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)

Enjoyed it but geeky digressions undercut action

I am a fan of Stephenson's work, although I couldn't get through "Baroque."

I think there is more to this book than some other reviewers are crediting. It's not especially profound, but the author is dealing with some larger cultural and creative themes that are deeper than the usual techno/sf thriller. There's a thematic interplay between the 9/11 terrorist type plot and the cyber gaming plot that add an extra dimension. (My extended English lit analysis is mercifully omitted here.) And there's a fair amount of affectionate humor in parodies of the quirks of role playing cyber gaming, survivalists, corporate culture, IT system administrators, and sf/ fantasy writers. Its broad humor in a sort of Thomas Pynchon, picaresque way.

The books narrative style is both a blessing and a curse. It's like having a chatty geek character from "The Big Bang Theory" constantly buzzing in your ear, who is stricken with a form of Techno Tourettes syndrome that causes them to blurt out mostly interesting abstract theoretical analysis of everything that is going on. This can be entertaining at times, but can be a real momentum killer during the books many complex action scenes, which often take place along multiple plot lines simultaneously. If that sounds complicated, it is, sometimes to a fault. It's not Peckinpaw slow motion action, it's just occasionally pedantic and complex for its own sake. There were times I wished the author & characters would just stop analyzing and move the plot to the next scene. I listened at double speed.

Stephanson has a real facination with geology and geography that turn up in odd places. There are plot side trips to the Phillipines that I think take place there mostly because the author finds that country interesting. This book would have benefited from some judicious editing.

The characters are pretty stock, but for the most part I found them entertaining. The one exception was the villain, Abdullah Jones, who I found to be a theoretical construct who never really came to life, but that wasn't a deal killer.

Not a great book, but if you are a Stephenson fan and are familiar with his style, I think you'll enjoy it.

engaging and entertaining

I found my self wanting to meet the characters. the reader brought them to life without overdoing it. The author built the time line for each character in a thoughtful way where you felt like you were right next to them. Fantastic!

GREAT BOOK - Great Listen - Amazing Plot

Seriously! Spend the CREDIT!
This story line is like watching a Ballroom Dancer doing the Foxtrot. Sometimes the plot change footwork is so fast you have to back it up to make sure you caught it.

BACK it up! It is worth it! I cannot recommend this one enough.

The main character, Richard Forthrast, is very human and normal, for a guy in 1972. He just wants to be able to live his own way and make a living like everyone else. Over the years, stuff just happens to him and his friends, and family and strangers… Somehow, the characters are all brought into the plot as if they were the other dancers spinning and dancing with Richard, unknown to each other until they spin together, picking up partners, switching plot lines, blowing up buildings by accident.

Ok, yes, this has a Virtual Game plot twist. But do not let that possible little miss-direction of the description fool you. This is a reality based mystery-action 3-D book with great heroes and villains who are not as in-human as they seem at first, well not all of them anyway. There are enough computer geeks for all and lots of flying in airplanes, hijacking boats, and escapes by foot.

This book is adult themed and has lots of cool fight scenes, stolen money, bad guys, miss-communications, multiple languages, guns, cultural shifts of view, exotic locations, all the stuff that makes Neal Stephenson so very clever and interesting to read. I promise, if you like smart, funny, fast paced, but not easily solved or resolved story lines, you will enjoy this one.

The book was really well read by Malcom Hillgartner. I can honestly say it was a pleasure to listen to his characterizations. They were an addition to the prose.

Sequel to this one - please?

Worth the read

Not your typical N.S. read but packed full of details like the rest. It's worth listening to.

Pretty good action story

This is basically an action movie with good characters and, at times, some very good writing and character development. Flirts with nerd culture but anyone who likes action will enjoy it.

Really good performance

The narration was the highlight of this book for me! So many characters, each individually crafted, none over the top. I really loved the beginning of the story but the end just kind of...wandered. The inner monologue for some of the characters was also a bit tiresome.

it was good, it was not great.

of his books this was the weakest. I expect a disgusting amount of details and research.

I failed to suspend disbelief.

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

Unbelievable plot line.

Would you be willing to try another book from Neal Stephenson? Why or why not?

I like Stephenson's style, and I've enjoyed books of his in the past. This book was perfectly readable.

Which character ??? as performed by Malcolm Hillgartner ??? was your favorite?

I liked Richard the best, as a character. I wish the book spent more time on his story. Malcom Hillgartner gave an excellent performance for all of the characters.

Rollicking techno thriller

Any additional comments?

Plenty of action, good characters, fast passed but detailed. Reamde is an enjoyable listen with very good narration.

shaggy dog story

What did you like best about Reamde? What did you like least?

The bulk of the story is the fast paced smartypants adventure I've come to expect from Neal Stephenson, but it added up to less than the sum of it's parts.

What could Neal Stephenson have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

One of the main plots could have been removed entirely, it was so inessential. I could have done without the gun nerdery as well, although I think my disappointment is mainly that I didn't expect it from a Neal Stephenson book, not that it was bad in and of itself.

Did Malcolm Hillgartner do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

The narrator was good, except with the main villain - but he was a bit of a mustache-twirling cliche anyway, so he may have been stuck on that guy.

Could you see Reamde being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Actually, this sounded like it was written to be a Showtime series, right down to the gunplay.