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Seveneves

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Seveneves

By: Neal Stephenson
Narrated by: Peter Brooke
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The astounding new novel from the master of science fiction

President Barack Obama’s summer reading choice

What would happen if the world were ending?

When a catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb, it triggers a feverish race against the inevitable. An ambitious plan is devised to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere. But unforeseen dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain…

Five thousand years later, their progeny – seven distinct races now three billion strong – embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown, to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth.

A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephenson combines science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature in a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is at once extraordinary and eerily recognizable. He explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a breathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, and altogether brilliant.

 Classics Fiction First Contact Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Political Science Fiction Women's Fiction Survival
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Critic reviews

Praise for Seveneves:

A Financial Times Summer read

‘The scope of Seveneves is breathtaking, the suspense tremendous, the execution faultless’ Financial Times Books of the Year So Far…

‘Remarkable’ Publishers Weekly

Praise for Neal Stephenson:

‘Genius’ Time

‘He makes reading so much fun it feels like a deadly sin’ The New York Times

‘Fast-forward free-style mall mythology for the 21st century’
William Gibson

‘[Stephenson is] the hacker Hemingway’ Newsweek
All stars
Most relevant
This is one of those 'biggest story ever told' novels, end of the world is nigh and what you we going to do about it. Ends up thousands of years hence.... And yes, for such a huge listen, it feels rushed. I was sad when it ended even though the damned thing took weeks to get through.

Massive yet rushed

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...the likes of which even God has never seen... unless he got an advance copy for the publishers...

A depth and breadth of technical storytelling ..

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Inpressive in its scale, and for its adherance to physics but just a bit bland compared to Stephenson's other books.

Totally subjective but I found the contrivances of the plot highly unbelievable. The Earth exploding, fine. Some of the swings in the plot, and character motivations, immersion ruining.

Also the writing and narration style were kinda bland and monotone.

On the upside, you get a lot of book for one credit...

Cost effective but kinda average

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the start of this book hooks you in, I love the premise of the story. fascinating concept well written in parts 1 and 2.

part 3, why? why oh why did the author choose this final storyline, it is awful. it needed completely re hashing. there could have been thousands of different options to describe the return to earth, the one chosen was just terrible.

oh and the epilogue, seriously did the author get bored and just wrap it up in the quickest way possible?

I would almost recommend not bothering listening to part three, it nearly ruins an excellent book in parts one and two, but I know no one will take heed of that. just be warned, part three will not satiate your desire to know what happens after the epic, focusing far too much on small scale interaction rather than grand narrative.

please write a better sequel to the epic, take us on the 5000 year journey

beginning, middle, end

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Yes, I like the story, tho found the technical detail demanding at times! What occurred to me was, just how did the spacers turn raw metal ore into steel plate etc. The period following the meeting of the seven eves was absent, which could have supplied a considerable quantity of drama, human interest, suspense and emotional events.. shame. Should, could this have been a trilogy or more? In the manner of the Julian May epic series.

Enjoyable, tho there's some weak areas.

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