Reamde

By: Neal Stephenson

Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner

Length: 38 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

“Stephenson has a once-in-a-generation gift: he makes complex ideas clear, and he makes them funny, heartbreaking, and thrilling.” - Time

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Anathem, Neal Stephenson is continually rocking the literary world with his brazen and brilliant fictional creations - whether he’s reimagining the past (The Baroque Cycle), inventing the future (Snow Crash), or both (Cryptonomicon). With Reamde, this visionary author whose mind-stretching fiction has been enthusiastically compared to the work of Thomas Pynchon, Don DeLillo, Kurt Vonnegut, and David Foster Wallace - not to mention William Gibson and Michael Crichton - once again blazes new ground with a high-stakes thriller that will enthrall his loyal audience, science and science fiction, and espionage fiction fans equally. The breathtaking tale of a wealthy tech entrepreneur caught in the very real crossfire of his own online fantasy war game, Reamde is a new high - and a new world - for the remarkable Neal Stephenson.

©2011 by Neal Stephenson. (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Stephenson...delivers a sprawling thriller that shows him in complete control of his story.” ( Publishers Weekly)

“Noir futurist Stephenson returns to cyberia with this fast-moving though sprawling techno-thriller...Who’ll prevail? We don’t know till the very end, thanks to Stephenson’s knife-sharp skills as a storyteller. An intriguing yarn—most geeky, and full of satisfying mayhem.” ( Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

“Sometimes when you’re reading Neal Stephenson, he doesn’t just seem like one of the best novelists writing in English right now; he seems like the only one.” (Lev Grossman, Time)

All over the place...

Halfway through. It's like reading two unrelated stories with protagonists who happen to know each other.

Something different from Stephenson

More along the lines of Cryptominicon meets Robert Ludlum. The story blends an eclectic set of characters, computer games and viruses, and international terrorism in a globe trotting story chasing an abducted young woman. Friendships are formed, suspected villians become good guys, and an extended family comes together.

Neal Stephenson has crafted a fun and compelling story that will keep you engaged up too late at night.

Don't miss this one.

Another great title from Stephenson

I loved this book. It was a globe spanning, nerdy adventure featuring Games, hackers, terrorists, wing-nuts, smugglers, spys and soldiers of fortune. James Bond meets Tron.

Snowcrash defined the last ten years of game and I have little doubt that we will be seeing echoes of REAMDE in the next 10.

Empty Calories

Could not put it down, NS is still able to create a panoply of characters that engage, tour de force of suspense, entertaining waste of time but ultimately not satisfying. I don't remember much of the characters, nor the story. Coming from the author who brought us some truly stupefyingly awesome masterpieces [my favorite is 'Anathem'], this is mediocre.

not Neal Stephenson's best

Although I did enjoy this overall, it did not live up to my expectations of what a Neal Stephenson work should deliver. The story often dragged and just didn't have the brilliance of, say, Cryptonomicon.

Loved it

I am a audiobook addict. And as such I usually look for long books but this book was so long it intimidated even me for a while. It started a little slow and that worried me in a book that is this long. But once the scene was set and the audience understood the premise of online roleplaying games (I needed the education myself) this book took off and never really let you rest. Stick with this read it is worth it!

Brilliant and Expansive

If you could sum up Reamde in three words, what would they be?

Expansive. Imaginative. Exciting.

What other book might you compare Reamde to and why?

Neal Stephenson's books are really only comparable to themselves. His style of writing wherein he crafts a multiperspectived storyline that slowly weaves among itself until it comes crashing together in a final climax is reminiscent of a Robert Jordan, George R. R. Martin or Peter F. Hamilton saga, but handled in a much different way. Stephenson also introduces numerous political, philosophical, historical and technological themes that are expanded on or alluded to at numerous points throughout the novel. If you read some of his non-fictional work, you can see the brilliance of Stephenson as an interpreter of the trends of the modern world, but he manages to slide these ideas in unobtrusively throughout his fictional adventures. His earlier novel Cryptonomicon is the closest overall comparison that comes to mind.

What about Malcolm Hillgartner’s performance did you like?

Brilliant reading. Hillgartner conveys Stephenson's wry humor and the aggressive brilliance of his characters with perfect aplomb. Dodge will always sound like Hillgartner's rendition of him in my head.

Dripping with details, twist and turns!

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

Outstanding book with great technical depth. Current topics related to computer security. Character development was outstanding!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Richard Forthrast was my favorite character as each chapter relieved more about him as an individual. Outstanding development by Neil Stephenson!

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

Overall the narration was good, not the best that I have heard but the speed and character diversity was enough to make it a very enjoyable listen, especially with the length of this book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Some portions were light enough to make you laugh overall the suspense kept you on the edge with anticipation.

A great listen

Stephenson's story is richly complex and complete. The characters were strong. The end a little weak but is something I'm use to with this author who except for that is my favorite.

Narration was very good. Only one word misspoken by my count over 36 hours.

Big story, many characters

What a wide-ranging story. This has a wealthy leader of a gaming company, a kidnapped hostage, Russians, jihadists, Chinese hackers, spies, smugglers, and survivalists. It’s a long story, which is what I was looking for, giving you plenty of time to know all the players. You want action? There’s plenty, but not without quieter interludes,too. I especially liked how different characters became important in different chapters. Very entertaining, good storytelling.