The Gone-Away World

By: Nick Harkaway

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

A wildly entertaining debut novel, introducing a bold new voice that combines antic humor (think Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut) with a stunning futuristic vision (á la A Clockwork Orange and 1984, with a little Mad Max thrown in) to give us an electrifyingly original tale of love, friendship, and the apocalypse.

There couldn't be a fire along the Jorgmund Pipe. It was the last thing the world needed. But there it was, burning bright on national television. The Pipe was what kept the Livable Zone safe from the bandits, monsters, and nightmares the Go-Away War had left in its wake. The fire was a very big problem.

Enter Gonzo Lubitsch and his friends, the Haulage & HazMat Emergency Civil Freebooting Company, a team of master troubleshooters who roll into action when things get particularly hot. They helped build the Pipe. Now they have to preserve it - and save humanity yet again. But this job is not all it seems. It will touch more closely on Gonzo's life - and that of his best friend - than either of them can imagine. And it will decide the fate of the Gone-Away World.

Equal parts raucous adventure, comic odyssey, geek nirvana, and ultra-cool epic, The Gone-Away World is a story of - among other things - love, pirates, mimes, greed, and ninjas. But it is also the story of a world, not unlike our own, in desperate need of heroes - however unlikely they may seem.

©2008 Nick Harkaway (P)2008 Random House, Inc.

Friendship, ninjas, and the apocolypse

What made the experience of listening to The Gone-Away World the most enjoyable?

The narrator does a fabulous job bringing an already lively story to life. The writing style is tangential, which works even better as an audiobook. It's like being told the story firsthand as the character recalls it from memory.

What did you like best about this story?

The plot was extremely creative, the characters so original. I've read enough books that I can usually see where the author's are going with the plot - but when the big reveal happened in this book, I was blown away - I never saw it coming.

Which character – as performed by Kirby Heyborne – was your favorite?

The nameless protagonist, although Dick Wash (burn) was a close second.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A story about friendship, ninjas, and the apocalypse - but you'll like it anyway. Bring your own Tupperware.

Any additional comments?

The book was highly recommended on the NPR summer reading list - without any details about the plot or characters. When I got the book and read the jacket cover. "this is a book about friendship. ninjas, and the apocalypse." I thought - I've been screwed. But since I know better than to judge a book by it's cover - I read it anyway.I LOVED IT! It was the best book I had read in a long, long time. When I joined Audible, it was the first audiobook that I purchased. I highly recommend this book to all, but especially to fans of Kurt Vonnegut of Douglas Adams.

This book is just a riot of fun!

Loved every minute of it. It is campy, kung-fu meets James bond fun with a love story and some underlying social commentary. I usually like my sci-fi to be serious but I will take this all day! The narration was great as well.

Second listen even more rewarding

Not an easy book, but rewarding. A very disturbing story eased with abundant humor. The narrator is excellent, perhaps the best performance I’ve heard in a long time. Recommended if you commit yourself to the wanderings…

Exceptional

Thank you to both narrator and writer for you attention to detail.

To Mr Harkaway for his daring style and to Mr Heyborne for having a voice for every character, thank you for delivering this tour de force in the Science Fiction Adventure genre.

Exceptionally good narration

I didn't want to get involved in a whole review, but Kirby Heyborne's narration (it's a first-person narrative) in particular was so outstanding I just had to say something.

Best Novel (and audiobook) of the year

What made the experience of listening to The Gone-Away World the most enjoyable?

Yes, the story is loopy, but it's so much fun. Well worth listening to twice - or even more. Harkaway brings something to Dystopian fiction that it seldom sees: - truly memorable characters, a wild, memorable story, and even worthwhile ponderings. Gone-Away has twists and turns that are well worth the effort it takes to getting your brain around. The narrator is superb.

I Miss the Earth So Much, I Miss my Wife

Simply the most beautiful book I've read since The Son. This surreal piece that melted my face and bent my mind like St. Jerome used to in the 80's. Quick aside: My church canonized Señor Garcia in year of our Lord 19 and 95. Anywho Nick used a classic Hegelian Dialectic to turn good to the dark side the same way W. got us into two useless and never-ending wars and the dotard Trump will get us into WW3 with Rocket Man. And I defy you not to cry when the voiceless dragon school appears. I am patently dead inside and even I cried. It was an emotional day however as I had to perform three abortions on some out of control heirloom cucumber vines in my extremely crowded urban micro farm. May your next life be filled with better soil and less fearless and predatory rabbits.

Great plot twist towards the end clarifies so much

This is the second of Nick Harkaway’s books I have read. The first, “Angelmaker” was outstanding, and I could not wait to read another of his books. Harkaway’s writing style is very interesting, very dense, with constant asides, sometimes carried to absurd extremes. There is a little Monty Python in his writing at times. At the same time, he’s also excellent at describing exciting action sequences. This book maybe rambled a little more than Angelmaker, but part of it was a set up for a really imaginative plot twist that I never saw coming, and once it happens, so much of the book comes into focus. I could not get that twist out of my head, I thought about it for weeks after. What an imagination!

If you don’t like his narrative style, it might be tough to get to that point, since it happens late in the book, but it is really rewarding. Other loose ends also come together afterwards, and by the end of the book the reader and the characters are in a different place. Harkaway is an outstanding writer and the narration in this book was well matched to the story. An entertaining and rewarding listen in every way.

I've read a few thousand books

and this is in my top three. it's also the most fun book by far

Did not want it to end.

Would you listen to The Gone-Away World again? Why?

Yes, and in fact, I have. I was so sad to have it end on a long road trip, I just looped it right over.

What does Kirby Heyborne bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

When it comes to audiobooks in general, I feel like the best I can hope for is to forget their voice. So many get overly theatrical in a way that almost feels embarrassing. This narrator actually made the character seem likable and human, like a real person you might meet and hang out with. He did a rare and wonderful job of telling the story beautiful without distracting from it.

Any additional comments?

A great and gripping story that mixes suspense with humor and real tenderness. A uniquely imagined and absorbing world with fascinating characters who feel like a part of your life. It makes even the worst commutes float by, and before you know it, you're sitting in your driveway wishing that traffic had been just a little worse.