The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.

A Novel

By: Neal Stephenson, Nicole Galland

Narrated by: Laurence Bouvard, Shelley Atkinson, Laural Merlington, Joe Barrett, Will Damron, Luke Daniels

Length: 24 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

From best-selling author Neal Stephenson and critically acclaimed historical and contemporary commercial novelist Nicole Galland comes a captivating and complex near-future thriller combining history, science, magic, mystery, intrigue, and adventure that questions the very foundations of the modern world.

When Melisande Stokes, an expert in linguistics and languages, accidently meets military intelligence operator Tristan Lyons in a hallway at Harvard University, it is the beginning of a chain of events that will alter their lives and human history itself. The young man from a shadowy government entity approaches Mel, a low-level faculty member, with an incredible offer. The only condition: She must sign a nondisclosure agreement in return for the rather large sum of money.

Tristan needs Mel to translate some very old documents, which, if authentic, are earth-shattering. They prove that magic actually existed and was practiced for centuries. But the arrival of the scientific revolution and the Age of Enlightenment weakened its power and endangered its practitioners. Magic stopped working altogether in 1851, at the time of the Great Exhibition at London's Crystal Palace - the world's fair celebrating the rise of industrial technology and commerce. Something about the modern world "jams" the "frequencies" used by magic, and it's up to Tristan to find out why.

And so the Department of Diachronic Operations - D.O.D.O. - gets cracking on its real mission: to develop a device that can bring magic back and send Diachronic Operatives back in time to keep it alive...and meddle with a little history at the same time. But while Tristan and his expanding operation master the science and build the technology, they overlook the mercurial - and treacherous - nature of the human heart.

Written with the genius, complexity, and innovation that characterize all of Neal Stephenson's work and steeped with the down-to-earth warmth and humor of Nicole Galland's storytelling style, this exciting and vividly realized work of science fiction will make you believe in the impossible and take you to places - and times - beyond imagining.

Full cast of narrators includes Robert Fass, James Foster, Tavia Gilbert, Arthur Morey, David Stifel, Charlie Thurston, and Kate Udall.

©2017 Neal Stephenson (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Exceptional voice cast, unconventional format

Would you try another book from Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland and/or the narrators?

Absolutely

Would you listen to another book narrated by the narrators?

Yes

Any additional comments?

This was not my favorite, but it was fun and it held my attention.

The book is written entirely in the form of documentation produced by various characters. The first act of the book is entirely composed of a single document written by one character, so the book feels like a familiar first-person perspective story. Later, the book shifts to documents written by other characters, and that familiarity breaks down. Much of the later sections contain chat logs and IM transcripts.

The two main characters are Melisande Stokes, who specializes in ancient languages, and Tristan Lyons - a military man who loves science. I found this paralleled the dual authors Nicole Galland, who I understand specializes in historical fiction, and Neal Stephenson, who takes joy in writing about science, technology, ancient warfare, and specifically money (as a technology). I suspect the writing duties fell mainly on Nicole Galland, but I would start to hear Neal Stephenson's voice in the ruminations of Tristan, and later any character who needed to explain technology or swordsmanship. Also, I am pretty sure Neal Stephenson wrote the epic poem towards the end that features the viking sacking of an unconventional target.

Like most books, I read this partially on my Kindle and partially as an audio book on Audible - my preferred way to consume a book, as I can read comfortably in a chair after work, and then continue over audio while driving. The audio presentation featured a full cast, which is wonderful, though often one character was speaking through another characters document, so different performers would read the same character depending on the document being read - which was kind of... unsettling. Also, the chat logs necessitated a name and timestamp on every reply, which crippled the rhythm when the replies were brief.

Any fan of either of these authors is probably going to enjoy this book. Also, it would appeal to fans of time travel and those who enjoy blurring the lines between fantasy and science fiction.

Good Story, Cartoonish Narration.

A well told story, with all the historicity and humor that you'd expect from a book co-authored by Neal Stephenson. The narration, however, is painful to listen to. The narrator's take on a clean cut, military protagonist sounds like a cross between a WW2 news reel and Inspector Gadget.

If you're able to get past horrible narration then by all means download this title.

I love Neal Stephan But...

Strange cuts outs (I get that they where meant to be "redacted edits" but was never really explained and frankly got annoying)...
Ended just when the plot was fully developed...

All said I would suggest it to anyone that liked Mona Lisa Overdrive... bit would say "I think the sequal will be awesome...

Most fun!

This is that appeals to everyone fantasy, science, and most of all, funny. It makes you think, and is a most enjoyable performance.

Many different voice actors. Wonderful performance

The performance of this audio book is spectacular! Here's seven more words because that's required.

Creative, unusual story

Enjoyed, unique story, email addresses in story sort of irritating, got used to it. Worth a credit.

interesting, but kind of meh

The story could have been so much better, but it skipped around in perspective so much it made it annoying, not to mention that some parts just felt very poorly written.

Overall I enjoyed the book due to the performances and the general idea of magical time travel, but will probably forgo any new book/books from this author or in this series.

An unexpectedly great book!

Given the ideas of witchcraft, magic and time travel, I was understandably skeptical. The performances and the historical scope of the book made for a fantastic read/listen. I would highly recommend this book.

Great story

A terrific story that spans genres of historical fiction, sci fi, and snarky contemporary blogging. At once ironic and fully engaged in important issues such as government as oppressor, DODO is a great read. The Audible performances are outstanding, giving varied and engaging voices to the colorful cast of characters. A must listen!

one of my favorite authors

absolutely love the first half. second half not quite as much. some plot holes I wish for explained