
Quantum Night
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Scott Aiello
About this listen
With such compelling and provocative novels as Red Planet Blues, FlashForward, and The WWW Trilogy, Robert J. Sawyer has proven himself to be "a writer of boundless confidence and bold scientific extrapolation" (The New York Times). Now, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author explores the thin line between good and evil that every human being is capable of crossing....
Experimental psychologist Jim Marchuk has developed a flawless technique for identifying the previously undetected psychopaths lurking everywhere in society. But while being cross-examined about his breakthrough in court, Jim is shocked to discover that he has lost his memories of six months of his life from 20 years previously - a dark time during which he himself committed heinous acts.
Jim is reunited with Kayla Huron, his forgotten girlfriend from his lost period and now a quantum physicist who has made a stunning discovery about the nature of human consciousness. As a rising tide of violence and hate sweeps across the globe, the psychologist and the physicist combine forces in a race against time to see if they can do the impossible - change human nature - before the entire world descends into darkness.
©2016 Robert J. Sawyer (P)2016 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Mindscan
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jake Sullivan has cheated death: he's discarded his doomed biological body and copied his consciousness into an android form. The new Jake soon finds love, something that eluded him when he was encased in flesh: he falls for the android version of Karen, a woman rediscovering all the joys of life now that she too is no longer constrained by a worn-out body. Karen's son sues her, claiming that by uploading into an immortal body, she has done him out of his inheritance.
-
-
Entertaining, but not Sawyer's Best
- By John C. on 05-31-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
The Oppenheimer Alternative
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While J. Robert Oppenheimer and his Manhattan Project team struggle to develop the A-bomb, Edward Teller wants something even more devastating: a weapon based on nuclear fusion - the mechanism that powers the sun. But Teller’s research leads to a terrifying discovery: by the year 2030, the sun will eject its outermost layer, destroying the entire inner solar system - including Earth. After the war ends, Oppenheimer’s physicists combine forces with Albert Einstein, computing pioneer John von Neumann, and rocket designer Wernher von Braun.
-
-
Scratches head
- By miki on 09-14-20
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Factoring Humanity
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the near future, a signal is detected coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Mysterious, unintelligible data streams in for ten years. Heather Davis, a professor in the University of Toronto psychology department, has devoted her career to deciphering the message. Her estranged husband, Kyle, is working on the development of artificial intelligence systems and new computer technology utilizing quantum effects to produce a near-infinite number of calculations simultaneously.
-
-
Novel alien first contact
- By Michael G Kurilla on 05-28-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
WWW: Wake
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Jessica Almasy, Jennifer Van Dyck, A. C. Fellner, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Caitlin Decter is young, pretty, feisty, a genius at math - and blind. Still, she can surf the net with the best of them, following its complex paths clearly in her mind. But Caitlin's brain long ago co-opted her primary visual cortex to help her navigate online. So when she receives an implant to restore her sight, instead of seeing reality, the landscape of the World Wide Web explodes into her consciousness, spreading out all around her in a riot of colors and shapes.
-
-
A Great, if Incomplete, Concept
- By Seth H. Wilson on 04-14-09
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
Frameshift
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of Pierre Tradivel, a scientist, and his complex battle against deadly illness, and ex-Nazi war criminal still hiding in the U.S., a crooked insurance company, and a plot to make Pierre and his wife the victims of a bizarre genetic experiment. Frameshift is hard science fiction at its best, full of complications and neat surprises.
-
-
Storyshift
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 05-24-14
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Mindscan
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jake Sullivan has cheated death: he's discarded his doomed biological body and copied his consciousness into an android form. The new Jake soon finds love, something that eluded him when he was encased in flesh: he falls for the android version of Karen, a woman rediscovering all the joys of life now that she too is no longer constrained by a worn-out body. Karen's son sues her, claiming that by uploading into an immortal body, she has done him out of his inheritance.
