
Jennifer Government
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Narrated by:
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Michael Kramer
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By:
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Max Barry
About this listen
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Critic reviews
Selected for School Library Journal Adult Books for Young Adults
"Wicked and wonderful....[It] does just about everything right. Fast-moving, funny, and involving." (The Washington Post Book World)
"Funny and clever....A kind of ad-world version of Dr. Strangelove. [Barry] unleashes enough wit and surprise to make his story a total blast." (The New York Times Book Review)
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- Length: 4 hrs and 51 mins
- Abridged
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In Max Barry's twisted, hilarious vision of the near future, the world is run by giant American corporations; employees take the last names of the companies they work for; The Police and The NRA are publicly-traded security firms. Jennifer Government is a Catch-22 for the New World Order, a satire both broad and pointed, deeply funny and disturbingly on-target.
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Take Off Your Blinders
- By Dean on 04-24-03
By: Max Barry
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The Calculating Stars
- A Lady Astronaut Novel
- By: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the East Coast of the US, including Washington, DC. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the Earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space and requires a much-larger share of humanity to take part in the process. Elma York’s drive to become the first lady astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.
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Never achieves lift off
- By Richard Bruno on 10-01-18
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Daemon
- By: Daniel Suarez
- Narrated by: Jeff Gurner
- Length: 15 hrs and 55 mins
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When the obituary of legendary computer game architect Matthew Sobol appears online, a previously dormant daemon activates, initiating a chain of events that begins to unravel our interconnected world. This daemon reads news headlines, recruits human followers, and orders assassinations. With Sobol’s secrets buried with him, and as new layers of his daemon are unleashed, it’s up to Detective Peter Sebeck to stop a self-replicating virtual killer before it achieves its ultimate purpose - one that goes far beyond anything Sebeck could have imagined.
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Possibly The Best Techno-thriller Ever
- By Erica on 01-22-09
By: Daniel Suarez
Government's in the house!
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a world of possibilities that doesn't hit the mark
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Engaging all the way through
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What a world
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Decent performance, anvilicious story.
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Just okay
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It is a world in which kids in school write reports lauding the privatized system of America, which has “all the best companies” and denigrating the socialist system still hanging on in Europe. Fortunate citizens of the group of countries that now comprise “America” have jobs with big global corporations like Walmart, and take their employer’s names as their own surnames. If you work for Walmart, your kids go to Walmart schools and shop at Walmart, of course. Jobs are strictly contracted and if you fail to perform, you lose not only your job, but also your last name and quickly become a social pariah. The titular character, Jennifer, is one of the few who still believe in and work for the federal government, characterized as “cheap suits, dour expressions, always asking for money.”
Brief one-liners explain some of the many ways in which capitalism has ‘improved” day-to-day life, such as when a character needs to get somewhere quickly, he simply pays more to drive in corporate-owned fast lanes on the expressway. At one point another character is reminded that being convicted of a crime will not only land him in prison, but he will also have to pay back the cost of his imprisonment, a financial penalty that can take decades to pay off.
Highly recommended for anyone who likes a little—okay, a lot of—social commentary with their scifi.
[I listened to this as an audio book performed by Michael Kramer, who did a fantastic job of putting just the right amount of irony into his voice and catching all the humor inherent in the novel. I enjoyed Kramer’s narration so much that I immediately sought out other works narrated by him, which led me to Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy, which I also enjoyed immensely.]
Fun story, great narration
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great story, even better narration
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Michael Kramer’s reading did irritate on occasion, such as Jennifer’s daughter, but the rest is enjoyable.
An interesting look at consumerism
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Great Escape with Meaningful Warning
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