Mon archétype

by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal

Un thriller captivant dans une société futuriste digne de Black Mirror. Dans un futur proche, l'immortalité est à portée de main, mais la vie privée est sacrifiée. Lorsque Holly se réveille avec une nouvelle identité imposée, elle devient une « Réplique provisoire » chargée d'infiltrer un groupe terroriste. Sa mission : retrouver et éliminer son Original responsable de la mort de son mari. Si elle réussit, elle prendra la place de son Original dans la société. Si elle échoue, elle mourra. Brandon Sanderson et Mary Robinette Kowal, lauréats du Hugo Award, s'associent pour écrire Mon Archétype, classé dans le top 20 d'Amazon sur Audible dès sa sortie en anglais et récompensé du Fantasy Award 2020 du meilleur livre audio. Avec plus de 17 millions de livres vendus et traduits en plus de 30 langues, Brandon Sanderson est un incontournable des classements, tandis que Mary Robinette Kowal, gagnante du Nebula Award et du Campbell Award, ainsi que trois fois du Hugo Award, est l'auteure acclamée de la série Lady Astronaute. Ne manquez pas cette collaboration exceptionnelle entre deux maîtres de la littérature de genre.

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy, Thriller, Novella

Unknown Binding

First published September 14, 2020

About the author

I’m Brandon Sanderson, and I write stories of the fantastic: fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers.

The release of Wind and Truth in December 2024—the fifth and final book in the first arc of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive series—marks a significant milestone for me. This series is my love letter to the epic fantasy genre, and it’s the type of story I always dreamed epic fantasy could be. Now is a great time to get into the Stormlight Archive since the first arc, which begins with Way of Kings, is complete.

During our crowdfunding campaign for the leatherbound edition of Words of Radiance, I announced a fifth Secret Project called Isles of the Emberdark, which came out in the summer of 2025. Coming December 2025 is Tailored Realities, my non-Cosmere short story collection featuring the new novella Moment Zero.

Defiant, the fourth and final volume of the series that started with Skyward in 2018, came out in November 2023, capping an already book-filled year that saw the releases of all four Secret Projects: Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and The Sunlit Man. These four books were all initially offered to backers of the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time.

November 2022 saw the release of The Lost Metal, the seventh volume in the Mistborn saga, and the final volume of the Mistborn Era Two featuring Wax & Wayne. Now that the first arc of the Stormlight Archive is wrapped up, I’ve started writing the third era of Mistborn in 2025.

Most readers have noticed that my adult fantasy novels are in a connected universe called the Cosmere. This includes The Stormlight Archive, both Mistborn series, Elantris, Warbreaker, four of the five Secret Projects, and various novellas, including The Emperor’s Soul, which won a Hugo Award in 2013. In November 2016 all of the existing Cosmere short fiction was released in one volume called Arcanum Unbounded. If you’ve read all of my adult fantasy novels and want to see some behind-the-scenes information, that collection is a must-read.

I also have three YA series: The Rithmatist (currently at one book), The Reckoners (a trilogy beginning with Steelheart), and Skyward. For young readers I also have my humorous series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, which had its final book, Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians, released in 2022. Many of my adult readers enjoy all of those books as well, and many of my YA readers enjoy my adult books, usually starting with Mistborn.

Additionally, I have a few other novellas that are more on the thriller/sci-fi side. These include the three stories in Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds, as well as Perfect State and Snapshot. These two novellas are also featured in 2025’s Tailored Realities. There’s a lot of material to go around!

Good starting places are Mistborn (a.k.a. The Final Empire), Skyward, Steelheart, The Emperor’s Soul, Tress of the Emerald Sea, and Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. If you’re already a fan of big fat fantasies, you can jump right into The Way of Kings.

I was also honored to be able to complete the final three volumes of The Wheel of Time, beginning with The Gathering Storm, using Robert Jordan’s notes.

Sample chapters from all of my books are available at brandonsanderson.com—and check out the rest of my site for chapter-by-chapter annotations, deleted scenes, and more.

Reviews

[Nataliya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, now I can finally say I’ve read something by Sanderson.

It’s set in the unindentified future, with more or less global human government, universal income and few people having “real” jobs (yes, our protagonist artistically carves oranges as a career) and nanites that regenerate their bodies as well as transfer consciousness to a new body after the old one dies. And the world is perceived through “theming” — basically having a virtual reality overlay onto the world that allows up you to perceive it as a nicer and more customized place than it actually is.

(Just add your own ”theming”…)

That is, unless you “check out” — leave the pretty theming and nanites to live a harder life if you are missing the meaning of life or desire risk or are afraid of government spying on you. But otherwise you can enjoy pretty life full of hobbies and apparently very little actual work.

Holly wakes up as a “provisional replica” — an enhanced copy of her “original” self that was created because apparently her Original killed her husband, checked out from nanite world and now has been sentenced to murder by her provisional replica who needs to execute the Original or die herself. This PR in addition to orange carving also possesses tactical and military skills, conveniently making her a fighting badass and not just a fruit artist. And here we are in our science fictional mystery.

It’s pretty fun in audio format, being an Audible Original. Fast paced, with a lot of dialogue and easy writing, and full of action. It’s a decent companion on a long car journey, for which I am very thankful. But it also felt like a glossy Hollywood movie but in audio format. It’s alright, it’s entertaining, but unlike a book I’ve read recently with a bit of a similar virtual world premise (Hologrammatica) it didn’t make me think much besides quick superficial enjoyment (and annoyance at quasi-ambiguous ending, although I think I figured it out). And despite spending the entire book in Holly’s replica’s head I felt that I had about as vague of a sense of her as I would of a protagonist in most fast-paced Hollywood blockbuster.

Plus, I just don’t care about oranges (although it’s not their fault they are not mangos).

Anyway, it’s easy to listen to, and the narrator is good (although the chosen sound effects were somewhat distracting), and it’s overall fun until you really start thinking about some internal logic of this world (so don’t). It would be an entertaining movie, but as a book I’ll probably forget it entirely in three … two … one… What was I talking about here?

Anyway, 3.5 stars and alright entertainment for a few hours, even if nothing special. I may give both Sanderson and Kowal another try in the future.

