The Years of Rice and Salt
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Narrated by:
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Bronson Pinchot
About this listen
It is the 14th century, and one of the most apocalyptic events in human history is set to occur - the coming of the Black Death. History teaches us that a third of Europe's population was destroyed. But what if the plague had killed 99 percent of the population instead? How would the world have changed? This is a look at the history that could have been - a history that stretches across centuries, a history that sees dynasties and nations rise and crumble, a history that spans horrible famine and magnificent innovation. These are the years of rice and salt.
This is a universe where the first ship to reach the New World travels across the Pacific Ocean from China and colonization spreads from west to east. This is a universe where the Industrial Revolution is triggered by the world's greatest scientific minds - in India. This is a universe where Buddhism and Islam are the most influential and practiced religions, and Christianity is merely a historical footnote.
Through the eyes of soldiers and kings, explorers and philosophers, slaves and scholars, Robinson renders an immensely rich tapestry. Rewriting history and probing the most profound questions as only he can, Robinson shines his extraordinary light on the place of religion, culture, power, and even love on such an Earth. From the steppes of Asia to the shores of the Western Hemisphere, from the age of Akbar to the present and beyond, here is the stunning story of the creation of a new world.
©2002 Kim Stanley Robinson (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Complex, believable, nuanced, riveting
- By Lois on 04-07-17
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Antarctica
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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It is a stark and inhospitable place, where the landscape itself poses a challenge to survival, yet its strange, silent beauty has long fascinated scientists and adventurers. Now Antarctica faces an uncertain future. The international treaty which protects the continent is about to dissolve, clearing the way for Antarctica’s resources to be plundered, its eerie beauty to be savaged. As politicians wrangle over its fate, major corporations begin probing for its hidden riches.
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Narrator ruins an otherwise interesting book.
- By Andrew Pollack on 07-03-21
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Galileo’s Dream
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 20 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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With Galileo’s Dream, Kim Stanley Robinson crafts an instant masterpiece that blends epic adventure and thoughtful alternate history. Ganymede, a rebellious Jovian, attempts to bring famed scientific mind Galileo forward in time to alter the course of history with astonishing results.
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Quit listening about a third of the way in.
- By ShySusan on 05-06-12
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Aurora
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Ali Ahn
- Length: 16 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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A major new novel from one of science fiction's most powerful voices, Aurora tells the incredible story of our first voyage beyond the solar system. Brilliantly imagined and beautifully told, it is the work of a writer at the height of his powers.
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The Future is Limited, Get Used to It
- By Martin Lesser on 08-20-15
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2312
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 19 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The year is 2312. Scientific and technological advances have opened gateways to an extraordinary future. Earth is no longer humanity's only home; new habitats have been created throughout the solar system on moons, planets, and in between. But in this year, 2312, a sequence of events will force humanity to confront its past, its present, and its future. The first event takes place on Mercury, on the city of Terminator, itself a miracle of engineering on an unprecedented scale. It is an unexpected death, but one that might have been foreseen....
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Good story, HORRENDOUS narration.
- By New on 11-19-12
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Shaman
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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There is Thorn, a shaman himself. He lives to pass down his wisdom and his stories - to teach those who would follow in his footsteps. There is Heather, the healer who, in many ways, holds the clan together. There is Elga, an outsider and the bringer of change. And then there is Loon, the next shaman, who is determined to find his own path. But in a world so treacherous, that journey is never simple - and where it may lead is never certain.
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A strange and similar world
- By Dan Harlow on 11-17-13
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New York 2140
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren, Robin Miles, Peter Ganim, and others
- Length: 22 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times best-selling author Kim Stanley Robinson returns with a bold and brilliant vision of New York City in the next century. As the sea levels rose, every street became a canal. Every skyscraper an island. For the residents of one apartment building in Madison Square, however, New York in the year 2140 is far from a drowned city. There is the market trader, who finds opportunities where others find trouble. There is the detective, whose work will never disappear—along with the lawyers, of course.
