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When Gravity Fails cover art

When Gravity Fails

By: George Alec Effinger
Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
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Publisher's Summary

In a decadent world of cheap pleasures and easy death, Marid Audrian has kept his independence the hard way. Still, like everything else in the Budayeen, he's available for a price.

For a new kind of killer roams the streets of the Arab ghetto, a madman whose bootlegged personality cartridges range from a sinister James Bond to a sadistic disemboweler named Khan. And Marid Audrian has been made an offer he can't refuse.The 200-year-old godfather of the Budayeen's underworld has enlisted Marid as his instrument of vengeance. But first Marid must undergo the most sophisticated of surgical implants before he dares to confront a killer who carries the power of every psychopath since the beginning of time.

Wry, savage, and unignorable, When Gravity Fails was hailed as a classic by Effinger's fellow SF writers on its original publication in 1987, and the sequence of Marid Audrian novels it begins were the culmination of his career.
©1987 George Alec Effinger (P)2011 Audible, Inc.
Crime Fiction Science Fiction
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Critic Reviews

"Fast, cool, clever, beautifully written, absolutely authoritative. A kind of cyberpunk Raymond Chandler book with dashes of Roger Zelazny, Ian Fleming, and Scheherezade - but altogether original." (Robert Silverberg)
"Ingenious, layered, sophisticated, and consistently bloodcurdling, When Gravity Fails kept me awake long after I had finished reading it." (Spider Robinson)
"[Y]ou people are cheating yourselves if you don't forego food and rent to pick up on Effinger's work. Now, this time, will you for pete's sake listen to me and buy When Gravity Fails? It's as crazy as a spider on ice skates, plain old terrific; and if you don't pay attention I'll have to get tough with you!" (Harlan Ellison)

What listeners say about When Gravity Fails

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such a great book

way ahead of its time with a unique feel, well worth downloading, really enjoyed it

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Profile Image for Hawk

Brilliant cyberpunk noir in unique setting

I first read this in 1999 and fell in love with it. I read it countless times and lent it to all my friends. It was one of the first books I got on Audible and I have listened to it countless times. I should have reviewed this years ago.

Effinger has constructed a beautiful, complex and highly original world for this book. It is intelligent and interesting in all the good ways possible. The characters are well developed and complex. There is a wonderful subtle streak of dark humour running through this tale of the mean streets, and the noir detective story never gets old.

This is a highly entertaining and original story and I cant recommend it enough especially if you like a good cyberpunk story line. The narration is also excellent.

When Gravity Fails has more grit than coarse sandpaper but is a lot more enjoyable. Definately one of the undiscovered gems of SF, a real diamond of a read. If you have found this review than you should immediately get this book. Your ticket to the Budayeen awaits and the ride is spectacular.

More streetwise than google maps. See you at Jo-Mama's.

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The Future

A good story based on a future of add ins and independence. Located in the Middle East the author thread's the culture through the book.

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dysfunctional protagonist talks about himself

I'm 11 chapters in and nothing happens besides the main character talking himself up. I keep thinking maybe something will happen, but it's just a twisted chauvinistic power fantasy that never materialises.

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