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Earworms
The Neil Gaiman at the End of the Universe
A man awakens, adrift in deep space, with little memory of who he is – only to discover that he is the commander of a space mission; the rest of the crew is gone; and he is apparently a writer of some small renown named Neil Gaiman.
1 pages, Audible Audio
First published March 18, 2021
12 people are currently reading
955 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 396 reviews
March 18, 2021
It's so short that I can't say much without risk of revealing too much, but I found this simply brilliant. It unfolds initially as a mystery in space, but takes on some surprising emotional dimensions that actually connect with the screwed up state of the world today. Neil Gaiman fans will get an extra kick out of it, but you certainly don't need to be familiar with his stuff to enjoy.
March 25, 2021
Very clever. Very meta. Gaiman is a wonderful narrator.
October 31, 2024
4.5★
" 'Ship, what are the medical effects of prolonged isolation? '
[Musical notes and dings]
'Numerous studies show that social isolation has profound and inter-related effects on human psychology and physiology. These include, but are not limited to, anxiety, depression, insomnia, a suppressed immune system, and in extreme cases, psychosis.'"
Well, isn't that cheery news? He woke up hearing warning beeps to find himself alone in a spaceship with no memory of who he is or why he's there. The ship is flashing and beeping and its voice (female) is urgently warnings of serious malfunctions.
He and Ship converse, and Ship tells him he is Commander Neil Gaiman, and the malfunctions affected most of her logs and manuals and some of his memory.
This is a very entertaining half-hour Audible short story, made even better by Neil Gaiman commenting on himself, so to speak. The sound effects also enhance the atmosphere.
I am familiar with him but not with the author, Arvind Ethan David. I will listen to some more of this series, called "Earworms", little snack-size stories.
" 'Ship, what are the medical effects of prolonged isolation? '
[Musical notes and dings]
'Numerous studies show that social isolation has profound and inter-related effects on human psychology and physiology. These include, but are not limited to, anxiety, depression, insomnia, a suppressed immune system, and in extreme cases, psychosis.'"
Well, isn't that cheery news? He woke up hearing warning beeps to find himself alone in a spaceship with no memory of who he is or why he's there. The ship is flashing and beeping and its voice (female) is urgently warnings of serious malfunctions.
He and Ship converse, and Ship tells him he is Commander Neil Gaiman, and the malfunctions affected most of her logs and manuals and some of his memory.
This is a very entertaining half-hour Audible short story, made even better by Neil Gaiman commenting on himself, so to speak. The sound effects also enhance the atmosphere.
I am familiar with him but not with the author, Arvind Ethan David. I will listen to some more of this series, called "Earworms", little snack-size stories.
March 25, 2021
The Neil Gaiman at the End of the Universe
By: Arvind Ethan David
Narrated by: Neil Gaiman, Jewel Staite
This is a short story so it will be hard to say much about this without giving anything away. It's a very interesting story and with an ending I didn't expect.
Free to listen to with Audible membership.
By: Arvind Ethan David
Narrated by: Neil Gaiman, Jewel Staite
This is a short story so it will be hard to say much about this without giving anything away. It's a very interesting story and with an ending I didn't expect.
Free to listen to with Audible membership.
April 2, 2021
Neil narrates and that is all that matters.
November 16, 2023
Interesting little short story narrated by Neil Gaiman about Neil Gaiman. It’s a little comedic if you’ve read a lot of Gaiman.
November 13, 2022
☑ Narrated by Neil Gaiman
☑ Alone in space with memory problems trope
☑ Sassy AI companion
☑ Short story
Ticked all the boxes for a fun time, and it was! This was published for Gaiman's birthday and it was lovely.
☑ Alone in space with memory problems trope
☑ Sassy AI companion
☑ Short story
Ticked all the boxes for a fun time, and it was! This was published for Gaiman's birthday and it was lovely.
April 12, 2021
A short audio in space with Neil Gaiman!
I thought this was going to be a sure fire hit. But sadly, the story just didn’t offer anything new for me.
The two stars are mainly for the sound and rhythm of Neil Gaiman’s voice. And for the “Everything’s shiny, Captain” line. Haha...Gotta love the Firefly shout out! :)
March 18, 2021
Short, beautiful and Neil Gaiman is narrating. What else do you need?
January 8, 2023
This was a laugh out loud quick listen.
March 30, 2023
Wanted to listen to something before falling asleep and I almost fell asleep... So good job, I guess.