-
-
Entertaining, but not Sawyer's Best
- By John C. on 05-31-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
The Oppenheimer Alternative
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While J. Robert Oppenheimer and his Manhattan Project team struggle to develop the A-bomb, Edward Teller wants something even more devastating: a weapon based on nuclear fusion - the mechanism that powers the sun. But Teller’s research leads to a terrifying discovery: by the year 2030, the sun will eject its outermost layer, destroying the entire inner solar system - including Earth. After the war ends, Oppenheimer’s physicists combine forces with Albert Einstein, computing pioneer John von Neumann, and rocket designer Wernher von Braun.
-
-
Scratches head
- By miki on 09-14-20
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Factoring Humanity
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the near future, a signal is detected coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Mysterious, unintelligible data streams in for ten years. Heather Davis, a professor in the University of Toronto psychology department, has devoted her career to deciphering the message. Her estranged husband, Kyle, is working on the development of artificial intelligence systems and new computer technology utilizing quantum effects to produce a near-infinite number of calculations simultaneously.
-
-
Novel alien first contact
- By Michael G Kurilla on 05-28-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
WWW: Wake
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Jessica Almasy, Jennifer Van Dyck, A. C. Fellner, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Caitlin Decter is young, pretty, feisty, a genius at math - and blind. Still, she can surf the net with the best of them, following its complex paths clearly in her mind. But Caitlin's brain long ago co-opted her primary visual cortex to help her navigate online. So when she receives an implant to restore her sight, instead of seeing reality, the landscape of the World Wide Web explodes into her consciousness, spreading out all around her in a riot of colors and shapes.
-
-
A Great, if Incomplete, Concept
- By Seth H. Wilson on 04-14-09
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
Frameshift
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of Pierre Tradivel, a scientist, and his complex battle against deadly illness, and ex-Nazi war criminal still hiding in the U.S., a crooked insurance company, and a plot to make Pierre and his wife the victims of a bizarre genetic experiment. Frameshift is hard science fiction at its best, full of complications and neat surprises.
-
-
Storyshift
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 05-24-14
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Far-Seer
- The Quintaglio Ascension, Book 1
- By: Robert. J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Face of God is what every young saurian learns to call the immense, glowing object which fills the night sky on the far side of the world. Young Afsan is privileged, called to the distant Capital City to apprentice with Saleed the court astrologer. But when the time comes for Afsan to make his coming-of-age pilgrimage, to gaze upon the Face of God, his world is changed forever- for what he sees will test his faith...and may save his world from disaster!
-
-
Definitely Original!
- By Simone on 08-30-16
-
Calculating God
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Hugo-nominated novel, an alien walks into a museum and asks if he can see a paleontologist. But the arachnid ET hasn't come aboard a rowboat with the Pope and Stephen Hawking (although His Holiness does request an audience later). Landing at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the spacefarer, Hollus, asks to compare notes on mass extinctions with resident dino-scientist Thomas Jericho.
-
-
Interesting book, very enjoyable narration
- By Ione on 05-07-10
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Illegal Alien
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a disabled spaceship enters Earth's atmosphere, seven members of the advanced Tosok race are welcomed by the world. Then a popular scientist is murdered, and all evidence points to one of the Tosoks. Now, an alien is tried in a court of law -and there may be far more at stake than accounting for one human life.
-
-
This is It.
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-11-13
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
End of an Era
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: David Marantz
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paleontologist Brandon Thackery and his rival, Miles "Klicks" Jordan, fulfill a dinosaur lover's dream with history's first time-travel jaunt to the late Mesozoic. Hoping to solve the extinction mystery, they find Earth's gravity is only half its 21st-century value and dinosaurs that behave very strangely. Could the slimy blue creatures from Mars have something to do with both?
-
-
Fascinating!
- By Simone on 07-08-16
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Below Us
- The Abyss, Book 1
- By: Nathan Hystad
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a rough break up, Wyatt moves to New York City, eager to prove himself while working on Wall Street. When he’s asked to visit the father of his ex-girlfriend, a billionaire tycoon, his fate is sealed. The revolutionary company, Nu-En, launches a radical innovation, an energy that will allow every person on the planet access to power. Only it doesn’t perform as anticipated. Harnessing the ocean has consequences, and highly dangerous creatures emerge from the depths. Soon, the Earth is fracturing, and the world will never be the same.
