Inverted World

By: Christopher Priest

Narrated by: Steven Cree

Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

A uniquely powerful novel of a society in decay. On a planet whose very nature is a mystery a massive decrepit city is pulled along a massive railway track, laying the line down before it as it progresses into the wilderness.

The society within toils under an oppressive regime, its structures always on the point of collapse, the lives of its individuals lived in misery. No one knows where they are going, why they are going or what they will find when they get there. The ending of the novel provides one of the most profound twists in SF.

©2012 Christopher Priest (P)2012 Audible Ltd

mind altering fun

Inverted World is the first book by Priest I've read, and I found it to be a revelation. The main business here is the building of an outlandishly original fantasy world, artfully revealed to us in provocative flashes by a young apprentice named Helward. Without giving anything away (the revealing is so much of the fun!), I'd just say that it's one of the more unique fictional worlds I've inhabited lately, to the point where comparisons are difficult - if you mash up China Mieville, Terry Pratchett and Haruki Murakami, with a dash of George Lucas, you might be in the ball park?

The book is marked by a lot of playful, artful zig zags. Very subtly, the story shifts from a coming of age story to a bizarro, Odyssey-like journey to a chronicle of a very warped world, and back. It's heady, but unlike other brainmelting 70's sci-fi, I found it to be constantly humane - the characters maintain their charm and as a reader I felt like my amusement was the mission. In that respect, I'd say it's more along the lines of Terry Pratchett than Philip K. Dick.

Cree's narration was pitch perfect, in my estimation. He conveys the sound of an awed young apprentice wondering at a world full of new curiosities.

Note: the forward (ie chapter 1 of this audiobook) has what I'd consider to be minor spoilers. A lot of the joy of this book is following his crazy-worldbuilding, and the forward makes a lot of the connections for you. It didn't ruin the book by any means, but I'd recommend skipping it and listening to it after you finish.

Underwhelming-did Priest only write 1 good novel?

Would you try another book from Christopher Priest and/or Steven Cree?

Christopher Priest books are a mixed bag - The Prestige was excellent, but the 2 others I've read are mediocre.

What was most disappointing about Christopher Priest’s story?

The premise is intriguing but the story is boring and the ending is really soft and lame.

What didn’t you like about Steven Cree’s performance?

The thick Scottish accent is really off-putting. I kept expecting him to start singing a Proclaimers song.....

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I think the author wrote this book for the right reasons - for art's sake - but its just a boring and unsatisfying tale.

Bizarre physics with a mediocre plot

The Inverted World is an ambitious attempt to craft a world inhabited by humans in a region of space with altered properties of basic physics. The origin for this unusual state is reserved for the final denouement. Basically, a population of humans exist in a "city" referred to as earth, but essentially a large office buildig type complex that moves along tracks, disassembled behind and reconstructed in front to keep the city moving, always toward "optimum". The whole operation is maintained by Guildsmen, a rather secretive bunch, while the internal functioning of the society is handled by administrators. We follow the coming of age of a young guildsman inductee as he learns the ropes and experiences first hand the strange behavior of time and space relative to optimum that forms the basis for the need for the city to continually move.

Given the original publication date (1970's) it's easy to appreciate the sci-fi competition of that era provided the impetus for crafting a topsy-turvy universe of perturbed physics. The story itself is enjoyable with good pacing and a constant introduction of novel nuances and evolving interpersonal interactions. There are however a number of contradictions, that while understandable by the end, nevertheless create the nagging question that something is very much amiss. Most notably is the presence of non-city dwellers that appear blissfully unaware of their unique situation as well as the physical effects are more prominent the further away from the city. While the ending does provide closure, the results are less than satisfying.

The narration is quite good even with the heavily accented rendition.

very strange & mind boggling

this is a very interesting "high concept" type of scifi that is at first mysterious in a post apocalyptic way, then very puzzling as you begin to understand the dynamics governing the world. very thought provoking and different and even if the solution isn't to your liking at the end, it remains a fascinating concept. & the narrators voice/accent is worth sampling at least, different to have such a pronounced accented narrator but I liked that he was new and unique.

couldn't listen due to terrible narrator

I couldn't even make it through the prologue. total waste of money. check my other reviews. I'm generally very kind. this was full on impossible to listen to.

Engaging with a rough ending.

I enjoyed most of the story, but I was worried that the explanation of the driving force (the story's environmental antagonist) would fall flat. in the end, it did. The science was brushed over with a hand-waved explanation. The story isn't hard science fiction, but, as written, it comes off as anti-science and pro conspiracy theory.

