Nothing but the Dead and Dying

By Ryan W. Bradley

I decided to review a title that came out towards the end of 2015 called, Nothing but the Dead and Dying by Ryan W. Bradley. Mainly due to the impressive nature from all the short stories that are packed within a short listen/read. All of the stories contained in NBTDAD take place in Alaska, which some would call the last great frontier of North America.

Bradley does not take it easy on his audience. Instead, he quickly sucker punches you with the realities of blue-collar life in the Alaskan frontier. Each short story is unique on its own with the only constant being the backdrop of Alaska. Every single story is definitely not for the faint of heart for the casual reader or for those who follow/believe in the romanticism of isolated life and harshness. Bradley keeps his stories on the knife’s edge of fiction and non-fiction. Easily having you think, “Is this a real story or just good fiction?” The frustrating blessing is that you never will know.

There are two narrators for the audiobook version, Elijah Alexander and Tamara Marston. Both do an excellent job at keeping the stories exciting and dark at the same time. Both narrators do a great job at approaching each story with its own independence and uniqueness.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for a collection of short stories that break the mundane mold of typical stories that are produced now… get this book and get it now! Ryan W. Bradley, like his works before, sucker punches you, takes your dignity, and then has you thank him for doing so. Trust me, you will thank him for his stories once you are done.

Stories: 5/5

Narration: 5/5

Overall: 5/5

Pros: Quick and hard hitting short stories and excellent narration.

Cons: Bradley leaves you hanging with each story making you want to know more about each character.

The Long List Anthology: More Stories from the Hugo Awards Nomination List

Edited by David Steffen

Skyboat Media

The Long List Anthology is a wonderful idea from Skyboat Media! Taking the stories that did not make the top five for each ballot from the Hugo Awards and turning them into a quick and wonderfully put together audiobook for all to listen to!

The short stories included in this collection are:

“The Breath of War” by Aliette de Bodard

“When It Ends, He Catches Her” by Eugie Foster

“Toad Words” by T. Kingfisher

“Makeisha in Time” by Rachael K. Jones

“Covenant” by Elizabeth Bear

“The Truth about Owls” by Amal El-Mohtar

“A Kiss with Teeth” by Max Gladstone

“The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family” by Usman T. Malik

“This Chance Planet” by Elizabeth Bear

The novelettes in this collection are:

We Are the Cloud by Sam J. Miller

The Magician and Laplace’s Demon by Tom Crosshill

Spring Festival: Happiness, Anger, Love, Sorrow, Joy by Xia Jia, translated by Ken Liu

Each story is very unique each of in itself. Each story is just shy of an hour in length, save for a few, but packs enough punch to immediately draw you in and immediately forces you to want to know more of each and every story. I am still wanting to listen to more of each story causing much frustration on my end. However, that’s how I feel about great short stories.

The narrators definitely knocked it out of the park. Each narrator does such an excellent job basically taking you in from the cold and wrapping you in a warm blanket of their voices. If you’re a fan of audiobooks, you know the importance of an excellent narrator and The Long List Anthology is not missing a single one.

In conclusion, get this audiobook! You can easily listen to one story a day or you can be like me and get sucked into the excellent storytelling and narration and listen to it in one go.

Stories: 5/5

Narration: 5/5 ( I would give more if I could)

Overall: 5/5

Pros: Excellent stories and excellent narration. Also, excellent cover art!

Cons: The stories leave you wanting more, leading to frustration.