October 24, 2024
A relatively succinct short story about an astronaut who wakes up to realise he is actually Neil Gaiman.
This is a nice, easy 30 minute listen and doesn’t take too much effort or attention to get through.
Becomes a little more surreal as you go but given its short there’s not much I can say without spoiling.
3.0/5.0
This is a nice, easy 30 minute listen and doesn’t take too much effort or attention to get through.
Becomes a little more surreal as you go but given its short there’s not much I can say without spoiling.
3.0/5.0
June 28, 2021
The only bad thing about this book is that it was honestly way too short. This could've been an awesome story! But then again, it's a story that makes you think. Neil is amazing at narrating his own stories and I love that he does it, especially for this particular one. It's clever and well written. The ending was perfect.
One of my favorite things though:
One of my favorite things though:
March 3, 2024
Audiobook (30 minutes) narrated by Neil Gaiman, and Jewel Staite
Anything narrated by Neil Gaiman is automagically fantastic, as is this.
The audio quality is high, without distortion or erroneous noise.
I recommend listening from 1x to 2.3x speed, as preferred.
The shorter stories I tend to listen to on the slower/normal speeds as they are perfect to read while getting ready for bed, for example, however I still cycle through the speeds for the review for those that want a story in '5 minutes of less.'
What a fun, creative story!
Neil Gaiman in space.
Next time someone should give him a light saber in a new fancy Neil color, or a set of blasters.
Recommend.
Anything narrated by Neil Gaiman is automagically fantastic, as is this.
The audio quality is high, without distortion or erroneous noise.
I recommend listening from 1x to 2.3x speed, as preferred.
The shorter stories I tend to listen to on the slower/normal speeds as they are perfect to read while getting ready for bed, for example, however I still cycle through the speeds for the review for those that want a story in '5 minutes of less.'
What a fun, creative story!
Neil Gaiman in space.
Next time someone should give him a light saber in a new fancy Neil color, or a set of blasters.
Recommend.
September 19, 2022
Author Arvind Ethan David brings us a short tale of an astronaut who wakes up with out his memory. As he gets his bearings he finds out that the computer even though most of its own memory core has been corrupted remembers some small things about him. The ironic thing is is that his name is Neil Gaiman and that the ships library is packed with his namesakes works. This slowly brings him back to the realization that this is an illusion and that his wife who was the voice of the ships computer wakes him up from the illusion. They turn out to be scientists working for the space administration but I won't fully give away the ending and say that this is a short trip that is worth the listen. It dose star Neil Gaiman himself and Jewel Staite. I highly recommend this audio to all science fiction and Sandman fans (yes it is referenced).
October 17, 2022
The fact that Neil Gaiman is actually reading this story makes it all so meta and interesting. An ode to the author and fantasy/sci-fi in general, this is a great short story and it references not only Gaiman's works, but it has elements of many famous sci-fi tropes (the obvious one being 2001 Space Odyssey, among others). Also, it talks about mental illness and humanity in extreme situations. It's witty and entertaining. Just a gem.
March 31, 2023
Project Hail Mary meets Being John Malkovich, narrated in meta mode by Neil Gaiman. Way too short, but such quick fun! 4/5⭐
March 17, 2021
Good short book read by Neil Gaiman and Jewel Staite (Firefly) inspired by Douglas Adams.
December 24, 2022
A funny little piece for a relaxed lunch break.
May 29, 2021
An Audible Original about a man who wakes up after some undetermined period of time floating in deep space inside a spaceship, alone, the remainder of however many crew members there were - which he can’t recall - are gone. He is alone, and doesn’t recall who he is or how he came to be there.
At less than 30 minutes long, and narrated by (who else) Neil Gaiman, with Jewel Staite the narrator the equivalent a more 'evolved' Alexis / Siri, this story has a charm I wasn’t expecting, and was an thoroughly enjoyable way to start the day.
Of note: Proceeds from sales of this benefit This Is My Brave, a nonprofit whose agenda is worthy of support. They seek to break the stigma of mental illness, eating disorders, alcoholism, substance abuse, sexual assault and more via the power of live storytelling.
September 29, 2021
Ahhhh too clever! Absolutely love it.
What do you get if you cross Neil Gaiman, Douglas Adams, and a bit of 2001: A Space Odyssey?
Well you get a fun sci-fi audiobook that reminds you of all the important reasons to read.
