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)

Action and adventure with believable tech

Stephenson does a masterful job of describing a realistic cyber setting that is central to the book. The action takes place in the real world as well as the world of the MMORPG, with believable characters and globe-spanning non-stop action. A thoroughly enjoyable way to pass the time while commuting to work. I had difficulty confining my listening time to my commute - the book kept trying to suck me back in.

A WoW aged action thriller you will love

Stephenson didn't hold back words, detail, and thick plot twists at all. This was an epic, clad with some really modern themes that fit perfectly in early 21st century lore.

The narration was magnificent, with many characters of various ethnicities involved. Many accolades to Malcolm Hillgartner there.

The climax was a bit too long, but so was the plot building, and, well, everything else you'd expect from NS.

I'm glad I beared with it and finished it. marathon audiobook here folks!

Nerdy action thriller

I enjoyed Reamde as I like almost all things nerdy and detail overload. There are some areas where I reveled in the minutia of MMO gaming, but I can see where others might not find it as fascinating as I do. The strength of this book is how much I cared for the characters that survive (the death count is huge) and the thrilling and suspenseful aspects. Who will survive? How will it end? Kept me listening on the proverbial edge of my seat!

Oomph!

Awesome. Purely amazing story telling. I love how Neal can make something as banal as an Ethernet cable or a coin feel as key to the story as it's main cast.

Coming off of 'Fall, Dodge in Hell' which was impossible to finish, Reamde is a masterwork that I will tell everyone about!

Engaging, twisting and turning

I like Neil Stevenson's books they are really? imaginative full of twists and turns and immersive. The characters are full and complex and you find yourself caring about them. and what happens to them.
Fun! listen and well read by the narrator.

It grows on you

there's a lot to unpack in this book particularly being 30 hours long. and with it being 30 hours long, there's a lot of exposition and a lot of switching between characters. it gets good around 8 hours in. without spoiling too much, imagine a video game giant getting a virus from China, then the Russian mafia gets involved, and Islamic terrorists, then the FBI. personally it's not entirely my cup of tea, but it's a good pick for anyone who's a fan of crime and action. otherwise it's actually a good way to space out or half listen to. if you go for this book, all I'm saying is that you're in for a ride. best of luck.

Fascinating, brainy, action-packed thriller.

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

This is definitely to be recommended. Among the Stephenson books I've read, it's his most accessible, but by no means should you take that as an indication that it's somehow less intelligent.

What did you like best about this story?

I like the really complicated and nature of the plot.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The accents were just terrible, and with the book's global scope this is a real problem. The regular narration, and the voicing of american-accented characters was quite good.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Well, it was 40 hours long, so I would have probably died. But I was always excited to get back to it over the course of the several weeks over which I listened.

Not one of Stephenson's Best

Rambling and unsatisfying. Left a lot of loose threads that turn out to be pointless diversions. Some good paragprahs, but no good chapters.

Really great

Excellent performance and a much better story than I would have expected. Much better tech and a great world wide setting.

Addicted to this book

I absolutely love this book. the way the story grabs you is amazing. I never wanted to leave this journey