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.

didn't get through it. or get it.

I guess I was more in the mood for a cool and well written story. rather than a "fresh" new rambling, intellectually witty, literary piece. Nick is clearly a good and intelligent writer. just wish the story had been accentuated more than Nick's dry and intelligent humor. The narrator appropriately accentuates the intellectually witty sarcasm which I guess made it even more grating for my "just want some axe-shun" mood. maybe I'll try reading on kindle if I get the time. It seemed like a good story but got bogged down with filler.

Good book however, not like Pratchett and Adams

This book is uneven. Don’t get me wrong it isn’t bad. It is in fact very good verging on quite excellent in places. I think I’ll remember Master Wu and his story of hunting ninjas and the secret for quite some time as cleaver, funny, and touching.

However, it starts out as a collection of lightly inner connected pros that could easily be independent and then enters a long story of the core of the book and switches quite a bit. The pacing changes frequently enough to distract from rather than enhance the story telling. It actually reminds me quite a bit of the works Haruki Murakami, however Haruki is more skillful in changing pace.

All that being said there is no page, nor paragraph that I could point to and say that it is not witty, well written and entertaining. I did however at several points have to stop, and listen to or read something else before I could return to this book.

Now, here is the point I really wanted to talk about. I bought this book because when I read reviews here and at amazon.com, I saw several that compared this work to those of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. Nope. Not a thing like. Sure there is humor, but this is more like Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut. Which is to say it is honestly and truly well writing and does have a dry and sarcastic wit to it, but it isn’t a thing like the over the top and silly dry humor of Pratchett or Adams. Shame really as I would love to find someone like Pratchett, Adams, Wodehouse, possible more Adams and Pratchett than Wodehouse really. This book is, alas, not it. Eoin Colfer is also quite good though most of his books are targeted at a teen and younger audience.

Unique take on and end of the world

I wasn't sure what to make of it in the first couple of chapters. But I think it really hits it stride later on, and I loved the ending. I love the apocalypse theme, and the unique way it came about.

It is also somewhat of a mystery story that you don't realize is a mystery at first. or at least you forget is a mystery. But it also has elements of Kunfu, war, and end of the world. And most importantly it pushes your definition of humanity

Simply Amazing

Sooooo good. Narrator was clever & unique and did an excellent job at many voices And personalities. Story was funny, and exciting and fascinating. Loved it.

Hilarious and poignant in rapid succession

A superlative exemplar of British snark and apologism of the absurd. I was delighted at all times.

Awesome style, kickin' story with many tangents

This is only vaguely science fiction -- the premise (a superweapon wipes out most of the world, leaving the heroes to pick up the pieces) is not terribly original and only acts as a framework for the real story, which is one of love and friendship, duty, and responsibility. But lest you think this is just an exercise in literary fiction masquerading as scifi, there are also lots of explosions and ninjas.

Harkaway's writing -- many, many tangents, asides, inventive phrases, and other authorial indulgences, are the real attraction. If you like this kind of writing, you'll like this book, though if you're one of those people who likes Stephen King but thinks he needs to chop his books in half, you'll probably find this one overly-long also.

The narration by Kirby Heyborne is nearly flawless. I'm not sure if I'd like his narration for another story, but he captures the tone of this book perfectly.

interesting concept, slow, meandering story

Good hook, but then flashes back and turns into a boyhood coming of age story for 2/3 of the book, ends fine, but the middle took me out of it, if I didn't listen while I commute 2 hours a day I never would have finished it.

perfect

hilariously snort inducing, entertaining and fabulous, and all over the place in the best way!

So effing good..

I just wanted to say to the unwary reader that you, like me, should punch through the "twist" that occurs. I got this on the advise of a friend so didn't know anything about it, but after it occurred I heard it caused some readers to throw their books at the wall or, since this is audible, to hit stop the hook and move on.

I am here to implore you not to hit stop and move on, since I was well past said point in the book and, with the gift granted by hindsight, I saw that it wasn't a twist at all, and that it was needed, and without it, the book wouldn't make sense. That said, I would say you need to be at least 45 minutes past "twist" before you should allow yourself to pass judgement.

Affer all, there simply can't be an M Night Shyamalan moment. This is literature disguised as an entertainment, not the other way around.

Riveting book, riveting performance.

Harkaway’s story is fascinating and his language is a joy. It both makes me wish I were a writer and fills me with profound relief that I’m not one, least I be measured against the likes of this book. If Heyborne’s reading wasn’t what Harkaway heard in his head as he wrote it, I bet he wishes it was after hearing this. By far the most profoundly enjoyable experience I’ve had with Audible.