Glasshouse

By: Charles Stross

Narrated by: Kevin R. Free

Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Hugo Award-winning author Charles Stross delivers “credible and bold SF” (Science Fiction Weekly) that continually pushes the boundaries of the genre. With Glasshouse, Stross pens a Kafkaesque tale set in a 27th-century of teleport gates and mind-attacking network worms.

After Robin awakes in a clinic, he struggles to summon details of his life, but too many of his memories have been wiped clean. More troubling is the stark awareness of immediate danger: someone is trying to kill him. On the run, Robin makes a desperate gamble and volunteers for what he hopes is the sanctuary of an unusual study at the Glasshouse. Once there, however, he realizes the true terror has only begun.

Stross pulls out all the stops in a searing adventure that will keep listeners’ hearts racing. Propelled by Kevin R. Free’s riveting narration, Glasshouse is a novel SF fans will not soon forget.

©2006 Charles Stross (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

Stross is a visionary storyteller

I am a Charlie Stross fan already, and I found this to be again a great listen from him. The story is very interesting, and it is hard to see the final resolution coming. The ideas are important and I find myself still thinking about it long after being done. On the one hand I wanted it to finish so I could know the resolution, but on the other hand, I did not want it to end as the characters were interesting and the story creative.

The performance was good, but tricky since the main character has two genders. The reader does not do a good female voice...but once I got used to it, it was no longer distracting.

Great Story and Great Narration

What made the experience of listening to Glasshouse the most enjoyable?

The story was fascinating, and brought to life brilliantly by the narrator

What other book might you compare Glasshouse to and why?

It is just great writing, and a riveting story - no specific book comparison Mr Stross creates a unique world all his own.

Have you listened to any of Kevin R. Free’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but will definitely be on the lookout for other books read by him.

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

Love transcends gender

A fantastic story

This is usually my go to book when people ask what my favorite book ever is. It's hard sci-fi, which isn't for everyone, but I absolutely love every minute of this story. This audiobook version was my 4th time through, and narrator is great and really does the story justice. The voice work is particularly impressive given the gender variance in the story. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Glasshouse: reading this book have me happiness.

I want to read more Charles Stross. I'm sure I have read him before, but can't remember what it was. I intend to look him up in my files. I think this is the first time I've received such happiness from a book. I enjoyed the adventure. 😳 you will too.

This book deserves an award

What other book might you compare Glasshouse to and why?

Glasshouse deserves reverence at the level of Speaker for the Dead, Brave New World and Stranger in a Strange Land. The universe created by Stross is unique and fascinating, forcing you to consider the nature of consciousness, identity and gender.

Which character – as performed by Kevin R. Free – was your favorite?

The performance is wonderful. Free does a great job of conveying the male and female voices with equal gravitas, which I'm sure was difficult considering how the same character changes genders more than once.

Any additional comments?

I've read a lot of fantasy/sci fi and it's rare that you come upon a book that is truly original. This book is Stross's masterpieces as far as I'm concerned, far surpassing the laundry series in scope and emotional depth. My only comment is that I think you need to have a bachelors in science to completely appreciate his writing, as he references things like 'c' (the speed of light constant) and uses other technical jargon on occasion.

An engaging book, until the end

A thoughtfully written and well considered book, with a (somewhat) female protagonist who isn't described in incredible physical detail. There's a lot of to love about this book. The rushed and disappointing ending, though, makes it hard to really enjoy the work.

Wonderful ideas, rough pacing

It took me a while to get through this one. The ideas of how the future might play out are fascinating and well developed. That said, I'd never use an A-Gate, call me old school.

The pacing struggles at times, and it's not exactly a page turner. But it was a fun place to visit any time I wanted to snuggle into a weird world.

Stross at his best

I nearly always enjoy Stross...but I strongly suspect he has an allergy to editors. Yet the old saw, "everyone needs an editor" is more true of him than most. This work, thankfully, is generally free of the irritating continuity problems that plague his other work. Exciting, engrossing, and paranoid, with intimations of Dick.

Heavy handed social critique

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yeah, with reservations. It plays with cool posthuman concepts but doesn't do as much as it could with them.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

It just sorta...ended. I mean, it wrapped everything up, but in a really hasty way that felt unsatisfying.

What does Kevin R. Free bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The main character switching sexes repeatedly is a lot clearer when his internal monologue and narration uses a male voice, but the dialogue uses a female voice.

Was Glasshouse worth the listening time?

Yeah, I'm glad I finished it.

Great entertaining story.

Enjoyed this book very much. Kept me guessing the entire time. Very cool future tech.