The Original

Audio book RTCThis was fantastic, though there were a few things I didn't love.The Original is a clean, adult dystopian with strong mystery elements and lots of action.Audio narration: brilliant. very well doneWhat I loved:- world building: the scifi-aspects of it are incredibly creative and described vividly- grit: this is no whimsical story. The world building leaves lots of room for corruption in government and individuals alike- Not a 'happily ever after': you can just tell from the start of the story that this isn't going to be your typical 'happily every after' story, and you definitely get what you anticipate in that- mystery: i love a good mystery, and this one starts from page one. You get dumped into it immediately and it's scary, disorienting and I HAD to know more!What I missed:- ending: i loved almost everything about this story, but the ending just left me feeling...terribly unsatisfied. It went just a little quick, and was just a little to vague. I won't give any spoilers, but the ending definitely left something wanting for meSexual content: noneCoarse language: mildViolence and gore: moderate violence, mild gore

As with all Brandon Sanderson stories this had a very clever plot with reveals that are surprising but also predictable if you're listening closely for clues. Mary Robinette Kowal brings her ability to tell a complex story in a short amount of time without it seeming basic or lacking in depth. As much as I prefer physically reading to audiobooks, listening to this story is a great experience. As well as the narration, the audio includes sound effects and music which enhance the story telling and give you the feel of actually being in the story.The premise of the story and the questions it poses are very intriguing so as well as following along with what is happening, I found myself often wondering, 'What would I do in that situation?'Just before reaching the end, I had a thought about what might happen and the way it would be told and I'm so pleased that the book went in this direction. It brought the whole story together really well and left me feeling very satisfied with my reading experience. I will definitely be reading any future stories from this duo.

This was a really compelling and fast paced story set in a fascinating world that I would love to read more about. It tells the story of a woman who wakes up as a replicated clone tasked with hunting down her original who has murdered her husband. I thought that the story was very good and that the world building was excellent, particularly given that this is such a short book. Very much a plot driven narrative, the characters are a little bit one-dimensional, but not to the detriment of the story, which flows at a breakneck speed and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I also thought that the audio production was very good, with sound effects and music interspersed into the audio working well to enhance the overall experience. The narrator was good and kept the excitement level high throughout, which was great. Overall, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has a spare couple of hours and wants to listen to a really good fun story.I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.