terminus has left a deteriorating world. Citizens are encouraged to move to Mars, where colonists are given androids to assist them. No androids are allowed on Earth, but some escape servitude and hide among Earth’s population. When that happens, it’s Rick Deckard’s job to find and “retire” them. Scott Brick narrates this science fiction classic at a slow, deliberate pace, reflecting the melancholy that permeates this bleak dystopia. His voicing of the characters is where the production really shines, from the conflicted bounty hunter to the doomed androids. And the halting speech of Isidore, a slightly deranged radiation casualty, almost steals the show. If you’ve seen the movie, now it’s time to hear the book. S.D. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
At the end of each month, we share lists of B&N’s current bestsellers in the genre, from new hardbacks, to trade paperbacks, to mass markets and media tie-ins, to graphic novels and manga. These are the books everyone is talking about—and buying. Hardcovers