The Prestige

By: Christopher Priest

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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)

Totally brilliant

This is an original and totally brilliant book. There is nothing I can tell you that would not be a spoiler. You'll just have to read it

Superbly plotted; excellently performed

I’d seen the movie, but the book adds more depth and intrigue. This is a really original story, and the many twists feel both surprising and inevitable—as any good twist should. Simon Vance gives distinct voices to the many characters without falling into caricature (though his Tesla needs major work…). Really enjoyable experience all around. I wish I’d read it before seeing the movie!

Saw the movie, the book was so much bett!

The interwoven stories of so many perspectives of the same events was an amazing way to give clues to the secret that is the foundation of magic in this book. The performance by Simon Vance was great. His subtle use of slightly varied voices for the different perspectives took me a while to pick up on but was brilliant when I realized what was happening. I’m wish there was a little more conclusion to the main character at the end but that is my only complaint. I highly recommend the time investment to enjoy this audiobook.

A-MAZE-BALLS!!!

I took an interest in this title for no other reason than that it was referenced in an episode of Rick and Morty. It's lucky for me that it was, though, because Christopher Priest might be my new favorite author. The Prestige was well written, well performed, suspenseful, original, historical...I mean, if it had been any better, it would have violated the laws of man, God and nature!
I'm reading some of the other reviews and I'm literally baffled that anyone could not love this book. What is wrong with people?!!
Someone even said the plot moves slowly which is ABSURD.

Enjoyed it!

I’d seen the movie not knowing it was a book years ago. This reading was well done by the narrator. We’ll paced overall, and interesting approach to magician and interpersonal relationships. I liked how dark the overall plot was, too!

Almost, but not quite great

An interesting story and really well read by Vance, but it just seemed to lack any sort of punch. The first person written account format was really well though out, but it felt like the reveals were underwhelming. Overall I enjoyed it, but would not give it a second listen.

Absolute banger of a book

The writing style of the book is fantastic. Although there are some painful details about magic tricks I think those moments add to the idea that these characters with obsessed with their goals. The ending leaves a little to be desired but it’s overall a very solid book. Simon Vance is also a beast. He flows seamlessly between characters with distinct voices and accents and really puts his all into this performance. BANGER

Overall Good

I watched this movie when it first came out but was surprised to find that it was a book. I don’t remember a whole lot of the movie but after listening to this, I think the original story is far more interesting. The ending doesn’t make much sense and was a let down, but otherwise I wish the movie had followed the book more closely. The narrator is good for the main characters voice, but every other voice sounded like a silly caricature. Tesla was the worst. He sounded like a mix of Troy McClure and Dr. Nick from The Simpson. The narrators American accent was dreadful. I wonder if this is similar to Americans trying to do British accents.

Different from the movie, but equally good.

This book is a first person narrative that follows the two illusionists of their time as well as that of their ancestors. Due to the changes in the book from movie, the time scale is much longer and I can see why Nolan made the choice to simplify for film. Despite this, I liked how priest uses the book medium to tell a deeper and more rich story than the movie is able to achieve.

Amazing

Great book!! I had seen the movie so this expanded on the story I was Already familiar with