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Complex, believable, nuanced, riveting
- By Lois on 04-07-17
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Antarctica
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It is a stark and inhospitable place, where the landscape itself poses a challenge to survival, yet its strange, silent beauty has long fascinated scientists and adventurers. Now Antarctica faces an uncertain future. The international treaty which protects the continent is about to dissolve, clearing the way for Antarctica’s resources to be plundered, its eerie beauty to be savaged. As politicians wrangle over its fate, major corporations begin probing for its hidden riches.
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Narrator ruins an otherwise interesting book.
- By Andrew Pollack on 07-03-21
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Galileo’s Dream
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 20 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
With Galileo’s Dream, Kim Stanley Robinson crafts an instant masterpiece that blends epic adventure and thoughtful alternate history. Ganymede, a rebellious Jovian, attempts to bring famed scientific mind Galileo forward in time to alter the course of history with astonishing results.
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Quit listening about a third of the way in.
- By ShySusan on 05-06-12
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Aurora
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Ali Ahn
- Length: 16 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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A major new novel from one of science fiction's most powerful voices, Aurora tells the incredible story of our first voyage beyond the solar system. Brilliantly imagined and beautifully told, it is the work of a writer at the height of his powers.
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The Future is Limited, Get Used to It
- By Martin Lesser on 08-20-15
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2312
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 19 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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The year is 2312. Scientific and technological advances have opened gateways to an extraordinary future. Earth is no longer humanity's only home; new habitats have been created throughout the solar system on moons, planets, and in between. But in this year, 2312, a sequence of events will force humanity to confront its past, its present, and its future. The first event takes place on Mercury, on the city of Terminator, itself a miracle of engineering on an unprecedented scale. It is an unexpected death, but one that might have been foreseen....
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Good story, HORRENDOUS narration.
- By New on 11-19-12
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Forty Signs of Rain
- Science in the Capital, Book 1
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim, Kim Stanley Robinson
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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The best-selling author of the classic Mars trilogy and The Years of Rice and Salt returns with a riveting new trilogy of cutting-edge science, international politics, and the real-life ramifications of global warming as they are played out in our nation's capital - and in the daily lives of those at the center of the action. Hauntingly realistic, here is a novel of the near future that is inspired by scientific facts already making headlines. BONUS AUDIO: Includes an exclusive introduction by author Kim Stanley Robinson.
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Its all
- By steve on 01-07-09
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The Wild Shore
- The Three Californias Triptych, Book 1
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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North America, 2047. For the small Pacific Coast community of San Onofre, life in the aftermath of a devastating nuclear attack is a matter of survival, a day-to-day struggle to stay alive. But young Hank Fletcher dreams of the world that might have been, that might yet be - and dreams of playing a crucial role in America's rebirth.
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Needs 6 stars
- By Carl on 01-12-16
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The Ministry for the Future
- A Novel
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Jennifer Fitzgerald, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Ramon de Ocampo, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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The Ministry for the Future is a masterpiece of the imagination, using fictional eyewitness accounts to tell the story of how climate change will affect us all. Its setting is not a desolate, post-apocalyptic world, but a future that is almost upon us - and in which we might just overcome the extraordinary challenges we face.
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Great ideas, uneven narration
- By depthpsychologist on 12-09-20
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Red Moon
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Maxwell Hamilton, Joy Osmanski, Feodor Chin
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 30 years from now, and we have colonized the moon. American Fred Fredericks is making his first trip, his purpose to install a communications system for China's Lunar Science Foundation. But hours after his arrival, he witnesses a murder and is forced into hiding. It is also the first visit for celebrity travel reporter Ta Shu. He has contacts and influence, but he, too, will find the moon can be a perilous place for any traveler.
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16 hours of nothing much happening
- By GP on 03-31-19
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Red Mars
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 23 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, Red Mars is the first book in Kim Stanley Robinson's best-selling trilogy. Red Mars is praised by scientists for its detailed visions of future technology. It is also hailed by authors and critics for its vivid characters and dramatic conflicts.
For centuries, the red planet has enticed the people of Earth. Now an international group of scientists has colonized Mars. Leaving Earth forever, these 100 people have traveled nine months to reach their new home. This is the remarkable story of the world they create - and the hidden power struggles of those who want to control it.
