Quammen's focus is on the science of COVID-19--its nature, development, and possible origin--in a study that is complex and often technical. Narrator Jacques Roy negotiates the details deftly, maintaining the intelligent dispassion of a newsman or documentary narrator but with the amiable, intimate manner of an expert recounting a story in a personal conversation. His expressiveness and naturally varying tones convey not only the facts, but also Quammen's take on them, including occasional authorial sarcasm delivered with a muted but telling edge. His ability to engage the listener even with the denser passages makes him the perfect companion for this sometimes microscopic examination of virological science and the illness that currently plagues us.
Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2022
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781797145747
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Dr. Plotkin is an ethnobotanist who recounts his experiences searching for new medications in the Amazon rain forest. He makes an impassioned plea for the world to stop destroying this irreplaceable resource. Since the author reads his own work, we can rely on the pronunciation of some unusual botanical terms; however, his voice (presumably not trained for performance) lacks the enthusiasm and fascination the words suggest. Furthermore, with no chapter references and few pauses between sections, transitions, such as the change of location from Ecuador to Massachusetts, are awkward.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
The prose and Athavale’s expertly restrained performance meld gracefully in this flawless audiobook.
Narrator Vidish Athavale's voice is softly indelible, like the snow that blankets the Himalayan landscape the author so beautifully describes. An Indian wildlife biologist, Suryawanshi has spent decades studying snow leopards and their ecosystem among the planet's highest mountain peaks. What differentiates the author's scientific work, and his enthralling narrative, is his goal to understand and protect rather than conquer. The author also achieves a near-perfect balance between insightful and entertaining personal observations of remote communities (both animal and human); his own growth as a scientist, husband, and father; and the difficult and dangerous scientific work he and his colleagues have undertaken.
The prose and Athavale’s expertly restrained performance meld gracefully in this flawless audiobook.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 9 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217336845
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Oct. 5, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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