Good but falls flat

Thought the title was interesting, and was hooked about 20 to 30 minutes in and continued to dive into the story until the last five minutes and it just falls flat slightly disappointed but overall a good book

Hard to care much about the characters

The changing first and third person narrator makes it feel a little disjointed and not much effort is made to develop the relationships so I ended up not feeling very invested in what happens to them. A little too much astrophysics and math - though interesting- and not enough real plot or human experience to make it compelling.

One of my favorite stories by Christopher Priest.

I read this book years ago, and the story stuck with me. I find it to be a haunting tale. The audio version did not disappoint. It reads well aloud, and the narration is superb.

Overly complicated, little pay off; didn’t like it.

Many reviews mentioned that priests slow process within a twist ending. I was greatly intrigued. I waited through the slow complex story to find a slight twist at the end with little resolution for the main character. I loved “The Prestige “ but was disappointed in this one.

Love this book - always have

I read this book when I was a child and it has always stayed one of my favourite science fiction stories. OK, so the physics, engineering and biology are complete bobbins and thoroughly inconsistent - BUT- it takes a bit of thought to come to that conclusion (personally I think the author painted himself into a corner with an idea and couldn't work out how to fix it - hence the twist(s) - I would so love to fix it :) . However, the main drive of the book is the sociology and the 'closed society' / secrecy / coming of age / revelation by discovery and conflict theme - and this is just excellent. The reading voice is superb too, I wasn't quite sure that his accent would work, but it does and I'm very pleased with this rendition of a personal favourite. One really really irritating issue: Audible, PLEASE don't put introductions to books that give away major plot points. In this case you are told things in the intro that you REALLY shouldn't know - they don't destroy the plot, but they do take away some of the pleasure of discovering things WITH the main character(s). SKIP THE INTRO and come back to it - Adam Roberts (intro writer) - you should know better, would you like it if the twists in your books were given away?

I'm a fan, so am prepared to forgive!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this title with caveats! There is so much to love here, the world is incredibly well-realised and the writing extraordinary, as you would expect from the man who wrote The Glamour and The Prestige. But, I would advise caution, you won't get a perfectly wrapped up ending that satisfies, none of his books do that really, it's best to accept at the beginning, you're along for the journey, and it's a wonderful and extraordinary journey.

What did you like best about this story?

The writing and the world-building. It's a terribly claustrophobic society and I felt myself as frustrated as the people who populate it.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

the revelation!

Wow

Brilliant and amazing and excellent. must read...well must listen. great narration and a great story. I need to read it again right now

Curiouser and curiouser

A great story that kept me intrigued from the get go. The technical descriptions helped to create a very believable world, although this did cause a lull in attention. The characters are well fleshed out and are always interesting. A good listen, great narrator.

Interesting concepts

I loved The Prestige by CP and have waited for this one to come on Audible. It is a peculiar and very original story that has been praised for capturing the essence of what Science Fiction should be about. I found the slow progress of the city on wheels interesting and really wanted to know why the world within the book was as it was, forcing me to listen with rapt curiosity and when the denouement came, I was satisfied.



The opening phrase "I had reached the age of six hundred and fifty miles" has been described as "one of the most famous in science fiction" (Critic Paul Kincaid, Wiki) and to me it beautifully and succinctly captures the terrible situation of the ensuing story in just a few words.



Very interesting and enjoyable SF listen. Well read.

interesting story

I liked the story, the narrator was great, but I was disappointed by the ending. The story dragged a little in the third part, but otherwise it was good.

Abrupt conclusion

A very compelling and original story that moves at a good pace, however the conclusion felt rushed. The parts switch between first person and third person which I don't feel was a good idea.

interesting, though a little laboured

an intriguing hypothesis, very original, though story seemed to drag a little. Nice clear diction by tbe narrator.

Intriquing concept ruined by final third

What did you like best about The Inverted World? What did you like least?

The story opens and continues with an intriguing and fascinating take on a culture, but is let down by the authors need to try and find some sort of twist ending.

The reading is good, and the narrators scottish accent works surprisingly well. Would happily try some of his other narrations.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The twist is unsatisfactory, unnecessary, and rather betrays the rest of the book, making the reader feel they've wasted their time with the preceeding 2/3rds of the book. It is almost like a second author took over the story and decided to scrap the concept.

Having looked at some of Christopher Priests other books, it seems he is rather too hooked on the concept of an unreliable narrator, and in this case its to the books detriment.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

Not knowing the ending, no.

Something different

The overall story wasn't my usual SF feast but with time it's heat came to simmer and the twist at the end definitely sizzled.