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Loading... The Originalby Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal
   No current Talk conversations about this book.  RatGrrrl | Dec 20, 2023 |    ) Guide2 | Sep 26, 2023 |  ) kylecarroll | Jul 16, 2023 |  ) gianouts | Jul 5, 2023 | That was quite an interesting futuristic sci-fi story. I loved the concept of the 'original' and the 'replica'. It was really clever to narrate from the perspective of the replica as Readers felt connected to her which meant as the story progressed we were confronted with a bit of an existential dilemma. Which version should continue living? The world these authors have created is really interesting. I loved the fringe thinkers who chose mortality and authenticity as part of living a more meaningful life. A good thought provoking story. ( ) Mrs_Tapsell_Bookzone | Feb 14, 2023 | no reviews | add a review
Fiction.
Mystery.
Science Fiction.
Thriller.
Hugo Awardâ??winning authors Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal team up in this exclusive audio-first production of The Original, a sci-fi thriller set in a world where one woman fights to know her true identity and survive the forces that threaten her very existence. In the near future, humans choose lifeâ??for a price. Injectable nanite technology is the lifeblood that flows through every individual wishing to experience the world through the lens of their own theme. While death from mortal wounds is still possible, life is made easier in a socially liberated society where automation and income equality allow passion pursuits to flourish over traditional work. Renewal stations are provided to every law-abiding citizen for weekly check-ins, which issue life-sustaining repairs in exchange for personal privacy. But what becomes of those who check out, of those who dare to resist immortality and risk being edited under the gaze of an identity-extracting government surveillance system? When Holly Winseed wakes up in a hospital room, her memory compromised and a new identity imposed on her, a team of government agents wastes no time stating their objective. With intent to infiltrate and defeat the terrorist group ICON, the agents tell Holly that she is now a Provisional Replica and has one week to hunt down and kill her Original for the murder of her husband, Jonathan. If she succeeds, she'll assume her Original's place in society. If she fails, her life will end. Holly's progress is monitored by an assigned contact that feeds her information as she confronts the blank, robotic world around her, discovering that others view life through the theme of their own choosing. With her newly implanted combat and deduction skills, Holly fends off both attacks by terrorists and doubts about her own trustworthiness as clues lead her to her Originalâ??and to the truth about Jonathan. In the end, one body remains and one walks away. Although questions persist, one thing is certain: life will never be No library descriptions found. |
LibraryThing AuthorBrandon Sanderson is a LibraryThing Author, an author who lists their personal library on LibraryThing. Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.53)
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It genuinely disturbs me how much conservative and right-wing liberal messaging is hidden in decent writing. The Red Rising trilogy already broke my heart with good story and centrist faux revolution, but somehow this seems even more insidious with how purposefully it is crafted to reflect and promote the views of the modern right-wing antigovernment perspective through sci-fi 24/ Jack Reacher. It does this while at the same time playing down the invasiveness of the government and mocking wishes for privacy and independence. Truly the modern conservative cognitive dissonance mind rot. I could rant all day about this sickening trend of slick right and centrist writing...
I will say this. People love to throw around the word terrorist as if it is inherently evil. Any act of disobedience or act against a government is terrorism. The Rebels and Resistance in Star Wars are terrorists. The protagonists of nearly every YA novel, particularly the dystopian ones are terrorists.
One positive aspect was the handling and discussion of gender, which is confusing as it is likely to very much put off the above crowd. While it was respectful it was also very clunky and felt inserted in, rather than being natural. We do love to see a non-binary representation though.
Anyways, the sci-fi concepts are fun, if largely cherry picked from existing properties and, as many others have already pointed out, a grab bag of Black Mirror, albeit with a conservative twist. The idea of themeing and its portrayal was genuinely great, extrapolating out from silent discos and augmented reality.
The writing itself is decent and I was carried along enjoying the story as much as I could around the jarring and uncomfortable political attitudes it expressed.
The performance is spectacular.
I'm sad this was my first experience of Sanderson and I genuinely don't know if I will bother with any of his other work. I don't need to read the works of the embarrassing Ayn Rand lites like Goodkind and Brown. (