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Angelmaker

By: Nick Harkaway
Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
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Summary

From the acclaimed author of The Gone-Away World - a new riveting action spy thriller, blistering gangster noir, and howling absurdist comedy: a propulsively entertaining tale about a mobster's son and a retired secret agent who are forced to team up to save the world.

All Joe Spork wants is a quiet life. He repairs clockwork and lives above his shop in a wet, unknown bit of London. The bills don't always get paid and he's single and has no prospects of improving his lot, but at least he's not trying to compete with the reputation of Mathew "Tommy Gun" Spork, his infamous criminal dad.

Edie Banister lives quietly and wishes she didn't. She's nearly ninety and remembers when she wasn't. She's a former superspy and now she's... well... old. Worse yet, the things she fought to save don't seem to exist anymore, and she's beginning to wonder if they ever did.

When Joe fixes one particularly unusual device, his life is suddenly upended.

The client is one Edie Banister. And the device? It's a 1950s doomsday machine. And having triggered it, Joe now faces the wrath of both the government and a diabolical South Asian dictator, Edie's old arch-nemesis. With Joe's once-quiet world now populated with mad monks, psychopathic serial killers, scientific geniuses and threats to the future of conscious life in the universe, he realises that the only way to survive is to muster the courage to fight, help Edie complete a mission she gave up years ago, and pick up his father's old gun....

©2012 Nick Harkaway (P)2012 Random House AudioGo
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Critic reviews

"Angelmaker is one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in ages...a joyful display of reckless, delightful invention, on a par with the rocket-powered novels of Neal Stephenson.... Ideas come zinging in from all corners, and do so with linguistic verve and tremendous humour. ... It’s brilliantly entertaining, and the last hundred pages are pure, unhinged delight. What a splendid ride." (Patrick Ness, Guardian)

"It hangs together so brilliantly…It’s an ambitious, crowded, restless caper, cleverly told and utterly immune to precis…From its frantic oscillation between plausibility and fantasy emerges an odd, unique composite that deserves its own moniker. ...Angelmaker turns out to be a solid work of modern fantasy fiction, coupling credit-crunch anxiety with an understandable nostalgia for the mythical days of “good, wholesome, old-fashioned British crime." (James Purdon, Observer Guardian)

“Angelmaker is an intricate and brilliant piece of escapism, tipping its hat to the twisting plots of John Buchan and H Rider Haggard, the goggles-and-gauntlets Victoriana of the steampunk movement and the labyrinthine secret London’s of Peter Ackroyd and Iain Sinclair, while maintaining an originality, humour and verve all its author’s own… Angelmaker must have been huge fun to write, and it is huge fun to read.” (Daily Telegraph, five stars)

What listeners say about Angelmaker

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Loved the beginning few chapters

Would you try another book written by Nick Harkaway or narrated by Daniel Weyman?

Yes

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Removed 70 percent of the sex scenes as they seemed to get in the way of the story rather than enhance it.

What about Daniel Weyman’s performance did you like?

Versatile, distinct character voices and pleasant to listen to.

Do you think Angelmaker needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Not too sure if it carries on in the same heaving bosoms vein

Any additional comments?

I loved the start of this story, in particular the characters Joe and Edie and really enjoyed the pace and writing style. Unfortunately it seemed to quickly descend into a never ending shag fest if not one set of characters then another. Have to admit the Polly toe scene was also the beginning of the end for me too. I soldiered on with a large part of the story of Edie's younger days but then lost interest.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Another great harkaway

This was great, full of verve and style. Lots to enjoy, although for me at least not quite as good as The Gone Away World. Still worth your time, though.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb New ideas are rare nowadays.

well read and such a depth of story bringing the past and the future together

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

I was completely caught up by the story from start to finish. Inventive, fast paced, epic in scope.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Utterly brilliant adventure tale with a social and moral lesson. Very well worth a listen. Bear with the first couple of chapters which may appear confusing. It will all come together. I promise.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Buy, Buy, Buy.

Vast sprawling and joyous read from the first page until the last. Incredible characters that you will be wishing to hear of again. I cannot recommend this book enough, Harkaway writes with unparamounted style and flurry. Try putting it down I challenge you.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Satifyingly Different

I thoroughly enjoyed the easy feel to the performance along with a thoroughly enjoyable bit of escapism. I was not sure at first about picking up this audiobook, but I was intrigued with potential for enjoyment! If you enjoy a piece of quite intelligent escapism - then this is really worth a listen.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic work of imagination

This is great fun. A story that builds and builds around the most bizarre idea, bees and truth!!!!The characters are brilliant, good and bad. The narration is superb. I loved it. I'll listen to it again and again, there's just so much going on!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

One of the strangest listens in a long time

This was a strange, but most impressive - listen. Very few books I have come across are as well-written as this one, ever on its toes with lightly humourous, occasionally flippant, details interspersed with scenes of cruelty and amazingly imaginative twists.

I dare any reader to forecast what happens next. I did not even try, and I wouldn't have had a chance. If comparable to any other books in its stunningly original style, numerous twists it must be to those of Haruki Murakami. Yet Harkaway is no copycat, but has a style very much his own.

The book is as far from Dan Brown as anything, but fascinates in so many other ways. It toys with its readers, and Daniel Weyman is absolute supreme in his narration.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic!

One of the best books I have ever read - clever and witty with a great story that keeps you hooked. More from this author on Audible please!!

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