Sci Fi Audiobooks: Ongoing column reviewing classics of sci fi and fantasy as well as current works available in audio format.
Podcast Summary:
In a world where people have fled underground and established a society to escape the deadly conditions on the surface, Ace is a bunker orphan who is an outcast and must struggle to get by on his own. When he discovers a damaged robot in the form of a dog, he manages to repair it and names it Hazel. He then discovers that she has embedded codes that unlock a hidden elevator to the surface of the planet, offering him the chance to realize his long-held desire to see the sun. They head for the surface, but the journey does not go as planned as Ace and Hazel find themselves caught up with several factions vying for control of Subterra.
Voice Cast: Marty Yu, C.C. Boyce, Jenette Goldstein, John Sylvain, Doug Perkins, Hugh Fink
Created By: Warren Davis and Steve Krueger
Three seasons totaling 24 episodes currently available.
Podcast Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Bottom Line:
Subterra offers a decent bit of dystopian sci fi with an interesting world and some well-developed characters. The production is well done with a good voice cast, and it keeps things moving along at a rapid pace.
Johnny Jay’s Thoughs:
I stumbled upon this indie sci fi podcast on Audible and decided to give it a try, and I found myself pretty quickly hooked and working my way through all three seasons currently available. It starts out delivering an interesting dystopian world where humanity has fled underground and people like Ace—who are not among the “chipped” civilians—struggle to live. He reactivates a robot dog that he discovers and names Hazel, and the two attempt to head to the surface, but they run into many complications along the way. He eventually meets up with Mallon Locke, who is the daughter of the leaders of Subterra and who also has a desire to go to the surface of the planet.
The first-season episodes of this podcast are pretty short; most are thirteen minutes or less, and it is a quick listen as well as a good introduction to the world of Subterra. By the second season, the episode length increases to around twenty minutes or more, and the story is really developing by that point. In the third season, the episodes are often forty minutes or more, but by then you will definitely be drawn into the story, which becomes much more involved with multiple characters and plot threads.
Subterra definitely borrows bits and pieces from other sci fi and dystopian works that have preceded it, but it gives them its own spin and never feels like a retread. It also offers us some interesting characters that it develops across its three seasons and that you become attached to, even if they seem to have some of the stock genre traits. The dialogue can slip into copy-and-paste at times, but for the most part it is pretty snappy and keeps things moving along. It does seem like Hazel is a bit too much of a badass and that she is far too capable of meeting any challenge thrown at her, but perhaps there was something early on that indicated that and I just missed it. And overall, the Subterra setting draws the listener in as the story provides some good worldbuilding.
The voice actors all do a good job with their roles and the narrator keeps the story moving along. The background music helps set the tone, and while the sound effects are sparse, they mostly help to fill out the setting. Later, in some of the battle and crowd scenes, they come up a bit lacking, but nothing that derails the production. And for the most part, this is a pretty professionally done podcast, especially for an indie work.
The third season seemed to be working its way toward a resolution for the story, and it was right about at the point where it could have offered a good wrap-up, but the final episode teases a whole new storyline. So I assume a fourth season is on the way, and I will be keeping an eye out for that. Subterra is definitely a fun little podcast that may not quite count as a classic (yet), but it is certainly worth checking out.
You can listen to it for free on Audible, Apple, and Spotify.
Also visit their website and YouTube channel.
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