When astronaut Neil Gaiman wakes alone in deep space with insomnia and alarms blaring, he has to work out what is going on and who he is. His only help is a sarcastic ship's computer with damaged memory banks. A bad situation, indeed.
Such fun with a powerful and important message. Narrated by Neil Gaiman himself. 5 stars.
What do you get if you cross Neil Gaiman, Douglas Adams, and a bit of 2001: A Space Odyssey?
Well you get a fun sci-fi audiobook that reminds you of all the important reasons to read.
When astronaut Neil Gaiman wakes alone in deep space with insomnia and alarms blaring, he has to work out what is going on and who he is. His only help is a sarcastic ship's computer with damaged memory banks. A bad situation, indeed.
Such fun with a powerful and important message. Narrated by Neil Gaiman himself. 5 stars.
March 31, 2021
This 30 minute audiobook is very cleverly written, and very meta. I can’t tell you anything about it without giving way too much away, but I think you’ll like it as much as I did.
Neil Gaiman and Jewel Staite are the narrators for this audiobook.
4 stars
Neil Gaiman and Jewel Staite are the narrators for this audiobook.
4 stars
August 4, 2021
Enjoyable in the best possible way! At under 30 min long it was easy to listen and absorb this in one commute. Clever and fun.
July 20, 2021
What a fun little listen! I'm interested in the story behind this coming together. If you have 30 minutes to spare, it's worth the listen. I love Neil Gaiman's voice. The only thing I found myself struggling with was the way Neil pronounces "ship" with such sudden enthusiasm when communicating with the ship, I thought he was saying sh#t! All in all for such a short little story I enjoyed it and could definitely see something like this being turned into a much longer story someday if the author so chooses.
May 4, 2024
all reviews in one place:
night mode reading
; skaitom nakties rezimu
My Opinion: From snippets of clues, and through AI sass, protagonist must regain his memory or at least that bit of sensibility that drives us forwards to self-preserve, even when we don’t feel like it. It’s an amazing little story. Insane to think how much can be fit in so very little. Highly recommend it for a short little errand.
My Opinion: From snippets of clues, and through AI sass, protagonist must regain his memory or at least that bit of sensibility that drives us forwards to self-preserve, even when we don’t feel like it. It’s an amazing little story. Insane to think how much can be fit in so very little. Highly recommend it for a short little errand.
August 3, 2021
A wonderful short production.
An astronaut wakes up to an alarm in his spaceship and no idea who he is or what he is doing. He comes to believe that he is the author Neil Gaiman. The beauty? This is narrated by Neil Gaiman.
A realistic recording which is not one note. Beautiful original music, sound effects and clearly parts being acted out as voices move away from the mic.
A great little story!
An astronaut wakes up to an alarm in his spaceship and no idea who he is or what he is doing. He comes to believe that he is the author Neil Gaiman. The beauty? This is narrated by Neil Gaiman.
A realistic recording which is not one note. Beautiful original music, sound effects and clearly parts being acted out as voices move away from the mic.
A great little story!
April 19, 2021
What a delightful quirky tale. For being so short you wouldn't think that it would have much merit, you'd be wrong, I promise! I gotta say it's not the first time I've read a book written about an author that I've enjoyed! But, having Neil Gaiman and Jewel Staite narrating this was the coup de grâce!
Yes, I absodamnlutely loved it. Grab the book and enjoy! (Currently available to members free on Audible+)
Yes, I absodamnlutely loved it. Grab the book and enjoy! (Currently available to members free on Audible+)
January 1, 2022
So coincidentally I read this shortly after Project Hail Mary, which is also a story that features an amnesiac protagonist in a spaceship. Generally speaking I liked this one, but frankly it was just so damn short that I don't have much more to say on it. The meta was fun, having Neil Gaiman play a character that reads Neil Gaiman's work, but beyond that there isn't too much else to draw from this little tale. 8/10
November 13, 2022
This comes free with Audible membership and is a lovely way to spend 30 mins or so. An engaging low level mystery with humour and spark with a lonesome astronaut who may or may not be Neil Gaiman. Neil is always a great narrator and seems to be having more fun than usual here, acting it up a treat.
Good fun, a nice ending and a cheerful commute to work one morning.
Good fun, a nice ending and a cheerful commute to work one morning.
April 30, 2021
It's cute, trying to do for Neil what he did for Bradbury, and what Bradbury did for Poe. But for it's charm, I don't think it quite achieves that goal. Still, Neil and Jewel give great performances, and there are worse ways to pass the time.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 396 reviews