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Termination Shock

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Termination Shock

By: Neal Stephenson
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
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About this listen

A visionary new science fiction thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Seveneves, Anathem. Reamde, and Cryptonomicon.

Intricately imagined and richly plotted, Termination Shock is trademark Stephenson—a gripping and propulsive epic of the modern world that shows this remarkable author at his very best.

Neal Stephenson's sweeping, prescient new novel transports listeners to a near-future world where the greenhouse effect has inexorably resulted in a whirling-dervish troposphere of superstorms, rising sea levels, global flooding, merciless heat waves, and virulent, deadly pandemics.

One man has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as "elemental." But will it work? And just as important, what are the consequences for the planet and all of humanity should it be applied?

As only Stephenson can, Termination Shock sounds a clarion alarm, ponders potential solutions and dire risks, and wraps it all together in an exhilarating, witty, mind-expanding speculative adventure.

©2021 Neal Stephenson (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Action & Adventure Genre Fiction Technothrillers Thriller Thriller & Suspense Fiction Technology Witty
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All the classic Stephenson tropes and methods in a very near future.
The worst Aus and NZ accents by Ballerini however. He shouldn’t have bothered as they were painful and distracting.

Classic Stephenson

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Not much to say, easiest novel to finish on audible for a while, I'm not used to narrators doing accents so I found that odd but still okay 👍

Such a detailed view into the future

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Yes, it's another mammoth Neal Stephenson work: this one set around 2040 and centred on geoengineering: temporary cooling of the planet by pumping sulphur dioxide high into the atmosphere. It's gigantic in scope, with several parallel plot lines. Well worthwhile. Also a great voice performance - I'm not giving five stars for it because a few accents (Australian/Scottish/New Zealand) are terrible, but the rest is excellent.

Fascinating epic cli-fi

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Great characters, engaging plot and plenty of laughs, if last-ditch efforts to save a dying climate can be at all amusing.

One of his best!

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An addictive and exciting read, intelligent and relevant. Stephenson at his best.
Excellent narration.

Fun and thought provoking

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Fast-paced and engaging from the start, this not-so-distant future tale is a wake-up call to our present. Filled with engaging characters, this story is an excellent illustration of what could happen in our climate-threatened existence when those with the means to change the world, take action to do so and the ramifications of the actions are played out on a global stage. A must read/listen for anyone living within the current climate-emergency.

A (not so) Speculative tale for our time

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I typically love Neal Stephenson books but this was a let down. Nothing happens! By two thirds of the way through I was thinking "okay, this must be the first of a trilogy. A very slow trilogy." But it's not.

What happened?

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Neal Stephenson would have to be my favourite author for creating unique story concepts but I don’t know why I continue to punish myself by reading his books. He had a knack of drawing an interesting story out so much that it becomes boring, and oh my, is this story boring.

I have pulled up stumps after 5 hours as I can’t do it anymore. So far, in five hours, a plane has crashed and a pig has been shot - that’s it.

I hope Neal can take his incredible talent for story concepts and just turn down the dial a little on including all the irrelevant parts. Reamde is my favourite.

Classic Neal Stephenson, why tell a story in 100 words when you can use 10,000

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The story is exciting and novel at first, but slowly loses narrative steam. I gave up about halfway through.

Starts well then becomes a chore

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