Matter
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Narrated by:
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Toby Longworth
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By:
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Iain M. Banks
About this listen
Only the sister is not what she once was; Djan Seriy Anaplian has changed almost beyond recognition to become an agent of the Culture's Special Circumstances section, charged with high-level interference in civilisations throughout the greater galaxy.
Concealing her new identity - and her particular set of abilities - might be a dangerous strategy, however. In the world to which Anaplian returns, nothing is quite as it seems; and determining the appropriate level of interference in someone else's war is never a simple matter.
Matter is a novel of dazzling wit and serious purpose. An extraordinary feat of storytelling and breathtaking invention on a grand scale, it is a tour de force from a writer who has turned science fiction on its head.
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- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Henry doesn't think he'll ever be able to get his mind off his parents' divorce. That is, until he meets Pyrgus Malvae, prince of the faerie world. Now Henry must help Pyrgus return home to fight the evil Faeries of the Night.
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Coming of Teenhood
- By Coral on 01-18-07
By: Herbie Brennan
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The Course of Empire
- By: Eric Flint, K. D. Wentworth
- Narrated by: Chris Patton
- Length: 18 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Conquered by the Jao twenty years ago, the Earth is shackled under alien tyranny - and threatened by the even more dangerous Ekhat, one of whose genocidal extermination fleets is coming to the solar system. The only chance for human survival is in the hands of an unusual pair of allies: a young Jao prince, newly arrived to Terra to assume his duties, and a young human woman brought up amongst the Jao occupiers. But, as their tentative alliance takes shape, they are under pressure from all sides.
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ERIC FLINT'S VENTURE INTO FULL SCI-FI MODE
- By Professor on 11-01-12
By: Eric Flint, and others
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Gateways
- Original New Stories Inspired by Frederik Pohl
- By: Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, and others
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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It isn’t easy to get a group of bestselling SF authors to write new stories for an anthology, but that’s what Elizabeth Anne Hull has done in this powerhouse book. With original, captivating tales by Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, David Brin, Cory Doctorow, Neil Gaiman, Joe Haldeman, Harry Harrison, Larry Niven, Vernor Vinge, Gene Wolfe, and others, Gateways is a SF event that will be a must-buy for SF readers of all tastes, from the traditional to the cutting edge; from the darkly serious to the laugh-out-loud funny.
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Spectacular.
- By Steve Reid on 08-21-15
By: Greg Bear, and others
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StarCraft: I, Mengsk
- By: Graham McNeill
- Narrated by: Neil Kaplan
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Sixty-thousand light-years from Earth, the corrupt Terran Confederacy holds the Koprulu sector tightly in its tyrannical grip, controlling every aspect of its citizens' lives. One man dares to stand up to this faceless empire and vows to bring it to its knees: Arcturus Mengsk - genius propagandist, tactician, and freedom fighter. A monstrous act of bloody violence sows the seeds of rebellion in Arcturus, but he is not the first Mengsk to rail against such oppression. Before Arcturus grew to manhood, his father, Angus Mengsk, also defied the Confederacy and sought to end its reign.
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great listening & listening, need more starcraft!!
- By Anonymous User on 12-04-18
By: Graham McNeill
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Hyperion
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.
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The Shrike Awaits. Enter The Time Tombs...
- By Michael on 10-13-12
By: Dan Simmons
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Worldship: Udo the Digger
- Worldship, Book 1
- By: Joshua Gayou
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Udo's biggest problem isn't being a digger (that's low class), or staying drunk (that's damn expensive), or avoiding the Dwergaz (they're monsters), or even pissing off the supposed Gods. It's that his reality...well, it isn't what he thought. And now, he can't even afford to drink because his so-called friend Nicz is cutting into his business, digging up tin, iron, and copper. So Udo forms a new plan: clay. After all, clay jars are used to store everything: meat, herbs, and, his personal favorite, ale.
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I am confused.
- By Ahkia on 06-02-20
By: Joshua Gayou
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City of Stairs
- By: Robert Jackson Bennett
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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The city of Bulikov once wielded the powers of the gods to conquer the world, enslaving and brutalizing millions - until its divine protectors were killed. Now Bulikov has become just another colonial outpost of the world's new geopolitical power, but the surreal landscape of the city itself - first shaped, now shattered, by the thousands of miracles its guardians once worked upon it - stands as a constant, haunting reminder of its former supremacy. Into this broken city steps Shara Thivani.
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Something Different
- By Scott S. on 10-17-14
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Veiled Alliances
- A Prequel Novella to the Saga of Seven Suns
- By: Kevin J. Anderson
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 4 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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This audiobook shows the origin of the green priests on Theroc, the first Roamer skymining operations on a gas-giant planet, the discovery of the Klikiss robots entombed in an abandoned alien city, the initial Ildiran expedition to Earth, the rescue of the generation ship Burton and the tragedy that leads to sinister breeding experiments. Veiled Alliances is an excellent starting point for readers new to the Saga, as well as an unforgettable adventure for fans of the series.