——————

Also posted on my blog.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 star

I have mentioned several times in my reviews that I have a difficult time reading fantasy audiobooks. I was hesitant to listen to this audiobook -although I knew it was made to be an audiobook- but figured since it’s a short book, I’ll try. Luckily, I didn’t have any difficulties listening to this audiobook. I also feel stupid because I’ve listened to many books now narrated by Julia Whelan and while before the voice was vaguely familiar, it was only this audiobook I know this narrator (sadly, I don’t remember their names). And to my surprise, this is my 5th audiobook by her. She’s a very talented narrator indeed and definitely made it to my favorites (not that I have a list).

The book is a sci-fi mystery combination. It tells the story of a clone in a futuristic world where people can set a theme and experience whatever they wish to. She was created to hunt down her “original” for killing her husband. Their husband. If she fails, she’ll die.

The Original had a top-notch world-building for a short book, like always for Brandon Sanderson. It also focused a lot on what Holly was feeling and going through. Although understandable since she’s an edited copy of her original, it got a bit too much.

The book is told from the 1st perspective and is fast-paced. I admit though that some descriptions were kind of too much. It’s not my favorite book by Sanderson by far nor I felt attached to the characters like I usually do.

The Original is not perfect by any means. Nonetheless, Brandon Sanderson and Mary Kowal wrote an enjoyable novella that can be finished in a few hours (less if reading). The book also had some nice sound effects although they were higher than the narrator's voice a few times.I’d recommend the audio if you’re an audiobook fan and want to listen to a fun short story.

[Anna [Bran. San. Stan] · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 sci-fi-thriller/dystopian stars. If you are like me and you see another name besides Sanderson’s on a title page, you wonder how involved he actually was and might even be skeptical if you will enjoy the story the same way. In the books co-authored with Janci Patterson, I have been relieved to note there is no difference in quality and I didn’t love them any less. But as far as Kowal is concerned, I was back to being apprehensive. I mean, I trust Sanderson to only work with other great writers. And yet, I haven’t read anything by her so who knows, right?

Maybe you are also wondering why Brandon chooses to co-write in the first place and how that works? From what I understand it’s often a time issue: he just has too many ideas and doesn’t have the time to write all those books. So what does he do? He writes the outlines, lets someone else pen the book and is then heavily involved in drafts and the creative process.

But here, another reason made him turn to another writer: Brandon knew for this idea the voice of the character had to really work and he wasn’t 100% confident he could do it, which is why he thought of Mary Robinette. According to Brandon, in the writing process, he was a “great resource“ on the action scenes, while Mary Robinette was a “great resource” on the character (Live Stream #18). Also, her experience writing for an audio format was helpful – as this so far has only been released as audiobook. As for the co-writing process, they seemed to proceed similarly to other co-writing projects: the idea and outline was his, she wrote the actual prose, and they then took turns with the drafts.

Now to the story itself. Holly wakes up to realize she is a clone meant to track down her original for having killed her husband.

“This was day one in my life and I didn’t even know it.”

In this futuristic (dystopian?) world most people use nanite technology and clones to gain immortality while using so-called themes, which virtually modify reality (sort of white- screen CGI) according to their perception choices. Using this technology, which is controlled by the government, comes at a cost to their privacy, which is one reason why some people “check out“ to live out their natural lives.

Holly is plagued by the knowledge and doubt that she killed her husband whom she loved, by the fact that the government edited her – unlike her original self – to be versed in combat and finally by the fact that she only has four days to find, kill and take her original’s place or she will die.

While not entirely new, this sounds really cool, right? (Side note: the idea for this story was developed before Will Smith‘s “Gemini Man”, in case you were wondering.) I for one was really intrigued. Sadly, the very ending just didn’t work for me. For the big reveal, I also expected something that would stun me – similar to the ending of Snapshot. Maybe if I hadn’t read Snapshot, the reveal would have been more of a surprise?

At the end of the day, because of its ending, The Original didn’t feel entirely original to me. Still, I spent an entertaining 3 1/2 hours listening to this story and if Kowal and Sanderson ever co-write anything again, I will definitely read it. (Okay, who am I kidding, even if this had been bad, I still would read anything that has his name on it.)

[Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hooked from the very first sentence.

The story had a cool concept: a reborn clone of a murderer who’s sole purpose is to hunt and kill her “original.” It had a futuristic setting where a new “nanite” technology actively alters reality, tapping into your preferences and makes changes on everything you experience based on both conscious and unconscious data. I found it fascinating. It was easy to imagine how tech like that could make people lose touch with reality – highlighting the novelty of the tactile elements in a digitally-run world. The authors did a great job infusing this concept through every fiber of the story with fantastic use of sensory input description. It was total immersion. I found it especially poignant when dealing with the murder scene, as the description evoked a lot of uncomfortable and visceral feelings. All of this seamless infusion would make a great case study on world building for budding writers.

Julia Whelan was an awesome narrator. She was relatable and earnest in a way that really helped sell the story. Her POV was so perplexed… how could she possibly have committed a crime? The confusion and angst in her performance was palatable, making me think right from the start that there must be another explanation to what happened. She makes you feel the history and love between the main character and the victim. It spurred a lot of great questions and immediately hooked me for the rest of the story. I needed to find out what really happened. It was essential.

Recommendations: Overall, this was a fantastic audio production that will keep you on your toes. I especially recommend it if you’ve enjoyed some of Sanderson’s other mind-bending short stories like Snapshot and Legion. I haven’t read anything by Kowel yet, but after this, The Calculating Stars has definitely been bumped up my priority list.

Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com

I’d like to thank RB Media, Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal, and NetGalley for the chance to listen to and review an early copy of The Original.

Other books you might like:

[sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Original is a novella length sci-fi novel, available exclusively as an audiobook. It is set in a futuristic world and follows a woman named Holly who discovers that she is a clone created to kill her 'original'. The original Holly has been accused of killing her husband, but nothing is certain in this world built on appearances and 'theming'. Holly has four days to prove innocence, or kill her original and take her place.

