Listen free for 30 days
-
Agency
- Narrated by: Lorelei King
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Peripheral
- By: William Gibson
- Narrated by: Lorelei King
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Peripheral by William Gibson is a thrilling new novel about two intertwined futures, from the bestselling author of Neuromancer. Flynne Fisher lives down a country road, in a rural near-future America where jobs are scarce, unless you count illegal drug manufacture, which she's keen to avoid. Her brother Burton lives, or tries to, on money from the Veterans Association, in compensation for neurological damage suffered in a Marines elite unit.
-
-
Somewhat disappointed
- By Doug on 01-08-16
-
Bear Head
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Laurence Bouvard, Nathan Osgood, William Hope
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mars. The red planet. A new frontier for humanity: a civilisation where humans can live in peace, lord and master of all they survey. But this isn't Space City from those old science-fiction books. It's more like Hell City, built into and from a huge crater. There's a big silk canopy over it, feeding out atmosphere as we generate it, little by little, because we can't breathe the air here. I guess it's a perfect place to live, if you want to live on Mars. At some point I must have wanted to live on Mars, because here I am.
-
-
A fine sequel
- By paul sparks on 08-01-21
-
The Atrocity Archives
- Book 1 in The Laundry Files
- By: Charles Stross
- Narrated by: Jack Hawkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Never volunteer for active duty... Bob Howard is a low-level techie working for a super-secret government agency. While his colleagues are out saving the world, Bob's under a desk restoring lost data. His world was dull and safe; but then he went and got Noticed. Now, Bob is up to his neck in spycraft, alternative universes, dimension-hopping terrorists, monstrous elder gods and the end of the world. Only one thing is certain: it will take more than 'control+alt+delete' to sort this mess out...
-
-
Wonderful books
- By Marie on 20-01-15
-
Fall; or, Dodge in Hell
- A Novel
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 31 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his youth, Richard “Dodge” Forthrast founded Corporation 9592, a gaming company that made him a multibillionaire. Now in his middle years, Dodge appreciates his comfortable, unencumbered life, managing his myriad business interests, and spending time with his beloved niece Zula and her young daughter, Sophia. One beautiful autumn day, while he undergoes a routine medical procedure, something goes irrevocably wrong.
-
-
I'm a big Neal Stephenson fan, but...
- By Toadjuggler on 08-06-19
-
The Ministry for the Future
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Jennifer Fitzgerald, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Ramon de Ocampo, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From legendary science-fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson comes a vision of climate change unlike any ever imagined. Told entirely through fictional eye-witness accounts, The Ministry for the Future is a masterpiece of the imagination, the story of how climate change will affect us all over the decades to come. Its setting is not a desolate, post-apocalyptic world, but a future that is almost upon us - and in which we might just overcome the extraordinary challenges we face.
-
-
Huge narration pitfall
- By Anonymous User on 23-01-21
-
The City We Became
- By: N. K. Jemisin
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got five. But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the city and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all.
-
-
Atmospheric, original first book about NYC
- By Mim on 24-04-20
-
The Peripheral
- By: William Gibson
- Narrated by: Lorelei King
- Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Peripheral by William Gibson is a thrilling new novel about two intertwined futures, from the bestselling author of Neuromancer. Flynne Fisher lives down a country road, in a rural near-future America where jobs are scarce, unless you count illegal drug manufacture, which she's keen to avoid. Her brother Burton lives, or tries to, on money from the Veterans Association, in compensation for neurological damage suffered in a Marines elite unit.
-
-
Somewhat disappointed
- By Doug on 01-08-16
-
Bear Head
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Laurence Bouvard, Nathan Osgood, William Hope
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mars. The red planet. A new frontier for humanity: a civilisation where humans can live in peace, lord and master of all they survey. But this isn't Space City from those old science-fiction books. It's more like Hell City, built into and from a huge crater. There's a big silk canopy over it, feeding out atmosphere as we generate it, little by little, because we can't breathe the air here. I guess it's a perfect place to live, if you want to live on Mars. At some point I must have wanted to live on Mars, because here I am.
