Permafrost

By: Alastair Reynolds

Narrated by: Natasha Soudek

A LOCUS AWARD FINALIST FOR BEST NOVELLA

Fix the past. Save the present. Stop the future. Master of science fiction Alastair Reynolds unfolds a time-traveling climate fiction adventure in Permafrost.

2080: at a remote site on the edge of the Arctic Circle, a group of scientists, engineers and physicians gather to gamble humanity’s future on one last-ditch experiment. Their goal: to make a tiny alteration to the past, averting a global catastrophe while at the same time leaving recorded history intact. To make the experiment work, they just need one last recruit: an ageing schoolteacher whose late mother was the foremost expert on the mathematics of paradox.

2028: a young woman goes into surgery for routine brain surgery. In the days following her operation, she begins to hear another voice in her head... an unwanted presence which seems to have a will, and a purpose, all of its own – one that will disrupt her life entirely. The only choice left to her is a simple one.

Does she resist ... or become a collaborator?

Wow

Most believable time travel scenario ever! Narrator was terrific. Perhaps I missed it somewhere in there, but what did the note say in the altimeter?
Really great, highly recommended.

Such an outstanding book!

This is an excellently imagined time travel story. Don't let the 4hr length dissuade you from purchasing it! I have read it twice and recall the story and characters frequently, due both to the author's characters and the narrator bringing life to them.

A superb short story

This was a great choice, even though it’s in the short side. It’s based on mind-bending paradoxes caused by crude time travel. Really gets you thinking.

Frigg8n amazing: worth it for a shorter work

well conceived, well written, perfectly paced, good detail, good premise, excellent performance. I usually only spent credits on long listens but very glad to have found this novella length offering.

Excellent work

I was a bit worried at the beginning with the narrator, but I guess she was just warming up. Turned out to be one of the better performances I've heard in the end. Once she found her stride and I got used to the accent.

And of course, another excellent story from Reynolds: if a little short. A sign of a good story. I left wanting more.