I love audiobooks, but I was daunted by this one because of the genre. I typically prefer to read SFF books physically, as it helps me to grasp the world and all its details more easily. With these kinds of books, listening passively for just 30 seconds can really pull me out of the story and make me lose my bearings. This proved to be the case with this book, but not to as a great an extent as I had feared. I feel like I definitely missed some details and would perhaps benefit from a second listening. However, I think this audiobook was perfectly produced. Julia Wheelan expertly narrated the story and I realise appreciated the sound effects and music throughout. They weren't too loud that it drowned out the narrator, and they added tension and suspense to the storyline.

I really enjoyed the themes explored in the book: reality, identity and morality. While pretty typical for sci-fi, the production, plot and short length made it feel refreshed and compelling. It was easy to get hooked into the story from the get go, and made for a really immersive experience.

However, the short run time was also a factor in why I didn't absolutely love the book. I felt like we didn't get enough time to fully flesh out the characters and the world, and would have preferred to take a little more time to do so. But as complaints go, wanting more isn't the worst thing in the world and is probably a side effect of me being used to full lengths novels. I don't think this is the type of book that I will find myself thinking about for years to come, but that's okay! I think it is just important to set your expectations right before starting it.

I appreciated the ending, and think it was probably the best way to go- but I still didn't feel completely satisfied. If you prefer your mysteries completely wrapped up and explained, maybe give this one a miss.

Overall, I found The Original to be a fast paced, quick and immersive experience. If it is available to you and the premise sounds intriguing- I would give it a go! If worst comes to worst, it is only a few hours of your time.

★★★☆☆.5 stars

Thank you to RB Media for this ALC

Release Date: 14 September 2020

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This science fiction novella is a mystery set in the near future. Holly Winseed wakes in a hospital bed and gradually learns that she is a Provisional Replica - a clone of the Original Holly. Provisional Replicas can be created only if the Original has been convicted of a terrible act. In this case, Original Holly has murdered her scientist husband Jonathan and is on the run. Replica Holly has 4 days to track her down and kill her. If she accomplishes her mission she can petition to have Jonathan revived and the two of them can continue with their former lives. If she fails, she dies and Jonathan stays dead. First, Holly needs to figure out if her Original is really guilty.

The book had some really interesting concepts. The replica idea was nice, but I’ve read that before. However, I had not encountered themes, sort of virtual reality bubbles that you can create for yourself. You can visit a crowded beach and adopt a theme that makes it appear that you are there alone. Everything in your daily life is colored by the theme you have chosen. There were other entertaining world building touches. I can see an entire novel expanding on this world, maybe featuring Holly’s “handler”. Both Holly’s were relatable characters. The book has some action sequences and a little philosophizing. The conclusion of the mystery was satisfying.

The Original is currently available as audio only, so I’m sure the producers focused a lot of attention on the quality of the audio. I thought that the narration by Julia Whelan was quite good. Unfortunately, there were a couple of annoyances in the audio. First, there were unusually long breaks between sections/chapters. Since I was listening to an ARC, maybe that will be fixed in the final copy. Second, there was music that seemed to crop up randomly and was underlying the narration. It didn’t enhance anything and was just distracting. It was like trying to watch television while listening to music. I wanted to yell at them to turn the radio off. Underlying music works for me in movies, but it didn’t work well here.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

[Dannii Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 3.5/5 stars.

"The Original takes place over the course of four days and revolves around the murder of a man named Jonathan Winseed by his wife Holly, who then goes on the run. It questions things like identity, what drives a person to be a killer, and what one is willing to do in order to stay alive."

I was excited for this because:
1) This sounded like such a different type of novel from all I had previously read by Brandon Sanderson.
2) It was co-authored and so combined my love for one author, Brandon Sanderson, with one I have yet to read from, Mary Robinette Kowal, but was already intrigued to.
3) The audio narrator, Julia Whelan, is one I had previous success with and was also impressed by the sheer amount of great titles she had relayed.
4) It was only available as an audiobook and I was curious as to just why that was.

My initial intrigue carried me throughout this short audiobook and I loved navigating the way to the truth, alongside protagonist Holly. This futuristic world was only painted in the broadest strokes and yet I managed to garner an evocative depiction of each setting. The audio narration was also the perfect way to consume this book, as Whelan's voice combined with the odd sound effect allowed me to fully immerse myself inside of this story. In all, I spent a morning dog walk largely blind to the world around me, whilst my thoughts were fully consumed by this future one and the bloody mystery featured there.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the authors, Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal, and the publisher, RB Media, for this opportunity.

[Ali Abdaal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stellar, really great listen for a long road trip where you can get through the whole thing in a few hours

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's quickly get past the old cyberpunk themes and the Noir atmosphere for one second and just appreciate how thoroughly enjoyable this novella by Sanderson and Kowal really is.

I mean, for one, it's Sanderson and Kowal. Quality will be in the cards, regardless, with smooth reading and seemingly effortless storytelling. On the other hand, it's a world a lot like Altered Carbon with edited reality-perceptions, a total Murder Mystery sensibility, and great tech invasions.

Using a clone of the murderer to catch the murderer is all kinds of delicious, too.

Highly recommended.

[TS Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC received from the publisher, Recorded Books, in exchange for an honest review.

The Original is a fascinating yet chilling look into a possible future where a person can be cloned into a replicant used to hunt down his or her 'original'. This science-fiction collaboration between Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal thoroughly engages and satisfies with its solid characterisation and worldbuilding in a novella spanning just over 3hrs long of audio narration.

Sanderson and Kowal have been friends and co-hosts of the Writing Excuses podcast for many years. While they have published a book with the rest of the podcast's co-hosts called Shadows Beneath: The Writing Excuses Anthology (which contained some great stories and also offers a peek into the creative process), this is the first time where they co-authored a story together.

There isn't much that could be mentioned about the plot that was not already in the synopsis without giving away important story beats. What I could say is that this packed a surprisingly solid amount of worldbuilding through the first person perspective of the Holly, the provisional replicant that was tasked to hunt down her original in four days, failing which she should be permanently erased. Holly came across as sympathetic and relatable character as she struggled with the notion that her original (which essentially means herself) could actually have killed her husband.

The same goes for the worldbuilding which I'll refrain from describing as I think one needs to listen to this audiobook to appreciate how well it's incorporated into the character's POV. While I can't say that it's wholly unique, I definitely found that it's both intriguing and chilling in dealing with the concept of cloning and 'theming' to the point where one could hardly tell what is real anymore.

