
The Prestige
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
3 months free
Buy for $19.74
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Simon Vance
Listeners also enjoyed...




















Critic reviews
- Winner of the World Fantasy Award, 1996
- Audie Award Finalist, Fiction, Unabridged, 2007
"Extraordinary, like a dazzling magic act!" (Entertainment Weekly)
"A brilliant conjuring act by one of the master illusionists of our time." (Wired)
"A taut, twisting, prize-winning story of two magicians and their fierce fin-de-siècle rivalry that taints successive generations of their respective families....An unexpectedly compelling fusion of weird science and legerdemain." (Kirkus Reviews)
People who viewed this also viewed...


















This is one of my favorite movies. Often if I find out about a movie before a book I'll go back and read the book after the fact. The book is generally better but not so much in the case of the Prestige. Christopher and Jonathan Nolan took a good idea and made it great. The basic points of both versions are in tact. I've listed the differences below.
The Feud:
In the book the feud isn't really well thought out. Most of it is Borden regularly sabotaging Angier's performances for no real reason apart from Jealousy perhaps. Angier wanted revenge for Borden's attack on his performance which may have led to his wife losing the expected baby.
In the movie, Borden and Angier worked together (didn't happen in book) and Borden accidentally caused the death Angier's wife. This causes Angier to want to take away Borden's livelihood. Both men become obsessed with retaliation. This is the basis for all of the events that follow.
The Ending:
In the book version Borden once again sabotages Angier's Tesla machine act, causing him to split essentially into two people. One dying "prestige" and one apparition who wanders the Earth unable to do much but is still visible by everyone and can interact with things. What?
Angier's final revenge after this last straw is to stab Borden. Not the most creative solution after a life long rivalry/feud.
In the movie version Angier, knowing each time he steps in the Tesla machine and is copied and must be killed. Using this knowledge he finds an ingenious way to frame Borden for his murder. He lures Borden backstage with a number of performance with press buzz so great that Borden couldn't help himself. In going backstage he becomes accountable for the death of Angier (actually Angier's copy who falls through the trap door into the water tank and drowns). Borden's twin Fallon goes to jail and is hanged for the crime. Borden then kills the only remaining Angier to settle the score once and for all on a revenge that was driven by what was most likely a genuine accident early on that ended up driving both of them to do insane things.
The movie version ending is brilliant. It's poetic, it makes sense, it's clever, and illustrates that in an obsession fueled rivalry, nobody really wins. The book ending is just lame.
Sometimes the Movie is Better than the Book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I listened to the audio, and then watched the movie, that I had seen previously. Much preferred the book.
I was gravely disappointed and disheartened by the writers portrayal of the women, wives, or mistress's. They were not fleshed out, were totally unbelievable, and did ridiculous, senseless things to continually be of aid to their narcissistic men.
Applause ! ! !
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
this book is complicated but well worth the read!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Different from the movie
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
ehhhh....
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
better than the film based on this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great read! Not like the movie in the slightest
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great book
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Must read!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Any additional comments?
It is very easy to get interested in series or books with very similar styles and themes. But I love it when I find a good book that is (at least for me) completely unique and original. This is what this book was for me. The story was good and very original. The presentation was different and the narration was excellent. As a matter of fact Simon Vance is one of the reasons that I decided to take a chance on this book and I was not disappointed.Fun Story - Very Unique - Great narration
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.