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Termination Shock

Written by: Neal Stephenson
Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
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Publisher's Summary

New York Times Bestseller

From Neal Stephenson—who coined the term “metaverse” in his 1992 novel Snow Crash—comes a sweeping, prescient new thriller that transports listeners to a near-future world in which the greenhouse effect has inexorably resulted in a whirling-dervish troposphere of superstorms, rising sea levels, global flooding, merciless heat waves, and virulent, deadly pandemics.

“Stephenson is one of speculative fiction’s most meticulous architects. . . . Termination Shock manages to pull off a rare trick, at once wildly imaginative and grounded.” — New York Times Book Review

One man—visionary billionaire restaurant chain magnate T. R. Schmidt, Ph.D.—has a Big Idea for reversing global warming, a master plan perhaps best described as “elemental.” But will it work? And just as important, what are the consequences for the planet and all of humanity should it be applied?

Ranging from the Texas heartland to the Dutch royal palace in the Hague, from the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas to the sunbaked Chihuahuan Desert, Termination Shock brings together a disparate group of characters from different cultures and continents who grapple with the real-life repercussions of global warming. Ultimately, it asks the question: Might the cure be worse than the disease?

Epic in scope while heartbreakingly human in perspective, Termination Shock sounds a clarion alarm, ponders potential solutions and dire risks, and wraps it all together in an exhilarating, witty, mind-expanding speculative adventure.

©2021 Neal Stephenson (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers
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What listeners say about Termination Shock

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

interesting thought provoker.

Well narrated and plot moves at a good pace. Thought provoking ideas and one of those which has you wishing it continued.

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

Poorly Developed.

The narrator was the best part. It was easy to listen to, but the storyline had huge gaps in logic that left me confused. The sequence of events was muddled, and some specific details just distracted from the story, with no rationale for inclusion. He gave up, and quit writing too soon, leaving me markedly disappointed.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Is this our near future?

I thought that Neil Stevenson has written what could be our near future and he has done it very well indeed. Given the state of the world that we are living through with ever worsening climate events and political events his book is a shout of warning to all of us , a story by a writer with a tale to tell . Very readable.

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

Good Story, Great Narration

Very interesting speculative fiction. A little different from most of Stephenson's work. Narrator was fantastic.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Took Some Time to Get Into it but Really Enjoyed the 2nd Half

The 1st part until the big gun needs to be pushed through, but found the so many small and big geopolitical situations & historical backstories pretty fascinating. Much like Reamde and Dodge, it took some patience but ultimately I really loved the story. Don't give up too early!

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

finally a Stephenson novel good all the way

finally a Stephenson novel where you can listen all the way through without a chunk of pointless excruciating detail.
I loved every minute of it.

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

Classic Neal Stephenson novel if you enjoy that

I really enjoyed this. While listening to a world of climate change and rising sea levels, here in British Columbia, Dec-2021, massive flooding has destroyed homes, farms and separated Vancouver from the rest of Canada. It's a little bit surreal...

There are flashes of his writing style and plot points from Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon. Enjoyed the infodump of strange information, like the Line of Actual Control conflict and the Saudi Line City of the Future.

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1 person found this helpful

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

If you liked Cryptonomicon or REAMDE, you'll like this

The narrator is phenomenal. Easily one of the best performances I've heard. The book is good, very much in the same vein as Stephenson's other thrillers: Near future speculative fiction, number of threads that merge toward the end. Like his other novels, the ending is a bit weak. Like he was told "this is great but you need to wrap it up sooner." So it lurches and jumps a bit starting around 3/4 of the way through. Overall a great read though.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Termination Shock

I think I'll have to read this one in hard copy. I usually love Stephenson's work but listening to this one, the story didn't flow and it was hard to keep track of what was going on. Hopefully, hard copy makes a difference. Otherwise, not really worth the time.

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

Standard Stephenson

Long rambling technical situations interspersed with relationships and human interaction. If you've enjoyed Stephenson in the past, you'll probably enjoy this too.
I'd say more technical than "Fall"

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