The Plagiarist

A Novella

By: Hugh Howey

Narrated by: Alexander J. Masters

Length: 1 hr and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Adam Griffey is living two lives. By day, he teaches literature. At night, he steals it. Adam is a plagiarist, an expert reader with an eye for great works. He prowls simulated worlds perusing virtual texts, looking for the next big thing. And when he finds it, he memorizes it page by page, line by line, word for word. And then he brings it back to his world, the real world, and he sells it. But what happens when these virtual worlds begin to seem more real than his own? What happens when the people within them mean more to him than flesh and blood? What happens when a living thing falls in love with someone who does not actually exist?

©2009- Hugh Howey (P)2013 Hugh Howey

Good Short

Hugh Howey packs a lot into this little short story.

If you don't mind paying for an hour and a half story, GET IT, it is a 'fun listen' with an interesting premise.

Reminded me of a Phillip K. Dick story... always something 'just a little different'.

READ THIS! Interesting idea...

NO SPOILER. Although not a novel idea, Howey creates a fun story about alternate realities. It's modern and written well. I wouldn't mind having a full length on this one. I didn't feel that this particular narrator was a good fit for this book. He has a rather ominous voice when half the time is spent discussing basic events of daily life. However, I listened comfortably at 2X speed. If any of this was helpful, please click YES below. Later.

Snow Crash for the literati

While the concept isn't wholly original, The Plagiarist is so well-executed and well-told that you don't really care. If you loved Snow Crash, and/or you like thinking about books and their provenance, you'll probably enjoy this little nugget of a novella.

Brilliant story

I bought this title on sale for $1.99 and was very pleasantly surprised. Fantastic story, well though out.
The reader was not my favorite.

Worth it

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

Interesting, Thought-Provacting, Predictable

Would you be willing to try another one of Alexander J. Masters’s performances?

Based on this no, I think he choice to do this voice because of the storyline but I almost stopped listening because of him, if it were any longer I would have.

Interesting

What did you love best about The Plagiarist?

Definitely an interesting story. Very good. The writer definitely has an imagination.

What about Alexander J. Masters’s performance did you like?

His understanding of the story and the character

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

yes!!

Any additional comments?

Definitely worth listening to!!

Pompous Narration

The reader did a good job with voices but used an annoying technique in the narrative sections in which he dragged out trailing words and phrases making him sound pompous.

The Wages of Sim

In Hugh Howey's novella, some people go into the many worlds available via simulators to conduct scientific research, some to have some fun, some, as in the case of the main title character, to find works of literary art, memorize them, and publish them in the real world as their own. The nature of creativity is but one of several themes explored in this very short work, along with happiness in the world of fantasy vs. reality.

I prefer longer audiobooks to short ones. Nevertheless, I've listened to a number of short works recently. To be honest, that's because they are less expensive. I don't understand why the 17-hour, 242 MB Wool Omnibus is four times as costly as the 90-minute, 42MB Plagiarist -- yes, that's more storage, and a costlier audio production, but these are not variable costs. But that's the way audiobooks are priced, based on value no doubt.

I've come to a simple conclusion: A good novella makes you wish it was a full length novel, makes you long for more. A lesser work of lesser length makes you see why it could not have been longer -- there's just not enough there to begin with. The Plagiarist, for me, falls squarely in the former category -- it's a neat little novella, with a nice twist at the end (fairly predictable), but I would have loved to learn more about these worlds, real and simulated, and the characters that inhabit them.

I did have a bit a problem with the narration. Too slow, too ponderous, a bit depressing. I sped up the playback to 1.25, which helped, but made it even shorter. Is it possible that this is the first entry in what will eventually be a full length omnibus, as Howey has created in the past? I hope so -- if so, I hope a new narrator is utilized.

Warning: this is a Novelette not a full book

Fascinating idea--- way too short though! I would have liked to have heard more and it would have been nice to know I was getting a novelette rather than a full length book. Plus I just would have liked more of the story.

I Iiked it

An interesting and and well executed story. While not necessarily a fully unique concept this was a great exploration of it and as far as I have read or can recall unique enough in that.
The narration was not really to my taste. the inflection on certain words and sentences seemed odd to me. It reminded me a bit of certain you tube video voice overs where I can't decide if they they are a person or machine in that I've not met anyone who speaks like that. Aside from that it was not really distracting from the story.
Over all worth the listen.