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very long
- By Dana on 07-17-08
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The High Sierra
- A Love Story
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Length: 16 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Kim Stanley Robinson first ventured into the Sierra Nevada mountains during the summer of 1973. He returned from that encounter a changed man, awed by a landscape that made him feel as if he were simultaneously strolling through an art museum and scrambling on a jungle gym like an energized child. He has returned to the mountains throughout his life—more than a hundred trips—and has gathered a vast store of knowledge about them. The High Sierra is his lavish celebration of this exceptional place.
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Disappointed in the judgmental tone
- By Amazon Customer on 08-18-22
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Icehenge
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell, Kevin T. Collins, Carla Mercer-Meyer
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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On the North Pole of Pluto there stands an enigma: a huge circle of standing blocks of ice, built on the pattern of Earth's Stonehenge - but 10 times the size, standing alone at the farthest reaches of the Solar System. What is it? Who came there to build it? The secret lies, perhaps, in the chaotic decades of the Martian Revolution, in the lost memories of those who have lived for centuries.
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An unusually realistic (& depressing) dystopia.
- By J. Billings on 04-15-18
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A Nation Interrupted
- An Alternate History Novel
- By: Kevin McDonald
- Narrated by: Dylan Walker
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In one of the most unsettling "what-if" reversals to American history, the Union Army is overrun at the Battle of Antietam. Left with no alternative, President Lincoln surrenders, and the Confederate States of America becomes an independent nation. It's a tragic twist that will produce dire, far-reaching ramifications. As the divided American nations move into the 20th century, slavery has long since been abolished; but in the summer of 1941, America faces another challenge - an existential challenge.
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took a long time for history to alternate
- By Phil on 08-05-24
By: Kevin McDonald
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Star Maker
- By: Olaf Stapledon
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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One moment a man sits on a suburban hill, gazing curiously at the stars. The next, he is whirling through the firmament, and perhaps the most remarkable of all science fiction journeys has begun. Even Stapledon's other great work, 'Last and First Men' pales in ambition next to 'Star Maker' which presents nothing less than an entire imagined history of life in the universe, encompassing billions of years.
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meditative classic
- By Darryl on 09-18-12
By: Olaf Stapledon
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Fatherland
- By: Robert Harris
- Narrated by: Michael Jayston
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Berlin, 1964. The Greater German Reich stretches from the Rhine to the Urals and keeps an uneasy peace with its nuclear rival, the United States. As the Fatherland prepares for a grand celebration honoring Adolf Hitler's 75th birthday and anticipates a conciliatory visit from US president Joseph Kennedy and ambassador Charles Lindbergh, a detective of the Kriminalpolizei is called out to investigate the discovery of a dead body in a lake near Berlin's most prestigious suburb.
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1960's Nazi Germany comes alive
- By Daniel Black on 10-19-17
By: Robert Harris
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In the Country of Last Things
- By: Paul Auster
- Narrated by: Vanessa Redgrave
- Length: 2 hrs and 51 mins
- Abridged
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From a life of ease and comfort, Anna Blume embarks on a search for her missing brother. Soon she finds herself trapped in a city obsessed with last things—with the means and manner of death. In this culture of doom, the masses are homeless, theft has ceased to be a crime, production has ceased, and the only growth industries are dying and disassembly.
By: Paul Auster
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1945
- A Novel
- By: Robert Conroy
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 14 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1945, America has dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan has no choice but to surrender. But instead, the unthinkable occurs. With their nation burned and shattered, Japanese fanatics set in motion a horrifying endgame - their aim: to take America down with them.
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Repetitive Focus on Torture and Suffering
- By Lacedaemonian on 04-08-20
By: Robert Conroy
What listeners say about The Years of Rice and Salt
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kindle Customer
- 03-31-17
Awesome.
History, religion, philosophy, science - all brilliantly woven into a stunning meditation in why our world is the way it is.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Joanna D.