-
-
Interesting story but..
- By Mike Fedotov on 09-28-23
By: Nathan Hystad
-
Quantum Radio
- By: A.G. Riddle
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dr. Tyson Klein is a quantum physicist who has dedicated his entire life to his research. At CERN, he analyses data generated by the Large Hadron Collider, the world's biggest and most powerful particle accelerator. Now, Ty believes he's found a pattern in its output. It looks like an organised data stream, being broadcast over what he calls a quantum radio. Could it be a signal from another universe? A message sent from the future? Or something else entirely?
-
-
Can't wait for book two
- By T. Patterson on 03-12-23
By: A.G. Riddle
-
Brave New World
- By: Aldous Huxley
- Narrated by: Michael York
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Lenina and Bernard visit a savage reservation, we experience how Utopia can destroy humanity. Cloning, feel-good drugs, anti-aging programs, and total social control through politics, programming, and media: has Aldous Huxley accurately predicted our future? With a storyteller's genius, he weaves these ethical controversies in a compelling narrative that dawns in the year 632 A.F. (After Ford, the deity). When Lenina and Bernard visit a savage reservation, we experience how Utopia can destroy humanity.
-
-
Michael York should stick to the stage and leave narration to the pros.
- By SD on 08-21-19
By: Aldous Huxley
-
Atlas Shrugged
- By: Ayn Rand
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 62 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a scrap heap within an abandoned factory, the greatest invention in history lies dormant and unused. By what fatal error of judgment has its value gone unrecognized, its brilliant inventor punished rather than rewarded for his efforts? In defense of those greatest of human qualities that have made civilization possible, one man sets out to show what would happen to the world if all the heroes of innovation and industry went on strike.
-
-
Hurt version decidedly superior
- By Mica on 03-24-09
By: Ayn Rand
-
Anathem
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman, Tavia Gilbert, William Dufris, and others
- Length: 32 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fraa Erasmus is a young avout living in the Concent of Saunt Edhar, a sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the "Saecular" world by ancient stone, honored traditions, and complex rituals. Over the centuries, cities, and governments have risen and fallen beyond the concent's walls. Three times during history's darkest epochs, bloody violence born of superstition and ignorance has invaded and devastated the cloistered mathic community.
-
-
I love Neal, but Good lord... ugh!
- By SpiderGrrl on 10-08-19
By: Neal Stephenson
-
Rollback
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: George Wilson
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty-eight years ago, Dr. Sarah Halifax earned worldwide fame by deciphering a radio transmission from an unknown intelligence reaching out from deep space. Now 87, Sarah receives news that, at long last, a new signal has been received, and her services are desperately needed once again.
-
-
Main plot - Tiresome; Subplot - Cool!
- By Ole Hippie on 04-29-11
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Mr. Mercedes
- A Novel
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Will Patton
- Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the frigid pre-dawn hours, in a distressed Midwestern city, hundreds of desperate unemployed folks are lined up for a spot at a job fair. Without warning, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes. Mr. Mercedes is a war between good and evil, from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable.
-
-
King and Patton create a winning combo
- By David Shear on 06-04-14
By: Stephen King
-
Starplex
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twenty years after the discovery of artificial wormholes launches Earth space exploration to unforeseeable heights, Starplex Director Keith Lansing investigates a mysterious vessel that soon threatens the station with intergalactic war.
-
-
Tribute to Arthur C. Clarke
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-23-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
Critic reviews
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Factoring Humanity
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the near future, a signal is detected coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Mysterious, unintelligible data streams in for ten years. Heather Davis, a professor in the University of Toronto psychology department, has devoted her career to deciphering the message. Her estranged husband, Kyle, is working on the development of artificial intelligence systems and new computer technology utilizing quantum effects to produce a near-infinite number of calculations simultaneously.
