Vortex

By: Robert Charles Wilson

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Vortex tells the story of Turk Findley, the protagonist introduced in Axis, who is transported 10,000 years into the future by the mysterious entities called “the Hypotheticals”. In this future, humanity exists on a chain of planets connected by Hypothetical gateways; but Earth itself is a dying world, effectively quarantined. Turk and his young friend Isaac Dvali are taken up by a community of fanatics who use them to enable a passage to the dying Earth, where they believe a prophecy of human/Hypothetical contact will be fulfilled. The prophecy is only partly true, however, and Turk must unravel the truth about the nature and purpose of the Hypotheticals before they carry him on a journey through warped time to the end of the universe itself.

Vortex is thrilling and complex science-fiction novel from Hugo Award-winning author Robert Charles Wilson.

©2011 Robert Charles Wilson (P)2011 Macmillan Audio

Spin continues, the Hypotheticals continue!

nd out book 3 was added, I ended up re-reading the entire saga starting from book 1; The Spin.

I'm glad I did! I had forgotten some important details of the Spin story.

This book seems to wrap up the story of the Hypotheticals.

I doubt there could be a forth book in this series, but there is a very very small chance of a forth book.

If there were to be a forth book it probably would be because we demanded it.

I'm O.K. with it ending like this.

As always, the narrator does a great job and thankfully they used the same narrator throughout the entire series of books. I appreciate when production does that. Unless book 1 hires a bad narrator, in that case its good to chqnge the narrator. Thankful with the Spin series the narrator was good from book 1 to book 3.

Great!

I'm loving everything about this series! Interesting story and while it veered away from the characters in the first book, I still found it a good read. I look forward to the next book.

Beautiful trilogy ends with the universe's end.

Once in awhile I will read a book and then re-read it almost immediately to absorb the entire thing. This is one of those books. The beautiful end of the Spin trilogy by Robert Charles Wilson

This book picks up 10,000 years after the middle volume with Turk Findley and Isaac, but brings their stories into the novel in a unique way. A Houston police officer named Bose and a psychiatrist at a state institution, Sandra Cole, become involved with Owen Mather. Owen, not exceptionally intelligent, has been writing long first person narratives set well into the future. These are the stories of Turk, Isaac, and a new character named Allison.

Turk is brought back to life in a desert on the planet of Equatoria where the first book ended and the second book took place. The mysterious protectors of earth, the Hypotheticals, still play a major role in the thinking of humans now spread through the galaxy and on Equatoria a religious group has been waiting and training for the appearance of both Turk and Isaac. It’s the group’s belief that because the portals created by the Hypotheticals, allowing almost instantaneous travel between worlds, are selective in who they let pass (not allowing birds or other creatures) that Turk and Isaac provide the means to contact the Hypotheticals, who continue to hold a god-like mystery in their minds.

The narrative switches between the mystery of Owen, on earth after the protective “Spin” barrier appeared around the planet, and the lives of those living in the far future. Ultimately we find that Owen has been chosen and guided to provide a kind of redemption in a reach across time.

Beautiful prose and compelling characters bring this complicated story to life which ends, ultimately, with the entropic end of the universe. Because of how the characters interact across time and the mystery of what the Hypotheticals are trying to accomplish I think I needed the second reading to draw it all in. It’s certainly the most amazing multi-book series I’ve read since I zipped through Dan Simmons’ Hyperion Cantos.

A respectable ending for the Spin trilogy

Vortex has the main element of a satisfying ending to a quite respectable trilogy series. At the very end, RCW finally reveals the true nature of the hypotheticals and goes beyond even their quantum leap of control over time and space. The only ding to this otherwise excellent series is that this final denouement is brought in with the sense that the author was tiring of sustaining the plot. It's as if he reached a stopping point and decided to "wrap it all up" and move on.

Most of the book jumps between what appears to be 2 plots separated by 10,000 years with two characters having different connections to both. The near future earth of the post-Spin era has a "Bladerunner" feel with a future with all the bad stuff amplified. The 10k+ storyline suggests a resolution to the mystery of the hypotheticals, but the almost religious like fervor of the Vox populace belies the eventual turn of events for the worse.

At its heart, Vortex exhibits a nihilist perspective on the universe. Activity merely serves to ensure continued activity without goals or purpose beyond its own sustainment. Finally, beyond our own universe lies the limitless potential for alternate universes where a minor change can be initiated merely to impact a single life regardless of the billions of lives that will experience a repetition of the same horrors over and over again.

All Questions Answered

I did not enjoy book 2 as 4/5 of the novel felt like extraneous filler, with only the last 1-2 hours of the story actually offering any explanation to the overall mysteries of the hypotheticals and why time manipulation domes are being placed on planets with sentient life. Unfortunately, book 3 follows the same path, with only the last 2 hours adding any real meaning to the story. However, the last 2 hours are really powerful. The author goes above and beyond to really explain the entirety of all mysteries presented, fast forwards to observe the overall impact, and finally ends with a fantastic conclusion I just loved. If books 2 and 3 we're condensed to just one 4 hour tale representing the ending of both books, this might have very well been a 4 or 5 star review.

A convuluted journey to an awesome ending

The first book was longer than it should have been and the second book was a shuffle of details that I left me unsure how I ended up there and continued in the third but the conclusion was well worth it.

Top 3% of hundreds of SF I have listened to

Out of the several hundred SF novels I have listened to on Audible, this is one of less than a handful that is 5-5-5. Great story, characters and scientific concepts. In the end it really hangs together. And nicely performed.

Decent ending to the trilogy

Vortex was better than book 2 but honestly I wish I would have stopped after book 1. Spin was a great book! Axis was just okay. What kept me going was the great narration by Scott Brick!

A riveting conclusion to Spin.

Spin was awesome. Axis was passable for a second book; I was not impressed. Vortex, however, was absolutely riveting. a wonderful conclusion to the trilogy.

Great end to the series

Spin was one of my favorite audiobook experiences. I was disappointed in the second book and almost didn't download Vortex. I'm really glad I gave it a chance. The story is not as unique as Spin (how could it be?), but the story is very enjoyable, narration incredible, and I found the book to have a very satisfying ending for the series.