- 03-03-16
Engaging novel of alternate world history
Where does The Years of Rice and Salt rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Bronson Pinchot does a great job as narrator of this long novel. The characters re-encarnate: The "B" character is usually the peaceful, enlightened person and the "K" character is a fighter against what they feel are the wrongs of the world. B and K struggle in the world because "B" is enlightenment and "K" is destroying Evil. They meet between chapters in the afterlife to work through what they've learned and to exit into reincarnation again, perhaps this time, they'll "get it right."
A lot of history that many readers are not familiar with (Chinese, Arabic, medieval) is re-written here in an engaging way. However, if you are not familiar with these histories, you may not see the tongue-in-cheek or clever way the author has revised history to postulate what would have happened, had the world exited from the Plague Years in Europe in a different way.
Sometimes, the chapters ("books") get long and the inevitable end (they die) seems a bit confused, and the emergence again with enlightened knowledge doesn't always seem clear. Nor are the scenes in the afterworld that interesting--as pure flights of fancy, they are less successful than the re-imagined historical events in the world.
Still, I enjoyed this novel immensely and the narration with lightly done character voices by Pinchot is masterful.
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- GY
- 12-19-17
Excellent alternate history
Robinson's imagination and deep knowledge of his subject are real assets for stories like this. Worth the listen, even if the reader's tone is off. Sometimes too whimsical and other times wheedling or whiny.
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- Fleet Select Visa
- 01-21-24
Sweeping scale, compelling details
An engaging trip through time following a knot of souls reincarnated together. Their lives and works, and their subtle impact on humanity are quite moving. Very interesting alternate history, and powerful commentary on “real world” history and current day. Robinson does it again.
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- Marvin
- 06-18-16
Epic and wonderful
Thought provoking and enthralling. A great story with an immense breath, yet allowing the reader to get attached to its heroes.
The narrator also does an epic job. I'll be looking for his other readings.
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- Scrushy
- 08-28-17
Epic "what if" interpretation of history
Any additional comments?
I liked the continuity that the format created throughout the separate parts of the book. I also learned (accidentally!) about different aspects of eastern religions. It was a joyous read for me.
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- MustangRifleman
- 11-27-21
Good story, like realistic fiction
Book is enjoyable, but the premise can be a little confusing. Yes Europe is dessimated but the story after is more of a collection of stories of various people involved in the current events of each new age. The author does a good job of taking the existing world in (I think) ~1200s AD and caring it forward with the main powers being China and Islam (and Mongolia). The events follow seem to follow a pattern set by our own reality in terms of social, cultural and scientific achievements. It's cool to see modern concepts approached from distinctly Chinese premonitions, especially in medicine advancements.
The main struggle I have comes from the enlightenment equivalent. As a scientist myself, I've invested a great deal of time learning of the research and researchers that have built our world's foundation. While not outside the realm of possibility, I was really annoyed at what turned out to be one of the longest sections, where discoveries that took us decades and various thinker's were settled in single conversations.
I would add that this book is full of religion. I like how it gives the perspective of living in these highly theological societies, but it could be frustrating if you refuse to learn of other religions.
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- Lucinda
- 05-25-21
KSR is a good world builder, but his stories are sort of boring
As above, I’ve listened to 3 KSR books in the past few months, and they are all similar in that he does very nice world building, but they’re kind of boring. There isn’t much of a plot, just telling a story of a time.
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- Danny I
- 01-21-23
This is one of those rare worlds that makes you want to live there
KSR does a fantastic job exploring everything known to man - science, philosophy, music, religion, the clashes of culture - all in a new way, in a new world that never existed, and yet it feels all so familiar. When listening to this story (with excellent voice performance by Mr. Pinchot), I realized that while I yearned for its reality, I also understood I was experiencing a romantic ideal of a world just as fractured as our own, and yet with the suggestion of the continuity of lives through reincarnation, I think I am able to understand that what I saw in the Years of Rice and Salt was viewed through the long telescope of time, but that if I look at this world in the same way, I understand that our condition is just as romantic, just as uniquely engaging. Bao says it better, of course, but it's there for me all the same.
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- Thomas P. Joseph
- 11-14-24
A pleasant diversion
I needed a pleasant reading diversion after months of school texts. This was just the ticket- engaging story, interesting characters, and whimsical verisimilitude.
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