The Futurist

Some clever wordplay and a few bits of interesting (if not novel) commentary. But the story wasn't funny enough to be a comedy, harrowing enough to be a thriller or interesting enough to be thought-provoking.

With this book, you take the good with the annoying. What is good? The general plot, which whirls you across the globe while making you think about how this world really operates. It keep you engaged with is exotic places and fast pace.

What is annoying? The narrator, who often uses voices that are more fit for a muppet. Anything else? Yes. There is good flippancy, like Jon Stewart, and there is bad, like that kid in school that mocks everything you do, even if you are just standing still and breathing. The author is closer to being like that kid.

And one more bit of annoyance that is out fo the author's hands: the fact that people are calling this satire. Sparing you the lecture, it is not. Not everything that is humorous and political is satire.

Another story about a person who is lost, disillusioned, bored and boring. Another story about a guy who drinks too much, has lots of money and is "trying to find himself". I did not care for him or anyone else in this story. And the end of the story is lame as well. The reader did not help, his characters were whiney and indistinguishable from each other.

Unsurprising, flippant, middle-road semi-satire. Worst aspect is the snarky preciousness of the narrator who oversells the material, putting every word in sarcastic vocal quotation marks. This is why I often find the best audiobook narrators are authors who read their own work. They don't try to "act" so hard, they just communicate.

The author sustains humour, pacing, and social commetary through the novel. I was looking only for a light listen to pass time, so this actually surpassed my expectations in terms of entertainment and witty social observation.

Listener reviews often fascinate me because of the range of preferences expressed for narration style. I did not like the narration in "Futurist." Although Dufris was consistent (for most voices) and professional, I don't like his style. He delivered the same pace and, in some cases, the same odd voices as in his narration of the office comedy "The Company." Had I not listened to the latter, I may have enjoyed "Futurist" more; but I found myself transferring the characters from "The Company" to the oddly voiced inhabitants of the present novel. In "Futurist," I disliked particularly the narrator's attempt at a faint (and inconsistent) Afrikaner accent for Margaret - but others may like him - He is at least not dull.

I would download other novels by Othmer, but I will listen carefully to audiobook samples before acquiring more of narrator Dufris.

What a hoot!!! Such a attractive character. Kinda of Forest Gumpish. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book.

I have friends that are Futurists and this book is true to their spirit and just a fun listen! It's the best recorded book I've ever heard on audible and I wholeheartedly recommend it. If you are a fan of Bruce Sterling, Cory Doctorow, Neal Stephenson, William Gibson or the like then you MUST pick this up.