The Original is only available in audio for now and Julia Whelan's narration and portrayal of Holly was excellent. I'm not sure what the future plans holds for more collaboration between Sanderson and Kowal under this Mainframe umbrella, but I'm definitely interested for more. Who am I kidding though, I'll always read anything that Sanderson has written. But this does also make me want to read one of Kowal's books sooner rather than later, especially her Hugo-award winning The Calculating Stars.

You can purchase this audiobook from Audible US | Audible UK | Audiobook.com | Libro.fm

You can find this and my other reviews at Novel Notions.

[Claude's Bookzone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, can I say Julia Whelan is such an amazing narrator. She could read the phone book and I would be enthralled!

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.

[Robin (Bridge Four) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a huge Sanderson fan. All of his stories are interesting and have a lot of creativity to them and while I’ve never read anything by Mary Robinette Kowal I’m always willing to read something Sanderson is involved in. The Original follows that pattern as well in a world where you basically have taken all your social media settings and applied them to the world around you.

Nanite technology has taken the human race to the next level. They limit sickness and change your perceptions of everything surrounding you. Don’t like the noise level at your apartment. There is a filter for that. Like muted tones more than bright ones. There is a filter for that. Don’t like the way you look. You can change how you let the world around you see you. It is so engrained into the population no one really realizes how much the world around them is not what it seems.

Holly wakes up and finds out she is a clone of herself and has four days to find her Original and kill her. If she does this then she gets to continue living, if she doesn’t then her nanites will shut down and she dies. But she can’t imagine a world where she would have killed her husband the man she loved for years. As she explores the world without filters, she sees an entirely different side of life that she hasn’t noticed until now. People are trying to get to her before she gets to her Original, she is trying to figure out what could have made her kill her husband. And along the way she gets to decide whose life means more. The Original or the clone.

If she finds her clone will she let her go? Or will she fight to join this world built on filtered out experiences?

Overall, this is good for a short story. I think there is a lot you could do in this world and I wish a few of the details were fleshed out a little more but that definitely would have taken longer than a short story. The twist at the end made me ponder for a little while after the story was over about how I felt about the ending in general but I was surprised for sure.

Solid and interesting short story.

Narration:

Julia Whelan is a seasoned narrator and it shows. Her performance was on point and felt natural for the character in the story.

[Jay Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of interviewing Julia Whelan, the talented narrator of over 300 audio books- including The Original. I'll leave links to the interview as well as my video review.

My Video Review: https://youtu.be/votYDO56JBE
My Interview with Julia Whelan (narrator): https://youtu.be/Rwe2cpwLs7o

The Original is a science fiction mystery thriller novella co authored by Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal. My expectations were very high for this collab and I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed. It’s no surprise Sanderson is one of my favorite authors, I’ve made multiple videos on his books. However, I haven’t read anything by Mary Robinette, though she is an author I’ve been interested in reading ever since I first listened to the Writing Excuses podcast (where she’s one of the hosts along with Sanderson). After listening to this I will definitely going to read more of her work!

The Original is a pretty short audiobook, less than three and a half hours total. It is an audio-only experience at least as of yet, though I'm assuming it will get a physical release in the future. But I think it works extremely well as an audiobook, Julia whelan does an amazing job narrating the story and bringing this character to life.

The Story:
Taking place in the near future, technology has advanced so that people can check in to renewal stations that inject them with reparative nanites that destroy disease and repair cells to make you immune to aging. Effectively make one immortal. Every law-abiding citizen is allowed access to these renewal stations every week, and each time you renew, the station stores a copy of your genetic code, personality and memories. So in the event that you die, you can re-clone yourself with all your memories in tact. The government can only ever legally use this data if a warrant is issued for your arrest, and they need to make a clone of yourself to track down yourself. Because who better to find you then... uhh... you!
Which leads us to Holly Winseed. The story starts off with Holly waking up in a hospital bed with her memories scattered. She finds out she’s a provisional replica, a clone equipped with most of her original memories as well as some new combat skills edited in. They only make provisional clones if you’ve been convicted of a terrible act, in this case, the Original Holly has murdered her husband and is on the run. It’s the job of the provisional replica to track down and kill her original self within 4 days or be terminated. If she accomplishes her mission she can have Jonathan revived and the two of them can continue with their former lives. Her investigation draws her into a much bigger plot, and what begins as a hunt for herself soon becomes a lot more complicated as she’s also given the task of a infiltrating a terrorist organization called ICON.

The main premise sounds kind of similar to altered carbon, though altered carbon is a lot darker in tone and reads quite differently, but the original isn’t entirely… original in it’s concept we’ve seen this done in scifi before, and even Sanderson himself has noted how Will Smith’s recent movie, Gemini Man shares some similarities. But there are some unique aspects when it comes to the worldbuilding/technology.

Worldbuilding & Tech:
The Original has a surprising amount of world building for a novella! what's most interesting about this world, is that nanites do more then just make someone immune to disease and aging- they can change the way that people perceive the world. Each person has the freedom to theme what they see, including architecture, clothing design, and even music. Most buildings are just plain white, but with theming the buildings can adopt the architectural design that each individual chooses.
Those choosing to opt out of using nanites are known as check-outs and are regarded with suspicion. We get to see both the positives and negatives of this society and it’s both fascinating and scary. It was easy to imagine how tech like that could make people lose touch with reality. It’s all presented in a way that makes it feel like a possibility, and gets you to ask the hard questions about what we’d do in these situations.

Sound Design:
Now lets talk about the sound design. I felt like this novella works really well as an audio only experience, I'm the type of person that loves sound effects and music in audiobooks, but I know there’s A LOT of people don’t like that. Well here it is balanced perfectly! The music that is there is very light, and the sounds never really compete with the narrator. I found that the sound design actually added more tension and suspense, immersing us in the inner conflict of the protagonist. The sound production really adds to the experience imo! This is written in first person, so we are in Holly’s head a lot and we get a lot of her internal thoughts and worries... and as I already mentioned, the narrator Julia Whelan brought a lot of character to Hollys voice.

Overall this was a fun, fast-paced sci-fi thriller that will keep you on your toes!

