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Poseidon's Wake

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Poseidon's Wake

By: Alastair Reynolds
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
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About this listen

 This novel is a stand-alone story which takes two extraordinary characters and follows them as they, independently, begin to unravel some of the greatest mysteries of our universe.

Their missions are dangerous, and they are all venturing into the unknown . . . and if they can uncover the secret to faster-than-light travel then new worlds will be at our fingertips.

But innovation and progress are not always embraced by everyone. There is a saboteur at work. Different factions disagree about the best way to move forward. And the mysterious Watchkeepers are ever-present.

Completing the informal trilogy which began with Blue Remembered Earth and On the Steel Breeze, this is a powerful and effective story.

(p) 2015 Orion Publishing Group©2015 Alastair Reynolds Adventure Fiction Hard Science Fiction Science Fiction Space Opera

Critic Reviews

a novel that works brilliantly as a space adventure and also reads, touchingly, almost as an atheist's reflection on why a kind of optimistic agnosticism may be a useful approach to finding contentment
It's grand, involving and full of light and wonder. Poseidon's Wake is one of the best sci-fi novels of the year
his finest moment yet and a glorious conclusion of the trilogy. A wonderful book and best that British SF has to offer at the moment
Although a long book, with so much story to fit in there is a brevity to the text which makes it an easy read which can be enjoyed as a standalone even though it satisfactorily revisits and resolves the majority of the threads from the previous novels
a well realised sci-fi universe, with plausible character
Having completed the trilogy I now want to return to its beginning and re-read. Alastair Reynolds is one of my very favourite authors, every book is a much-anticipated event, and withPoseidon's Wake he shows yet again why that is. I loved every single page.
Transhumans, talking elephants, inscrutable aliens and good old fashioned spaceship fights all contribute to a breathtaking adventure
All stars
Most relevant
Disappointed compared to the previous two. I feel he message he tried to deliver was too... what should I say... shallow? over used? Anyway it's a disappointment to find out all that building up was to find the ultimate message from a super powerful alien race - the universe will eventually collapse..dont we already know that?? Also certain logics I can't follow ... "We must stop them from reaching Poseidon otherwise the entire human race is doomed! oh fuck it who cares lets just go". What happened to the sabotage plan? what happened to the "judgement of the entire race"? And every person in the book has supremely high morale standard it's annoying... Also character building was poor too, except Eunice. The protagonist Gomma simply rages at every single thing that's all. overall I feel the story was not well thought through, the ending and message was weak. Definitely lower than his usual standard. Awesome performance of the reader though!

Disappointed

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What made the experience of listening to Poseidon's Wake the most enjoyable?

The narrator is fantastic with unique vocals for each character.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Eunice because of the sarcasm and humor in the character and the way the narrator portrayed it.

What about Adjoa Andoh’s performance did you like?

She is the best narrator I have ever listned to. I would read any book she was narating

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes but it is too long to be able to do so

A great conclusion to the story

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I read this and the previous novel, they both tell good engaging stories. I have read a few other Alistair Reynolds and there is really a basic model to them. A far flung advanced civilisations, inscrutable artefacts, adventurous people travelling into the unknown, a build up to the end as people travel deeper into the mystery and thing become more and more desperate. A less that satisfying ending.
This book has all the elements, as other reviewers have said, maybe a some loose ends are not tidied up, however I still found this a compelling page turner story, always wanting to put it on to hear more of the story.
The only let down is the narration which was the worst part of the book. I dont blame the narrator, they were probably asked to do all this accents for the book. Why can people just straight read the text, why does every character have to have an accent? it doesnt help the story. and the accents here are just so grating, particularly Eunice, with is screeching that you sometimes want to turn it off. But then if that is you thing maybe you will like them.

Good story with, to me, annoying silly voices

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