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Start with Book One
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-05-14
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Requiem for a Ruler of Worlds
- The First Adventure of Alacrity Fitzhugh & Hobart Floyt
- By: Brian Daley
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Mankind was beginning its third leap into the Galaxy, but Old Earth had so long kept to herself that her people were unable to travel safely among the rough-and-tumble cultures that had evolved on distant worlds. That annoyed Earth's rulers, for Hobart Floyt--a minor Terran bureaucrat-- had been left a mysterious inheritance by the deceased ruler of a small but wealthy interstellar empire.
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Best Sci Fi Fun anywhere!
- By A. Foxter on 07-07-15
By: Brian Daley
What listeners say about Matter
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jim Sabshin
- 05-06-12
Don't Buy this Abominable Abridgement
This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?
Someone who hasn't read the book or doesn't realize how bad the abridgement is and what a chopped up terrible version they're listening to.
Has Matter turned you off from other books in this genre?
Only so far as I will never listen to another abridged version of an Iain M. Banks book from audible (US).
What didn’t you like about Toby Longworth’s performance?
He was fine.
What character would you cut from Matter?
None.
Any additional comments?
This is a terrible abridgement of a wonderful Culture book. It made me wish it was a cassette so I could break it. I wonder if Mr. Banks approved this horrible massacre of his book. Audible.co.uk (owner by Amazon) has an unabridged version but of course we in the states can't get that one. Go figure.
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53 people found this helpful
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- Lamont D
- 03-05-20
Abridged version? Just say no!
So I didn’t realize that this was the abridged version of the story - however, the fact that it was a 5.5 hour Culture book should’ve clued me in instantly. And the description doesn’t make it clear that it was abridged, or I likely wouldn’t have purchased it.
I haven’t read the actual book, but the story and performance are both solid...however, it’s somewhat clear that they have cut something out of the book. It’s not as clear what is missing, but certain of the types of world-building that normally occur are missing, and the story seems to suddenly leap into high gear out of nowhere.
The ending is completely and obviously sliced to death - in a way that actually makes it difficult to follow. I actually went back and listened to it two other times to make sure I didn’t miss something...but nope, it’s just not there.
(And there’s no epilogue.)
This was an extremely disappointing entry.
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3 people found this helpful
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- DJbackward
- 03-19-22
Horribly Abridged
Cut to the point of uselessness. Great story destroyed by abridgment. When I discovered I could get my money back I tried but alas it had been rotting in my library for over a year. Avoid this title. No excuse for this kind of literature abuse.
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2 people found this helpful
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- JustDoIt
- 09-03-13
Beware! This is the ABRIDGED version
What would have made Matter better?
If this review were a Culture spaceship it would be called the "GSV Not What I Was Expecting". I should've looked before I bought. I've been on an Iain Banks binge lately. I bought this just because of his name. The abridgment of the story takes a lot of Banks' great writing away. I left completely disappointed. It would've been better if I skipped purchasing this recording.
What three words best describe Toby Longworth’s performance?
Not Peter Kenny [but not a bad performance]
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Matter?
The problem is that too much was cut.
Any additional comments?
Don't buy this. If you're a fan of Iain Banks you'll most likely walk away as disappointed as I was. If you're new to Banks and the Culture series this isn't a good introduction at all. Try one of the unabridged novels. Consider Phlebas is a great place to start.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Viet-tam Luu
- 06-08-23
Chunks of the story missing
By "abridged" did they mean parts of the audio would be cut off mid-sentence and resume after some indeterminate chunk of the book had been elided? Because that's what I'm getting.
Absolute trash, I wish I'd read the reviews first. DO NOT BUY.
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- James
- 09-29-13
Didn't realize this was an abridged performance
What would have made Matter better?
The book was great; it's just that most of it wasn't in the audible recording.
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5 people found this helpful
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- P
- 03-05-13
Tragedy done to the Culture
The editing/abridging done to this book for all intents and purposes has removed any "real" elements of Mr. Banks' Culture- my apologies to himself if he was involved, but no excuses. This book was 600 pages of text and edited down to 5 1/2 hours. A tragedy.
On the plus side, I will never be suckered again by purchasing anything "abridged." I read the original novel in hardcover when it first came out, and this was like the "made-for-television" version of a bad paperback.
Not worth the time or money in the abridged version. I wish I could not even give it one star overall.
[Reviewer's note: "Please note: Audible posts reviews at its discretion"]
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15 people found this helpful
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- Adam Bridge
- 10-11-17
Bad abridgment of a very good book
Don't buy this book. It's a feeble imitation of the real novel that only hints at the complexity Banks created. I didn't notice it was abridged. Don't make the same mistake.
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3 people found this helpful