Dimension of Miracles

By: Robert Sheckley

Narrated by: John Hodgman

Length: 5 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Finalist, Solo Narration - Male, 2014

Award-winning author, narrator, and screenwriter Neil Gaiman personally selected this book, and, using the tools of the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), produced this work for his audiobook label, Neil Gaiman Presents.

A few words from Neil on Dimension of Miracles: "Dimension of Miracles is probably not [Sheckley's] most famous book…. but I think it's probably his best-loved book. It's about the joys and tribulations (mostly the tribulations) of winning the lottery—the galactic lottery—accidentally. And wrongly. Tom Carmody is awarded a remarkable prize, is taken half way across the universe to collect it, finds himself hopelessly lost, and needs to find his way home again to Earth…to this Earth, not an alternate, weirdo Earth. He's got to get back. And the price is high.

In its style of humor—and even in some of the jokes—Dimension of Miracles is very obviously a precursor of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas actually hadn't read Dimension of Miracles until very shortly after Hitchhiker came out, when people pointed him to it, and he told me that he found the experience almost shocking—it was like reading himself. He was a huge admirer of Bob Sheckley and a huge admirer of this book, and in later life, I had the privilege of introducing both of them.

Now the challenge for me with a book this funny, this strange, this perceptive was to try and find a narrator who was as iconic, somebody who could deliver the goods, somebody who could give you a book like this as it deserved to be given. And the first, and the last, and actually the only person to come to mind was John Hodgman. So I asked John, and he said yes! And he did it; he pulled it off. Listening to John—not just the suave, sensible, sane narrator of this book, but all the peculiar accents and incarnations that he is forced to adopt through here—he does it delightfully, he does it brilliantly, he's really, really funny. And so is this book. Enjoy your journey through a Dimension of Miracles."

Dimension of Miracles is a satirical science fiction novel first published by Dell in 1968. It's about Tom Carmody, a New Yorker who, thanks to a computer error, wins the main prize in the Intergalactic Sweepstakes. Tom claims his prize before the error is discovered and is allowed to keep it. However, since Tom is a human from Earth without galactic status and no space traveling experience, he has no homing instinct that can guide him back to Earth once his odyssey begins - and the galactic lottery organizers cannot transport him home. Meanwhile, his removal from Earth has caused a predatory entity to spring into existence - one that aims to destroy him. Carmody is on the run, and he ends up transporting from Earth to Earth - different phases and realities of the planet.

Learn more about Neil Gaiman Presents and Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX).

©1968 Robert Sheckley (P)2013 Robert Sheckley

Critic reviews

"Hodgman, probably best known to geeks for his appearances on The Daily Show and his role as the PC in those Apple commercials a few years back, has a dryly intelligent deadpan that wonderfully counterpoints the absurd adventures of Thomas Carmody, a mid 20th-century New York everyman who’s invited to a galactic center to collect a sweepstakes prize." ( Locus)

Gulliver by way of Don Draper

A fascinating journey through mid century American ennui, read perfectly by the great John Hodgman.

So fantastic

This is the second time I have listened to Dimension of Miracles. John Hodgman does a fantastic job, he is perfect reading this story that while reminiscent of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, it predates Douglas Adams story. So good. Thank you Neil Gaiman. This is a five star audiobook all the way around.

Love Hodgman, wish I loved the story as much!

Any additional comments?

I loved John Hodgman but the story itself was not my favorite. It is a book that I would recommend for Hitchhiker fans though.

Carol from Audible gave a great recommendation

I pulled up a chat window to rectify a situation at Audible. Carol helped me out quickly and then asked if I'd like a recommendation. She pointed me to "Dimension of Miracles" and I was happy that she did.

This book reminded me of Douglas Adams (having read Adams first). Their sense of humor is similar and they have a way of throwing the reader a curve ball that makes you pause and think. To top it off John Hodgman does an outstanding job of narrating. Having seen him on The Daily Show and listened to narrations of his own work I wasn't sure he'd be able to pull off multiple characters but he proved me wrong.

A well crafted adventure with an unexpected depth

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, certainly. The reader is ambushed in quite unexpected places with humour but there is also depth and meaning to the encounters the protagonist is subjected to. The imagination that went into this was remarkable. Tom is at times quite surprising. And then there is the prize who may well be the star of the book even though he/she/it has only a few lines.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dimension of Miracles?

As many reviewers have pointed out, this book is hauntingly similar in many ways to Douglas Adams' famous 5 book trilogy - "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". And as a fan of Douglas Adams, the convergence points stood out for me.

What does John Hodgman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Nuanced voices for the characters. They're all good and lend a little more character to the players.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending is brilliant and not telegraphed as you might have expected is a less imaginative novel. It would be a spoiler to say more than that the ending will leave you thinking.

Any additional comments?

There are places where I felt the concepts were explored excessively and if I were reading this rather than listening I'd have skipped ahead. However, the prose is elegant and very obviously the author composed his dialogues very carefully. I was reminded somewhat of Gene Wolf's characteristic polished prose and felt that I would like to go back and admire some of those sentences for the care that went into them. That's one of the weaknesses of an audio book - you enjoy the prose as it passes but you don't easily get to savour it. This is a book where savouring is probably worthwhile.

Really shockingly Douglas Adamsesque

It is almost hard to believe that this predates "Hitchiker' Guide." This was funny and kind of cutting at times. Hodgman brings his trademark dry with to the reading as well as his basic humanity. Boffo. A good one.

Fascinating

Fabulous audio book reader. Crazy text. I am a new fan of Robert Sheckley! So imaginative.

Easily The Best Title I've Encountered on Audible

Any additional comments?

Although written beforehand, this book's humor reflects in many ways the prose in "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", but in a somewhat more mature manner.

The narration performance by John Hodgman on this fish-out-of-water story is second to none, creating the audio equivalent of a page-turner.

Highly recommend for anyone who enjoyed those old 1950's sci-fi radio shows such as "X-Minus One" and/or "Dimension X".

9.8 / 10

Great short read

This book is funny as well as thought provoking. If you loved Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy you will really appreciate this book.

Douglas Adams Twin?

The subject matter, style and no-holds-barred whimsey of this book reminds me so much of Adams, I have a hard time thinking that the two were not drinking buddies or something. Hodgman's performance is stellar.