-
-
Novel alien first contact
- By Michael G Kurilla on 05-28-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
The Oppenheimer Alternative
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While J. Robert Oppenheimer and his Manhattan Project team struggle to develop the A-bomb, Edward Teller wants something even more devastating: a weapon based on nuclear fusion - the mechanism that powers the sun. But Teller’s research leads to a terrifying discovery: by the year 2030, the sun will eject its outermost layer, destroying the entire inner solar system - including Earth. After the war ends, Oppenheimer’s physicists combine forces with Albert Einstein, computing pioneer John von Neumann, and rocket designer Wernher von Braun.
-
-
Scratches head
- By miki on 09-14-20
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
The Terminal Experiment
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An experiment has gone terribly wrong. Dr. Peter Hobson has created three electronic simulations of his own personality. One will test life after death; another, immortality. The third one is the control unit. But now all three have escaped from Hobson's computer into the worldwide electronic matrix. And one of them is a killer.
-
-
Incredible
- By David on 05-19-08
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Frameshift
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of Pierre Tradivel, a scientist, and his complex battle against deadly illness, and ex-Nazi war criminal still hiding in the U.S., a crooked insurance company, and a plot to make Pierre and his wife the victims of a bizarre genetic experiment. Frameshift is hard science fiction at its best, full of complications and neat surprises.
-
-
Storyshift
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 05-24-14
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Flashforward
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A scientific experiment begins, and as the button is pressed, the unexpected occurs: everyone in the world goes to sleep for a few moments while everyone's consciousness is catapulted more than twenty years into the future. At the end of those moments, when the world reawakens, all human life is transformed by foreknowledge.
-
-
How would you digest the fruits of knowledge??
- By Phelix_da_Kat on 07-23-08
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Far-Seer
- The Quintaglio Ascension, Book 1
- By: Robert. J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Face of God is what every young saurian learns to call the immense, glowing object which fills the night sky on the far side of the world. Young Afsan is privileged, called to the distant Capital City to apprentice with Saleed the court astrologer. But when the time comes for Afsan to make his coming-of-age pilgrimage, to gaze upon the Face of God, his world is changed forever- for what he sees will test his faith...and may save his world from disaster!
-
-
Definitely Original!
- By Simone on 08-30-16
-
Factoring Humanity
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the near future, a signal is detected coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Mysterious, unintelligible data streams in for ten years. Heather Davis, a professor in the University of Toronto psychology department, has devoted her career to deciphering the message. Her estranged husband, Kyle, is working on the development of artificial intelligence systems and new computer technology utilizing quantum effects to produce a near-infinite number of calculations simultaneously.
-
-
Novel alien first contact
- By Michael G Kurilla on 05-28-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
The Oppenheimer Alternative
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While J. Robert Oppenheimer and his Manhattan Project team struggle to develop the A-bomb, Edward Teller wants something even more devastating: a weapon based on nuclear fusion - the mechanism that powers the sun. But Teller’s research leads to a terrifying discovery: by the year 2030, the sun will eject its outermost layer, destroying the entire inner solar system - including Earth. After the war ends, Oppenheimer’s physicists combine forces with Albert Einstein, computing pioneer John von Neumann, and rocket designer Wernher von Braun.
-
-
Scratches head
- By miki on 09-14-20
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
The Terminal Experiment
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An experiment has gone terribly wrong. Dr. Peter Hobson has created three electronic simulations of his own personality. One will test life after death; another, immortality. The third one is the control unit. But now all three have escaped from Hobson's computer into the worldwide electronic matrix. And one of them is a killer.
-
-
Incredible
- By David on 05-19-08
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Frameshift
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of Pierre Tradivel, a scientist, and his complex battle against deadly illness, and ex-Nazi war criminal still hiding in the U.S., a crooked insurance company, and a plot to make Pierre and his wife the victims of a bizarre genetic experiment. Frameshift is hard science fiction at its best, full of complications and neat surprises.
