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The Diamond Age  By  cover art

The Diamond Age

By: Neal Stephenson
Narrated by: Jennifer Wiltsie
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Publisher's summary

In Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson took science fiction to dazzling new levels. Now, in The Diamond Age, he delivers another stunning tale. Set in 21st-century Shanghai, it is the story of what happens when a state-of-the-art interactive device falls into the hands of a street urchin named Nell. Her life, and the entire future of humanity, is about to be decoded and reprogrammed.
©1995 Neal Stephenson (P)2001 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

  • Hugo Award Winner, Best Novel, 1996

  • Locus Award Winner, Best Novel, 1996

"The Quentin Tarantino of postcyberpunk science fiction." (The Village Voice)
"[He] is the hottest science fiction writer in America." (Details)

What listeners say about The Diamond Age

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4,016
  • 4 Stars
    2,212
  • 3 Stars
    970
  • 2 Stars
    326
  • 1 Stars
    196
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3,269
  • 4 Stars
    1,350
  • 3 Stars
    436
  • 2 Stars
    141
  • 1 Stars
    91
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2,870
  • 4 Stars
    1,394
  • 3 Stars
    702
  • 2 Stars
    216
  • 1 Stars
    123

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Book (what's with the audio?)

Any additional comments?

The plot is complicated and enjoyable. The narration was above average (it was good, but I don't want to say every narration is good).

There is currently a problem with the audio. There were 6 or 7 instances where the audio would get all fuzzy with static and then come back again in 5 to 10 seconds. I did some checking and the problem was with my file, not the device. This isn't really a problem as you can still hear what's going on, but I was expecting a top-notch performance based on the book and author and getting the static makes it seem slip-shod.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Terrible audio quality, good story

Very good story, narrating was good but audio quality was atrocious! It sounds like this was transferred from a cassette recording and is even distorted in a few places because of damage to the tape

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

classic sci fi

it might be hard to get through the beginning of the audio book, but once the story of Nell gets going, it will flow more smoothly!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Some audio problems

Some distortion of audio near the end of the book. But a nice story and performance otherwise.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting story with an okay ending

It's a very interesting story, but the ending left something to be desired. Many characters were pointless and several plot threads were just kind of dropped. Also, the audio quality is frankly terrible for a professional production.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good book poor audio

As always Mr. Stephenson builds futuristic worlds unlike any other Sci fi writer. The story is great although the ending was slightly confusing. Also the audio on this book was oddly of poor quality as in the volume seamed turned down on the narrator throughout

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Audio quality

The audio quality is not that great and at a few points even cuts out entirely (3 or 4 times in total). Narrator does an excellent job despite this.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Audio problems within last 5 hours

Periods of static happen in the last hours of the book. After relistening, all were confirmed to be at the same spots. Not satisfied with the quality of the product, though the performance and story were very good.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unique, creative and entertaining futurescape.

I really enjoyed this Story from beginning to end. it's nicely wolven with a good art and lots of little glimpses into the authors if you of future life in a nano technological age. The voice performance was quite good as well.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

audio quality corrupted in a few spots

you can still guess what the words are, so it didn't ruin the recording for me

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