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Gnomon

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Gnomon

By: Nick Harkaway
Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe
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About this listen

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Gnomon, written by Nick Harkaway, read by Ben Onwukwe.

Near-future Britain is a state in which citizens are constantly observed and democracy has reached a pinnacle of 'transparency.' Every action is seen, every word is recorded and the System has access to thoughts and memories.

When suspected dissident Diana Hunter dies in custody, it marks the first time a citizen has been killed during an interrogation. Mielikki Neith, a trusted state inspector, is assigned to find out what went wrong. Immersing herself in neural recordings of the interrogation, what she finds isn't Hunter but rather a panorama of characters within Hunter's psyche.

Embedded in the memories of these impossible lives lies a code which Neith must decipher to find out what Hunter is hiding. The staggering consequences of what she finds will reverberate throughout the world.

A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR

'Gnomon is an extraordinary novel, and one I can’t stop thinking about some weeks after I read it. It is deeply troubling, magnificently strange, and an exhilarating read.' Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven

'Nick Harkaway’s most ambitious novel yet. [A] story of near-future mass surveillance, artificial intelligence and human identity ... An amazing and quite unforgettable piece of fiction.' Guardian

'Harkaway dazzles.' Daily Mail

'Wonderfully good.' Sunday Times

 Dystopian Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction

Critic Reviews

Gnomon is an extraordinary novel, and one I can’t stop thinking about some weeks after I read it. It is deeply troubling, magnificently strange, and an exhilarating read. (Emily St. John Mandel, author of 'Station Eleven')
Nick Harkaway’s most ambitious novel yet. This story of near-future mass surveillance, artificial intelligence and human identity reads as if 11 novels have been crowded into a matter-transporter pod, emerging on the other side weirdly melded. An enormous, shaggy, infuriating, amazing and quite unforgettable piece of fiction, it’s the kind of thing only science fiction can do.
One of the most remarkable things about the remarkable Nick Harkaway is the irrelevance of his literary heritage. The son of John le Carré, he is very much his own author ... There’s a lot of explanation in this book, but then there’s a lot of everything going on in it. Densely texted pages of ideas, references and similes fizz and sparkle and burst into life in a fireworks display that keeps going ... The writing, too, is rarely anything other than impressive ... Gnomon does reward perseverance. Ludicrously complicated it may be, but it’s also wonderfully good.
[A] prowling deep-sea monster of a novel … A sci-fi detective procedural, violent thriller and multi-layered mystery combine brilliantly to pull us through a profound exploration of power and paranoia, technology and myth … Harkaway dazzles, baffles and teases before guiding us through bloody darkness into understanding.
This huge sci-fi detective novel of ideas is so eccentric, so audaciously plotted and so completely labyrinthine and bizarre that I had to put it aside more than once to emit Keanu-like “Whoahs” of appreciation ... It’s a technological shaggy-dog tale that threatens to out-Gibson William Gibson ... It is huge fun. And it will melt your brain … 700 odd pages power relentlessly by, only to touch down with the delicacy of a SpaceX rocket on – ah yes – the only possible ending. Whoah indeed. I wanted to give it a round of applause.
Gnomon is only as large as its pages, but its pages seem like the door to a sinister Narnia … Reading Gnomon is like being an architecture critic when you suspect your reality is virtual. Its momentum is exhilarating, but frightening too. It resembles, very stylishly, a mind spinning itself insane.
A brainy, labyrinthine plot born of Dr Who and David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, with a dash of EU finance, Brexit and some Snowden-esque paranoia about the pervasive surveillance of ‘the System’. A mind-bending, genre-blending fun house with a message or two.
All stars
Most relevant
as ever with Nick Harkaway, I frequently jump back to reread sections or chapters because the narrative is so dense - in other authors I find the need to jump back and forth frustrating, but in this and his other works I find it rewarding. I have other favourite authors I can read from start to finish without stopping, often in single sitting, time permitting - I don't need Nick's work to be less challenging.

complexity of plot & narration challenging but rewarding

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Thank you Nick Harkaway ... I could write heaps about this ... lets put it this way. My all-time favourite book until I read Gnomon was American Gods by Neil Gaimon. I was sad that perhaps I would never be so totally absorbed by a book ever again. I have listened to American Gods at least 6 times ... still chuckle at the same part, the same characters and still give a taste of the numinous, the liminal ... Gnomon? Extraordinary ... I was held, transported, for the entire 30 hours ... I was cross that I had to sleep and eat!

Totally riveting ...

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an incredible monument of a book. rich, dense, full of lyrical prose and mystic fiction. it has the potential lose the reader, but manages to keep them always close by grace of narrative presence and faith in their willingness to embrace the story. i think this is one of those books i will enjoy again and again, each time finding another thread of meaning that i missed before.

Ben Onwukwe has achieved incredible things with this reading. his calm bass allows the story to unfold like a subtle, complex and infinitely layered red wine.

enjoy.

a behemoth

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Wildly springs across your imagination like a blue screen of death on a rollercoaster control computer.
Absolute intelligence put to use.
An exercise in joy.
Conceptually wicked.
F&$k you Nick Harkaway for being so intelligent.

Exquisite

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Hour upon hour of seemingly endless drivel. I gave up after 15 chapters. Bored me to tears.

Drivel

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