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)

Sadder story than the film

A terrific book, read beautifully by Simon Vance. Very moving, with strong fantasy elements. Highly recommended.

Much better than the movie!

The movie I loved. But the book has a much darker tone to it. Beautifully written and is more of a ghost story than one would think.

Magic and Sci Fi - a Supernatural Combination

SO much fun! A wonderful performance and a unique mystery unfolds as the magical rivalry is recounted by All the principals!

Slow-building dread with elegant manners….

….and a supernatural surprise or two. This is my first novel by Christopher Priest and he has made a new devotee.

Briefly: The coming of age of electricity coincides with the lives of two illusionist rivals, both of whom glimpse a way to pervert the new medium’s power for personal gain. In the hands of a few unscrupulous men (including Nicola Tesla), a form of electrical teleportation is cobbled roughly together. One of our magicians uses the power to create the mother of all stage illusions, besting his rival at last. Of course there are consequences to the misuses of power, as there always are.

Some of the meticulously told story is repetitive, but the book wove a moody spell that more than made up for any editorial lapses. I wouldn’t call it an edge of the seat thriller, but I don’t think I blinked during the tense fifth and final “part.” One or two questions remain unanswered for me, but maybe that’s how this book will stay in my memory. I won’t mention because they’re spoilers.

One thing: reader Simon Vance was convincing and brilliant. But he did provide some comic relief when he devised a voice for Nicola Tesla. His American accent was execrably bad—and odd, considering that Tesla came from the Balkans. I already respected Vance’s acting chops so I let myself ROTFL, as it were. :)). He was otherwise amazing.

Film was better

The movie was significantly better than the book. Book was still good, but the films story was genius.

A cherished re-read

Gave this a listen after reading the book and seeing the movie, and the story is just as gripping years later despite knowing what unfolds.

Magic!

Didn’t think I would be this fascinated with the ins and outs of illusionist and magic tricks. Really good, deftly woven plot and overall intriguing story.

Excellent Novel

well written smart and thrilling. Keeps you in suspense while you have the info to figure it out

Great Narration of a captivating mystery

I recently stumbled upon the Movie with the same name. I don’t know why they insist on buying the rights to great stories and ruining the integrity of everything that makes a great story interesting. The movie is a crappy rendition of a complex, well developed story. This audiobook is greatly entertaining and I would recommend it to be well worth listening.

Intersting premise, but slow and unexciting

I liked the premise of this book, but the execution turned out to be slow and unexciting. The story is conveyed through a few monologues, by the two contemporary protagonists (the great-grandson and great-granddaughter of the two magicians), and then (and these are the far longer parts) by the supposed diaries of the two magicians. This makes for quite a monotonous experience, which I found tiring at times. I often felt like saying "just get on with it already!". The big secrets aren't quite as exciting as I might have thought, and the ending just doesn't feel right, leaving some things strangely open.

The narration is good, which helps a great deal, but on the whole, this was just average - I don't regret buying this, but wouldn't have regretted not buying it...