Angelmaker

By: Nick Harkaway

Narrated by: Daniel Weyman

Joe Spork repairs clocks, a far cry from his late father, a flashy London gangster. But when Joe fixes one particularly unusual device, his life is suddenly upended. Joe's client, Edie Banister, is more than just a kindly old lady - she's a former superspy. And the device? It's a 1950s doomsday machine. And having triggered it, Joe now faces the wrath of both the government and a diabolical South Asian dictator, Edie's old arch-nemesis.

With Joe's once-quiet world now populated with mad monks, psychopathic serial killers, scientific geniuses, girls in pink leather, and threats to the future of conscious life in the universe, he realizes that the only way to survive is to muster the courage to fight, help Edie complete a mission she gave up years ago, and pick up his father's old gun.

©2012 Nick Harkaway (P)2012 AudioGO

A genre-mashing ripping yarn!

Some writers I love for their biting irreverant satire, like Vonnegut, Swift and Twain. Some writers I love for their opulent, vivid use of language, like Tom Robbins and Robert Anton Wilson. And some I love for the sheer inventiveness of their storytelling, like Neil Gaiman and Michael Chabon.

Nick Harkaway managed all of the above in his first novel, "The Gone Away World" (TGAW).

Therefore, I was both looking forward to - and dreading - Harkaway's second work, "Angelmaker". It seemed like I would almost certainly be disappointed.

I wasn't: if anything, "Angelmaker" represents a tighter, more focused narrative - while maintaining the strengths that made TGAW such a joy. Furthermore, "Angelmaker" isn't hampered by a contrived plot twist that was a sour note for me in TGAW.

As with TGAW, "Angelmaker" flits between genres with ease: is it spy thriller? Sort of. A mystery? Kind of. A sci-fi adventure? A bit. A gangster tale? Somewhat. It really defies category, and that's one of Harkaway's gifts… he plays with the tropes of genre without being constrained by them, and the results are delightful. Finally, Harkaway's characters are rich and amusing, and their dialogue frequently sparkles.

Both of the Audible versions of the books are deftly narrated: some of the best performances among my (several dozen) audiobooks. The narrators are able to breathe life into the character's voices, helping you enjoy them as the distinct personalities that they are.

A good showing

What did you love best about Angelmaker?

Lush writing draws you into the characters mind, life and emotions. This makes a great ride for fans of strong, sympathetic characters with cheeky, yet believeable, personality.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Angelmaker?

The prison sequence.

Which character – as performed by Daniel Weyman – was your favorite?

Joe Spork

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

Any additional comments?

A bit predictable if you've read his first outing, Gone Away World. Seems to have a very specific pattern to his themes and storytelling.

Instant classic

Wonderfully well-written book, great story, interesting characters, amazing narrator...loved it all. Excellent read. Not steam punk, sort of science fiction, not.quiye mystery, not exactly historical thriller...yet elements of all of these. Well worth the time.

Angelmaker

I was so glad I gave this a second try.This is a funny,witty book.A man who fixes clocks is charged with saving the world.His father,a theif and his grandfather,a collector of many things had something that someone needs to end the world.Give it a try!Daniel Aayman was great with narration.“I was given this free review copy audiobook and have voluntarily left this review." 

A narrative collage of quirky characters

Delightful, delectable and charming! Well written and well read. If the summary catches your eye, by all means, give it a try.

Flawed excellent genre bender

Thoroughly enjoyed despite some pace issues. Joe Spork was the most interesting and most annoying as main protagonist, the latter because his evolution was somewhat unbelievably slow. I also have gotten tired of torture as a path to epiphany. However the intricate and generation-spanning plot was engaging and the set pieces grand.

I thought the narrator was excellent, but the editing/production pretty poor, primarily in the form of many very long, often ill placed pauses in the reading.

Harkaway Delivers Again

Nick Harkaway, son of John le Carré (author of the "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" series), became my favorite author when first I picked up a copy of his debut novel, "The Gone Away World", and his second addition to the literary world is, if anything, better than the first. I could honestly talk for hours about the man's skill with prose and his pithy turns of phrase. The way he writes, the descriptors he uses are so unique and abstract, and yet convey his meaning so precisely that there is no room left for ambiguity.