[Krysta ꕤ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ★

this was a cool blend of mystery/scifi and the narration by Julia Whelan was amazing (as always). in this futuristic world humans can choose the theme for their own lives, but it comes at a price. Holly is a clone who is given the task of hunting down her “original” for the murder of their husband Jonathan. if she is successful she’ll take her originals place but if she fails.. she’ll be killed. there’s more to the story than this and there’s a lot of back and forth with trying to figure out the true motives of both versions of Holly. this novella isn’t perfect, but it still manages to be very engaging even with the limited pages.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a futuristic world, death is no longer a problem due to 'nanites' that can repair and restore your body and if you do meet with a fatal accident, allow you to be recloned complete with memories and feelings. Nanites also let you colour and 'theme' your world the way you want with architecture, design and music to your taste. When Holly Winseed wakes in a hospital she's told that she is a modified clone with a limited life span of four days, made solely for the purpose of finding and killing her original who has murdered her husband Jonathan.

Sanderson and Kowal's future world is both fascinating and scary. It raises questions of identity, morality and individuality with those choosing to opt out of using nanites known as check-outs. This audiobook only publication is the length of a novella and the world building was skillfully done for such a short piece and I could imagine it working well in a longer book. For me the plot was not as strong but was well written and produced. A background of music and sounds adding to the atmosphere and tension when required. Initially I found the sound track distracting but it did work well in some parts of the story. Julia Whelan's narration was also well done, particularly with her voicing Holly's puzzlement and loss over the death of her husband.

With many thanks to Recorded Books and Netgalley for a copy of the audiobook to listen to

[Dana Ilie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked from the very first sentence.
Julia Whelan was an awesome narrator. She was relatable and earnest in a way that really helped sell the story. Her POV was so perplexed… how could she possibly have committed a crime? The confusion and angst in her performance was palatable, making me think right from the start that there must be another explanation to what happened. She makes you feel the history and love between the main character and the victim. It spurred a lot of great questions and immediately hooked me for the rest of the story. I needed to find out what really happened. It was essential.
The story had a cool concept: a reborn clone of a murderer who’s sole purpose is to hunt and kill her “original.” It had a futuristic setting where a new “nanite” technology actively alters reality, tapping into your preferences and makes changes on everything you experience based on both conscious and unconscious data. I found it fascinating. It was easy to imagine how tech like that could make people lose touch with reality – highlighting the novelty of the tactile elements in a digitally-run world. The authors did a great job infusing this concept through every fiber of the story with fantastic use of sensory input description. It was total immersion.

[Manisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual review: 3.5

“Hello, Self…”

The Original is a sci-fi short story that is quick to read and pretty entertaining.


♥ THE JUSTICE OF IT ALL

The world building in this story is immense. There is no stone unturned, no questions to be answered, because every fact and action has been explained in this story. The combination of clones, nanite technology and the legal system is a creative premise.

Our protagonist is a Provisional Replica, or a copy of an existing person with the same memories and personality but with a deadly set of skills. Her goal is to hunt down and kill her Original.

It’s a creative premise with an action-packed story that follows through. But for me, the big star of the entire story was the world building.


♦ THE HUMANITY OF IT ALL

While the world was explained so well, what I found lacking was the story itself. It was somewhat predictable, and I don’t know why, but I didn’t enjoy it half as much as I thought I would. There was something lacking in it and I can’t put my finger on it.

The story is well written, the twists come predictably, but I wish the ending was bigger. A bigger twist, or maybe a bigger reveal might have made this story a little bit more interesting.


In conclusion, a great premise, a fast-paced, action-packed mini story that is forgettable, but entertaining to listen to.

[Dylan · Rating 2 out of 5]

World-building over plot.

2.5* rounded down.

Premise: The Original is a cyberpunky sci-fi audiobook set in a future version of Earth reminiscent of Altered Carbon. Death has been essentially vanquished and people go about their lives seeing a world that is 'themed' to their liking. Most everyone takes regular trips to renewal points where their consciousness and memories are uploaded to be placed into a clone in the event that they die. The book centers around a character called Holly, who wakes up in a hospital and is told that she is a Provisional Replicant. PRs are created when their 'original' commits a serious crime and the PR is tasked with hunting down and killing the original to guarantee their own survival. What begins as a hunt for herself soon becomes a lot more complicated as a terrorist organization called ICON enters the story.

Thoughts: This was a decent listen. I really liked the world created by Brando Sando and Kowal, but I was pretty uninterested by the plot and I kind of struggled with the narration as the only audiobook I've listened to previously had the same narrator.

The concept of the renewal points was interesting, especially as there are people in the book known as checkouts who decide to leave this system behind, allowing the authors to explore the pros and cons of something like this. It also sets up an interesting internal conflict in our protagonist. I also really liked the idea of themes, everyone perceiving the world in a different way with some locations having their own themes was a cool idea and it was also explored well in my opinion.

Unfortunately it felt like the world-building was prioritized over the plot. Even now right after I've finished this audiobook, I can recount details about the world but little about the actual plot. It's a mystery plotline with Holly uncovering new information as the book progresses. For me though, most of this new information often felt like it added to the world-building (even during the climax of the novel) rather than making the plot more interesting. I found myself not caring about Holly's investigation which was disappointing.

As for the audiobook itself, I thought it was okay. The sound quality wasn't quite as good as I expected, in fact most of the podcasts I listened to sound better, but it wasn't terrible. They did use music in the audiobook which was at times distracting but for the most part added some nice ambience. Julia Whelan is a decent narrator, though some of her voices for other characters aren't great and as I mentioned she's the only audiobook narrator I've heard so it was a little jarring for me. I did find it a bit hard to keep track of what was going on at times, but I think that's just down to me not listening to audiobooks regularly. I do wish this was available as a book though, I feel like I probably would have enjoyed it more.

All-in-all, it's fairly enjoyable and I'd say it's worth listening to if you have the time and you can either get an audible free trial or you have some credits burning a hole in your pocket. It didn't blow me away but it was compelling enough to keep me listening to it.

[donna backshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars, only because it was much too short

The Original is a novella that takes place in the near future, where we've figured out how to replicate just about everything, including people. We meet Replicated Holly, who is a Provisional Replica of her original self, created to find and haul in her (surprisingly) criminal original self. We follow PR Holly as she reluctantly but diligently hunts OG Holly for crimes committed.

