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)

Starts slow, but never stops increasing pace

Don't let yourself get fooled by the slow start: this story picks up speed after a while. And once it started, in never slows down: what started as a shady side deal of a young overconfident IT security guy, ends as a bold tale on international terrorism.

Love it.

Not the typical thriller

I am a big fan of Mr. Stephenson's work and he has his ow style that may not be everyone's cup of tea. But if you are brave, persistent, a lover of 3 D characters, quirky worlds and have no issues with nonlinear story telling, the please jump in with both feet.

To me a hard core fan this is Stephenson LITE -- but so a good place for new comers to start. This is not your typical summer thriller or techno thriller etc. This is a Stephenson Thriller. Fun, DETAILED , darkly funny (in spots) and full of people you will really care about

Good story, but a little too long

I've read most of Mr. Stephenson's work, and would consider myself a fan. I really liked the first 2/3 of the book, but felt like the final bit was kind of contrived. The book moved with real kinetic energy, but the set-up for the final scene and the way he tried to bring all of the characters back together just didn't work for me. I understood the reason for it, but while the first parts of the book felt like something that could really happen, I found myself having to increase my suspension of disbelief as it wound up.

It's still a very enjoyable read and I'd recommend it, but it ain't the Baroque Cycle.

Epic story... And epically long.

A great mix of characters and settings. Lots of ups and downs with a satisfying finish.

Worth the investment

I enjoyed this work better than Seveneves and DODO. The characters spent less time worry about themselves and being introspective and actually having conversations or doing something. At the end you will be cheering for nature.

A cyber-thriller with great narration

What other book might you compare Reamde to and why?

Stephenson's skillful pacing and mind-blowing imagination and detail remind me of the often overlooked writer, Allan Folsom, author of five terrific books: The Day After Tomorrow (1994), Day of Confession (1998), The Exile (2004), The Machiavelli Covenant (2006) and The Hadrian Memorandum (2009).

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

Hillgartner's narration gripped me and yanked me through an unusual book that I might not have persevered with were it not for his excellent storytelling and voicing of characters and accents.

Surprisingly good

It felt a little slow to start, but once I got a couple of hours into it I really started enjoying it. It combines a bit of mystery/suspense/action with fairly modern day technical themes. I'd recommend it to someone who likes the genre, and it's a GREAT value for only one credit.

Excellent.

Here is another great book from Neal Stephenson. I became very ingrossed in the books world. Malcolm Hillgartner's narration was excellent as well and helped emerse me in the books world.

Entertaining, but you might accidentally learn

This is the first Neal Stephenson book to finally hook me. I've tried quite a few other, but just couldn't get into them. Although he has a rather unique style (obviously well researched and practically vomiting information at the reader), the story was entertaining, thought provoking, and much funnier than I expected.

One of my favorite books!!!!!

I have listened to it three times now and like it better every time. Very well written and the narration couldn't be better.