-
-
A fine sequel
- By paul sparks on 08-01-21
-
The Atrocity Archives
- Book 1 in The Laundry Files
- By: Charles Stross
- Narrated by: Jack Hawkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Never volunteer for active duty... Bob Howard is a low-level techie working for a super-secret government agency. While his colleagues are out saving the world, Bob's under a desk restoring lost data. His world was dull and safe; but then he went and got Noticed. Now, Bob is up to his neck in spycraft, alternative universes, dimension-hopping terrorists, monstrous elder gods and the end of the world. Only one thing is certain: it will take more than 'control+alt+delete' to sort this mess out...
-
-
Wonderful books
- By Marie on 20-01-15
-
Fall; or, Dodge in Hell
- A Novel
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 31 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his youth, Richard “Dodge” Forthrast founded Corporation 9592, a gaming company that made him a multibillionaire. Now in his middle years, Dodge appreciates his comfortable, unencumbered life, managing his myriad business interests, and spending time with his beloved niece Zula and her young daughter, Sophia. One beautiful autumn day, while he undergoes a routine medical procedure, something goes irrevocably wrong.
-
-
I'm a big Neal Stephenson fan, but...
- By Toadjuggler on 08-06-19
-
The Ministry for the Future
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Jennifer Fitzgerald, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Ramon de Ocampo, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From legendary science-fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson comes a vision of climate change unlike any ever imagined. Told entirely through fictional eye-witness accounts, The Ministry for the Future is a masterpiece of the imagination, the story of how climate change will affect us all over the decades to come. Its setting is not a desolate, post-apocalyptic world, but a future that is almost upon us - and in which we might just overcome the extraordinary challenges we face.
-
-
Huge narration pitfall
- By Anonymous User on 23-01-21
-
The City We Became
- By: N. K. Jemisin
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got five. But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the city and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all.
-
-
Atmospheric, original first book about NYC
- By Mim on 24-04-20
-
The Saints of Salvation
- The Salvation Sequence
- By: Peter F. Hamilton
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 17 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Humanity welcomed the Olyix and their utopian technology. But mankind was tricked. Now these visitors are extracting a terrible price. For two years, the Olyix have laid siege to Earth, harvesting its people for their god. One by one, cities are falling to their devastating weaponry. And while millions have fled to seek refuge in space, others continue to fight an apparently unwinnable war.
-
-
Same Old, But Less Engaging...
- By Mark H on 02-11-20
-
Revenger
- By: Alastair Reynolds
- Narrated by: Clare Corbett
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The galaxy has seen great empires rise and fall. Planets have shattered and been remade. Amongst the ruins of alien civilisations, building our own from the rubble, humanity still thrives. And there are vast fortunes to be made, if you know where to find them.... Captain Rackamore and his crew do.
-
-
Terrible book made worse by woeful narration
- By Clare on 30-04-17
-
The Space Between Worlds
- By: Micaiah Johnson
- Narrated by: Nicole Lewis
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The multiverse business is booming, but there's just one catch: no one can visit a world where their counterpart is still alive. Enter Cara. Of the 382 realities that have been unlocked, Cara is dead in all but eight. On this earth, however, she survived. Identified as an outlier and a perfect candidate for multiverse travel, Cara is plucked from the wastelands and given a job and a comfortable apartment in the wealthy and walled-off Wiley City. Cara knows what it's like to feel hungry and scared, so she's more than happy to reap the benefits of her new position.
-
-
Best Book I’ve listened to this year
- By Ms. Ruth Messenger on 03-11-20
-
A Memory Called Empire
- By: Arkady Martine
- Narrated by: Amy Landon
- Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ambassador Mahit Dzmare travels to the Teixcalaanli Empire’s interstellar capital, eager to take up her new post. Yet when she arrives, she discovers her predecessor was murdered. But no one will admit his death wasn’t accidental – and she might be next. Now Mahit must navigate the capital’s enticing yet deadly halls of power, to discover dangerous truths. And while she hunts for the killer, Mahit must somehow prevent the rapacious Empire from annexing her home: a small, fiercely independent mining station.
-
-
Astonishingly good!
