Jolly good

Jolly good, but I see this is abridged. There is an unabridged version which I borrowed from the library (well done Herts County Council). Excellent, perhaps it is the same narrator.

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10 people found this helpful

Perfect

Iain Banks could write a parking ticket and I would probably read it 1000 times and smile with glee. The man is a genius and the only author I would have to dinner. Anton Lesser reads this better than any other audiobook I have (and I have a few), his nuance and fleshing out of the characters is so subtle and correct whilst not being dramatic..this is a near perfect audiobook on all fronts.

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9 people found this helpful

Maths can be fun

Superbly written, as one would expect from Banks. Also an exiting listen, and I really hope that more will be added to Audible's library soon. Here`s hoping time does not run out...

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9 people found this helpful

Sadly Abridged

What disappointed you about The Algebraist?

This recording of the Algebraist is unfortunately an abridged version which also suffers from a poor narrator. Right at the start of the book is a wonderful passage about the beginning and ending of stories which has been cut out in this abridged version. The earlier unabridged version read by Geoffrey Annis (not available on Audible) is much better even though Annis does not have the mastery of Peter Kenny in reading Banks.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Whilst Fassin is a very likeable hero and provides a lot of hope at the end in an almost uncharacteristic way for Banks the favourite characters in this novel have to be the dwellers. The creation of an extremely long lived society with apparent disregard for anyone else that the so called quick species utterly fail to understand provides fabulous insights into the human psyche but also much humour.

What didn’t you like about Anton Lesser’s performance?

His reading does not bring the characters in the book to life nor does it justice to the more contemplative parts of the text.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The Algebraist is probably my all time favourite amongst the Iain M Banks novels showing the futility of human actions but also providing hope in the end.

Any additional comments?

Audible should have an unabridged version of this story available as this unabridged version does the book no justice.

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8 people found this helpful

Good recording, but ...

A great book, that suffers for being abridged. Shame.

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7 people found this helpful

Requires you to pay attention

This a great story, gripping and not one you could guess what was coming at all, very entertaining overall. My one and only problem with it as an audiobook, if it is a problem at all, is that you really have to pay attention! This is not an audiobook you will easily listen to whilst you have to think about doing anything else. Its one for lying back and paying attention to other wise you can loose track of what is happening. Great for a plane journey or something, not so good for work or the gym....I suppose though that a story you have to pay attention to is a good thing really. I kept this one for times I had nothing else at all to think about other than the story.

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4 people found this helpful

A great book spoilt

Would you try another book written by Iain M. Banks or narrated by Anton Lesser?

For me this was the last of the Iain M Banks novels, sadly he's died and so there will be no more for me to collect. I'd kept this one to last since it was abridged and normally I prefer to get the whole story. The abridgement here has massacred what was my favourite non culture Iain M Banks'. The whole reason why Fassin turned traitor is missing, the reason why other characters exist in the story has been lost. Key elements of Fassin's return have been removed.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Algebraist?

The Dwellers reaction to threats is wonderfully amusing.

Would you be willing to try another one of Anton Lesser’s performances?

Yes, but I would look them out especially. It would depend on the story. I prefer to do without the sound effects too.

Was The Algebraist worth the listening time?

Yes, but it was so much less than it could have been and deserves to be.

Any additional comments?

I found the production annoying too.
Please Please Please can we have Peter Kenny read the whole of this book for us, like with the rest of the series.

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3 people found this helpful

The Agebraist

This is a book was written by someone from another galaxy, science fiction at its very best. Don't plan to do anything else when you start to listen to it, if you do you will be late.

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3 people found this helpful

Better than the book

This is where audiobooks shine. What might have been a ponderous and overly complex story is gently tweaked into a mighty yarn. In this example, the reader is excellent and breathes new life into what may have been dry prose.
The story takes some time to get going - there's probably two or three separate novellas at work here - but I'm happy to listen from part two over and over again. The final couple of hours is particularly rewarding.
As for the plot line of the Algebraist, you can read up elsewhere. It's clever, funny and rewards repeat listening.
I wish more IMB works were available.

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2 people found this helpful

Massive tome, marred by vocal tones

I've only ever bought Iain M Banks books from Audible, and my headphones stay on my head all day long, like I'm someone from the Culture. Algebraist does not disappoint in its subject matter, but when it comes to this particular narrator, I am not a fan. There is little inflection between characters other than ridiculously overblown pomposity, which doesn't particularly suit dwellers, There is a limit to how much of this aristocratic mimickry one set of ears can take. And his frail voice does not suit Banks' cosmic vernacular, drug-haze/mindblowing screwing very well. My advice would be to listen to Toby Longworth's fantastic 'Matter' followed by Peter Kenny and then Anton Lesser.

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1 person found this helpful