The Prestige Audiobook By Christopher Priest cover art

The Prestige

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The Prestige

By: Christopher Priest
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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In 1878, two young stage magicians clash in the dark during the course of a fraudulent séance. From this moment on, their lives become webs of deceit and revelation as they vie to outwit and expose each other. In the course of pursuing each other's ruin, they will deploy all the deception their magician's craft can command. Their rivalry will take them to the peaks of their careers, but with terrible consequences. In the end, their legacy will be passed on for generations to descendants who must, for their sanity's sake, untangle the puzzle left to them.©1995 Christopher Priest (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc. Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-Ins Science Fiction World Fantasy Award Magic Users Scary Thought-Provoking

Critic reviews

  • Winner of the World Fantasy Award, 1996
  • Audie Award Finalist, Fiction, Unabridged, 2007

"Extraordinary, like a dazzling magic act!" (Entertainment Weekly)
"A brilliant conjuring act by one of the master illusionists of our time." (Wired)
"A taut, twisting, prize-winning story of two magicians and their fierce fin-de-siècle rivalry that taints successive generations of their respective families....An unexpectedly compelling fusion of weird science and legerdemain." (Kirkus Reviews)
Intriguing Plot Twists • Complex Character Rivalry • Original Storyline • Historical Atmosphere • Clear Enunciation

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****SPOILERS OF MOVIE AND BOOK FOLLOW*****

This is one of my favorite movies. Often if I find out about a movie before a book I'll go back and read the book after the fact. The book is generally better but not so much in the case of the Prestige. Christopher and Jonathan Nolan took a good idea and made it great. The basic points of both versions are in tact. I've listed the differences below.

The Feud:
In the book the feud isn't really well thought out. Most of it is Borden regularly sabotaging Angier's performances for no real reason apart from Jealousy perhaps. Angier wanted revenge for Borden's attack on his performance which may have led to his wife losing the expected baby.

In the movie, Borden and Angier worked together (didn't happen in book) and Borden accidentally caused the death Angier's wife. This causes Angier to want to take away Borden's livelihood. Both men become obsessed with retaliation. This is the basis for all of the events that follow.

The Ending:

In the book version Borden once again sabotages Angier's Tesla machine act, causing him to split essentially into two people. One dying "prestige" and one apparition who wanders the Earth unable to do much but is still visible by everyone and can interact with things. What?

Angier's final revenge after this last straw is to stab Borden. Not the most creative solution after a life long rivalry/feud.

In the movie version Angier, knowing each time he steps in the Tesla machine and is copied and must be killed. Using this knowledge he finds an ingenious way to frame Borden for his murder. He lures Borden backstage with a number of performance with press buzz so great that Borden couldn't help himself. In going backstage he becomes accountable for the death of Angier (actually Angier's copy who falls through the trap door into the water tank and drowns). Borden's twin Fallon goes to jail and is hanged for the crime. Borden then kills the only remaining Angier to settle the score once and for all on a revenge that was driven by what was most likely a genuine accident early on that ended up driving both of them to do insane things.

The movie version ending is brilliant. It's poetic, it makes sense, it's clever, and illustrates that in an obsession fueled rivalry, nobody really wins. The book ending is just lame.

Sometimes the Movie is Better than the Book

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Excellent story line and perfect narration. I gobbled it up in horror, and fascination. Truly, deeply, ever so creepy. Loved the obsessive, nit picky, insane, stupid, illusionist's duel and hate/love adoration aspect they had for each other.

I listened to the audio, and then watched the movie, that I had seen previously. Much preferred the book.

I was gravely disappointed and disheartened by the writers portrayal of the women, wives, or mistress's. They were not fleshed out, were totally unbelievable, and did ridiculous, senseless things to continually be of aid to their narcissistic men.

Applause ! ! !

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The performance was great, no stumbling, or mumbling. The accents were good and every word understood. I only wish like so many others i had read the book before watched the movie.

this book is complicated but well worth the read!

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Watching the movie does spoil the book a bit, but it is rather different. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Different from the movie

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this one was hard to get through. i got it during the paperback sale, so for five bucks; not a complete waste. the narration isn't bad, and the story isn't either. it's just one of those listens that drags... a rare case where the movie is actually better than the book. i gave it three stars because i got it for cheap. if i had paid full price, i would have rated it lower.

ehhhh....

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