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.

i am a worm genetiscist.

Just kidding. I have to agree that I enjoyed the book and it's action. The depth of theme isn't radical or stunning, but it's clearly about acceptance, tolerance and change. But forget that, there's mutants. Fire. Love. Betrayal. Bad guys. Good guys. The misunderstood. The changed. It's a grab a bowl of popcorn or hit the road trip audio book that explores our nasty corporate tendencies as well as our love for big loud trucks, shiny things and heroes. Fun. That's the ticket. And seriously, mutants make almost anything more interesting. Science fiction often makes me depressed with it's lack of originality - or flowing phrasology. Like I know?! This was just darn solid good fun. Grab your wheel and head for a tri-state road trip with it - you'll be there before you want.

Audible give me more stars for this book

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

Kirby Heyborne embodies The Narrator. Brilliant!

What other book might you compare The Gone-Away World to and why?

Hard to say, since this story is truly unique, but Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey has some similarities.

Which scene was your favorite?

Pa Lubitch's monster bees.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. Not that it isn't THAT good, but I needed to take breaks and digest it.

Any additional comments?

Buy it. Listen to it. Love it.

A rambleogue to the end of the world

I came here for a sci-fi story from an author I didn't know. I enjoyed the story, but it's hidden in a tangle of tangents hours deep. There's a good and interesting premise here, introduced in the start of the book, but in many ways it doesn't get back to the point till maybe fifteen hours in. Some of the twists and turns are quite good, but overall I spent a lot of time wishing the plot would gravitate back to the story.

Really threw me for a loop

this book has such a slow-burn of a story I actually wasn't sure at first whether or not I was enjoying it. The fictitious autobiography style of the book lends itself to an interesting viewpoint, and you feel like you've learned enough. When the story shifts, you realize you didn't know nearly enough.

10/10 execution of a pretty original concept, I was pleasantly surprised with how well the turnaround went. I'm almost disappointed there isn't a sequel, but that's definitely for the best. it wraps up nicely.

Kirby Heyborne does a fantastic job narrating, I don't ever feel like I missed anything due to his cadence. His sound effects were genuinely great.

A post apocalyptic world with heart

Where does The Gone-Away World rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The world was wonderful, deep, and complex. I would rate it in the top 10% of the books I've listened to.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters grew and kept me on my tows.

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

The protagonist was definitely my favorite.

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

The world may have gone away, but one man will fight to save it

Great book. Long read, but fun.

while at times seemingly tedious and meandering, he brings it all together in a satisfying way. At the end, the numerous side paths all make sense. If you bog down, keep going, it's more than worth it.

Oh Yes

The language is beautiful - I want to read the book as well just to see the how lovely it falls together - one of the best performances I've heard - the story is captivating and complex without being confusing - so different - so refreshing - so worth it

Exhaustively witty, but unsatisfying

The Goneaway World is a novel that aspires to be a whole bunch of things at once. It's a breathless adventure story, with pirates, ninjas, mad scientists, and covert military units. It's a coming-of-age story about a young man and his best friend. It's a sardonic satire, criticizing the excesses of capitalism and militarism in a Kurt Vonnegut-like style. It's a post-apocalypse story. It's an absurd, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-style romp, complete with a crack unit of mimes. It's a metaphysical tale about how "real" the things in our mind are.

You'll either find this book delightfully witty or self-indulgent and exhausting. I leaned a little more in the latter direction. On one hand, I admired how clever and inventive Harkaway is, his effortless talent at satirizing human foibles and turning even the most mundane scenario into a madcap adventure (or the most exotic into something perfectly routine). On the other hand, the story careers around the map so wildly, I found it hard to care about any of the characters or what was happening. Even Gonzo, whom the protagonist is obsessed with (for reasons that become apparent later), is about as interesting as a video game character's user manual bio -- e.g. "Gonzo: a manly, cool-under-pressure guy with Polish parents and a stubborn streak." I eventually got bored with the story and all the tone switches, and stopped listening before I got to the final chapters, even though I'm sure there was an exceedingly clever ninja/pirate/mercenary/corporate honcho/mime battle I missed out on.

Don't get me wrong, I think Nick Harkaway is a smart guy with an impressive imagination. But he really needed the firm hand of a good editor here, who might have stopped him from running with arms waving after every butterfly that flitted past, and gotten him to have focused more on the novel as a whole.

Still, other readers might enjoy the unrestrained zaniness more than I did. Doctor Who or Terry Pratchett fans, take note. Lots of dry British humor here.

master craftsmen of words, both author and reader

The story was entertaining on the surface, and many many fragments of it were so extremely good that I wished it was easier to rewind my iPod a couple of minutes, and that there was bookmark capability. The reader gave it just the right voice for the main character, and the other characters were effortless to differentiate. The reader added much and detracted nothing. I enjoyed the length of the book, it was by no means tiresome. I wanted more and more, and it begs for a sequel.

It has the elements of a dystopian apocalypse, a martial arts thriller, political intrigue, and a deeply current satire on the military industrial complex and corporate pathology, and interesting religious perceptions. It's extremely funny, and very credible in it's depiction of the protagonist's thought life. The science fiction is uniquely imaginative and entertaining, and the enjoyment continues throughout, without any boring backwaters.

Best I've listened to of the many audio books I've heard over the years. Better than Dune, Stranger in a Strange Land, or Ringworld, from my point of view. I've listened to it several times, and played excepts for family and sent quotes to friends.

But maybe I've oversold it just a little. Or maybe not.

Interesting Idea - Hard to visualize at times

I liked the ideas and the characters in this book. But there were a few things that were a bit confusing and made it difficult to visualize. First is geography. They went from a war in a far off land to being at home without much in between. Secondly, the science is weak and unconvincing. The science behind the magic of it all. If you put your doubt or you desire for more explanation aside, you can enjoy an eventful, imaginative adventure with unexpected twists and fun characters.