-
-
Storyshift
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 05-24-14
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Flashforward
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A scientific experiment begins, and as the button is pressed, the unexpected occurs: everyone in the world goes to sleep for a few moments while everyone's consciousness is catapulted more than twenty years into the future. At the end of those moments, when the world reawakens, all human life is transformed by foreknowledge.
-
-
How would you digest the fruits of knowledge??
- By Phelix_da_Kat on 07-23-08
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Far-Seer
- The Quintaglio Ascension, Book 1
- By: Robert. J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Face of God is what every young saurian learns to call the immense, glowing object which fills the night sky on the far side of the world. Young Afsan is privileged, called to the distant Capital City to apprentice with Saleed the court astrologer. But when the time comes for Afsan to make his coming-of-age pilgrimage, to gaze upon the Face of God, his world is changed forever- for what he sees will test his faith...and may save his world from disaster!
-
-
Definitely Original!
- By Simone on 08-30-16
-
Starplex
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Mark Boyett, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Twenty years after the discovery of artificial wormholes launches Earth space exploration to unforeseeable heights, Starplex Director Keith Lansing investigates a mysterious vessel that soon threatens the station with intergalactic war.
-
-
Tribute to Arthur C. Clarke
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-23-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Golden Fleece
- By: Robert. J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Steven Menasche
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aboard Argo, a colonization ship bound for Eta Cephei IV, people are very close - there's no other choice. So when Aaron Rossman's ex-wife dies in what seems to be a bizarre accident, everyone offers their sympathy, politely keeping their suspicions of suicide to themselves. But Aaron cannot simply accept her death. He must know the truth: Was it an accident, or did she commit suicide? When Aaron discovers the truth behind her death, he is faced with a terrible secret - a secret that could cost him his life.
-
-
Just ok
- By Simone on 05-18-16
-
Red Planet Blues
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Perry Daniels
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The name's Lomax-Alex Lomax. I'm the one and only private eye working the mean streets of New Klondike, the Martian frontier town that sprang up forty years ago after Simon Weingarten and Denny O'Reilly discovered fossils on the Red Planet. Back on Earth, where anything can be synthesized, the remains of alien life are the most valuable of all collectibles, so shiploads of desperate treasure hunters stampeded here in the Great Martian Fossil Rush.
-
-
A Clever and Thrilling Gumshoe Tale
- By Henry on 03-29-25
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Mindscan
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jake Sullivan has cheated death: he's discarded his doomed biological body and copied his consciousness into an android form. The new Jake soon finds love, something that eluded him when he was encased in flesh: he falls for the android version of Karen, a woman rediscovering all the joys of life now that she too is no longer constrained by a worn-out body. Karen's son sues her, claiming that by uploading into an immortal body, she has done him out of his inheritance.
-
-
Entertaining, but not Sawyer's Best
- By John C. on 05-31-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Rollback
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: George Wilson
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty-eight years ago, Dr. Sarah Halifax earned worldwide fame by deciphering a radio transmission from an unknown intelligence reaching out from deep space. Now 87, Sarah receives news that, at long last, a new signal has been received, and her services are desperately needed once again.
-
-
Main plot - Tiresome; Subplot - Cool!
- By Ole Hippie on 04-29-11
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
The Downloaded
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Brendan Fraser, Luke Kirby, Vanessa Sears, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2059, two vastly different groups of people portrayed by the compelling trio of Brendan Fraser (Academy Award winner), Luke Kirby (Emmy Award winner), and Vanessa Sears (Dora Award winner) undergo cryonic suspension. While their bodies are frozen, their minds, still active and awake, are uploaded into a massive quantum computer. The first group are all astronauts, about to leave Earth on a one-way interstellar colonization mission. The second group consists of convicted murderers and volunteers who elect to serve their sentences in a virtual-reality prison.
-
-
Poor writing- agenda piece
- By Amazon Customer on 10-27-23
By: Robert J. Sawyer
What listeners say about Quantum Night
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- kwdayboise (Kim Day)
- 06-10-17
As always, challenging ideas
Robert J. Sawyer is the king of taking a cutting edge theory and taking it to new levels, even if these take him to areas that some sci-fi readers find discomforting as he did in Calculating God.
