Christian B. Kaufman

Classic Work of American 20th Century Fiction

Reviewed: 06-12-24

First, WARNING - if you know nothing of the story, DO NOT LISTEN TO AUTHOR’S PREFACE, as it contains major spoilers. It is frankly oddly baffling to me that the publisher would not have put the author’s comments, which are an analysis of the book you have yet to read, at the END of the story, particularly given that the single biggest spoiler of the story is revealed by the author in his commentary. The commentary clearly is written for people already familiar with the story. So, buyer beware…

This aside, this is a delightful narration of a marvelous story. It is a story that is one of the best examples of the American flavor of Existentialism, in contrast the the more common French Existentialism of writers like Camus and Sarte. The American flavor is poignantly different but still touches on the basic themes of the meaning vs meaninglessness of life, the almost cosmic horror of existence vs death, and a mood that could only be captured by a long time resident of North Africa, as Paul Bowles was. Without having to say it, he creates a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere of vast emptiness, not only of the desert and sky, but of the soul. One almost feels they can hear the oppressive quiet and wind rustling always present, infecting every aspect of the story.

Be prepared for a hauntingly unsettling ride. There will be no answers, no resolutions handed to you.

This is not an exit.

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4 people found this helpful

Classic book, stiff performance

Reviewed: 06-03-24

A classic of SF. Fabulous description of a first encounter scenario. However, Peter Gannon is a very stiff reader. Same here as all his work. Weak characterization. Adds nothing to the listening experience.

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A veritable must read for true SF fans

Reviewed: 04-23-24

Well read. A phenomenal SF masterpiece. While the allusion to Heart of Darkness is clear, Silverberg takes it far beyond to conclusions only possible in SF, and, in the end, makes a more pure and transcendent story.

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Good book, great performance.

Reviewed: 10-11-23

The performance was spot on, for a very challenging prose. As many have said, Burgess most importantly, the difference in the story’s meaning by the final chapter, omitted by the American version and Kubrick is immense, and adds a huge additional facet to the story.

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Quirky story. Great performance.

Reviewed: 09-26-23

This is a very quirky story. A slow burn with a loooooong set up. Not 100% that I fee the pay off is worth it. It might be. Still mulling over it. It definitely will stick with you though, which is a good sign. The performance was top notch. Essentially voice acting. Really infuses each character with its own voice and personality. No two characters are treated the same.

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Emotional and thoughtful

Reviewed: 08-03-23

Jay has produced an immaculate simulacrum of what it is like to be a pediatric neurosurgeon. It is told with a depth of clarity and emotional intelligence that are a hallmark of Jay as a person. Kudos to you, Jay.

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Good sci fi

Reviewed: 07-01-23

The sci fi concepts in the book are well conceived. The story is all in all enjoyable. Many people have commented on the translation, however, which is noticeably stiff and made more so by a relatively stiff performance as well. While surprisingly good with Mandarin pronunciation, the narrator still fell short on conveying emotion or tension well. However, looking past this, one can still enjoy a well conceived plot rich with good hard sci fi concepts worth the read to any hard sci fi lover.

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Great narration for a great story.

Reviewed: 06-22-23

Great narration for a great story. I “re-read” this since falling in love with it as a teenager 30 years ago. Well rendered as an audio performance.

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Excellent horror collection and narration

Reviewed: 04-19-23

Ligotti’s story telling is superb, as is his prose. It is a delight on its own to just read his mastery of the language and his nuance. In many ways, and similar to Laird Barron, he does what Lovecraft did but better, more nuanced, more mature. While perhaps not strict cosmic horror, his writing has all the similar sensibilities of a malevolent universe that hides behind the veneer of “normal” appearances.
In regards to narration, it was spot on primarily because most of Ligotti’s protagonists have an air of arrogance or self-assuredness that was well conveyed in the narrator’s tone. While I find this pairing either well conceived and directed or simply fortuitous, I am admittedly uncertain that I would enjoy this narrator with a different collection or novel.

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1 person found this helpful

Classic story with stiff narration

Reviewed: 02-10-23

As a millennia spanning arc, this remains a true classic in golden era hard science fiction. I did feel though that the narration was stiff and very flat with minimal character differentiation. I have read one other audiobook he’s narrated. His narration is not to bad that a good story does not overcome it, but unlike truly great performances, it adds nothing to the story and can be enjoyed just as well by reading it.

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