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The Quantum Thief

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The Quantum Thief

By: Hannu Rajaniemi
Narrated by: Rupert Degas
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About this listen

The Quantum Thief is a dazzling hard SF novel set in the solar system of the far future - a heist novel peopled by bizarre post-humans but powered by very human motives of betrayal, revenge and jealousy. It is a stunning debut. Jean le Flambeur is a post-human criminal, mind burglar, confidence artist and trickster. His origins are shrouded in mystery, but his exploits are known throughout the Heterarchy - from breaking into the vast Zeusbrains of the Inner System to steal their thoughts, to stealing rare Earth antiques from the aristocrats of the Moving Cities of Mars. Except that Jean made one mistake. Now he is condemned to play endless variations of a game-theoretic riddle in the vast virtual jail of the Axelrod Archons - the Dilemma Prison - against countless copies of himself. Jean's routine of death, defection and cooperation is upset by the arrival of Mieli and her spidership, Perhonen.

2011, John W. Campbell Memorial Award, Short-listed

©2010 Hannu Rajaniemi (P)2011 Orion Publishing Group Ltd Adventure Genetic Engineering Science Fiction Space Exploration Fiction Thief Solar System
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Fantastic narration of a marvellous and densely plotted book. highly recommend you pick this one up.

Loved it

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Great production, voice acting, effects, music and a mesmerising universe. An excellent meditation on layered reality and privacy.

Quite brilliant

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Some books take you by the hand, gently easing you into their world. The Quantum Thief kicks you through the door, tosses jargon-laced grenades at your feet, and expects you to keep up. And honestly? I loved every second of it.

Hannu Rajaniemi delivers something truly original, an audacious blend of high-concept sci-fi, heist thriller, and detective noir, all wrapped in a writing style that’s equal parts elegant, cerebral, and delightfully unapologetic. No clunky exposition dumps here; you’re expected to sink or swim in a world where privacy is a currency (gevulot is pure genius), time is literal money, and consciousness itself is just another commodity to be stolen, traded, or hacked.

The worldbuilding is staggering, packed with details that make the setting feel alive. Martian beggars as living relics, gogol pirates who hijack minds, slow-moving giant robots that exist for reasons beyond our understanding. Every page brims with concepts that feel fresh, yet completely cohesive. And the genre mixing? Flawless. A high-stakes sci-fi romp laced with the best elements of detective fiction, all tied together by Jean le Flambeur, a thief with a past so tangled even he doesn’t know what he’s done.

Criticisms? None. Comparisons? Hardly any. Rajaniemi’s work feels like its own thing, a rare feat in a genre that thrives on echoes of the past. This is the kind of book that reminds you why sci-fi exists, to boggle the mind, expand the imagination, and make you work just a little bit harder for the payoff.

Five stars. Would happily be conned by Jean le Flambeur again. Shame the sequel The Fractal Prince isn't on Audible. Guess I'll have to read it myself, shock horror.

A 5-Star Mind Heist

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Good story, full of interesting characters, places and concepts. Loved the mix of high tech, futurism and classic scenarios.

The performance of Rupert Degas was exceptional, really brings life to the multitude of characters.

Interesting story but a bit confusing

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Like another review said, the audio, especially early on wasn't good / clear (and I download at high quality). The story itself is great exploring what post-singularity humanity, consciousness and 'being' could look like.

Utterly fascinating, though I can understand the concepts can be heavy going if you're not prepared for consciousness being a thing uploaded, downloaded and copied.

Now for the caveat. The rest of the series is not available in the Australian region. If Audible or the publishers ever note these reviews, it would be great if the next books were available beyond the USA.

An intriguing post-human tale and caveat for AU

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Degas is excellent. Story had lots of strange concepts that are hard to pickup. #usethewiki

Excellent but not for doing housework

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Really bad audio ... am returning - just couldn't understand it - first book in ages i have struck like this

could hear it

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