
The Downloaded
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Narrated by:
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Brendan Fraser
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Luke Kirby
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Vanessa Sears
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Colm Feore
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Andrew Phung
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full cast
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Written by:
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Robert J. Sawyer
About this listen
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. But while both groups are suspended, a global cataclysm devastates most of the Earth, and their cryosleep is extended by more than 500 years.
Now available in Dolby Atmos on Audible.
©2023 Robert J. Sawyer (P)2023 Audible Originals, LLC.
Trailer
About the creator


About Brendan Fraser

About Luke Kirby

About Vanessa Sears
Behind the Scenes
What listeners say about The Downloaded
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 2023-11-02
Now that's entertainment!
Both a fun and thoughtful romp through a post-apocalyptic scenario, as only Robert J. Sawyer can pull off. I thought the contrast between the astronauts and ex-cons provided good tension, and the Mennonites were a nice touch too. I loved that the story was placed in Waterloo: Sawyer always gives his work a proudly Canadian flourish. And it was a magnificent, layered theatrical performance of the audio book - Brendan Fraser was especially good, and fresh from his Academy Award! I love that Sawyer's brand of thoughtful science fiction is commanding such star power today.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Elizabeth
- 2023-10-29
Another winner from Robert J. Sawyer, and excellently produced!
The Downloaded is another winner from Robert J. Sawyer. It is extremely well written and the pacing was perfect—once I turned it on I struggled to turn it off. Further, the audiobook’s production values were through the roof with a talented cast who did a great job bringing the characters to life. Easily among the best—if not the best—I’ve listened to.
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2 people found this helpful
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- GeraldC
- 2023-11-02
Intriguing Listen
Immerse yourself in a great Science Fiction novel as it spans many centuries in the blink of an eye. It is also well performed by well known celebrities, and with the addition of sound effects it makes an even greater listen.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Jean-Francois Chapdelaine
- 2023-10-30
A great production to the service of a “meh’’ story
I took this audio book after seeing the great ensemble cast, and being a Sic-Fi nuts, this seemed a really good deal. I wasn’t disappointed by the quality. As far as audiobooks go, this is very nice. Almost like an old time radio drama. However, it is all done to the service of an ok story, at best. The frustrating part is that it touches themes that are very interesting and could have been much better explored, but it keeps on the surface and move quickly from one issue to another, fixing debates and problems easily without getting in the suspense or the philosophical, because the story needs to get going. It feels like they shouldn’t have explored so many to begin with, since it is all wrapped up pretty quickly anyway and often without satisfaction or real drama. Also, this is an “interview” style storytelling, very similar to World War Z, but not done as well. At some point the story catches up with the “testimonies”, but they keep “testifying” to what they are doing/thinking, even though it doesn’t make sense anymore. The end is one of the most straight up and on the nose “happy endings” have heard in a while, with a very convenient Ex Machina type solution that makes you sigh a little. For the price (free with the Plus Catalogue) and the time (a little over 5 hours) it’s absolutely worth it, but it is no Asimov.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Shaun Rathy
- 2023-12-21
Excellent performance! Overall a good listen
I loved the premise of the book, and character development was great. But the insertion of the author's personal opinions toward covid 19 were disruptive and irrelevant to the storyline and made it difficult to remain immersed in the plot. Narration was spot on, and I still like the book- just leave the virtue signaling for social media next time.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 2023-11-25
Great story!!
I could not put this down! Very clever story and fantastic narration. I will definitely be revisiting this one again!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 2023-10-28
Interesting take on end of the world survival
Interesting story, but trying to weave social justice themes throughout the story ruined the whole thing.
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- Karl W.
- 2023-12-14
identity politics and unreality ruins this for me.
Hearing progressive tropes be hammered on over and over literally made me say "oh my gosh, get on with it.." while I was driving in my car. The author continuously took me out of the story with (what felt like) personal political and ideological pursuits. I have no problem with any of these themes (LGBTQ, race, class, etc.) but for them to feel real and living they need to function and arrive at these themes in real ways. Lots of these concerns were poorly thought out and it felt as though the issues and identities were not natural parts of the picture or the characters. These issues are what made me leave this half way through. the voice acting is well done by most, the audio engineering is top notch, as well as the foley and/or SFX work. This was just a clunky story that doesn't feel as believable or as honest to real humanity as an apocalyptic drama should be, in my opinion. This story had a good premise, just too much political and ideological grandstanding and wokeness for its own sake. Give this a listen if that is your cup of tea.
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- Varadero100cc
- 2023-11-29
Everything but the kitchen sink
Plot was too vast and could have been narrowed significantly. Also, some blaring omissions such as how convicts arrived in Waterloo from Maine.
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- Andy
- 2023-11-28
Pleasantly surprised
I really liked the performances and if the is a solid Criticism it would be the list opportunities to explore humanity more. This is a gem in the rough.
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