The Punch Escrow cover art

The Punch Escrow

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The Punch Escrow

By: Tal M. Klein
Narrated by: Matthew Mercer
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About this listen

It's the year 2147. Advancements in nanotechnology have enabled us to control aging. We've genetically engineered mosquitoes to feast on carbon fumes instead of blood, ending air pollution. And teleportation has become the ideal mode of transportation, offered exclusively by International Transport - a secretive firm headquartered in New York City. Their slogan: Departure...Arrival...Delight!

Joel Byram, our smartass protagonist, is an everyday 22nd century guy. He spends his days training artificial-intelligence engines to act more human, jamming out to 1980s new wave - an extremely obscure genre - and trying to salvage his deteriorating marriage. Joel is pretty much an everyday guy with everyday problems - until he's accidentally duplicated while teleporting. Now Joel must outsmart the shadowy organization that controls teleportation, outrun the religious sect out to destroy it, and find a way to get back to the woman he loves in a world that now has two of him.

©2017 Tal M. Klein (P)2017 Audible, Inc.
Adventure Hard Science Fiction Science Fiction Technothrillers Thriller & Suspense

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Critic reviews

"Narrator Matthew Mercer is perfectly cast as smart-ass Joel Byram. One can almost see Joel's facial expressions as he navigates a world in which he's been duplicated in a teleportation accident. This futuristic story is made Monty Python-like by Mercer's outstanding voicings. His version of the synthesized voice of the 171-year-old founder of a religious cult is beautifully mechanical. His rendering of the two Levantine spies' accents is marvelous. And his depiction of the transformation of a hardworking science guy into full-fledged mad scientist is spot-on. Many characters, many voices - one terrific performance." (AudioFile)

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Most relevant
What a fantastic story.

Suspense and thrills abound and fantastically performed by one of my favourite voice artists.
Thanks Tam and Matt for making this come to life.
Great stuff

New and improved

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This was a great listen. Story was pretty good, full of compelling concepts and characters. Amazing performance by Matthew Mercer, brought every character believably to life.

Good book, Amazing performance!

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Narrator was excellent I hope he does more in the future. Story felt a little rushed in the middle with some bloating but overall it is well worth a listen. Kept me hooked till the end.

Excellent narration, great concept.

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Matthew Mercer's performance is a tour de force, hope to hear more of his work in the future.

Matthew Mercer's performance is a tour de force

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Some of this is clever - the primary concept, the explanations, the framing and some of the humour. I found myself getting annoyed with some of the wise-cracking though and the tedious 80s references. Our main characters seems to joke their way through some pretty traumatic events, which made the whole book feel cartoonish and a bit silly.

Interesting enough but with some tedious jokes

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