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METAtropolis cover art

METAtropolis

By: Jay Lake, Tobias Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi, Karl Schroeder
Narrated by: Michael Hogan, Scott Brick, Kandyse McClure, Alessandro Juliani, Stefan Rudnicki, John Scalzi
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Summary

Welcome to a world where big cities are dying, dead - or transformed into technological megastructures. Where once-thriving suburbs are now treacherous Wilds. Where those who live for technology battle those who would die rather than embrace it. It is a world of zero-footprint cities, virtual nations, and armed camps of eco-survivalists.

Welcome to the dawn of uncivilization.

METAtropolis is an intelligent and stunning creation of five of today's cutting-edge science-fiction writers: 2008 Hugo Award winners John Scalzi and Elizabeth Bear; Campbell Award winner Jay Lake; plus fan favorites Tobias Buckell and Karl Schroeder. Together they set the ground rules and developed the parameters of this "shared universe", then wrote five original novellas - all linked, but each a separate tale.

Bringing this audiobook to life is a dream team of performers: Battlestar Galactica's Michael Hogan ("Saul Tigh"); Alessandro Juliani ("Felix Gaeta"); and Kandyse McClure ("Anastasia 'Dee' Dualla"); plus legendary audiobook narrators Scott Brick (Dune) and Stefan Rudnicki (Ender's Game).

John Scalzi, who served as Project Editor, introduces each story, offering insight into how the METAtropolis team created this unique project exclusively for digital audio.

©2008 Joseph E. Lake, Jr., Tobias S. Buckell, Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi, Karl Schroeder (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

  • 2009 Hugo Award nominee, Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
  • 2009 Audie Award nominee, Original Work

“Each story shines on its own; as a group they reinforce one another, building a multifaceted view of a realistic and hopeful urban future.” (Publishers Weekly)
“Scalzi and his contributors/collaborators have created a fascinating shared urban future that each of them evokes with his or her particular strengths.... This stellar collection is a fascinating example of shared world-building.” (Booklist)
"This impressive group of writers imagines what happens when the world moves beyond cities as a locus of human civilization. The range of narrators...brings a unique narrative style to the production. Of the five narrators, all well chosen for the stories, Allessandro Juliani proves to be the best with his rendering of Scalzi's piece." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about METAtropolis

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Thoughts written down before i thought them

Metatropolis is set in a kind of post apocalyptic future, however it doesnt follow a bang but the world as we know it seems to have disappeared in a whimper. As such the future isnt a dramatic and depressing realisation of mans weakness. Many of the characters regard there world with a kind of mild disinterest (much like we do today). I was surprised just how often one of the stories in this collection described to me the fully formed idea that had only started to occur in my own head.

The stories are well written and have a concise and efficient feeling as good short stories should. Each narration is as good as the last, I can still hear the phrase "arrived on the wings of a storm" in my head when I think about it.

I thoroughly recommend this book.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

An amazing audio

I, like so many, am new to sci fi audio books, I like to get reading books that are relevant to me. Also the same is true with audio books. I need something to fill the gaps of my imagination that have been untouched by tv or movies, or need rekindling. The audio book METAtropolis is a great read for the reason that its several smaller stories well spoken and tied together in a very good use of an audible credit.

I personally, specfically chose this audio book, because I was going to London to meet Kandyse McClure ('Dee' in Battlestar Galacticas reimagined series). She ended up being a very nice woman and this is evident in her reading of the character in METAtropolis.

I very much enjoyed the audio book.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Hard work

It was quite hard for me to concentrate on, and particularly the first 2 stories I didn't follow the characters or what was happening to them. The 3rd and 4th stories were good. I did however really like the voice of the first story.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Almost perfect

This is a brilliant piece of work with several authors in different ways writing about a shared earth of the future.

As each story is about 2 hours and independently set in the same world as the other stories, I have listened to all but one twice. It means a journey in the car can be a whole story and not leave you wanting more commuting ;-)

I love this take on our future and how given this ground rules it can be seen in such different ways - from technology altering lives for the better to harsh realities of post oil survival.
Great book.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

a bit of a brain -bender but so well done!

I keep coming back to this time and again. the concept is great and the way the individual stories explore different aspects and mesh together is brilliant.
shades of "the city and the city" here and there.
the performances are really good too, no exceptions.
a collection to stimulate the brain!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Mix of stories

I loved a couple of the stories. Not all. But as a group they mostly worked well. I loved the collaboration.
Didn't like all the readers but mostly good. What I really liked was the combined feel of the whole thing. A possible future.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Sci-fi? Eco-fi?

This collection of short stories contains some really imaginative and interesting ideas, especially Karl Schroeder's Matrix meets bit coin augmented reality. The only thing i felt let these tales down was the mainly overwhelmingly wholesome characters. Apart from one side-lined and doomed female assassin, everyone seemed to want to save the World. One decent villain or anti-hero wouod have been a nice balance.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

post cyberpunk for the virtual apocalypse era

some genuinely original and extremely thought provoking stuff here - interesting stories about a world that is scarily close. Buckle up suckers!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating ideas skillfully explored

I didn’t love every story in this, but I did love a few. They all stuck with me long after I’d listened… mark of craftsmanship in writing and narration to be sure!
Would definitely recommend this.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

All very confusing

Like John Scalzi but found these stories too hard to follow and too disconnected from each other. Love the idea but the reality not so much.

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