The Fractal Prince Audiobook By Hannu Rajaniemi cover art

The Fractal Prince

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

The Fractal Prince

By: Hannu Rajaniemi
Narrated by: Scott Brick
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.49

Buy for $21.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

A physicist receives a mysterious paper. The ideas in it are far, far ahead of current thinking and quite, quite terrifying. In a city of “fast ones,” shadow players, and jinni, two sisters contemplate a revolution. And on the edges of reality a thief, helped by a sardonic ship, is trying to break into a Schrödinger box for his patron. In the box is his freedom. Or not.

Jean de Flambeur is back. And he’s running out of time. In Hannu Rajaniemi’s sparkling follow-up to the critically acclaimed international sensation The Quantum Thief, he returns to his awe-inspiring vision of the universe…and we discover what the future held for Earth.

©2012 Hannu Rajaniemi (P)2013 Recorded Books Adventure Science Fiction Space Opera Fiction Witty
Beautifully Written • Complex Storytelling • Stellar Performance • Fascinating Conceptual Characters • Rewarding Story
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
Brilliant prose. Very complex universe, so it's not an easy listen if you are working out anything while you listen. It didn't feel as coherent as book 1, but it was still beautifully written. The fantastic voice acting was terrific, very expressive, beautiful accents and variety of voices.

Brilliantly Complex

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found myself having to read parts of the book multiple times to keep things straight in my head. However, the story is rewarding and worth it.

Complex and rewarding

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
⚠️ Warning, this is NOT a children's book. It contains sexually oriented graphic content intended for mature audiences only.

Very rich array of futuristic characters with a non-conventional post-apocalyptic landscapes.

It was hard to follow at first but luckily I held on. As the author provides more and more context, the story gets juicier and juicier.

The intertwining of Arabic, French, and Chinese cultural nuances was soo creative.
Ignoring the shirk, it was very satisfying exploring quantum theory, astrophysics, and even Islamic themes like the 99 names of Allah

Probably would be better reading from a book to actually see the words. I'm probably going to have to buy it 😀



#Negative points
* Overly Complex storyline was very hard to follow at first.
* Shirk / Magic / Islamic heresy
* Unnecessary lesbian sex scenes added no value to the story.
* Gratuitous sex throughout the early part of the book

Wonderfully complex STORY telling

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I enjoyed the book, but the complexity is in the telling, not in the plot. The technologies in the story are so advanced, anything can happen; in that it's akin to fantasy. I didn't realize in the first book that the civilization (if the diverse actors can be grouped that way) is confined to the solar system; I guess brains the size of a planet still can't out think Albert E.

Style makes up for minimal plot

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Hannu Rajaniemi’s The Fractal Prince is the sequel to The Quantum Thief. Jean, the thief, is trying to open the Schrodinger box he stole in the prior installment. At the same time, his traveling companion appears to be in league with the dominant power player in the solar system. There is a parallel tale of two sisters who represent wildcode, while their father is trying to negotiate with that same dominant player. Finally, a mysterious young boy has been told not to talk with strangers.

Rajaniemi continues his hard sci-fi work with a dense plot that may not make sense until the next installment. The narration is quite good with solid character distinction. Pacing is brisk.

What's in the Schrodinger box?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Jean le Flambeur is on a mission whilst being hunted – of course, this calls for deft timing and brilliant distraction all while trying to get in a Schrödinger box to borrow a powerful jewel… or not. So begins The Fractal Prince, the second book the Jean le Flambeur series. (Go here for a review of the first book, The Quantum Thief. Also, read them in order.) The Oubliette is replaced with Sirr, a city on Earth ravaged by wildcode. The European steampunk culture is supplanted by an Arabian culture partially under the thumb of the Sobornost. Meanwhile, a small boy version Matjek Chen (a founder) is roving the beach. Mieli, Perhonen and Jean must figure out how much their trust has grown and how closely they keep within the Pellegrini’s wishes.

I switched between the Kindle and Audible versions of The Fractal Prince. I listened to the audiobook. Because it’s dense material, I don’t recommend that be your only way of taking in the content, despite it being an excellent recording. Scott Brick does his usual fabulous job narrating. As I've noted before, Mr. Brick is in my pantheon of favorite narrators. His pacing, emphasis, and enunciation are nearly flawless, which is a particularly challenging feat since it’s loaded with technical material and new terms. Alas, while he narrated The Quantum Thief, he does not narrate A Causal Angel

For full review: wp.me/p2XCwQ-17Z

Jean le Flambeur Series Continues Brilliantly

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Any additional comments?

Great continuation to the Quantum Thief. interesting ideas. Can't wait for the next installment.

He lives!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I can never tell if things in these books are meant to be fever dreams, pinning down one PoV during extreme discontinuities, or if I'm just missing a crucial metaphor. While very enjoyable, there's always the feeling that I'm never going to quite understand what's going on on the first read through. There's a lot of fascinating conceptual and philosophical mashups dealing with multiple iterations of characters, and layers of consciousness, but I guess I get lost in the woods sometimes. Scott Brick as always delivers a stellar performance, only minor mispronounciations noticed (unless it was Hannu taking literary license with words like aether).

Feel like I'm missing the meta, still good though.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The Quantum Thief was one of the best books I ever read. I enjoyed getting a little more of that same universe of Jean and company. It was a good story, but lightning didn't strike twice to give me yet another of the best books I've ever read. But I would still recommended it.

Great, but overshadowed by the first one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Scott Brick brings the story of The Flower Prince to life. A must listen for any sci fi fan. A modern classic.

One of my favorites.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews