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Distress
- Narrated by: Adam Epstein
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
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Distress
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Editor reviews
Having just finished a documentary, journalist Andrew Worth heads to the artificial island of Stateless to cover a physics convention, where African Nobel Laureate Violet Masala is about to present her Theory of Everything. But the island idyll turns out to be anything but, as Stateless has been inundated with anti-science protestors who want to unleash a deadly disease that may destroy the world. Adam Epstein has a methodical approach that allows Greg Egan's impressive world-building to breathe and take shape, but Epstein is best at inhabiting the diverse characters whose clashes and conflict drive the drama in Distress.
Summary
Investigative reporter Andrew Worth turns down a documentary on a mysterious new mental illness - "Distress," or acute clinical anxiety syndrome, for another assignment. He's on his way to the artificial island of Stateless, where the world's top physicists are gathering to decide on a new TOE, or Theory of Everything, to replace Einstein's outmoded legacy.
Chief among the scientists is the brilliant African Nobel laureate, Violet Mosala, the focus of Worth's story, who is the subject of mysterious death threats. Worth begins his own investigation, but it takes on even more urgency when he finds that Distress, the mental plague now affecting millions, is linked somehow to the approaching "Aleph Moment" when the TOE is finalized.
The countdown has begun for a disaster that will reach all the way back to the Big Bang. And beyond...
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What listeners say about Distress
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Gadget
- 31-12-18
Book and narration both OK, but not great.
Narration: the narrator is clear and easy to understand, but severely lacks variation in his intonation. Basically, he says every sentence pretty much the same, regardless of the context or meaning. The best narrators (IMHO) inject at least a little performance into their reading, adding some emotion, and varying the speed or loudness as the situation demands. Adam Epstein does none of this. The result is a production that frequently sounds dull and flat.
There were a number of mispronounced words, with the narrator having a particular weakness for non-English words.
The narrator's accents are not great. Some of them would be more at home in South Park, and his Australian accent in particular I found extremely unconvincing
Story: some interesting ideas and world building. Unfortunately, it takes a long time for the story to get going; there are occasional dialogues that appear to serve no purpose other than to allow the author to air a particular topic; and I found the premise of the ending somewhat preposterous - and anti-climatic. (Incidentally, Neal Stephenson is guilty of the first two of these, but I really like his books, so make of that what you will!)
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Samuel Brooks
- 20-02-20
Terrible narrator, decent story
The narrator's unnaturally repetitive intonation made this extremely hard to listen to and enjoy.
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1 person found this helpful