The Game-Players of Titan
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Narrated by:
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Christopher Lane
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By:
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Philip K. Dick
About this listen
Years ago, Earth and Titan fought a war and Earth lost. The planet was irradiated and most of the surviving population is sterile. The few survivors play an intricate and unending game called Bluff at the behest of the sluglike aliens who rule the planet. At stake in the game are two very important commodities: land and spouses. Pete Garden just lost his wife and Berkeley, California, but he has a plan to win them back. That is, if he isn’t derailed by aliens, psychic traitors, or his new wife.
The Game-Players of Titan is both satire and adventure, examining the ties that bind people together and the maddening peccadilloes of bureaucracy, whether the bureaucrats are humans or aliens.
©1991 Laura Coehlo, Christopher Dick, Isa Hackett (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Joanna Flynn was lucky to be alive. But when the doctors told her she would suffer no lasting effects from the near-fatal accident, they were wrong. For that night the nightmares about Caroline began. As the dreams become more torturous, Joanna sets out to investigate this mysterious woman - a journey that takes her 3,000 miles from home to a picturesque town where everybody seems to have a conflicting opinion of the woman who haunts her dreams.
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Retribution.
- By N.Templar on 10-15-17
By: Kay Hooper
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The Keep
- The Adversary Cycle, Book 1
- By: F. Paul Wilson
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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"Something is murdering my men." Thus reads the message received from a Nazi commander stationed in a small castle high in the remote Transylvanian Alps. Invisible and silent, the enemy selects one victim per night, leaving the bloodless and mutilated corpses behind to terrify its future victims. When an elite SS extermination squad is dispatched to solve the problem, the men find something that's both powerful and terrifying. Panicked, the Nazis bring in a local expert on folklore - who just happens to be Jewish - to shed some light on the mysterious happenings.
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At long last, The classic horror novel on Audible
- By Shieldslinger on 07-22-20
By: F. Paul Wilson
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A Feast of Carrion
- By: Keith McCarthy
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
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St Benjamin's Medical School is the greatest of its kind, any death occurring within its walls would have created ripples within the academic world, but the death of Nikki Exner is far from being ordinary. Raped, and then grotesquely executed, her theatrical murder horrifies everyone. John Eisenmenger, a former forensic pathologist, finds himself dragged unwillingly into the case. Teaming up with solicitor Helena Flemming, Eisenmenger sets out to discover what really did happen to Nikki Exner.
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excellent book
- By Yves on 06-27-09
By: Keith McCarthy
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When Gravity Fails
- Marid Audran Trilogy, Book 1
- By: George Alec Effinger
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
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For a new kind of killer roams the streets of the Arab ghetto, a madman whose bootlegged personality cartridges range from a sinister James Bond to a sadistic disemboweler named Khan. And Marid Audrian has been made an offer he can't refuse.The 200-year-old godfather of the Budayeen's underworld has enlisted Marid as his instrument of vengeance. But first Marid must undergo the most sophisticated of surgical implants before he dares to confront a killer who carries the power of every psychopath since the beginning of time.
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Neuromancer in the Middle East
- By David on 07-28-13
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Psycho
- By: Robert Bloch
- Narrated by: Richard Powers
- Length: 5 hrs and 23 mins
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It was a dark and stormy night when Mary Crane glimpsed the unlit neon sign announcing the vacancy at the Bates Motel. Exhausted, lost, and at the end of her rope, she was eager for a hot shower and a bed for the night. Her room was musty, but clean, and the manager seemed nice, if a little odd.
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We all go a little crazy sometimes
- By sophieinwonderland on 02-22-09
By: Robert Bloch
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The Danger
- By: Dick Francis
- Narrated by: Tony Britton
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
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Kidnapping is Andrew Douglas's business: they take them, he finds them. But it isn't so simple when Alessia Cenci, golden-girl jockey, disappears, followed by the young child of a derby winner and the senior steward of the Jockey Club. From Italy to England to Washington, D.C., Andrew's caseload is suddenly, violently overflowing. And he must fight triply hard to keep his own name off the growing list of victims.
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Good but disturbing
- By oseedee on 06-08-23
By: Dick Francis
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The Naked Face
- By: Sidney Sheldon
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
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Hanson died quickly—with a knife in his back. Carole was next—covered with acid and tortured to death. Now it's Judd's turn—a New York pschoanalyst, he'd known them both. Two faceless executioners on a murderous mission, searching for a secret which is unknown to Judd. Not safe at home or at work, Judd feels his professional grip slipping while he faces constant threat of imminent attack. To whom can he ultimately turn?
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Really Good!!
- By MetaSpiritualMichael91 on 02-11-17
By: Sidney Sheldon
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False Pretenses
- By: Catherine Coulter
- Narrated by: Renee Raudman, Paul Costanzo
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Meet Elizabeth Carleton, a fascinating woman who is not only a famous concert pianist, but is also married to a wealthy international business tycoon, Timothy Carleton. She is the envy of all until her perfect life falls apart literally in a heartbeat: Timothy Carleton is stabbed in the chest with an ice pick and Elizabeth is accused of his murder. Things rapidly go from bad to worse until a surprise witness appears to give her an airtight alibi. The jury finds her not guilty. The only thing is: She’s never met the man who testified on her behalf.