As you can imagine, such a hunt comes with a fair amount of disbelief and disengagement, as PR Holly struggles to understand OG Holly's intentions and felonious actions. Toward the end, the distinction between the two Hollys gets a bit dicey and confusing, but overall it's exciting to ride along and see where this adventure takes us.

I was gifted a copy of the audiobook, narrated by Julia Whelan. Whelan was fantastic, as usual, but I must admit, I found the audio production to be a little odd. There were huge pauses between chapters, and ill-fitting/unexpected background music was added sporadically throughout, which each time had me clamoring for my phone to see "which app is making that stupid noise?" Hopefully these issues will be cleaned up before the audiobook is fully released.

The real question: Will I continue if this becomes a series? Likely yes. The world-building was unique and interesting. More adventures in this Replication is King world are surely welcome.

A big thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for the opportunity to listen to and review this audio novella.

[zerogravitas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel betrayed.

14 years ago this month when I picked up Elantris, it felt like nothing I've read before and that alienness made me think 'oh gotta keep an eye on this writer'. Brandon said he went into writing because everything he read felt recycled, so the promise of the Sanderson brand is 'stuff like you've never seen before'.

The Original betrays that brand promise.

The narrative spends too long in reaction scenes, magnifying out of proportion the wrong elements (likely without intent), which leads to self-stereotyping.


What this book is about:
--lots and lots of melodrama
--the character sighing
--a deluge of details from the MC's proprioception
--putting oranges in your mouth in slow motion
--carving fruit
--carving more fruit
--carving fruit AND putting them in your mouth in slow motion. Your mouth puckering or whatever mouths do around carved fruit put into your mouth in slow motion.
--sensory details are only fun once in a story this short. From the second time on, they start feeling like filler. If beta readers say the MC isn't sympathetic, you don't add more sensory details to ground them, you start removing the sighs to make the MC more competent and less self-absorbed.
--idem for proprioceptive details.
--contrived plot where the original is sending messages like 'yeah i did it' but without saying why or even acknowledging she can't say why
--minute bodily details that contribute to melodrama. Minute internal motion delivered as if it's actual plot motion.
--lots and lots AND LOTS of internal monologue about how emotional the character is
--about how womanly emotional the character is
--about how womanly emotional and totally pure and good and incapable of violence the character is. Because that's what women are. Super nurturing. Women are made of nurturing stuff. If you cut them open, they ooze little pellets of nurturingness (like teddy bear stuffing). They don't even have personalities because they're clones of nurturing mother achetypes.
--who carve oranges.
--are passionate about carving oranges.
--their life is ABOUT carving oranges.
--and their husband.
--the book is a thriller without the thrilling part. It's an emotional thriller? As in, where the thills come from the emotional melodrama triggered not by something in the scene but by endless navel gazing. Is emotional thriller a thing? Well it is now.
--When the character takes a deep breath for the umpteenth time, that does not tension make. In fact, the character detensing all the time ruins tension. Especially if she detenses when nothing is happening for the reader.
--speaking of which. Timebombs stop working if the character works so hard to relax all the time. Especially when nothing's happening anyway. For timebombs to work, we gotta see the character struggling breathlessly to beat the deadline in clever, resourceful ways. On thriller pacing, not on navel gazing pacing.
--when the character is emotional without there being a credible external trigger present in the scene, that does not tension make for readers. It becomes whining.
--this book shouldn't be marketed as scifi/fantasy. It should be marketed as literary fiction centered on a sluggish internal character arc with a thin veneer of technology that is so unspectacular that it can't carry a novella. Instead what the book does is melodrama. Internal monologue. Lots and lots of emotion, drowning in emotion.
--this book might've made a good short story. 2k words at most. the part in the middle is just the character whining about issues. I couldn't identify plot progression clearly, everything felt like the same action, much like the blandness and sameness of the world. Which by the way is a fake way to introduce conflict because I'm looking out the window now and the world isn't nearly as bland as the character whines it is.
--issues meant to paint conspiracy theorists as legitimate and sympathetic as an elected government. Because the government is EEEVIIIL. It's evil for enforcing laws. It's evil for not being able to cater to every whim super special individualists have. This story just feeds real life conspiracy theorists and contributes to supporting their claims. Poor conspiracy theorists, look, they were right all along. These people have wrongly been maligned all along.
--the book is all about specifically-American sensibilities and issues (the wrong ones at that). Why am I not the most important person in the world? I am the bellybutton of the universe, heed me. Heed me now. The world owes me everything. I don't have to think, others can do the thinking for me and it's fine if I lack the ability to do more than regurgitate pre-chewed jingles so that then I can be surprised and OUTRAGED by trivial issues that I should've seen coming.
--libertarianism and gun-nuttism is sympathetic. Is the way to GO! Is the way for progress. That's how civilization progresses. Kill the scientists! Kill the scientists they are evil like the government. They are pulling the wool over our eyes as THEME. But the WALLS are actually WHITE. Oh no! this changes everything.
--egotistic individualism pushed to pathology is the way to go. Yay. Btw kill the scientists.
--the repetition of the word THEME ten thousand times
--a disappointing ending which isn't a climax but a fizzling out. Yeah it's a decent explanation but it's not clever and it's not satisfactory. It's a cop-out.
--poorly written action scenes that lack both the clear description necessary for making movies in your head and the visceral grit that leads to tension. When writing a competent character, action needs to be crisp and visual. The 'blurry confusion' method only makes the MC look incompetent, which comes on top of the whining, and ultimately paints the image of a person with an inflated opinion of her own capabilities, who's complaining entirely too much for being given these abilities because they're nowhere nearly as great as she seems to think.
--what the book isn't about is actual fiction. It's about issues. Important issues. Like the walls are WHITE! OMG. The walls shouldn't be white, this is such a (first-world) betrayal. By the government! Oh, the cosmic horror of existence! I thought all my life the walls are colored (although I should've known I'm actively coloring them as I please because this is the premise of the book) and they're white. I am so important. I am so important NOW, why isn't the world doing exactly what I want it to NOW. Why are the walls white. Oh cosmic horror. Oh Cthulhu fhtagn.
--when the character marvels at stuff that is trivial to me, that doesn't create wonder. It just makes them unsympathetic. How much can you marvel at white clothes and white walls? White walls and white clothes and even augmented reality are boring. Augmented reality isn't a magic system. It's a cute little footnote.
--Who the heck would even make everything white when that's the color hardest to maintain in the world? It doesn't even make sense.
--Brandon's brand promise is CREATING WONDER. Out of unusual stuff, not wonder out of trivial stuff that I'm supposed to twist my brain into perceiving as wonder by squinting at it in a certain light and tilting my head at a precise angle.
--people having sex in the woods outdoors are totally entitled to expect privacy. The world OWES them privacy because they're Americans and everyone knows life and the universe and everything OWES (some) Americans everything.