This book focuses on two interesting areas and he manages to link them well. The key character in the book, set ahead only a few years into 2020, is Jim Marchuk who works as an experimental psychologist. He also lives as a utilitarian and spends a lot of time in his classes teaching through thought experiments like those developed by Australian philosopher Peter Singer. Marchuk has also developed a foolproof method for identifying psychopaths and occasionally works as an expert witness in trials.
During one of these trials Marchuk is cross-examined and realizes that there is a half-year period in his life for which he has no memories. When he returns to the university where he works, he asks an old friend and former professor about the time. The professor encourages him to let sleeping dogs lie.
While trying to recover his past he runs into Kayla Huron, who he learns he had a romantic relationship with during the missing time. He also learns that he did something awful to her that caused her to end the relationship. It's now 20 years later and she's willing to communicate with him again. Kayla is now a quantum physicist and is working with some new theories in quantum mind in which various states of mind are caused by the superpositions of electrons in the brain. She's also sure that a considerable number of humans are what have been called philosophical zombies, or people with no actual inner life. Her work intersects with his studies of psychopathic behavior.
As the book evolves the two theories begin to come together as Marchuk realizes just how horrible his behavior was and the original cause. It has also become a time of increasing conflict, apparently caused by world leaders who are psychopaths themselves. With his utilitarian mindset (one should work for the benefit of the greatest number of people) he develops a plan that could alter the conscious state of billions of people at a time. Who will change and how becomes a major part of the story. Will people who are now psychopathic become saintly? Will some people become psychopathic?
Sawyer tackles all this and also includes excellent action sequences, as well as his now traditional rooting for his native Canada and some ideas that may send you to other books. If you like a sci-fi book with some challenging concepts this is a great read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Greg
- 10-18-17
Main character had some very annoying traits
Without giving away the plot, the main character Jim has some cringe worthy traits and they are not what you might think they would be. This book is not a bad listen but Jim's excessive altruism makes me queasy. His overly devoted sense of guilt for the rest of the world is too much to bear. His morals are skewed and inconsistent. Esentially I didn't really like him. Best to have a listen and decide for yourself.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jonny B
- 08-24-16
good premise
Not my favorite Robert J Sawyer book, but engaging enough. keep up the good work.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tracey Rains
- 03-14-16
Theoretical Philosophy AND an Good Story...Mostly
I've read many of Sawyer's books and generally enjoy them. This one falls near the top of my rating of Sawyer novels. Sawyer is obviously concerned with the nature of consciousness; it's a theme he has dealt with repeatedly. I found the exploration of levels of consciousness driving people’s behavior fascinating. I even looked up the term philosophical zombie. It’s a real thing—not like Sawyer presents it: In Quantum Night P-Zeds actually exist; whereas in reality, they’re just a philosophical construct. (I hope. But it would explain Donald Trump.)
Quantum Night had the potential to end up more an essay on consciousness, rather than a novel based around a story, but Sawyer never lets this happen. He reveals his ideas through conversations, flashbacks, and actions, rather than intrusive commentary. This is a book about ideas, but plenty happens, and the characters are well-developed.
I have to say, however, that I have some pretty serious issues with the plot in the second half. First, there was the “Well, duh, who didn’t see that coming?” moment. I could forgive that, though. More egregious was a clearly manipulated, eye-roll-inducing plot twist added just for the drama. I wanted to be able to call up Sawyer and say, “You’re better than this!”
Still, even if you only listen to the first half or so and bail when it gets silly, I still recommend Quantum Night just for the interesting ideas. Half of this book is still worth a credit.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ronald R. Stearns
- 03-07-16
With Donald Trump & Ted Cruze this is very timely. Well crafted story and excellent narration.
