We’re so happy and proud to announce the release of our third audio title, Joseph Carrabis’ Empty Sky now available in audio format.
The chosen narrator, Lincoln Gillett, did an excellent job. Listen to a sample.
Reviewer Comments include:
- A Smart & Cluey Man-and-Dog-on-a-High-Stakes-Ride Novel – The idea of a man and his dog on a quest is not new, but when it’s done well and given fresh legs, it draws notice. I think of Harlan Ellison’s “A Boy and His Dog” and Dean Koontz’s “Watchers” and, if we include non fiction, I’d nominate Steinbeck’s “Travels with Charley” to the list. Now here comes Joseph Carrabis’s “Empty Sky”–a thrill ride of a novel that satisfies.
The book defies easy genre classification, and I fear any attempt I might make at plot recap will make a hash of the book’s imaginative construct. My recommendation therefore is simple: Read it. - Masterful Storyteller – Empty Sky by Joseph Carrabis is a novel worth reading at least twice to ensure the reader does not miss any of the rich and quotable thoughts available in this complex and gripping story. The book sends one in “…search of the one great truth that holds all the other truths together.” And we find the truth at the novel’s conclusion, where we may feel spent after following the journeys of each character vividly described–characters we may love and for whom we follow with concern, and characters we do not like, but whom we must grow to know so that we realize the impact of menacing antagonists. We may seriously dislike Pangiosi and Virgil, but we love Jamie, Tom, Ellie, Shem, and the many other characters introduced by Mr. Carrabis, a master at character development. We are sad to leave them at the end of the story and want to know more about the pursuit and realizations of their dreams.
While characters develop in roughly the first third of the book, the conflict builds, and around page 109, the magic begins as the descriptions and imagery propel the reader through pages where we sometimes smile and occasionally cry.
To add to his writing techniques, the reader will be pleased to realize that Mr. Carrabis speaks dog fluently. We are charmed as Shem discusses “thefrisbee,” “thecooler,” “thestore,” “thepark,” and many more endearing one-word combinations which Shem uses in his delightful contributions to the plot’s progression.
Joseph manages to create a live character from a massively parallel, multiple processing quantum logic system of circuits which actually dream, and here is another take-home quotable from the book: “To dream is to go to places that don’t exist,” provided by Ann, an articulated neural network who will fascinate the reader, and who will make us laugh and cry.
Empty Sky takes the reader through a lifetime where we emerge not unscathed as we live the lives of these characters, feeling their pain and joy. Readers should be sure to include this piece in their near future reading plans. - Well-crafted novel – An incredible science fiction/fantasy story! Mr. Carrabis’ writing is detailed and thorough, especially when describing technical ideas such as the creation of Ann or the validity of dreams. I liked the dialogue the best. It gave the reader a real sense of the characters’ personalities, whether it was the evil Earl Pangiosi or Ann’s creator, big-hearted Dr. Lupicen. I enjoyed EMPTY SKY also because of the emphasis it put on hope, an important part of everyone’s outlook on life.
Big round of applause for the Northern Lights Team!
