keep them coming

A.R. keeps writing these excellent books with very imaginative storylines which enables the reader to conjure up fantastic images of the characters and vistas used in his stories. Keep them coming Alastair.

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10 people found this helpful

Good build up, but the end somewhat predictable.

If you could sum up The Prefect in three words, what would they be?

Good never lasts

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

The victim's posthumous revenge.

What does John Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

His voice fits with science fiction. Maybe I have just heard lots of his readings. The down side is the characters become similar.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not a laugh or cry type book, but there were parts which made me shout, either "don't do that" or "surely not!"

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I found it compelling but not perfect

apart from some of the senior perfects making 101 errors, and Lee slightly limited in his range, it was great and I listened with increasing obsession.
Lee's narration is near perfect for this type of book and his inability to do a range of female voices doesn't matter too much. with this type of storyline very few other sound right. Dreyfus is a great character and the basic detective story really engaging. going straight on to the next one in the series. if you like space opera Sci-Fi then I'm sure you'll love this.

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Incredible

Intense, powerful and nerve wracking, one of Alastair's best. Took me on a journey I will never forget.

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Great story and narration

Really enjoyed both the story and it’s telling. There were some parts that I didn’t like where the characters made basic mistakes and they didn’t sit well with me, but the rest of it made up for those sections. Onto the next one :-)

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Incredible

Amazing narrator, amazing characters, amazing story. Can't wait to finally listen to the sequel. Would recommend.

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Awesome Book

Would you consider the audio edition of The Prefect to be better than the print version?

I havent read the print version, but I am a big fan of alastair reynolds

What did you like best about this story?

Fast paced, full of action and thrilling all the way through

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The revelation towards the end about the clockmaker - brilliant

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

at nearly 20 hours, that would have been difficult.

Any additional comments?

Thouroughly recommended, one of his best books yet.

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Not the best in the series, but still worth it

I've been a fan of Alastair Reynolds' writing for a few years now, having accidentally discovered the Revelation Space series through a recommendation. Although written more recently, the timeline of The Prefect pre-dates the three core RS novels, and the brilliant Chasm City (which is based in the same geography as this book, albeit set a number of years into the future).

Having said that, if you're looking for an intro to Alastair Reynolds' work I would not start here. Part of the fun of this novel is name-checking things that are still mysteries to the characters, that the reader has extra knowledge, given the events to follow. It's also a little more leaden-footed than the previous titles, as has been mentioned in previous reviews its supposedly uber-bright central foils making bizarre decisions or leaps of faith, in what I can only guess are conveniences to square the plot circle.

Quite a few comments on John Lee as narrator - I actually quite enjoyed his somewhat military, clipped precision - although his voicing of female characters sometimes left me wondering who was talking when more than one of them were in the same room.

You'll also find that, similar to the earlier novels, Alastair Reynolds' depictions of his own, admittedly breathtaking universe are incredibly detailed, and some of the detail I felt added nothing to the narrative. Presumably given his scientific background he feels compelled to pad out the book with a lot of "well this could actually work...". The end result is that I found myself unable to do what I (guiltily) admit to doing with a lot of other audiobooks - other stuff while listening, for fear of missing some critical plot item amidst all the detail.

Overall an enjoyable 19 hours, but if you're interested in hard Sci Fi and are looking for something to rival Iain M Banks or Dan Simmons, I would start with the earlier (later?!) books and work along the trail to this one.

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Fantastic

I loved this audio book, straight onto book 2, looking forward to the next instalment

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Superb!

Loved the book, these stories get better and better with excellent narration, a highly recommended read.

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