- By Amazon Customer on 17-04-19
-
Archangel
- By: William Gibson, Michael St. John Smith
- Narrated by: Josh Hurley, Victor Bevine, Elizabeth Jasicki, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 43 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year is 2016. Not our 2016. Theirs. Earth is dying, the result of a worldwide nuclear holocaust caused by America’s dictatorial President-for-Life Lewis Henderson, a man who will use any means necessary to maintain power and survive. Enter: The Splitter. A machine capable of splitting off an exact replica of Henderson’s world. A world where the cataclysmic events causing its destruction have yet to occur. That world is ours. In August of 1945, our postwar Europe becomes the battleground for Henderson’s operatives - led by his sociopathic son - as they engineer a complete redo of their history. By changing ours.
-
-
Substandard radio play
- By Liz on 23-08-18
-
The Diamond Age
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: Jennifer Wiltsie
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Neal Stephenson - "the hottest science fiction writer in America" - takes science fiction to dazzling new levels. The Diamond Age is a stunning tale; set in 21st-century Shanghai, it is the story of what happens what a state-of-the-art interactive device falls into the hands of a street urchin named Nell. Her life - and the entire future of humanity - is about to be decoded and reprogrammed.
-
-
Worth the time - if you can deal with the quality
- By Ian on 08-07-13
-
The Human
- Rise of the Jain, Book 3
- By: Neal Asher
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 19 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Their enemy seems unbeatable. But humanity is indomitable.... A Jain warship has risen from a prison five million years old, wielding a hoard of lethal technology. Its goal is to catch their old enemy, the Client, and it will destroy all who stand in its path.Humanity and the prador thought their mutual nemesis – the bane of so many races – was long extinct. But the Jain are back and Orlandine must prepare humanity’s defence. She needs the Client’s knowledge to counter this ancient threat. But is the enemy of your enemy a friend?
-
-
Epic!
- By Malcolm P. on 28-11-20
-
All Systems Red
- By: Martha Wells
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 3 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All Systems Red is the tense first science fiction adventure novella in Martha Wells' series The Murderbot Diaries. For fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self-discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans.
-
-
Well written & narrated, but short for 1 credit
- By D. Marsh on 14-05-18
-
Gnomon
- By: Nick Harkaway
- Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe
- Length: 29 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Random House presents the audiobook edition of Gnomon, written by Nick Harkaway, read by Ben Onwukwe. Near-future Britain is a state in which citizens are constantly observed and democracy has reached a pinnacle of 'transparency'. Every action is seen, every word is recorded and the System has access to thoughts and memories....
-
-
Strange, beautiful & wonderful
- By Michelle on 21-11-18
-
Ready Player One
- By: Ernest Cline
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's the year 2044, and the real world has become an ugly place.
-
-
This Book Changed My Life 💙 New Hobbies Found 💜
- By Amazon Customer on 05-04-18
-
Francis Bacon: Revelations
- By: Mark Stevens, Annalyn Swan
- Narrated by: Charles Armstrong
- Length: 28 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bacon concealed many important aspects of his life. He described himself as an asthmatic child in Ireland with foxhunting parents and a tyrannical father, but he was also rescued by a series of formidable women - women who in this biography emerge in their own right. He was never just a dissolute young man but was also a passionate reader, largely self-taught. Early on, influenced by Eileen Gray, he became a hard-working and ambitious designer, a brief career explored here in detail for the first time. He dreamed of remaking the modern room.
-
-
Well narrated but poorly edited
- By Anonymous User on 22-01-21
-
The Doors of Eden
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Sophie Aldred
- Length: 18 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lee thought she’d lost Mal, but now she’s miraculously returned. But what happened that day on the moors? And where has she been all this time? Mal’s reappearance hasn’t gone unnoticed by MI5 officers either, and Lee isn’t the only one with questions. Julian Sabreur is investigating an attack on top physicist Kay Amal Khan. This leads Julian to clash with agents of an unknown power - and they may or may not be human. His only clue is grainy footage showing a woman who supposedly died on Bodmin Moor.
-
-
Super-woke Brexit allegory
- By Johari on 21-08-20
Summary
"One of the most visionary, original, and quietly influential writers currently working" (Boston Globe) returns with a brand-new novel.
In William Gibson's first novel since 2014's New York Times best-selling The Peripheral, a gifted "app-whisperer", hired to beta test a mysterious new product, finds her life endangered by her relationship with her surprisingly street-smart and combat-savvy "digital assistant".
More from the same
What listeners say about Agency
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mr D Alford
- 06-02-20
A long time coming
The wait for this book release nearly killed me. Still, worth it though. A very enjoyable romp. If you liked Peripheral, you’ll like this. Now, Audible, whilst I wait for Gibson’s next book, can you arrange audio versions of all his back catalogue, please?
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Brooksey
- 23-06-20
meh
Great narrator. Not a great book. The previous book had more of an interesting plot, set in nearly the same world with some of same characters.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- David K.
- 26-04-20
ZZZzzzzzzzz......
“Agency” is the follow-up to “The Peripheral” and, though that hadn't been up to Gibson's previous standards, the conceit of linked but separate futures and “stubs” was intriguing enough to make me look forward to listening to this continuation. I wish I hadn't bothered; it was the literary equivalent of a pre-packaged salt-beef sandwich — the packaging and brand made it look so tasty but one bite showed it was nothing but by-the-numbers fare, which I only finished because I had paid for it and was still hungry afterwards.
The problem is that Gibson is a writer whose ideas are so very good that they make up for his lack of skill in creating a sense of urgency and danger, even when that's what he is straining to do. This is not so bad with printed books as the reader's own enthusiasm helps to keep the pages turning. But with an audiobook, it's the narrator dictating the pace and, though Lorelei King has a genuinely pleasing voice and style, she didn't manage to make even the chase sequence seem remotely exciting. Compare this with a master of narration like Michael Jayston; with seemingly no effort, he manages to make sections of Le Carrés “Smiley“ books crackle with relentless pace and gravity. The material helps, of course, but the narration is crucial.
I never thought I would find myself saying this about a William Gibson book but I really can't recommend this to anyone expecting something worthy of his name and reputation. Fingers crossed for a return to form next time.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- tracy
- 19-02-21
very enjoyable
I really like this series, looking forward to next installment. The second book is just the right balance of new characters, different concepts and returning characters. This narrator I always find easy to listen to and the author never has disappointed me yet. I am not too picky, though when it comes to narrators and pretty much enjoy most as I just love the indulgence of being read to.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Clare
- 22-12-20
Excellent follow up to the Peripheral
I almost didn't buy this title due to the negative reviews but having just finished the Peripheral, which I really enjoyed, I wanted to find out what happened next. I certainly didn't regret it! I would certainly recommend reading the Peripheral first - or re-reading it before this if you read it some time ago. Most of the story is set in a different 'stub' to the first book, but what an intriguing stub it is with lots of links to recent political events on both sides of the Atlantic. Excellent crossover of characters and moves those characters on very well too. Can't wait for the next instalment.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kevin Gilmartin
- 25-05-20
Too convoluted. Should've been a series
Disappointing and unfulfilling.
The narrator works well with bad material, so it scores high there, but otherwise this is not the standard I expect from a master like William Gibson. For such a short book there's just too many things going on at once to fully flesh them out. Too many characters, from multiple timelines, with different world events happening in each one but which aren't really explained all that well.
The first 25% of the book is excellent, with UNISS becoming a great character and the relationship between her and Verity developing really nicely. Then the next three quarters of the story are essentially a big complicated car chase.
There's to many concepts here which have been jammed together into one short tale, when this could've made a really, really intriguing trilogy.
Edit: reading some of these other reviews I see that this is a follow up to Peripheral. There was no indication on the Audible store that this IS in fact part of a series. With that new information received I'm giving it an extra "benefit of the doubt" star on story.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- jonb@armslength.co.uk
- 20-04-20
I like Gibson but this feels tired
nothing really new here, tedious action with no discernable stakes. Disappointing lack of ideas. Def not his best.
-
Overall
- T. Proudfoot
- 08-04-20
classic Gibson
A great follow up to The Periphery, with some of the same characters appearing. If you like that you'll love this.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- olishaw
- 03-04-20
Book 2 of 3 ?
Good continuation / extension to this world, but felt a little flat at the end, setting up a third book
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kai
- 17-03-20
Disappointing
The lead character is just carried along by the story. No real conflict or struggle.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Alex
- 17-08-20
the butthurt is real
Brain dead leftists go back in time to change the 2016 election result, prevent Brexit and thus save the world from total destruction. Tedious. This is the audiobook form of a twitter rant that should have been deleted before it was posted. Bootlickers rejoice, this one is for you.
1 person found this helpful