It worries me that both Skyward and The Original are unoriginal, using overdone, common by now scifi/fantasy worldbuilding. I'm not into scifi fantasy to hear more whining about cultural issues and mentalities that aren't universal but instead so culturally color coded they reek of insular small-mindedness. I'm into scifi fantasy to see new worlds and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.

I am front and center of Brandon Sanderson's audience, and he's starting to fail me.

Two stars because without the melodrama and shortened to a length corresponding to plot size, this would've probably made a 3.5 stars short story.

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remember Cline's novel Ready Player One in which there was an alternate universe in virtual reality that people escaped to in order not to have to deal with reality?
Here, we get Theming. Basically, human bodies have somehow been "enhanced" to have Theming which alters ones entire perception of the world around - a house will still be a house with the rooms in the same place but it might be ready for demolition with rats and cockroaches everywhere while what you see is a lovely bright place that smells of roses. Theming thus overwrites all your senses (sound, too).
Why people would CHOOSE to live like this instead of actually fixing the world, I'll never know, but of course it makes for an interesting set-up. Especially in a murder mystery like this one!

In this world, stuff like actual fruit or clay is RARE. Synthetic fakes are the norm instead. There are immersives replacing actual games with pen and paper like you use for D&D. You get the idea.
Also, nano technology rules. People can be cloned, their consciousness transferred (after they die in a car accident for example). So apart from fatal wounds, they can pretty much do anything without real consequences. It's also a relatively rich society that allows for a lot of time to persue hobbies instead of working. The price? Enhanced bodies need a weekly check-in or their nanites die off.

Holly wakes up being told that she is a clone and that her "original" has killed her husband. Nobody knows why and she finds out that she hasn't only been brought to life but also gotten some "upgrades". Why? So she can kill her original. In a week. You know, because of the nanite thing. Either she complies or gets "discarded" (and probably replaced with the next clone for the second try).

Walking through this world, with or without a theme masking reality, was a blast! Not just the WHY of the murder, the involvement of a supposed terrorist attack, or the question of "who can she trust" kept me on the edge of my seat. The world itself was very impressive.
You get a noir-like murder mystery paired with one of the best scifi automated worlds that I've visited so far.
The writing is crisp and fast-paced (it would make a killer movie!), not flowery but vivid and just fascinating what with the world that comes to life around the reader and Holly. The clues are cleverly obscured (I didn't catch them all), engaging the reader and making you work for the resolution (if you don't just want to be told).

This novella has been a collaboration between an author I've already read books of and another I still need to read. I think I can see who contributed what (roughly). Or maybe not. *lol* Anyway, this is an example of one of those rare fantastic collaborations that have just been done right!

[Chris Haught · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of the audiobook from the publisher through NetGalley.

This was fun. I've been a fan of Brandon Sanderson for years, though I'd never read anything by Mary Robinette Kowal. As a collaboration, this was great..

In a not-too-distant future, we follow the story of a recently revived Holly. She can't remember what happened, but soon learns that she was a clone. Her Original apparently murdered her husband, and the authorities wanted Holly to track down her Original to bring her to justice. By justice I mean kill her. Holly's reward would be then to replace her Original and settle back into "normal" life.

As expected, this is a grand adventure as Holly pieces together clues and uses her personal enhancements to survive and learn the details of this strange case. Of course, it's not all in black and white....

Oh, I almost forgot to mention it, but I loved the narrator. Julia Whelan had the perfect voice and narration for Holly, really keeping me engaged.

[Emma☀️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
The Original follows the Provisional Replica of Holly Winseed, as she wakes up to the news of her murdered husband. She has four days to hunt down the original and ultimately make a life-altering decision.

I enjoyed listening to this! Although the novella was short, it packed a punch and every single minute of the audiobook wasn’t wasted.
The plot was fast-paced and we are thrust straight into the action from the start. This kept my attention and I was glued on every single word. Morality and identity were central themes within the story and I enjoyed how the authors discussed it. What makes you you and how do you define yourself? Is it right to sacrifice your privacy for aging? These were the questions that kept swirling around in my brain.

I really liked Holly as the protagonist. She was strong-willed and always questioning the things around her. Her inner conflict was so fascinating to read about and I loved following along with her on her journey to self-discovery. Julia Whelan did a stunning job of bringing Holly to life.

Overall, this was such an enjoyable read. I definitely recommend if you’re looking for a fast-paced sci-fi with interesting concepts.

Thank you to RB Media and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 4.5 stars

The Original is a fun, fast-paced sci-fi thriller that makes fantastic use of the audio format. (sound effects and music when appropriate give this an immersive feel) A woman wakes up to find she is a cloned version of herself. Created because she killed her husband, she is tasked with tracking down and executing her Original. It's not a long story, but one that kept me engrossed throughout. The pace moves along at a good speed and there are many questions to be answered, but all from within this fascinating future world where what's real and what isn't can be unclear, humanity faces new challenges from lack of risk, and ephemerality is valued as an art form. (i.e the profession of the MC was to carve oranges into artistic forms). For how short the book is, there's a lot of solid world-building and I think this was a cool collaboration. I would love to see more stories in this world! I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Neha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I eat up anything that Brandson Sanderson write and this was no different. My expectation were very high for this Brandon Sanderson and Mary Robinette Kowal collab and this reached every one of them. I went into this book blindly putting all my faith in Sanderson and this did not fail me. I love the twist this did on the whole AI/cloning concept. So original and so refreshing! I loved how it explored the validity of a clone and the inner conflict which arose from it. A great addition to the sci fi genre. I highly recommend this!