Great author and story. Hauntingly appropriate timing with republican primaries! Excellent analysis and character development.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Friendofthesky
- 02-08-17
Really enjoyed
I really enjoyed this book. the storyline kept me thinking about it when I wasn't listening to it and the narrator was great.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jim "The Impatient"
- 12-02-17
PHILOSOPHICAL ZOMBIE
AURORA AWARD
Hassan is totally right, when he says the plot is stupid and for him that ruined the whole story. That is saying a lot as Hassan loves the majority of what he listens to. I too had much problems with the plot, especially as it escalated in the last couple of hours. I give the book an overall four stars, mostly because of the whole Philosophical Zombie theory.
PHILOSOPHICAL ZOMBIES
In this story 60% of the population is these zombies. This explains why the majority of the population does some of the most stupid things. I believe Sawyer wrote this before Trump was elected, for I can't see how this unashamed Liberal, would not jump on that. He does mention Hitler and explains how he could take over a country. I thought Sawyer made this term up, but it is actually a real theory.
A Lot To Think About
These zombies, don't know they are zombies. They are the people who always follow the crowd, who are predictable in their reactions, who don't seem to have an original thought in their heads. I know of at least two people who come instantly to mind in my life. I know this one guy who I have referred to my wife as cliché man. Every thing this guy says is something you have heard before, every story, every thought and he is always with the popular majority. I have heard him repeat the same story back to me, that I told him months before, as if he was telling me something new. I have seem him in an argument more than once, hear something on tv and he repeats it as if it is his idea. I have also heard him say that he believes he is above the average in intelligence, something that made me laugh inside. Plus isn't that what everyone thinks and isn't that impossible. I also know of a woman who is a teacher in high school, who is much the same. When my wife and I first met her, she seemed very smart, as that is what she kept telling us, but as we got to know her, outside of her subject matter she was totally ignorant. Matter of fact in her own subject matter if it was not something she learned by rote she was clueless. Back to the guy, he has an uncanny ability for knowing all the musical groups and songs from his teenage years. Name any song and he can tell you who wrote it or sang it.
My Own Life
I hope I don't sound like I think I am superior. To be honest I think part of my life, I might have been a Zombie. I think of some of the mindless things I did as a very young youth and I wonder why I did them. Recently I have been remembering my sister getting me up in the morning, feeding me breakfast and me walking to school. For a couple of years I would walk to school and get there hours before anyone else did. I did this day after day and never thought it weird. There is some other stuff I did, that I now think back on as pretty boring stupid stuff that I did over and over, without thinking I was doing anything out of the ordinary. What brought out of this I don't know and maybe you think I still am a zombie. To this day, I believe I suffer, due to my lack of drive and ambition as a child. Now I am ambitious and usually end up being the leader in any group, but have been known to lack empathy. I feel that it is due to a lack of experience as a human. At 59 I am still learning how to be human.
This book made me think more than any book in a long time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
44 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ocean State Prime
- 03-06-16
philosophical exploration
A great addition to the Canadian philosophical-psychological-physics sub-genre. Plus, all you need to know about Utilitarianism.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lloyd Bernhardt
- 05-03-16
Interesting premise
Unfortunately the narrator's butchering of the pronunciation of Canadian words detracted from a fun and thought provoking book. I hope they correct this.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Russell
- 03-30-17
Great Canadian Science Fiction For All Nations
This is a great listen for the whole world. It is extra special for any Canadian SF fan who will enjoy all the intimate references like the projected future for the current mayor of Calgary. If you have an interest in psychology and know about the Stanley Milgram experiment (check it out with Wikipedia) or the current research on psychopaths, there are a lot of interesting ideas explored in this book.
Our hero will fluctuate between three states of consciousness. He will be a psychopath, a person with a conscience and a psychological zombie. That third state is one of the SF constructs of the book that temptingly explains so much of this world that seems to defy logic for some of us after the upheavals in the last year.
The ideas explored, the moral quandaries, the tense action and an unexpected fate for Canada and the entire world makes this a rip roaring adventure. This is one of those books that is time sensitive since it focuses on the next few years. That is a big plus and adds more meaning if you read it before 2020. Robert Sawyer went out on a limb putting out a book with an expiry date. Make it your next SF experience.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful