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The Infinite Future
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Jonathan Davis, Hillary Huber, full cast
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
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The Infinite Future
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Summary
An exhilarating, original novel, set in Brazil, Idaho, and outer space, about an obsessive librarian, a down-at-heel author, and a disgraced historian who go on the hunt for a mystical, life-changing book - and find it.
The Infinite Future is a mind-bending novel that melds two addictive tales in one. In the first, we meet three broken people, joined by an obsession with a forgotten Brazilian science-fiction author named Salgado-MacKenzie. There's Danny, a writer who's been scammed by a shady literary award committee; Sergio, journalist turned sub-librarian in São Paulo; and Harriet, an excommunicated Mormon historian in Salt Lake City, who years ago corresponded with the reclusive Brazilian writer. The motley trio sets off to discover his identity, and whether his fabled masterpiece - never published - actually exists. Did his inquiries into the true nature of the universe yield something so enormous that his mind was blown for good?
In the second half, Wirkus gives us the lost masterpiece itself - the actual text of The Infinite Future, Salgado-MacKenzie's wonderfully weird magnum opus. The two stories merge in surprising and profound ways. Part science fiction, part academic satire, and part book-lover's quest, this wholly original novel captures the heady way that stories inform and mirror our lives.
Audiobook Cast of Narrators:
- Michael Crouch, as Danny
- Jonathan Davis, as Sergio
- Hillary Huber, as Harriet
- Phoebe Strole, as Sister Ursula
- Kristen Sieh, as Irena
- Sean Patrick Hopkins, as Tim
- Oliver Wyman, as Craig
- Carol Monda, as Madge
Critic reviews
“Stupendously inventive and rewarding…The second half of Wirkus’ tale is…a sci-fi epic which echoes Battlestar Galactica and the fiction of Ursula K. Le Guin in equal measure…Especially well suited for fans of Jonathan Lethem and Ron Currie, this work announces Wirkus as one of the most exciting novelists of his generation.” (Booklist, starred review)
“Wirkus crafts two gripping sagas into one gloriously captivating tome.” (Paste)
"Roberto Bolaño meets Ursula K. Le Guin meets James Hynes meets, um, Kilgore Trout? I'm having a difficult time being clever in the shadow of having read Tim Wirkus's magnificently audacious The Infinite Future. How about this: it's a book about the power and melancholy magic of the stories we tell and of the stories we live." (Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and Disappearance at Devil's Rock)
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What listeners say about The Infinite Future
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jenny
- 24-01-18
Wonderful book!
Loved every minute of this book. Literary, sci-fi, quest journey, philosophical - all the things I like. It is many books in one, many layered. There are jewels to be discovered and it’s a story that will stay with you long after the cast list is read out. I will definitely be listening to this again.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- S. Peacock
- 18-05-19
Weird, but not in a good way
I was drawn to this book because it was described as weird and I like weird. However, there is nothing weird about it other than the mystery of how it got published.
The basic story is three people go on a quest to find a lost science fiction masterpiece and it's author.
The trouble is the quest is dull and the lost masterpiece is rubbish.
I get that there's another story about people trying to reconcile their religious beliefs, their church and their own feelings and experiences, but to be honest I couldn't care less, I'm not engaged with the characters enough to care and the religious mumbojumbo does not interest me in the slightest.
Much of the writing reads like it was produced by a teenager who has just discovered adjectives and was given a thesaurus for Christmas, someone who will never use a simple word where a long and obscure one can be used instead. It doesn't make the writing style very pleasant to listen to.
This is one that will be going back for a refund.
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