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The Downloaded  By  cover art

The Downloaded

By: Robert J. Sawyer
Narrated by: Brendan Fraser, Luke Kirby, Vanessa Sears, Colm Feore, Andrew Phung, full cast
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Publisher's summary

In 2059, two vastly different groups of people portrayed by the compelling trio of Brendan Fraser (Academy Award winner), Luke Kirby (Emmy Award winner), and Vanessa Sears (Dora Award winner) undergo cryonic suspension. While their bodies are frozen, their minds, still active and awake, are uploaded into a massive quantum computer. The first group are all astronauts, about to leave Earth on a one-way interstellar colonization mission. The second group consists of convicted murderers and volunteers who elect to serve their sentences in a virtual-reality prison. But while both groups are suspended, a global cataclysm devastates most of the Earth, and their cryosleep is extended by more than 500 years.

Now available in Dolby Atmos on Audible.

©2023 Robert J. Sawyer (P)2023 Audible Originals, LLC.

A look behind the scenes.

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About the Creator

Robert J. Sawyer is considered one of Canada’s bestselling science-fiction authors. He has won multiple awards and is the only Canadian and one of eight novelists to win three of science fiction’s best novel awards of the year, including the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. (He’s won the top science fiction awards in the United States, Canada, France, Japan [three times], Spain [three times}, and China). Mr. Sawyer’s published 24 novels and other work have been translated into 20 languages: Bulgarian, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, French, Galician, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, and Turkish. Some of his notable works include the Audible Originals Hominids (Hugo Award Winner), The Terminal Experiment (Nebula Award Winner), Humans, the WWW trilogy, Hybrids, Calculating God, Starplex, Quantum Night, and many others. Some of his TV credits include Flashforward, the ABC series adapted from the novel of the same name, and Star Trek Continues. He is also known for his expertise in blending science and technology with philosophical and ethical questions, making his work very popular among readers who enjoy science fiction that explores the human condition. You can learn more about Robert J. Sawyer here.

About the performer

Brendan Fraser is a Canadian-American actor most recently known for winning the Academy Award for his role in The Whale. He’s also appeared in The Mummy trilogy, George of the Jungle, Encino Man, and School Ties. Brendan also appeared in critically acclaimed films such as Gods and Monsters and The Quiet American. His recent television credits include Doom Patrol (HBO Max), Professionals, and Trust (FX), to name a few. You can learn more about Brendan Fraser hereand here.
Next up for Brendan: Killers of the Flower Moon starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro and directed by Martin Scorsese.

About the performer

Luke Kirby is an Emmy-Award-winning theatre, film, and television actor who has performed on stages in Toronto and NYC over the years in productions of Troilus and Cressida, Jump/Cut, Defender of the Faith, Judgment Day, and more.
Luke starred opposite Michelle Williams in Sarah Polley’s film Take This Waltz and opposite Samuel L. Jackson in The Samaritan. More recently, Luke starred as Ted Bundy opposite Elijah Wood in No Man of God.
In television, one of Luke’s favourite roles was in the critically acclaimed miniseries Slings & Arrows opposite Rachel McAdams. He has also had regular roles on HBO’s Tell Me You Love Me, Sundance TV’s Rectify, and Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in the role of Lenny Bruce.

About the performer

Raised in Deep River, Ontario, Vanessa Sears is a Dora Award, Toronto Theatre Critics, Broadway World, and Critic’s Pick Award-winning artist. She has starred on stages across Canada including the Stratford Festival, Shaw Festival, the historic Winter Garden Theatre, and many more. Vanessa has also appeared in numerous films and television programs, including Suits, CBC’s TallBoyz, Lifetime’s Too Close for Christmas, Sex/Life (Netflix), and more. You can also see Vanessa starring in 14 Love Letters as well as Royally Wrapped for Christmas.

What listeners say about The Downloaded

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    5 out of 5 stars

A Beautiful Tragedy

I could feel the tightening in my chest as the spectacular voice actors gave the ending to their characters' stories. The future is unwritten, but our actions now are what help shape it.
Be good to each other.

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6 people found this helpful

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awesome

Story was so good 5 and a 1/2 hours blue by loved it. Can I wait to check out more by this author

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great read

Spectacular find I couldn’t stop once I started
Great story telling perfect voice acting I saw Brendan Fraser and just knew I’d enjoy 10/10 would recommend

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • HJ
  • 11-12-23

Listen for yourself…

Plenty of reviews praising it and a few others knocking it for various reasons. My advice, if you're interested listen to it. There is something to hold on to for everyone. The story, the cast, the recording, the ideas all amazing!

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Sawyer’s best yet - accessible science fiction by an all-star cast

This is, in my opinion, Robert J. Sawyer’s best book yet, and this all-Canadian cast DELIVERS. What a delight! I truly believe this book could be enjoyed by anyone, not just due-hard science fiction fans. As always, Sawyer dives into questions of humanity, relationships, and ethics, and touches on modern-day topics in a thought-provoking manner.

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2 people found this helpful

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An excellent jaunt

Very entertaining for a quick in between. The voice actors were wonderful and the storyline was very interesting.

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Amazing nice work

Loved the story and, the dramatization and sound work was outstanding! Please keep up the great work!

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Awesome

i really enjoyed this. captured me from beginning to end. great performance and story and ending.

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2 people found this helpful

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thoroughly enjoyed

Since I love sci fi, I would very much like to see this made into a movie.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

So-so science fiction

I listened to the whole thing, so it was good enough, but the writing was so-so and some performances so-so. Brendan Frazier was good though.

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