Black Chamber
Written by S. M. Stirling
Narrated by Todd McLaren
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
S. M. Stirling
Steven “S.M.” Stirling is a writer by trade, born in France but Canadian by origin and American by naturalization, living in New Mexico. His hobbies are mostly related to the craft of writing. He loves history, anthropology, and archaeology, as well as interest in the sciences. Steven has published over 40 novels, at least 5 of which are New York Times bestsellers and he has won awards including the Dragon Award for his novel, Black Chamber. Steven has been a Writers of the Future Judge since 2021.
More audiobooks from S. M. Stirling
The Peshawar Lancers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Black Chamber
Titles in the series (3)
Black Chamber Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Theater of Spies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shadows of Annihilation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related audiobooks
Theater of Spies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Joe Steele Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shadows of Annihilation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ruled Britannia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bombs Away Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond the Gap: A Novel of the Opening of the World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5On the Oceans of Eternity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Golden Princess Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Colonization: Second Contact Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marching through Georgia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Island in the Sea of Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Against the Tide of Years Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Drakon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Council of Shadows Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Dawn of a Nazi Moon: Book One Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blood and Iron Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sky People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51901 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5How Few Remain: A Novel of the Second War Between the States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Under the Yoke Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Different Flesh Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51632 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hammer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Drive to the East Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Heart of Darkness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Guns of the South Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alpha and Omega Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Freehold: Resistance Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Great War: Walk in Hell Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Science Fiction For You
Good Omens: A Full Cast Production Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kindred Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Picture of Dorian Gray: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good Omens Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Parable of the Sower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Red Rising Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Three-Body Problem Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Institute: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dune Messiah: Book Two in the Dune Chronicles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All Systems Red Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is How You Lose The Time War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Future Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Left Hand of Darkness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Live in Concert Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Clockwork Orange Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Morning Star Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Man in the High Castle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Golden Son Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gideon the Ninth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dune Audio Collection Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coraline Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sparrow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Red Rising (1 of 2) [Dramatized Adaptation]: Red Rising 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How High We Go in the Dark: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Deep Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stories of Your Life and Others Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/52001: A Space Odyssey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Black Chamber
30 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I love the alternate history premise. But I feel the premise is hurt by the story telling. The author spends a lot of time with characters merely talking about their home life. I like character development as much as the next, but there's a couple hours with nothing happening but dialogue.
Also, you'd think the audio producers would have used a female narrator for this project in that it's first person point of view from a woman's perspective? - Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Too much divergence in too short a time to be plausible
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I had high hopes for Black Chamber - an alternate history set in World War I where Theodore Roosevelt has president. The idea alone had me excited. And Luz - the main protagonist - was a character I could get behind. A bi-sexual secret agent that could give James Bond and Jason Bourne a run for their money. Luz is smart, very skilled, quite dangerous, and - like Bond - gets the girl in the end. Luz makes a great character and she is the only reason I give this book a 3 star rating. My biggest problem with Black Chamber is the complete let down at the most climactic point in the story. While deep undercover, as the Germans are at the verge of succeeding in their plot to keep the United States out of the war, Stirling cuts to events after the climax. The plot has been stopped, Luz has succeeded - BUT WE NEVER KNOW HOW IT WAS DONE. The most important part of the entire novel is left out, gone. There aren't even any little details or crumbs left for the reader to pick up on. We don't know what happened. We don't know what sort of tricks or plan was made. It was as if we went to a commercial break and came back with everything all neatly tied up in a bow. I feel like Stirling just gave up, had written the story to a point and either didn't care how it was to end, or had written himself into a corner he couldn't get out of so he just skipped ahead and hoped that waving his hands around would make you forget that you don't know how the plot was foiled. Up until the end this was a fun book, with a great character, but the way the book ends just ruined it for me.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Teddy Roosevelt is elected president in this alternate world history. Early pages can be a slog as we work with the author's (demonstrating his linguistic erudition) constant and annoying insertion of bon mots in multiple languages. But hang in there for this imaginative story; Germany's version of a sneak attack with nerve gas, no less. Our heroine Luz O'Malley Arostegui makes James Bond seem trifling wimp. Perhaps, he could be a descendant but read on to find out how that might be unlikely. Trained in multiple martial arts, deadly with a knife and pitiless with a Thompson she leaves bodies wherever she passes by.A good yarn and hopefully the start of an interesting series, after all, Horst may still be alive and dangerous.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book begins what I hope will be a long series of adventure in an alternate Great War with spies and advanced weapons and a thrill a minute. I was worried that with the "Change" series drawing to a close I would have no reason to look for the next S. M. Sterling release. I found the entire novel a non-stop thrill, with justified and detailed suspenseful segments that led to terrific and well described action. This was just the thing for end of summer distraction from our current political reality!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The first installment of a new series, Black Chamber is an alternative history novel of the period just prior to America's entry into World War 1. In this timeline, Teddy Roosevelt is president, and has set America on his "Progressive" path. The book is the story of a secret agent, Luz, who is sent undercover to discover what Germany is planning. She discovers a plan for Germany to employ a truly deadly secret weapon against the United States. I really enjoy some of Stirling's books. The "Island in the Sea of Time" series and the "Change" series are some of my favorite alternative history books. Stirling has set up the beginning of another intriguing series with this book. However, there were some parts of the book that I had issues with. For one, the pacing of the book was sometimes challenging, and somewhat disappointing. For example, Stirling goes on and on for 12 pages describing the hero climbing a wall, while seeming to rush through more important parts. A second issue was that the premise of the beginning of Roosevelt's presidency were missing. For example, Stirling several times refers to a war with Mexico, and the rise of the "Black Chamber" spy agency, but he never tells the reader what happened. Perhaps he will explain in subsequent books, but it would have added greatly to the story if he had done it in the first. All in all, I found this to be a fun read. I honestly had a hard time putting it down. And I am looking forward to the next book.