I received this book from netgalley in exchange for my honest opinions.

[Zisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
This probably could've benefited from being a little bit longer.

Unfortunately, I wasn't much interested in the places the story put emphasis in. I wish the effects of the Sci-fi aspects, especially the influence of technology on human relationships, and the superficiality of it all were explored better.
Instead, it was really the one woman's emotional journey. Still a good story, just not everything I expected it to be.

Julia Whelan's narration is phenomenal as usual, but the background noises were annoyingly loud at times.

[Jeraviz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Historia pensada para audiolibro y claramente para una serie de televisión. Un thriller futurista con clones, asesinatos con un matiz noir. Se queda bastante corta para ser de Sanderson y Kowal. Entretenido para escucharlo una tarde pero poco más.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise: Holly wakes up in a (near-future) hospital and finds out she's not really herself: her consciousness has been copied and put into an enhanced body with one single mission: to kill herself - her original self - or die. Why? And what will she do now?

This is a brilliant, fast-paced novella which I'd categorize as an SF thriller with some very cool reveals and twists and turns.

This also has some interesting interpersonal dynamics in terms of Holly and her husband in flashbacks, as well as some fascinating future world-building in which we all live in and see our own individual (digitally altered) version of reality. This last point was incredibly interesting and was also explored a bit, but I think it would have easily provided enough material for a full-length novel. So, I guess I would have preferred it to be longer, but it's still definitely worth reading just for the very thought-provoking ideas and quick-paced plot.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

This was a fun, fast paced sci-fi thriller. The world building was phenomenal considering how short this story is. It worked really well as an audiobook and the narrator did a great job. The plot was decent but didn't feel entirely original to me. Overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend this audiobook if you like action packed sci-fi stories.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a time, back in the early 2010s, that I was a HUGE Sanderson fan. Not counting this one, I've read 17 of his 13329356 books, and 11 of them were over the span of 2011-2012. The remaining 6 were between 2013 and 2018, and now it's been 5 years since I've read anything from him.

Don't get me wrong, in theory I really love Sanderson. I've met him in person at two different signings (one briefly in passing, and another time for as long as it took him to sign the STACK of books I brought), and he's wonderful. I have zero unkind words for him.

But there got to be a point where his books and stories just stopped working for me as well as they did in the beginning. It was the same feeling that I came to have about John Green - which is that all of his stories are the same story, just different. And, with Brandon Sanderson, given his tendency to use magic/world-based cursing (like "Oh storms!" instead of "Oh shit!" for example), they eventually all started to feel juvenile to me, even when they DEFINITELY WEREN'T.

So I took a break from him. And honestly, I haven't kept up with his work since then. I know that there are 55,000 more pages of Stormlight Archive for me to read (up to book 4 of 10, I think now?), and he never stops releasing other stuff. I just haven't kept up with it. I didn't even know about this audiobook's existence until two weeks ago, despite it being released over two years ago.

And I would have passed it by. Not only because of We Were On A Break (even if he didn't know it), but also because Sanderson's more sci-fi stuff generally hasn't been my favorite of his work.

But for the nanites. The nanites intrigued me. Because, you may recall (or not, I'm sure you all have lives. [What's it like??]), I read, hated, and absolutely shredded Neal Shusterman's Scythe, which dealt with a near-future society where nanites heal and preserve life unto immortality, and thus teenagers are recruited to be official state murderers in order to control the population. Because LOGIC.

So when I saw that this book also dealt with nanites... I had to know how much better Sanderson would handle this concept and future-world and society. I just had to. And it is SO much better.

But, it's also very, VERY different. Here, nanites need to be replenished regularly, a service provided free to law-abiding citizens, which is good, because jobs don't really exist anymore, and most people get to spend their time doing what they want. Our protagonist was an artist, specifically an orange-carver. (The fleeting nature of creating with food is an apparently highly-sought-after experience, which I guess makes sense when that sense of decay is no longer a real concern for nanite-enhanced people. This feeds into the central plot, which involves people who have 'checked out' of the nanite system.) They are also highly customizable, so that each person can experience the world and society in exactly the way that they like. Don't like brickwork? Your nanites will make bricks look like stucco for you. Too many people around? Your nanites will theme-erase them out and you can have all the quiet solitude you like. Want that meatloaf to taste just like mom used to make? Done. Etc.

Scythe doesn't work as a book if one looks even a millimeter under the surface, for many reasons I outlined in my review there and won't rehash here. Sanderson and Kowal's version is much more plausible and realistic, and the focus here isn't so much on the immortality-caused-overpopulation-correction as it is on the trade-offs of having such a customizable, risk-free, and completely gratis nanite-driven life and world.

What makes an experience? What gives life purpose? Would you be willing to live a lie, albeit one that you, and society around you, consistently tells you and you are comfortable with? Or would you prefer to live the "real" reality? It's essentially the central theme to The Matrix - just different. Not one single simulation that everyone exists within, it's millions of more individualized simulations that can be controlled and adjusted or even turned off if desired.

I found those questions more interesting than the plot, and honestly, I don't really even remember how the story resolved. It has been a few days, but my memory isn't THAT bad. (Probably.)

Anyway. It was an interesting world, but the story within it felt a little shallow and I would have liked a little bit more work done with the plot and details around it. One of the things that I love about Sanderson's writing is that his worldbuilding is incredible - and so it was here. I could see this world and as it flickered through themes and reality, it was very cool and interesting. I wish that the plot was as memorable.

I have never read anything of Kowal's work, so I can't really comment on her contribution to this story. I will probably want to give her work a go at some point to see.

Finally, a note on the audio - I didn't love it. I'm a minimalist when it comes to audiobooks. I want a good reader, who can give me the essence of the characters and their personalities, without "doing the voices", and I generally don't like music or sound effects in audiobook productions either. I normally like Julia Whelan as a reader, but don't love the voices she does for men. And this book had both music and sound effects, which was super distracting to me. At one point there was a pinging that was JUUUUUUUUUST audible under the narration, and I couldn't tell if it was in the audiobook or outside of it (real life) and kept pausing to try to hear where it was coming from. >_<

What I wouldn't give for some nanites that could make every book I listen to read perfectly and filter out music and sounds I don't want to hear. :P