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The Prestige  By  cover art

The Prestige

By: Christopher Priest
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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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)

What listeners say about The Prestige

Average customer ratings
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Amazing

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

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Way better than the movie

Although I enjoyed the movie, the book is a million times better! Nothing is better than this ending.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • B
  • 12-10-23

liked the movie, loved the audio book

I really enjoyed "The Prestige" audio book by Christopher Priest! The captivating story, coupled with a stellar performance by the reader, adds a unique dimension to the experience. It's impressive that, despite my appreciation for the movie adaptation, the audio book managed to surpass it in my eyes. A second listen might unveil even more nuances and details.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

What a great story. Fantastic narration as always by Simon Vance looking forward to more listens from the author.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Slow but interesting

I thought this book was a bit slow and boring. The subject matter was pretty interesting and it was very well narrated. However I kept expecting to be "wowed" after reading many of the reviews and just never was. the plot just moved slowly on and its final "climax" was sort of like opening a giant box at christmas only to find a pair of socks.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

This is a great listen/read!

I completely loved this book. I loved every min. of this.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Extraordinarily entertaining!

The Prestige is wonderfully constructed and beautifully written. The less said about the plot, the better, for surprises, mysteries and revelations await! Suffice to say the book is excellent and Simon Vance's narration is superb. He was the perfect choice for this novel.

Highly recommended (and much better than the movie, for those of you wondering).

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

A good listen but....

It was slow at first and I didn't find the characters very likeable. At times I wanted to stop listening and start another book. It does build in suspense toward the end, but I thought the ending, although it answered some questions, wasn't really a resolution.

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1 person found this helpful

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Enough cannot be said

I loved this book, it's dark and magical, a wonderful mystery through generations and time. The prose and the pacing is excellent, and you really sympathize with everyone. It's a bit on the dark and morbid side, so if you like that, I would highly recommend it to you.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Great book, horrible ending

The story is good, but the ending left me feeling like something was missing, or that it was just thrown in at the last minute.

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