Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, read by Stefan Rudnicki and a full cast
Not surprisingly, when I look up the reviews for the next great audiobook I listened to, it's also an AudioFile Earphones award winner. Check out the review here, and listen to a short clip.
Ender's game is the story of Andrew ("Ender") Wiggins, a child genius who is recruited by the military at age five to fight in the ultimate war again the aliens. We follow his experiences at an off-planet school for child soldiers, where he is ostracized early by his combination of skill, young age, and the manipulation of the military handlers who hope to create a new breed of commander. Ender excels in the zero-gravity "battle room" training exercises, but must struggle to understand his place in this strange and often brutal military world populated almost entirely by other children. Before Ender reaches adolescence, he will have the opportunity to the course of history forever.
This is one of the absolutely classic science fiction titles. When I've talk about science fiction with friends, this is the number one title that jumps out of my their mouths. Perhaps because I wasn't a big SF fan when I was younger, I seem to be the only person I know who didn't read this book as a teenager, or even a kid. For some reason it's in the adult section at our library, which I think is unfortunate since it's one of those great, smart stories which presents challenging ideas from a child's point of view. Sure this story is substantial enough to appeal to adults, but so are many kids' novels. The story is read by a full cast of actors, and the narration is both compelling and easy to listen to. I got lost in this story for days, and was sad (in that particular nerdy book-loving 12 year old way) when it finished. A great story to go back and find if you missed it! And a great SF book for all of you who think you're not really the SF type.
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