The Swarm Audiobook By Frank Schatzing cover art

The Swarm

A Novel

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The Swarm

By: Frank Schatzing
Narrated by: George Weightman
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About this listen

Now a CW Original Series

The Der Spiegel number #1 blockbuster bestseller about an intelligent life force that takes over the oceans and exacts revenge on mankind!

Whales begin sinking ships. Toxic eyeless crabs poison Long Island’s water supply. Around the world, countries are beginning to feel the effects of the ocean’s revenge. In this riveting novel, full of twists, turns, and cliffhangers, a team of scientists discovers a strange, intelligent life force called the Yrr that takes form in marine animals in order to wreak havoc on man for his abuses. The Day After Tomorrow meets The Abyss in his gripping, scientifically realist, utterly imaginative thriller. With the compellingly creepy and vivid skill of this author to evoke story, character, and place, Frank Schatzing’s book are certain to find a home with fans of Michael Crichton.

©2004 Frank Schatzing (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers
Military Suspense Technothrillers War & Military Fiction Thriller Exciting Scary
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What listeners say about The Swarm

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  • Overall
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Environment fights back

I liked the character development and the interesting science speculations. Great listen . I would recommend it. Really imaginative and a real warning about our treatment of the Earth , our home.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating ideas

Fascinating ideas, interesting characters, good science. My nit- the narrator can’t pronounce nuclear, which was a word used frequently enough to irritate.

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2 people found this helpful

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I can see why it might be polarizing.

I can see why some people might hate this book, but let me say that if you love a multifaceted story with hard science thrills around every corner and are not rushing to just "get through the book," this might be the one for you. I thoroughly enjoyed the multiple characters and their stories, side quests, and romances in addition to the great descriptions of the marine life, catastrophes and their mechanisms, and meandering scientifically-romantic writing toward the end.

I did find the narrators voice for certain characters a little irksome, but nothing that took me out of the book entirely. I watched the show afterward, however, and THAT was a disappointment in comparison.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Thrilling

Loved every minute of this and couldn't get enough. Once you start its hard to put down. Great narration albeit a bit spotty at times and can feel a tad bit preachy in some spots. Loved all of the details and descriptions and very well researched.

Overall I would highly recommend this book to anyone

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13 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Good but for some things

I enjoyed the way the story developed however there were a few things that distracted from the telling. Religion and US superiority felt heavy handed though that may actually be accurate to reality. As for the narrator, there were a few words that were pronounced in ways that were annoying. The first was "nuculer" which was said way too much as it stood our because of this. The 2nd is saying SETI spelled out. That is like someone spelling out SCUBA and not saying it as a word. There were others but these were the most frustrating for me.

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1 person found this helpful

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the reader

excellent job by the reader. his voice further increased the drama of the novel. I enjoyed the tv series but the book was so much better.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Poorly Paced

For a book about intelligent sea life declaring war on humanity, there are far too little passages that focus on the potentially intriguing international economic and religious impacts of this and more time spent on romances between side characters. Some secondary antagonists are so stereotypical I could predict their lines as they were being narrated.

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34 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Loooooong book

The narrator was wonderful. The story was good, not great and I don’t like spending so much time on books that are not really great. The point of the book (in my opinion) is that mankind is not the only intelligent life in the universe and that we usually view other intelligence as a threat worthy of destruction… that we are shortsighted and self-destructive, but a few humans are capable of great good. I was not sure if the “queen being” represented God, but the Judeo/ Christian/Islamic God is treated as a myth, and if he does exist, he is capricious, arbitrary, small minded and protective of Homo sapiens and planet earth. Only.

I would not give this book to a friend.


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1 person found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

interesting but rambling

I enjoyed the plausible world thr author built but in part 3 it fell into tired tropes and mysticism.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A frightening reminder of humanity

We as humans like to think ourselves the pinnacle of creation. In this novel we discover our faults, our overblown egos and also our capacity for hope. Although a bit too technical at times for the average reader the storyline, imagination blended with fact, and superior character building makes for a very enjoyable experience. The narrator has a smooth and engaging voice as well. I recommend listening. It will change the way you see the world.

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