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Not her best work
- By Terri on 01-21-15
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Stealing Shadows
- By: Kay Hooper
- Narrated by: Cristine McMurdo-Wallis
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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From best-selling author Kay Hooper comes a thrilling tale with a paranormal bent and a touch of romance. Cassie Neill has a powerful but troubling gift. She can see inside the minds of serial killers as they are planning their crimes. Tormented by her ability, she takes refuge in a secluded North Carolina town. But there’s no escaping her visions, and when a body surfaces just where she predicted, Cassie is suddenly a suspect.
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Good story, bad narration
- By MEOWx4 on 08-14-12
By: Kay Hooper
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The Bad Seed
- By: William March
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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There's something special about eight-year-old Rhoda Penmark. With her carefully plaited hair and her sweet cotton dresses, she's the very picture of old-fashioned innocence. But when their neighborhood suffers a series of terrible accidents, her mother begins to wonder: Why do bad things seem to happen when little Rhoda is around?
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loved it
- By CoCo B.M.J on 07-23-19
By: William March
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Mediocre Mother to Gravity's Rainbow and the Truman Show?
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Mediocre Mother to Gravity's Rainbow and the Truman Show?
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Báb's Treatise Between the Two Fern-like Sanctuaries
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On Mars, the harsh climate could make any colonist turn to drugs to escape a dead-end existence. Especially when the drug is Can-D, which transports its users into the idyllic world of a Barbie-esque character named Perky Pat. When the mysterious Palmer Eldritch arrives with a new drug called Chew-Z, he offers a more addictive experience, one that might bring the user closer to God. But in a world where everyone is tripping, no promises can be taken at face value.
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Fantastic and current
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In the future, most of humanity lives in massive underground bunkers, producing weapons for the nuclear war they’ve fled. Constantly bombarded by patriotic propaganda, the citizens of these industrial anthills believe they are waiting for the day when the war will be over and they can return above ground. But when Nick St. James, president of one anthill, makes an unauthorized trip to the surface, what he finds is more shocking than anything he could imagine.
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Not One of Dick's Best
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The Crack in Space
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Relevant reading for 2020
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We can't destroy Jones
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We Can Build You
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In this lyrical and moving novel, Philip K. Dick intertwines the story of a toxic love affair with one about sentient robots, and unflinchingly views it all through the prism of mental illness - which spares neither human nor robot. The end result is one of Dick’s most quietly powerful works. When Louis Rosen’s electronic-organ company builds a pitch-perfect robotic replica of Abraham Lincoln, the firm is pulled into the orbit of a shady businessman, who is looking to use Lincoln for his own profit.
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Simulacra for me & simulacra for you.
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In 2203 anyone can become the ruler of the solar system. There are no elections, no interviews, no prerequisites whatsoever - it all comes down to the random turns of a giant wheel. But when a new Quizmaster takes over, the old one still keeps some rights, namely the right to hire an unending stream of assassins to attempt to kill the new leader. In the wake of the most recent change in leadership, employees of the former ruler scurry to find an assassin who can get past telepathic guards.
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Dick's First Novel Seems All Grown Up.
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Valis
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What is VALIS? This question is at the heart of Philip K. Dick's groundbreaking novel, the first book in his defining trilogy. When a beam of pink light begins giving a schizophrenic man named Horselover Fat (who just might also be known as Philip K. Dick) visions of an alternate Earth where the Roman Empire still reigns, he must decide whether he is crazy or whether a godlike entity is showing him the true nature of the world.
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Life changing
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By: Philip K. Dick
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Dr. Bloodmoney
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What happens after the bombs drop? This is the troubling question Philip K. Dick addresses with Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After the Bomb. It is the story of a world reeling from the effects of nuclear annihilation and fallout, a world where mutated humans and animals are the norm, and the scattered survivors take comfort from a disc jockey endlessly circling the globe in a broken-down satellite.
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Post nuclear apocalyptic surburban middle class
- By Michael G Kurilla on 01-04-18
By: Philip K. Dick
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A Philip K. Dick Collection
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- Unabridged
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From the author of science-fiction classics such as The Man in the High Castle and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? comes a collection of 13 short stories of dystopic visions of technological terror, post-nuclear holocaust warfare, time travel, space travel, man vs. alien, man vs. machine, man becomes machine, man becomes plant, and other fantastic tales performed in a vividly dramatic narration by Andy Harrington.
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Unfortunately mediocre
- By Anonymous User on 03-14-23
By: Philip K. Dick
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Ubik
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- Unabridged
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Glen Runciter runs a lucrative business - deploying his teams of anti-psychics to corporate clients who want privacy and security from psychic spies. But when he and his top team are ambushed by a rival, he is gravely injured and placed in "half-life," a dreamlike state of suspended animation. Soon, though, the surviving members of the team begin experiencing some strange phenomena, such as Runciter's face appearing on coins and the world seeming to move backward in time.