The style and genre are difficult to capture in a single category. It is literature, because it is smart--not only smart, but wise. It carries deeper meaning, the characterizations are superb (even of the most minor characters, and even when we are given only glimpses into their lives, the way in which Mr. Harkaway describes them lends to the reader the most absolute clarity in not only who they are, but why they are, and how they will soon be).

At the same time, this book is much more than literature. It is science fiction, as the protagonist races to unravel the mysteries surrounding his grandparents and a doomsday machine from the 1950s. It is adventure, as we follow Edie Bannister through her initiation into the secrets of a World War II-era cloak-and-dagger group of Britain's most forward-thinking masters of subterfuge. Suspense keeps you hanging on every word of every battle--and Harkaway's master wit leaves you giggling with glee only a paragraph after he has brought you through very meaningful and heartfelt mourning. Sword fights, shoot-outs, and explosions are brilliantly twined with romance, childhood anecdotes, smart humor, and harried escapes, with miraculous victories and devastating defeats.

A more ill-suited narrator could easily have made chaos out of the quick pace of Harkaway's prose and his tendency towards the occasional off-shoot of narration (and typical British only-somewhat-relative-digressions into exaggeration and polite melodrama). Daniel Weyman goes beyond doing the narrative justice. His voice is perfect, his accents spot-on, and the rhythm of his speaking matches perfectly to Harkaway's prose. There is nothing lost in translation, so to speak. He reads with emotion, and carries the listener with him. He hits the passion, the raw feeling that Harkaway's narrative inspires, and easily guides one back to the quiet when heavier consideration is due.

In short, I cannot recommend this book enough--and if you like it, do definitely check out Harkaway's other works as well. He is a truly gifted author who deserves a great deal more attention than he has received.

Fun steampunkish story, well read

A clockwork repair guy trying to live a quiet, below-the-radar life in an alternate-present London gets embroiled in a quest to save the world from a doomsday device that works by causing people to experience existential despair.

This is a swashbuckling, steampunkish story, with a lot (but not too much) complexity and Daniel Weyman performs it very well. It's a little like a Neal Stephenson novel, but not nearly so thoughtful. That's why I've given the story three stars. It seemed like too intelligent of a construction to end by romanticizing gangsters and a climax that's an explosion of gleeful violence. Harkaway tries to fudge the issue by making the villain ridiculously evil and his minions a sort of automaton, but you can't have your cake and eat it, too. Either you're smarter than the average action movie, or you're not, and ultimately, Angelmaker isn't. Still, I enjoyed it.

Harkaway delivers again!

After I fell head over heels for Harkaway's spectacular "The Gone-Away World," "Angelmaker" became my most anticipated book of 2012. My patience was well rewarded! With scintillating wit and seemingly effortless style, Harkaway delivered another absurd and glorious adventure, introducing vibrant, complex characters and a frenetic, magnificently layered world for them to inhabit.

Better still, Daniel Weyman gives one of the most animated, engaging audiobook performances I've experienced. This is a must-buy!

And now I want to reread "The Gone-Away World."

Outstanding! Unexpected and thrilling.

I chose this book knowing nothing about the author or the story. So I could not have been more delighted with this production. The narrator was fantastic. Clear, not rushed and clearly engaged with the story.

And the story! Nick Harkaway has a kind of meandering narrative style, that reminds me of my own inner monologue as my day goes by. There are lots of non sequiturs, some taken to absurd (and sometimes very funny) lengths, that later in the book always seem to come back around somehow. The story, told from the point of view of two main characters is a delight, a rollicking sort of steampunkish fantastic adventure with the fate of the world at stake. I don’t want to give anything away, I’d like everyone to have the same experience that I had and come into the story with a blank slate. It’s so smart, so well constructed and so full of fascinating characters and imaginative situations, I was sad that it ended. I’m just a guy on the internet but FWIW I highly, highly recommend this book. Outstanding.