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Holy sh*t
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-17
By: Philip K. Dick
What listeners say about The Game-Players of Titan
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-04-18
Philip K. Dick at his best!
Reviews of this book seems to be somewhat divided, but in my opinion it belongs to Dicks best. The style is realistic, sometimes humorous, and somewhat similar to his mainstream novels. This works very effectively as a contrast to the bizarre and dreamlike storyline. At the beginning of the book I wondered if the author would really be able to make the rather unlikely background concept convincing, but after a while it felt just right and very much Philip K. Dick. The story gradually turns into a compelling psychedelic and surreal drama that keeps you reading till the end, which incidentally also feels just right for a Philip K. Dick novel. The struggle to separate reality from illusion and paranoia is, as often with Dick, a central theme in the book. Drugs and alcohol also play an important part. The reading is fine, with the central character Pete, who probably includes a lot of Dick himself, being convincingly portrayed.
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- Dubi
- 05-08-15
Titanic Fun
Flying talking cars. Telepathic, precognitive and telekinetic abilities. Benevolent alien invaders who look like giant slugs. Nearly ubiquitous sterility depopulating a planet of nearly immortal humans. Drugs, psychosis, hallucination. Welcome to one of the many worlds of PKD. What makes this world that much more unique is the game of Bluff, a board game reminiscent of the Game of Life in which the stakes are all too real -- wives, lives, property, social status.
Written in 1963 and featuring a weapon of mass destruction invented by the East Germans and detonated by Red China, TGPoT can be easily interpreted in the context of its Cold War era -- how suburban Americans adapt to being conquered by "alien" invaders (50s-60s sci-fi aliens always acting as analogues for the Red Menace, the Communist threat). Also in the context of the time, the dawn of the hippie era, the book (in part) can be read as a prescient analysis of free love and drug use (much like David Ely's Seconds, written in the same year and made into a memorable movie a couple of years later).
But most of all, TGPoT is just plain fun. Never mind the jumble of ideas and themes, the SF analogies of real-life social and political currents, which are not always coherent. PKD's characters just love to play the game, they live to play the game, and in the end they have to play the game of their lives, literally. Looking well past 1963 to present-day issues, there are universal elements at play of how ordinary lives are manipulated by social, economic and political forces that sometimes seem like nothing more than a cruel high-stakes game.
I started out reading PKD's unparalleled Androids (the basis for Blade Runner) but have since been disappointed by his other novels, even the most widely praised (High Castle). This one was just too much fun to deny. Definitely worth a listen.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Darwin8u
- 11-16-16
Game, set, match!
"Anyhow, Pete Garden, you were psychotic and drunk and on amphetamines and hallucinating, but basically you perceived the reality that confronts us…"
― Philip K. Dick, The Game-Players of Titan
Books seem to float into my life in pairs, like aces, kings, or quite often twos. I guess I could count "The Game-Players of Titan" as my second gambling novel in a month. The first was Jonathan Lethem's A Gambler's Anatomy: A Novel. There is something fascinating by the whole literary genre of game novels (King, Queen, Knave, The Glass Bead Game, Oscar and Lucinda, The Gambler, Daniel Deronda*, The Music of Chance*, and more).
Games of chance and skill allow good writers to look into some of life's big questions of causation, death, love with the ability to dance between the coldness of luck/chance and the warmth of skill. Philip K. Dick uses the basics of a game of chance to introduce the idea of a group of people on Earth who gamble not for small stakes, but for cities and counties. Pots are filled with Berkeley and Detroit instead of watches and coins. Add to this mix, drugs, paranoia, aliens, and the pot both thickens and grows.
I usually walk away from a Dick novel amazed in the same way I'm amazed at Darwin. You see what he did, understand the idea almost instantly, and kick yourself for not being born first and thinking in a way that produces the end result. Dick seems naturally talented at looking at the world from a slightly warped perspective. He seems to both float in a latescent (lactescent?) zone by himself, but at the same time he is able to hold onto the teats of the world tight enough to squeeze out an amazing story every couple years. There is a reason I keep coming back to PKD -- either he is crazy or I am.
* I have yet to read these.
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15 people found this helpful
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- 80sNight
- 10-16-23
One of the best performances
Christopher Lane does a phenomenal job reading this work, capturing PKD’s wryness and humor as well as his gravity and world building. A truly excellent story
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- M.Biblioswine
- 01-14-22
Good stuff
Admittedly not one of the great novels. But, it is awfully good. I’m glad I have it. This story takes on the feel of a detective tales
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- TNJ
- 04-21-24
Totally unique
Great performance by the reader. Insane one of a kind story by Dick. If you enjoy this one try Dr. Bloodmoney or Clans of the Alphane Moon. There is nothing else like them
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